Privacy & Terms
Privacy Policy
Last updated: 23 October 2026
Walls bln GmbH ("Walls", "we", "us") operates the Walls mobile app and the website at walls.link. This Privacy Policy explains what personal data we collect, why we collect it, and the rights you have under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
1. Who is responsible
The controller responsible for your personal data is:
Walls bln GmbH, Friedrichstraße 155, 10117 Berlin, Germany. Registered at Amtsgericht Berlin-Charlottenburg, HRB 261645. VAT ID: DE368253655. Email: hello@walls.link.
2. What this policy covers
This policy applies to the Walls app (iOS and Android) and to walls.link. It does not cover the galleries, exhibitions, festivals or third-party websites you discover through Walls; those are operated by others under their own privacy policies.
3. The data we collect
Account data. Email address, any name or display name you provide, and the authentication data needed to sign you in.
Profile and content you provide. Artist or venue profiles you claim, descriptions, links and images you submit, places you save, and, where you use the voice features, audio recordings and the transcripts generated from them.
Location data. With your permission, your device location to show nearby exhibitions and centre the map. You can turn this off any time; the app still works without it. Where you enable usage analytics, we also derive an approximate city from your location (reverse-geocoded once to a city, region and country, never to exact coordinates) and use it as an analytics signal to understand which cities our users are in.
Usage and analytics data. If you agree to analytics on the consent sheet, we collect interaction data (screens viewed, content opened, searches, shares) and related identifiers through Google Analytics for Firebase to understand and improve the app. If you agree, we also collect crash and diagnostic data through Firebase Crashlytics, to find and fix problems. Nothing from these tools is sent to us until you agree, and nothing is sent if you decline. You can turn it on or off any time under Settings → "Share usage analytics." If you agreed in an earlier version of the app, the app asks you once more, with the current wording, the first time you open it after updating. Older versions of the app collected crash and diagnostic data whether or not you had agreed; updating applies the choice described here. Separately, we process the technical data needed to run the service you ask for, such as signing you in and loading content and maps, as described in section 4.
How you found us. To understand how people discover Walls, for example via a festival or creator link, or the App Store, we record, only if you agree on the consent sheet, a first-party install signal (an app-generated install identifier and the acquisition source). On iOS we also use two of Apple's privacy-preserving attribution mechanisms: Apple AdServices, which tells us whether an install came from an Apple Search Ads campaign and which we query only if you agree, and SKAdNetwork, through which Apple sends a delayed, non-personal install postback directly to the ad network that ran the ad, so it can count installs per campaign. Apple sends that postback whether or not you agree; it carries no identifier for you or your device, and the app itself sends that ad network nothing. This does not track you across other apps or websites.
Communications. If you contact us, we keep your messages and contact details to respond.
Open calls. If you apply to an open call on walls.link (for example PICCOLI), we collect what you enter: your name, email address, website and/or Instagram username, a short bio, your training, the gallery you work with if you name one, your key work (image, title, year, size, medium and starting bid), up to 30 further images with any details you add, and any PDF you upload. We also record which version of our statements you accepted and when. To check that a claim to an existing artist profile comes from that artist, we look at recent posts on the Instagram account you give us and at your website, for your name and the exhibitions on your WALLS profile. When someone starts a claim on a profile, we show the email address or Instagram username we hold for it with most of it hidden, so its owner can recognise where the code will go. We never show it in full.
4. Why we use your data and our legal bases
To provide and maintain the service and your account (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR); to keep the service secure and prevent abuse (Art. 6(1)(f), legitimate interests); to provide usage analytics, crash diagnostics, install-source measurement, location-based content and optional notifications (Art. 6(1)(a), your consent (and, for analytics and similar storage on your device, § 25 TTDSG), which you can withdraw any time in Settings); to run the open calls you apply to: your application, the codes and emails about it, and making it available to the partner who selects the works (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR); to check that a claim to an artist profile is made by that artist, including reading the public posts on the Instagram account you give us and your website, and showing a partly hidden email address or username on the claim page (Art. 6(1)(f), our legitimate interest, and the artist's, in making sure no one else can take over a profile); and to meet legal obligations (Art. 6(1)(c)).
5. Who we share it with
We do not sell your personal data. We share it only with service providers processing data on our behalf under contract, including: Google (Firebase): authentication, database, hosting, analytics and crash reporting; Mapbox: map rendering (where enabled); Apple: maps and privacy-preserving App Store attribution; Apple and Google: app distribution; and our website host and other IT/infrastructure providers. We may also disclose data where required by law or to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.
Open-call partners. For each open call, the partner running the event and the reviewers it appoints see the applications in a WALLS dashboard: your key work and its details, your name, Instagram, website, bio, training and gallery, and the other works and any PDF you uploaded. For PICCOLI the partner is Passage.art UG. We and the partner are jointly responsible for the applications to that call, from collection to selection (Art. 26 GDPR): we inform you, keep the dashboard secure and handle your requests at hello@walls.link; the partner uses applications only to select works for its event and to contact the artists it selects. You can exercise your rights against either of us. If your work is selected, the partner receives your contact details and the image and details of your key work for the catalogue and the event; what you then agree with the partner is between you and the partner. To read public Instagram posts when we check a claim, we use Apify Technologies s.r.o. as our processor.
6. International transfers
Some providers are located outside the EEA, including in the United States. Where data is transferred outside the EEA we rely on appropriate safeguards such as the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses or an adequacy decision.
7. How long we keep it
For as long as your account is active and as long as needed for the purposes above, then deleted or anonymised, unless a longer retention period is required by law. You can ask us to delete your account at any time.
Open calls. Works you upload stay in your WALLS account: you can edit or remove them at any time, we don't remove them automatically, and they are deleted when you remove them or delete your account. Printed catalogues and posts about an event that have already gone out can't be recalled. Your application itself (the form and the partner's decision) is deleted six months after the event ends; anything that is also on your profile, such as your bio and works, follows your account. The partner's access to applications ends on the date shown on the open call page. What we found when checking a claim (links to posts, the words that matched, the result) is deleted 30 days after the claim is decided; we keep only whether it was verified or declined, and when.
8. Your rights
Access, rectification, erasure, restriction, objection (to processing based on legitimate interests), and data portability. Where we rely on consent you can withdraw it at any time. To exercise any of these, email hello@walls.link. You may also complain to a supervisory authority; ours is the Berlin Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information.
9. Cookies and similar technologies
The Walls app does not use advertising cookies. On walls.link we use three kinds of cookies and similar technologies. Strictly necessary cookies keep the site working (for example, remembering your cookie choice) and are always active. Analytics (Google Analytics 4) and marketing (the Meta Pixel, which measures whether our advertising brings visitors to the site) run only if you opt in through the cookie banner; nothing non-essential runs until you accept, and you can change or withdraw your choice at any time via "cookie settings" at the bottom of the walls.link homepage. Full details are in the walls.link privacy policy, section 9.
10. Children
Walls is not directed to children under 16 and we do not knowingly collect their data. Contact us if you believe a child has provided personal data and we will delete it.
11. Security
Appropriate technical and organisational measures protect your data. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we work to protect your information and review our measures regularly.
12. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy and will post the updated version here with a revised "last updated" date; significant changes communicated as appropriate.
13. Data obtained from public sources (Art. 14 GDPR)
This section applies to artists and curators credited on exhibitions listed on Walls, and to members of professional associations whose public member directories we use. We did not receive this data from you directly. Where we hold no contact details for you, this section is the information required under Art. 14 GDPR.
Data we hold. Name; the exhibitions you are credited on; the cities where you exhibit and, where you state it yourself, the city where you are based; mediums; your professional website and social-media account, where we could confirm they are yours; awards and education, as published; membership of professional associations; a short factual description compiled from the above. For some artists, gender as recorded in public reference sources, used internally only and never displayed. For some curators, the city of origin where you state it yourself. For association members, where the directory publishes it, an email address, used only to inform you about this processing.
Sources. Gallery, venue and exhibition websites; your own website; public press and publications; public directories of professional associations; public reference sources.
Purposes and legal basis. To list exhibitions together with the people credited on them, to let you claim and control your listing, and to verify claims. Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest is providing an accurate guide to exhibitions and the people who make them.
Recipients. IT service providers (hosting, database, CRM, text processing) acting on our instructions. Some are located in the United States; transfers rely on the EU–US Data Privacy Framework or on standard contractual clauses. We do not sell data or use it for advertising.
Retention. For as long as we list an exhibition crediting you, reviewed two years after the most recent one. Data we cannot confirm relates to you is deleted within 30 days. Association-directory entries not matched to a Walls account are deleted after 12 months.
Right to object. You may object to this processing at any time on grounds relating to your particular situation (Art. 21 GDPR), using "Control or change listing" on your profile or by writing to hello@walls.link. We then remove your listing and keep only a minimal record to avoid adding you again.
Your other rights. Access, rectification, erasure and restriction (Arts. 15–18 GDPR), and the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, such as the Berliner Beauftragte für Datenschutz und Informationsfreiheit. To protect you, we confirm requests through the Instagram account or website email address associated with your listing. No automated decisions are made about you.
Daten aus öffentlich zugänglichen Quellen (Art. 14 DSGVO)
Dieser Abschnitt gilt für Künstlerinnen, Künstler, Kuratorinnen und Kuratoren, die bei auf Walls gelisteten Ausstellungen genannt werden, sowie für Mitglieder von Berufsverbänden, deren öffentliche Mitgliederverzeichnisse wir nutzen. Diese Daten haben wir nicht direkt von Ihnen erhalten. Soweit uns keine Kontaktdaten von Ihnen vorliegen, erfüllt dieser Abschnitt die Informationspflicht nach Art. 14 DSGVO.
Welche Daten. Name; die Ausstellungen, bei denen Sie genannt werden; die Städte, in denen Sie ausstellen, und, sofern Sie dies selbst angeben, Ihr Arbeits- oder Wohnort; Medien; Ihre berufliche Website und Ihr Social-Media-Konto, sofern wir bestätigen konnten, dass sie zu Ihnen gehören; Auszeichnungen und Ausbildung, wie veröffentlicht; Mitgliedschaften in Berufsverbänden; eine kurze sachliche Beschreibung auf dieser Grundlage. Bei einigen Künstlerinnen und Künstlern das Geschlecht laut öffentlichen Referenzquellen, nur intern verwendet und nie angezeigt. Bei einigen Kuratorinnen und Kuratoren die Herkunftsstadt, sofern Sie diese selbst angeben. Bei Verbandsmitgliedern, sofern das Verzeichnis sie veröffentlicht, eine E-Mail-Adresse, die wir nur nutzen, um Sie über diese Verarbeitung zu informieren.
Quellen. Websites von Galerien, Ausstellungsorten und Ausstellungen; Ihre eigene Website; öffentliche Presse und Publikationen; öffentliche Verzeichnisse von Berufsverbänden; öffentliche Referenzquellen.
Zwecke und Rechtsgrundlage. Ausstellungen mit den daran beteiligten Personen aufzuführen, Ihnen die Übernahme und Kontrolle Ihres Eintrags zu ermöglichen und Übernahmen zu prüfen. Rechtsgrundlage: Art. 6 Abs. 1 lit. f DSGVO. Unser berechtigtes Interesse ist ein zutreffender Überblick über Ausstellungen und die Menschen, die sie machen.
Empfänger. IT-Dienstleister (Hosting, Datenbank, CRM, Textverarbeitung), die in unserem Auftrag handeln. Einige haben ihren Sitz in den USA; Übermittlungen stützen sich auf das EU-US Data Privacy Framework oder auf Standardvertragsklauseln. Wir verkaufen keine Daten und nutzen sie nicht für Werbung.
Speicherdauer. Solange wir eine Ausstellung listen, bei der Sie genannt werden; Überprüfung zwei Jahre nach der jüngsten. Daten, die wir Ihnen nicht sicher zuordnen können, löschen wir innerhalb von 30 Tagen. Verbandseinträge, die keinem Walls-Konto zugeordnet sind, löschen wir nach 12 Monaten.
Widerspruchsrecht. Sie können dieser Verarbeitung aus Gründen, die sich aus Ihrer besonderen Situation ergeben, jederzeit widersprechen (Art. 21 DSGVO), über „Eintrag verwalten oder ändern“ in Ihrem Profil oder per E-Mail an hello@walls.link. Wir entfernen dann Ihren Eintrag und speichern nur einen minimalen Vermerk, damit Sie nicht erneut aufgenommen werden.
Ihre weiteren Rechte. Auskunft, Berichtigung, Löschung und Einschränkung (Art. 15–18 DSGVO) sowie Beschwerde bei einer Aufsichtsbehörde, etwa der Berliner Beauftragten für Datenschutz und Informationsfreiheit. Zu Ihrem Schutz bestätigen wir Anfragen über das Instagram-Konto oder die Website-E-Mail-Adresse, die mit Ihrem Eintrag verknüpft ist. Es finden keine automatisierten Entscheidungen über Sie statt.
14. Contact
hello@walls.link, or Walls bln GmbH, Friedrichstraße 155, 10117 Berlin, Germany.
Terms of Service
Last updated: 23 October 2026
These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of the Walls mobile app and walls.link, provided by Walls bln GmbH ("Walls", "we", "us"). By downloading, accessing or using Walls, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the service.
1. Who we are
Walls bln GmbH, Friedrichstraße 155, 10117 Berlin, Germany. Registered at Amtsgericht Berlin-Charlottenburg, HRB 261645. Contact: hello@walls.link.
2. The service
Walls helps you discover art galleries, exhibitions, openings and festivals on a map. Listings come from galleries, festivals, artists and other third-party sources and may not always be complete, current or accurate. We provide this "as is"; confirm details (dates, hours, admission) with the venue before relying on them.
3. Eligibility
You must be at least 16 years old to use Walls.
4. Your account
You are responsible for keeping your credentials secure and for activity under your account. Provide accurate information; tell us at hello@walls.link if you suspect unauthorised use.
5. Content and claims you submit
You may create a profile, claim an artist or venue listing, save places, and submit text, links, images or audio ("Your Content"). You keep your rights in Your Content and grant Walls a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to host, store, reproduce and display it to operate and promote the service. You confirm you have the rights to submit it and that it infringes no one's rights or any law; when you claim an artist or venue you confirm you are authorised to represent it. We may review, remove or refuse content and suspend claims or accounts where we reasonably believe these Terms or the law have been breached.
5a. Open calls
- Open calls. Partners use WALLS to run open calls for their events. Each call's page shows the partner, the event, the dates and the rules for works (for example size and medium). Those details form part of these terms for that call.
- Who can apply. You must be 18 or over. You apply as yourself, with your own work.
- Your works. You confirm that you made the works you upload, or that whoever holds the rights in them (including the photographer of an image) has allowed you to upload them and to grant the rights below. If a collecting society such as VG Bild-Kunst manages rights in your works, you are responsible for any permission it requires; tell us at hello@walls.link and we will keep the works off your public profile until it is settled. If this turns out not to be true and you are at fault, you cover the reasonable costs WALLS incurs as a result.
- Selection. The partner and its reviewers decide which works are selected. They review your key work and can see the other works you upload. You have no right to be selected, and no reasons are given.
- Rights you give. Works you upload appear on your WALLS profile once your profile is verified, under section 5. If your key work is selected, you also give WALLS and the partners named on the call page a non-exclusive, royalty-free right to reproduce and show its image, with the credit you give us, in the event's catalogue (print and digital), at the event, in the auction or sale for the event (including in the WALLS app), and in press and social media about the event. Copies made for the event, such as printed catalogues and posts, may stay after it. You keep your copyright.
- After selection. Delivering, showing and selling a selected work is agreed between you and the partner.
- Changing or withdrawing. You can change your application until the call closes, except your key work once review has started, and you can withdraw it at any time.
- Your data. How we and the partner handle your application is set out in our privacy policy.
6. Acceptable use
No unlawful or fraudulent use; no infringement of IP or privacy rights; no harmful, offensive or misleading content; no scraping or bulk extraction; no interference with or unauthorised access to the service; no misrepresentation of identity or authority.
7. Intellectual property
The Walls app, website, branding and software are owned by Walls bln GmbH. Gallery, exhibition, artwork and artist materials belong to their respective owners and are shown for discovery and information. Nothing transfers ownership to you.
8. Third-party content and links
We display and link to third parties (galleries, festivals, artists, maps and other services). We do not control and are not responsible for third-party content, and inclusion is not endorsement.
9. Automatic translations
Gallery, exhibition and event descriptions may be shown in your device's language using on-device automatic translation powered by Google Translate (Google ML Kit). Translated text is marked with the "translated by Google" badge, and the original is always one tap away. Learn more about the technology at cloud.google.com/translate.
THIS SERVICE MAY CONTAIN TRANSLATIONS POWERED BY GOOGLE. GOOGLE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES RELATED TO THE TRANSLATIONS, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTIES OF ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, AND ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT.
10. Disclaimers
Walls is provided "as is" and "as available". To the extent permitted by law we do not warrant it will be uninterrupted or error-free, or that listings are accurate. This does not exclude any warranty or right that cannot be excluded under applicable law.
11. Liability
We are liable without limitation for intent and gross negligence, for injury to life, body or health, and where mandatory law (e.g. the German Product Liability Act) provides. For slight negligence we are liable only for breach of an essential contractual obligation, and only for foreseeable, contract-typical damage. All other liability is excluded. Your mandatory statutory consumer rights are unaffected.
12. Suspension and termination
You may stop using Walls and delete your account any time. We may suspend or end access for breach or where reasonably necessary to protect the service or other users. Provisions that should survive termination will.
13. Changes
We may update these Terms or the service and will post updates here with a revised date. Continued use after changes take effect means acceptance.
14. Governing law
Governed by the laws of Germany, excluding conflict-of-law rules and the CISG. Consumers keep the protection of mandatory provisions of their country of residence; mandatory EU consumer protections are unaffected.
15. Contact
Walls bln GmbH, Friedrichstraße 155, 10117 Berlin, Germany, hello@walls.link.