Privacy Policy

Effective date: September 4, 2026  ·  Last updated: September 4, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how The Index (“The Index,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, uses, shares, and protects information when you use The Index mobile application (the “App”), a members’ golf application for country clubs, and any related services (together, the “Services”).

1. Summary

The most important things to know:

• The App is available to members of participating country clubs and is intended for adults.
• We collect the information needed to run a golf app: your account and profile, your golf identity and handicap (via the USGA’s GHIN service), your rounds and scores, the social content you create, your device location while you use the live course map, and food & beverage orders you place.
• We share information with other members you interact with, your country club, the USGA/GHIN, and the service providers that run our infrastructure.
• We do not sell your personal information, we do not use it for advertising, we do not share it with third-party advertising networks or data brokers, we do not track you across other companies’ apps or websites, and we do not share your personal data with third-party artificial-intelligence services.
• You can control location sharing and notifications in the App, and you can permanently delete your account and data at any time from Settings → Delete Account.

2. Information we collect

We collect the categories of information below. The parenthetical labels correspond to the data categories Apple displays on the App’s App Store product page (“App Privacy”).

Account and identity (Contact Info; Identifiers)

• Your email address, used to sign you in through a secure email link and, optionally, a password you set.
• Your name and an optional profile photo.
• A unique account identifier we assign to your account.

Golf identity and handicap — GHIN / USGA (Identifiers; Sensitive info)

• Your GHIN number, USGA Handicap Index, home club and course associations, and the gender used to compute your course handicap. We obtain and keep this current through the USGA’s GHIN service, which is associated with your golf membership.

Golf activity (User Content; Usage Data)

• Rounds and scorecards you create or take part in, including hole-by-hole scores and related statistics, and their appearance on club and course leaderboards. Completed scores may be submitted to your GHIN record with the USGA.

Content you create (User Content)

• Social content: posts, comments, mentions, and likes in your club feed; direct and group messages; your followers/following relationships; and any images you upload.
• Short-lived typing indicators in messaging, so people in a conversation can see when someone is composing a reply. These are transient and are cleared when you stop typing or leave the conversation.

Location (Location)

• Precise device location (GPS), used to place you on the live on-course map during a round. When you enable live-location sharing, your location is shared with the viewers you choose and may update in the background while your phone is locked during a round. You control whether location is shared, and with whom, and can turn it off at any time (see Location). We do not use your location for advertising and do not use it to infer characteristics about you. While you are sharing, we also record which members are currently viewing your location, so that we can show you who is watching and stop broadcasting when nobody is; this record is visible to you and is removed when viewing stops.

Food & beverage orders (Purchases; Identifiers)

• Orders you place through the App, including items, special instructions, and order history, and the name and GHIN identifier the club needs to bill the order to your club account at its point of sale. We do not collect or store payment-card numbers in the App; payment is handled by your club.

Device and diagnostic information (Identifiers; Diagnostics; Usage Data)

• Push notification tokens so we can deliver notifications you enable.
• Crash logs and diagnostic data (via Google Firebase Crashlytics), such as device model, operating-system version, and technical error information, to keep the App reliable.
• Basic app-usage information needed to operate features (for example, which club you are viewing). We do not use advertising identifiers (IDFA).

Sign-up attempts (Contact Info; Identifiers)

• When someone tries to sign up for the App, we record the email address and GHIN number supplied and the time of the attempt. We keep this to confirm club membership, to protect against repeated or abusive sign-up attempts, and to help the club resolve access problems. This applies even if the sign-up is not completed — so we may briefly hold this information about someone who never becomes a member. It is deleted once it is no longer needed for these purposes.

Club staff (Identifiers; Other Data)

• If you use the App as a member of club staff (for example, preparing and handing over food & beverage orders), we additionally record your staff role and the times you start and end a shift in the App, so the club can route orders to whoever is on duty and so an order can be attributed to the staff member who handled it. This is work information, is visible to your club, and is used only to operate the ordering service.

3. How we collect it

• Directly from you — when you create an account, set up your profile, create rounds and scores, post content, message other members, or place an order.
• Automatically from your device — location (with your permission), push tokens, and crash/diagnostic data.
• From third parties — your handicap, club, and course information from the USGA’s GHIN service.

4. How we use information

• To provide and operate the App: sign-in, profiles, scoring, handicap and leaderboards, the social feed and messaging, the live on-course map, and food & beverage ordering.
• To show you on the course map to the viewers you choose.
• To keep your handicap current and post completed scores to your GHIN record.
• To send notifications you have enabled (round updates, messages, score updates, gallery updates, and order status).
• To enable your club to verify membership and to fulfill and bill food & beverage orders.
• To maintain security, prevent fraud and abuse, moderate content, diagnose problems, and improve reliability.
• To comply with legal obligations and enforce our terms.

5. Legal bases for processing (EEA/UK users)

If you are in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, we rely on the following legal bases:

• Performance of a contract — to provide the Services you request (account, scoring, ordering).
• Consent — for location sharing and push notifications; you may withdraw consent at any time in the App or your device settings.
• Legitimate interests — to secure, maintain, and improve the Services and prevent abuse, where not overridden by your rights.
• Legal obligation — to comply with applicable law.

6. How we share information

We do not sell your personal information. We do not share it for advertising or cross-context behavioral advertising. We do not share it with data brokers or third-party advertising networks. We do not share your personal data with third-party artificial-intelligence services. Our service providers are permitted to use your information only to perform services for us and must protect it consistent with this policy.

7. Third-party services

We use the following service providers to operate the App. Each processes data on our behalf and maintains its own privacy practices:

• Google Firebase (Google LLC) — authentication, database, file storage, cloud functions, push messaging (Firebase Cloud Messaging), and crash reporting (Crashlytics). See Google’s Firebase Privacy and Security and Google Privacy Policy.
• USGA / GHIN — golf handicap and club/course data, and score posting. See the USGA Privacy Policy.
• Map imagery provider — OpenStreetMap supplies the course-map tiles your device requests. See the OpenStreetMap Foundation Privacy Policy.
• Apple — delivers push notifications via the Apple Push Notification service and operates the App Store. See the Apple Privacy Policy.

8. Tracking and advertising

We do not track you as defined by Apple’s App Tracking Transparency framework: we do not link data collected in the App with data from other companies’ apps or websites for advertising, and we do not share your data with data brokers. Because we do not track you, the App does not ask for App Tracking Transparency permission and does not access the device advertising identifier (IDFA). The App contains no third-party advertising.

9. Location

The App requests location permission only to place you on the live on-course map. With your permission, and only when you enable live-location sharing, your location is shared with the viewers you choose and may update in the background during a round so playing partners and club members can see you on the map while your phone is locked. You can:

• choose whether to share your live location, and with whom, in the App’s settings;
• turn live-location sharing off at any time in the App; and
• revoke the App’s location permission entirely in your device settings.

Precise location is treated as sensitive information; we use it solely to provide the live-map feature and never to infer characteristics about you or for advertising.

10. Push notifications

With your permission, we send push notifications for activity such as round updates, new messages, score updates, new followers, and order status. You can turn each notification type on or off in the App’s settings, or disable notifications entirely in your device settings.

11. Data retention and deletion

We keep your information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the Services. When you delete your account in the App (Settings → Delete Account), we permanently delete your account and personal data, including your profile, photos, messages, location data, notification tokens, and leaderboard entries.

Where a shared record must survive for other people (for example, a completed round or scorecard that other players took part in, or a past food & beverage order), your personal details are removed and the record is anonymized (shown as “Former Member”) rather than retained. Account deletion is permanent and cannot be undone. We may retain limited information where required by law or to resolve disputes and enforce our agreements.

12. Your choices and rights

Controls available in the App

• Location: turn live-location sharing on or off and choose who can see you.
• Notifications: turn each notification type on or off.
• Your content: edit or remove content you have posted.
• Account deletion: permanently delete your account and data at any time.

Rights depending on your location

Depending on where you live (for example, the EEA, the United Kingdom, or a U.S. state with a privacy law), you may have the right to access, correct, delete, port, or restrict the use of your personal information, to object to certain processing, and to withdraw consent. You can exercise many of these rights directly in the App; for others, contact us using the details in Contact us. We will respond as required by applicable law and will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights. EEA/UK users also have the right to lodge a complaint with their local data-protection authority.

13. California privacy rights

This section applies to California residents under the CCPA/CPRA. In the past 12 months we have collected the categories of personal information described in Information we collect, which map to these statutory categories: identifiers (name, email, account and GHIN identifiers, device token); customer-records information (name); characteristics of protected classifications (gender, used to calculate course handicap); commercial information (food & beverage order history); internet/network activity (app usage and diagnostics); geolocation data (precise location); audio/visual information (photos and images you upload); and, as sensitive personal information, precise geolocation.

• We collect this information from the sources in How we collect it and use it for the purposes in How we use information.
• We disclose personal information for business purposes to the recipients listed in How we share information.
• We do not sell personal information and do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. We use sensitive personal information only to provide the Services and do not use it to infer characteristics.
• California residents may request to know, delete, or correct their personal information, and may designate an authorized agent to make a request. To exercise these rights, contact us at support@theindexgolf.com. We will verify your request as required by law.
• We honor opt-out preference signals (such as Global Privacy Control) where required.

14. Security

We use technical and organizational measures designed to protect your information, including encrypted connections, access controls, and server-side security rules. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.

15. Children’s privacy

The App is intended for adult club members and is not directed to children under 13 (or under 16 in the EEA and the United Kingdom). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us information, contact us and we will delete it.

16. International data transfers

We operate in the United States, and your information is processed and stored on infrastructure located in the United States. If you access the App from outside the United States, you understand your information will be transferred to and processed in the United States. Where required, we rely on appropriate safeguards (such as the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses) for international transfers.

17. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the “Last updated” date above and, where appropriate, provide additional notice in the App. Your continued use of the App after an update means you accept the revised policy.

18. Contact us

If you have questions about this policy, or wish to exercise your privacy rights, contact us at support@theindexgolf.com. This address also handles reports of objectionable content or abusive behavior in the App.

The Index
United States