General Terms and Conditions

§ 1 Scope and provider

These General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter “Terms”) apply to the use of the online platform “BarFinder” (hereinafter “Platform”), which is operated under the domain barfinder.app and associated subdomains and mobile applications.

The provider is Tresenhelden GbR, Rene Steinebächer & Matthias Keßler (hereinafter “Provider” or “we”), Tieloh 31, 22307 Hamburg. You will find further contact details in the Imprint.

By registering or using the Platform, the user (hereinafter also: “you”) declares their agreement to these Terms in the version applicable at the time. Conflicting or deviating terms and conditions of the user are not recognised.

§ 2 Description of services

BarFinder is a social platform for the discovery, recommendation and shared use of bars, pubs and hospitality venues. Its features include in particular:

• searching and filtering bars (location, amenities, atmosphere, promotions),
• creating and managing a personal user profile,
• following bars and receiving notifications,
• coordinating spontaneous or planned bar visits with friends (“Pings”) — a Live Ping, including location, associated bar and, where applicable, a photo, is visible to all confirmed friends of the sender (not public),
• planning and carrying out joint bar tours with live status (“Tour Runs”) — anyone who follows a community tour or opens the shared tour link sees the current live status as well as all photos uploaded to the tour by participants (album/live gallery),
• maintenance and enrichment of bar master data by the community,
• photo galleries of the bars — users can suggest photos for a bar; such suggestions only become visible once they have been reviewed and approved by the Provider,
• publicly accessible digital drinks menus of participating bars,
• optional paid features for bar owners (Premium subscriptions).

The Provider reserves the right to further develop the range of features and to change or remove individual features, insofar as this can reasonably be expected of the user. During the test phase, there is no entitlement to uninterrupted availability or to the unchanged continuation of individual features.

Information about bars — in particular opening hours, prices and events — comes partly from public sources (e.g. OpenStreetMap) and from contributions by the community, and is not in every case checked by the respective operator. The Provider gives no warranty for the accuracy, completeness or timeliness of this information; the information provided by the operator on site is always authoritative. Entries maintained by the operator themselves are marked as “Verified” on the Platform.

§ 3 Registration and user account

Basic use of the Platform (browsing, searching, reading content) is possible without logging in. Registration is required for interactive features (profile, Pings, Tour Runs, bar owner features).

Registration is open exclusively to natural persons who have reached the age of 18 — BarFinder is a platform related to alcohol. The minimum age is actively confirmed during the registration process. Minors are excluded from use.

Registration is possible either with an email address and password or via an existing Google or Apple account. Both options are equivalent; when signing up via one of these providers, too, the minimum age and acknowledgement of the Privacy Policy must be confirmed before the account is created. Which data the providers receive and transmit in this process is set out in our Privacy Policy.

The user is obliged to provide truthful and complete information when registering and to keep it up to date. Login credentials must be kept secret and protected against access by third parties. In the event of suspected misuse, the Provider must be informed without undue delay at info@ at tresenhelden.de.

There is no entitlement to registration or to the continued existence of the account. The Provider may reject applications or block existing accounts if there is good cause (see § 9).

§ 4 User obligations and prohibited conduct

The user undertakes to use the Platform only as intended and in accordance with these Terms, applicable law and good morals. The following are prohibited in particular:

• Automated extraction (scraping): any machine-based, script-based or crawler-assisted retrieval, storage or further processing of content, data or database structures of the Platform — regardless of whether the content is publicly accessible. Only official interfaces (APIs) provided by the Provider are permitted, within the scope documented in each case.
• Use of Platform data to build competing databases or services, insofar as this infringes the database maker’s right (§§ 87a et seq. UrhG) or exceeds the intended use of the Platform.
• Posting false, misleading, insulting or defamatory content about bars or other users.
• Harassment, threats or discrimination against other users.
• Content that infringes copyrights, trademark rights or personality rights of third parties.
• Transmission of malicious code (viruses, malware) or attempts to impair the security, stability or availability of the Platform (e.g. DoS/DDoS attacks).
• Circumvention of technical protection measures, e.g. the bot protection (Cloudflare Turnstile) or other security precautions of the Platform.
• Use of other people’s accounts without the consent of the authorised holder.
• Use of the Platform for commercial purposes outside the designated bar owner features without the express written consent of the Provider.

In the event of violations, the Provider may remove content without prior notice, restrict individual features or block or terminate the account.

4.1 Measures in the event of repeated illegal content (DSA Art. 23)

In accordance with Art. 23 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (Digital Services Act), we reserve the right to suspend, for a limited period, the provision of the Platform to users who repeatedly post manifestly illegal content or submit manifestly unfounded notices and complaints. Before any such suspension, we will warn the user once, expressly pointing out the possible consequence.

In our assessment, we take into account, in a proportionate manner, in particular the absolute number of items of content/notices concerned, their proportion of the total activity, the gravity of the infringements and the user’s intent. You may lodge an objection to such measures via info@ at tresenhelden.de within six months; we review objections promptly and under the supervision of a natural person (not a purely automated procedure).

§ 5 User-generated content

Users can post their own content on the Platform — in particular bar descriptions, attribute suggestions, photos, bar posts, tour notes and comments (collectively: “User Content”). The user warrants that they hold all necessary rights to the content posted and that the content does not infringe any rights of third parties — in particular no personality rights, copyrights or trademark rights.

Rights of use granted: By posting, the user grants the Provider a simple, non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free right to use the User Content, namely

• to store it on the Platform, to display it and to make it accessible to other users within the scope of the Platform’s features,
• to reproduce it technically (e.g. for backups, caches, image optimisation),
• to edit it to the extent necessary (e.g. resizing images, converting formats, removing metadata),
• to have it displayed in link previews of external services (e.g. Open Graph images on Whatsapp, Facebook, X), insofar as the user has themselves released the content for external distribution by creating a public share link (e.g. Tour Run share).

Any use going beyond this — in particular advertising with the content outside the Platform, licensing to third parties or use by affiliated group companies — is not granted. The right of use ends when the content is deleted; residual copies that remain for technical reasons (e.g. backups, caches) are removed within the usual deletion and retention periods.

Visibility of content: The reach of an item of User Content depends on the place where it is posted:

• Community tour photos: Photos and comments that a participant uploads in a community tour (Tour Run) are visible to every follower of the tour and to anyone holding the shared tour link — for a further 7 days after the end of the tour in the associated album, after which they are deleted automatically. The uploader can delete their own photos at any time.
• Live Pings: A Live Ping (including the associated bar, location and, where applicable, an uploaded photo) is shown exclusively to the sender’s confirmed friends. Persons without a confirmed friendship do not see Pings.
• Public content: Bar descriptions, attribute suggestions, bar posts and other content assigned to a publicly listed bar can be viewed by all visitors to the Platform (including users who are not logged in).

The Provider does not proactively monitor User Content (§ 7(2) DDG; cf. also Art. 8 DSA — Regulation (EU) 2022/2065). Upon a substantiated notice, illegal content is reviewed without undue delay and removed where appropriate (notice and takedown). A contact point for notices is available at info@ at tresenhelden.de.

5.1 Notice and action mechanism (Art. 16 DSA)

Any natural or legal person can notify us of allegedly illegal content. Logged-in users can report content (e.g. Pings, comments, photos, profiles) directly in the app via the “Report” function on the content concerned; in addition, the reporting channel by email is open to everyone. Independently of this, users can block other users — blocked persons no longer see the blocking user’s content and can no longer interact. So that we can review notices promptly, we ask for the following information:

• a sufficiently substantiated explanation of why the content is illegal,
• a clear indication of the electronic location (e.g. URL of the content concerned),
• the name and email address of the person submitting the notice (except in the case of alleged criminal offences within the meaning of §§ 3, 4, 5 StGB against life or sexual self-determination — such notices may be submitted anonymously),
• a statement made in good faith that the information in the notice is accurate and complete.

We confirm receipt of a notice electronically without undue delay and inform the person submitting the notice of our decision and of the available means of redress (complaint, legal action). When processing the notice, we act diligently and in a non-arbitrary manner, taking into account the fundamental rights of all parties involved.

Users whose content has been removed or restricted on the basis of a notice or our own review receive a statement of reasons setting out the facts and circumstances, the contractual provision applied and information on the possibilities for redress under Art. 20 DSA (internal complaint-handling system) and Art. 21 DSA (out-of-court dispute settlement).

§ 6 Rights of the Provider

All content of the Platform that does not originate from users — in particular design, logos, graphics, texts, software code, database structures and the marks “BarFinder” and “Tresenhelden” — is the property of the Provider or of licensed third parties and is protected by copyright. Any use beyond the intended use of the Platform requires prior written consent.

The Platform uses map data from OpenStreetMap contributors under the Open Database Licence (ODbL), map tiles from OpenFreeMap and other external services, which are listed in detail in the Privacy Policy.

§ 6a Special obligations of bar owners

Bar owners who create, take over or manage their bar on the Platform (“Bar Owners”) as a rule act, with regard to the bar concerned, as entrepreneurs within the meaning of § 14 BGB. The following provisions additionally apply to them:

• Duty of truthfulness and timeliness: Bar Owners warrant that the data they post (address, opening hours, amenities, images, price information, contact details) is accurate at the time it is entered, and will respond promptly to changes. Outdated mandatory information (e.g. incorrect opening hours) may be corrected or hidden by the Provider upon notice.
• Their own contractual relationships with guests: The Provider is not a party to the contracts between bar and guest (e.g. consumption, event bookings, rentals). Contacts arranged via the Platform (telephone, email, rental enquiries) are mere referrals — conclusion of contract, performance and complaints take place exclusively between bar and guest.
• Authorisation to maintain data: Bar Owners warrant that they are authorised to maintain the data of the bar concerned (e.g. as owner, managing director or under a power of attorney). False or fictitious ownership leads to the immediate blocking of the bar profile.
• Data protection for posted contact details: If the Bar Owner posts contact details for which they are not themselves the controller under data protection law (e.g. an employee’s telephone number), they warrant to the Provider that providing this information is lawful (Arts. 6 and 13 GDPR). With regard to such published third-party contacts, the Provider is merely a hosting provider.
• Advertising and promotions: Published promotions, Happy Hours, prices and quantity information must be legally permissible (UWG, JuSchG, GastG). In particular, advertising for alcohol must be designed in compliance with the statutory requirements for the protection of minors.
• Indemnification: As between the parties, Bar Owners indemnify the Provider against third-party claims asserted against the Provider on account of incorrect, unlawful or infringing bar data, insofar as the Bar Owner posted the data themselves or is responsible for the content posted.

§ 7 Paid Premium features

7.1 Offer and conclusion of contract

Basic use of the Platform is free of charge. Optional paid Premium features are available for bar owners; these are set out transparently before the contract is concluded (scope of services, price, term). The contract is concluded by actively clicking the confirmation button (“Order now with obligation to pay” or similar). For purchases in the BarFinder app, it is concluded upon confirmation in the purchase dialog of the Apple App Store or Google Play.

7.2 Prices, payment and billing

All prices shown are net prices in euros plus statutory VAT (currently 19% VAT pursuant to § 12(1) UStG). VAT is shown separately in the ordering process before the contract is concluded; the gross amount payable is displayed transparently there. For in-app purchases, by way of derogation, the final prices including VAT displayed in the store’s purchase dialog apply.

Payment is processed — depending on the booking channel — by invoice or via the external payment service provider Stripe Payments Europe Ltd. (for details, see the Privacy Policy); online bookings in the browser are processed via our website tresenhelden.de; no payment processing takes place on the website barfinder.app. Billing takes place in advance for the respective billing period. An invoice is provided electronically.

In-app purchases: In the BarFinder app, Premium can be booked as a subscription via the Apple App Store or Google Play. Payment and billing are then handled exclusively via the bar owner’s store account; the terms of the respective store apply in addition. In this case, the receipt is issued by the store.

7.3 Contract term, renewal and termination

Premium subscriptions are offered in the ordering process with a specific initial term (e.g. monthly or annually). After the initial term expires, the contract is extended for an indefinite period and may be terminated at any time with one month’s notice to the end of the current billing period (in line with § 309 No. 9(b) BGB as amended by the “Faire-Verbraucherverträge-Gesetz” (Fair Consumer Contracts Act) of 10 August 2021).

Notice of termination may be given at any time without any formal requirements — via the customer account in the logged-in area or by email to info@ at tresenhelden.de. Sending the notice of termination to one of these points of contact is sufficient for it to be deemed received.

By way of derogation, the following applies to in-app subscriptions: They renew automatically for the selected term unless they are cancelled in good time before the end of the current period in the subscription settings of the store account, in the case of the Apple App Store no later than 24 hours beforehand (iPhone: Settings › your name › Subscriptions; Android: Google Play › Payments & subscriptions). Only there can an in-app subscription be ended technically; we are happy to help with this. Refunds are governed by the rules of the respective store.

7.4 Right of withdrawal for consumers

7.5 Beta phase

During the test phase, Premium features may be made available free of charge. The free test use does not give rise to any entitlement to permanent use free of charge. Existing users will be informed of the introduction of paid offerings with reasonable advance notice (at least 30 days).

§ 8 Liability and availability

The Provider is liable without limitation for damage resulting from injury to life, body or health and for damage based on intent or gross negligence, as well as in accordance with the provisions of the Produkthaftungsgesetz (German Product Liability Act).

In the event of a slightly negligent breach of essential contractual obligations (cardinal obligations), liability is limited to the foreseeable damage typical of the contract. Any further liability for slight negligence is excluded.

Bar master data (addresses, opening hours, amenity features, prices) is provided partly by users and partly by bar owners, and is partly taken from public sources (in particular OpenStreetMap). The Provider gives no warranty for the accuracy, completeness or timeliness of this third-party information. The Provider is liable for damage resulting from the inaccuracy of such third-party data only within the scope of the preceding paragraphs.

8.1 Contact details and external links of the bars

As part of the bar profiles, the Platform displays contact details and external links of the respective bar — in particular:

• telephone numbers (clickable as a phone link),
• email addresses (clickable as a mail link),
• website URLs of the bar,
• links to the bar’s social media profiles (e.g. Instagram, Facebook),
• other external links maintained by bar owners or the community.

This information comes exclusively from third-party sources: directly from the respective bar owner, from community contributions by our users or from the OpenStreetMap database. The Provider checks the content of the linked pages at the time the link is created; permanent monitoring of the content of all linked third-party offerings cannot reasonably be expected without specific indications (§ 7(2) DDG, Art. 8 DSA).

The Provider is expressly not liable for:

• the accuracy, timeliness, availability or completeness of the telephone numbers, email addresses or external URLs displayed;
• the content, functioning or privacy practices of the linked third-party offerings (in particular bar websites, Instagram, Facebook, telephone/mobile network providers);
• any costs incurred through the use of a linked third-party service (telephone charges, mobile phone costs, data volume);
• damage caused by incorrect, misleading or harmful content on the linked third-party sites.

By clicking on such a link, users leave the BarFinder platform; from that point on, only the general terms and conditions and privacy policies of the respective third-party provider apply. Information on how such clicks are handled under data protection law can be found in our Privacy Policy.

Should users discover incorrect or unlawful contact details or links, we would be grateful for a brief notice to info@ at tresenhelden.de — we will check the entry and remove it without undue delay if the complaint is justified (notice and takedown).

No particular availability of the Platform is guaranteed during the test phase. Data loss, interruptions or malfunctions during the beta do not give rise to claims for damages — subject to the preceding paragraphs (liability for intent and gross negligence, for injury to life/body/health, for essential contractual obligations and under the Produkthaftungsgesetz remains unaffected). We strongly recommend backing up important content (e.g. tour notes, original photos) locally.

§ 9 Termination of the user relationship

The user relationship is entered into for an indefinite period. The user may delete the account at any time without observing a notice period via “Profile → Security → Delete account”. Existing paid subscriptions (see § 7) are subject to the contract periods set out there.

The Provider may terminate the user relationship by ordinary notice with a notice period of 30 days. The right to extraordinary termination for good cause remains unaffected; good cause exists in particular in the event of serious or repeated breaches of § 4.

Upon termination, personal data will be deleted or anonymised in accordance with the Privacy Policy.

§ 10 Changes to these Terms

The Provider may amend these Terms insofar as this becomes necessary for a valid reason — for example due to a change in the legal situation, case law of the highest courts, technical adjustments or a change in market conditions — and the user is not unreasonably disadvantaged as a result.

Material changes affecting the Provider’s main performance obligations or the amount of agreed fees will be notified by email to users with an account at least 30 days before they take effect. Such changes only take effect with the express consent of the user (e.g. by clicking a confirmation button in the logged-in area). Silence does not constitute consent. If the user does not consent, they may terminate the user relationship without notice until the change takes effect; in this case, existing paid subscriptions may be terminated with effect from the end of the current billing period.

Insignificant editorial changes (e.g. correction of typing errors, updating of sub-processor addresses) take effect without separate consent.

§ 11 Data protection

The processing of personal data is governed by the Privacy Policy of the Provider, which forms part of these Terms.

§ 12 Consumer dispute resolution

We are neither obliged nor willing to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board within the meaning of the Verbraucherstreitbeilegungsgesetz (VSBG; German Consumer Dispute Resolution Act) (§ 36 VSBG). The former EU platform for online dispute resolution was discontinued by the European Commission on 20 July 2025.

§ 13 Final provisions

The law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. If the user is a consumer with habitual residence in the European Union, mandatory consumer protection provisions of the law of their state of residence remain unaffected.

The place of jurisdiction for disputes with merchants, legal entities under public law or special funds under public law is the Provider’s registered office. In all other respects, the statutory provisions apply.

Should individual provisions of these Terms be or become invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions remains unaffected. The invalid provision is replaced by the statutory provision.

There are no oral side agreements. Amendments or additions to these Terms require text form; this also applies to the cancellation of this clause.