The short version
- You can use the site without creating an account.
- We don’t use advertising or tracking cookies.
- We only store personal details you choose to send us through the contact form.
- We never sell your information.
Who we are
This Privacy Policy explains how WhatsApp Group Links (“we”, “us”, “our”) handles information when you visit WhatsApp Group Links at groupsnest.com (the “Site”). The Site is an independent directory of public WhatsApp group invite links. It is not operated by WhatsApp or Meta.
Information we collect
Information you give us
When you use our contact form, we collect:
- your name and email address, so we can reply;
- the topic you select, any page address you include, and the content of your message.
If you submit a group, the group name and invite link you send may be published on the Site.
Information collected automatically
Like almost every website, our web server automatically records basic technical information when pages are requested, such as your IP address, browser type, the page requested, the referring page and the date and time. These server logs are used to keep the Site secure and working and are not used to build profiles of visitors.
To prevent spam, the contact form stores a one-way, encrypted fingerprint of your IP address with each message. It lets us limit repeated submissions without keeping the address itself.
Cookies
Visitors browsing the Site do not receive tracking, analytics or advertising cookies. The only cookie we set is a strictly necessary session cookie for our own staff when they sign in to manage the Site.
If we add analytics or advertising in the future, we will update this policy first and, where the law requires it, ask for your consent before any non-essential cookies are used.
How we use information
- to reply to your messages and handle reports, submissions and removal requests;
- to keep the directory accurate, for example by fixing links you report;
- to protect the Site against spam, abuse and security threats;
- to comply with legal obligations.
Where data-protection laws such as the GDPR apply, we rely on our legitimate interests in running a useful and secure directory and in responding to people who contact us, or on steps you ask us to take before entering into an agreement.
WhatsApp and other third parties
When you tap “Join”, you leave our Site and open WhatsApp. From that point WhatsApp’s own terms and privacy policy apply, and anyone in the group, including its admins, may see your phone number, name and profile photo depending on your WhatsApp settings. We have no access to your WhatsApp account or the groups you join.
We do not sell, rent or trade personal information. We only share it with service providers who help us run the Site, such as our hosting provider, under confidentiality obligations, or when the law requires us to.
Our free tools
The Scan to Join Poster Maker offers two options. With a smart link, we store the WhatsApp invite link and group name you enter, a count of how often the QR code is scanned, and a one-way fingerprint of your IP address to prevent abuse. This lets the QR code redirect through our site and lets you change the link later from your private manage page. We never record who scans a code. With a direct link, the poster is made entirely in your browser and nothing is sent to us. To draw QR codes, that page loads an open-source code library from cdnjs, a content network run by Cloudflare, which receives the technical details any website request includes (such as your IP address). The Group Matchmaker only uses your choices to show the results page and does not store them.
How long we keep data
- Contact messages: kept only as long as needed to handle your request, then deleted.
- Server logs: kept for a limited period for security purposes, as set by our hosting provider.
- Published group links: kept until the link expires, breaks our rules or its admin asks us to remove it.
How we protect information
We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect information, including restricted admin access, hashed passwords and protection against automated abuse. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we work to protect your information and review our practices regularly.
Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:
- ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you;
- ask us to correct or delete it;
- object to or ask us to restrict how we use it;
- complain to your local data-protection authority.
To make a request, contact us. We will respond within the time the law requires.
Children’s privacy
The Site is not intended for children under 13, or under the minimum age required to use WhatsApp in their country. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The “Last updated” date at the top shows when it last changed. Significant changes will be highlighted on this page.
Contact
For any privacy question or request, please use our contact form.