Privacy Policy
FollowThru helps golf coaches run their lessons, and helps golfers book, pay for and keep track of them. To do that we hold information about coaches, golfers and the people they book for.
This policy explains what we collect, why, where it's kept and what you can do about it, in plain English. The short version: we only collect what the app needs to work, we never sell your information, and we don't use it for advertising.
1. Who we are
FollowThru (“we”, “us”) runs the followthru app on iPhone, iPad and Android, the web app at app.followthrugolf.com and this website. We're FOLLOWTHRU PTY LTD (ABN 39 703 644 964), based in Australia. You can reach us about privacy at [email protected].
Coaches and their clients
Each coach decides what to record about their own clients: lesson notes, swing videos, handicaps and so on. For that information, the coach is responsible for it and we look after it on their behalf, following their instructions (in some countries' terms, the coach is the “controller” and we are their “processor”). For everything else, such as accounts, sign-in, payments and our website, we are responsible.
If you're a golfer and want to see, change or delete what your coach holds about you, ask your coach. You can also ask us and we'll help.
2. What we collect
When you make an account
- Your name, email address and mobile number. We text a code to check the number is yours.
- Your password, stored only in a scrambled (hashed) form we can't read.
- Whether you're a coach or a golfer, and for golfers aged 13 to 17, that a parent or guardian agreed.
- That you agreed to our Terms of Service and this policy, and when.
Coaches
- Your profile: photo, bio, title, location, the venues you teach at, your lesson types, prices and hours.
- Your plan and its billing history. Your card details are held by Stripe, not by us.
- If you take card payments, your Stripe account. Stripe collects the identity and bank details it needs to pay you.
- An earnings PIN if you set one, stored scrambled like a password.
Golfers and lessons
- Lessons booked, changed, cancelled and paid for, and how they were paid (card, cash, credit).
- What coaches add after a lesson: key takeaways, focus areas, notes, reports, swing videos and photos.
- Handicaps and goals you or your coach add.
- Messages, photos and videos sent between a coach and a golfer.
- Family members a golfer books for: their name, relationship, and whether they're under 18 with a parent or guardian's agreement.
Booking without an account
If you book through a coach's booking link without an account, we collect your name, email, mobile number and anything you choose to tell the coach (such as what you'd like to work on). The coach sees this so they can run your lesson.
Our website
- If you send us an enquiry: your name, email, mobile number, country, the plan you're interested in and your message.
- Your rough location (country only), worked out from your internet address, to show prices in your currency. We keep it in one small cookie, ft_country.
- Your light or dark display choice, kept only in your own browser.
Technical information
If you block someone or report them to us, we keep the block, your report, and a copy of the messages around it so we can look into it.
Like every online service, our servers record internet addresses, times and the pages or features used, to keep the service running and secure. If you send us feedback from the app, it includes your name, whether you're a coach or golfer, and your phone model so we can fix problems.
We don't use advertising trackers, analytics trackers or social media pixels, in the app or on this website.
3. How we use it
- To run the app: accounts, bookings, calendars, lesson records, messages, reminders, reports and payments.
- To check it's really you: mobile codes at sign-up and sign-in, and keeping accounts secure.
- To charge coaches for their plan. The price depends on the country of the mobile number they signed up with.
- To send emails and texts you need: codes, booking updates, receipts and lesson reports. We don't send marketing without your agreement, and every marketing email has an unsubscribe link.
- To answer enquiries and support requests.
- To keep people safe: looking into reports, stopping abuse and misuse, and preventing fraud. We may look at messages when someone reports them.
- To meet legal duties such as tax records.
- To improve the app, using what we learn from how it's used. We don't sell your information, use it for advertising, or let other companies use it for their own purposes.
Where the law asks for a legal reason, ours are: to provide the service you signed up for (contract), our legitimate interest in keeping it secure and improving it, meeting legal obligations, and your consent where we ask for it (for example, a parent or guardian agreeing to filming of a golfer under 18). You can withdraw consent at any time.
5. Where it's stored
Our main database and app servers are in Sydney, Australia. Some of the companies that help us are in other countries, so information can be stored or handled there:
| Company | What for | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Supabase (on Amazon Web Services) | Our main database: accounts, lessons, notes, messages, bookings | Sydney, Australia |
| Fly.io | The servers that run the app | Sydney, Australia |
| Cloudflare | Swing videos and photos (Cloudflare R2), our website, and delivering content quickly | Cloudflare's worldwide network |
| Stripe | Card payments for lessons and coach plans, and paying coaches | United States and worldwide |
| Twilio | Text messages with sign-in and sign-up codes | United States |
| Resend | Emails such as receipts, reports and codes | United States |
| Vercel | Our internal team dashboard (not used by coaches or golfers) | United States |
| Apple and Google | App downloads and updates, if you use our phone app | Their own terms and privacy policies apply |
Wherever your information goes, we protect it the same way: with contracts that hold these companies to strong privacy standards (including the standard data protection clauses approved for the UK and EU where they apply). Some countries' laws differ; see your country below.
6. How long we keep it
- While your account is open, we keep what's needed to run it.
- If you delete your account in the app, it's hidden straight away and you have 30 days to change your mind. After that it's deleted for good. Backup copies are cleared on their normal cycle soon after.
- When a coach deletes their account, their client records, notes and videos are deleted with it. Golfers who have their own followthru account keep it.
- Payment and tax records are kept for as long as the law requires (usually 5 to 7 years).
- Website enquiries are kept while we're talking with you, and up to 2 years after.
- Reports and the messages copied with them are kept as long as needed to deal with them and keep people safe, usually up to 3 years.
7. Keeping it safe
- Everything travels encrypted (HTTPS), and our providers encrypt stored data.
- Passwords and earnings PINs are stored scrambled, never as typed.
- Each coach's records are kept separate, so one coach can never see another coach's clients.
- Card numbers never touch our servers. Stripe handles them to bank-level standards (PCI DSS).
- Only a small number of our team can access the systems, and only when needed to help you or keep things running.
No system is perfectly secure. If a breach could seriously harm you, we'll tell you and the relevant privacy regulator as the law requires.
8. Children
- You need to be 13 or over to have your own followthru account.
- Golfers aged 13 to 17 can sign up only if a parent or guardian agrees, including to their coach recording photos and videos of them in lessons.
- Golfers aged 13 to 17 can book and keep track of their lessons, but messages with coaches go through a parent or guardian's account, linked to theirs, and the parent can see them. Until a parent links, neither the golfer nor the coach can send messages.
- Children under 13 can't make their own account. A parent or guardian can book for them from their own account, where they confirm they agree to the coach recording the child in lessons.
- We don't knowingly collect information directly from children under 13. If you think we have, tell us and we'll delete it.
9. Your choices and rights
Wherever you live, you can ask us to:
- show you the information we hold about you, and give you a copy;
- correct anything that's wrong (you can change most details yourself in the app);
- delete your account and information (you can do this yourself in the app, under your account or Settings);
- stop sending you marketing.
Email [email protected] from the address on your account. We'll reply within 30 days, and it's free. We may need to check it's you first. Where your coach is responsible for the information (see section 1), we'll pass your request to them and help them answer it. If you're unhappy with how we handle your information, tell us and we'll try to fix it. You can also complain to the privacy regulator in your country (below).
10. Information for your country
Privacy laws differ by country. Everything above applies everywhere; this section adds what's specific to where you live.
Australia
We follow the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles. Your information is stored in Australia, and some is handled overseas by the companies listed in section 5 (mainly in the United States). We take reasonable steps to make sure they protect it to Australian standards. If you're not satisfied with our answer to a complaint, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at oaic.gov.au.
New Zealand
We follow the Privacy Act 2020 and its Information Privacy Principles. Your information is stored in Australia, which New Zealand recognises as having comparable privacy protection, and some is handled by the companies in section 5 under contracts that protect it. You can complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner at privacy.org.nz.
United Kingdom
The UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 apply. FollowThru is the controller of your information (or the processor for your coach, as section 1 explains), and section 3 sets out our legal reasons for using it. Your information is stored in Australia and handled by the companies in section 5; where a transfer needs protecting, we use the UK's International Data Transfer Agreement or Addendum to the EU standard contractual clauses.
As well as the rights in section 9, you can ask us to restrict or object to how we use your information, and to move it to another service. You can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk.
Ireland and the European Union
The GDPR applies. The UK section above applies to you too, except that transfers outside the EU are protected by the European Commission's standard contractual clauses, and your regulator is the Data Protection Commission at dataprotection.ie (or the regulator where you live in the EU).
United States
We don't sell your personal information, and we don't share it for targeted advertising. If your state gives you privacy rights (for example California, Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia or Texas), you can use them by emailing [email protected], and we won't treat you differently for doing so. We don't knowingly collect information from children under 13 without a parent's consent; see section 8.
Canada
We follow the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and, in Quebec, Law 25. Your information is stored in Australia and handled by companies in the United States, where courts and authorities may be able to access it under their laws. Our privacy contact is reachable at [email protected]. You can complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada at priv.gc.ca.
Singapore
We follow the Personal Data Protection Act 2012. Our data protection officer can be reached at [email protected]. Your information is stored in Australia and handled by the companies in section 5, under contracts that give it a standard of protection comparable to the PDPA. You can complain to the Personal Data Protection Commission at pdpc.gov.sg.
South Africa
We follow the Protection of Personal Information Act 2013 (POPIA). Our information officer can be reached at [email protected]. Your information is stored in Australia and handled by the companies in section 5, under contracts that give it protection substantially similar to POPIA. You can complain to the Information Regulator at inforegulator.org.za.
11. Changes and contact
If we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top. If a change matters, such as using your information in a new way, we'll tell you in the app or by email before it takes effect.
Questions, requests or complaints: [email protected].