Legal

Imprint

Information pursuant to § 5 ECG, § 14 UGB and disclosure pursuant to § 25 MedienG.

Business purpose

Operation of the online service FollowScope. Trade licence: services in automatic data processing and information technology.

Authority and membership

Trade authority: Bezirkshauptmannschaft Feldkirch. Member of the Wirtschaftskammer Vorarlberg. Applicable regulations: Austrian Trade Act (Gewerbeordnung), available at www.ris.bka.gv.at.

Dispute resolution

Consumers can contact the Austrian conciliation body for consumer transactions at www.verbraucherschlichtung.at. We are not obliged to take part in such proceedings.

Liability for content

The content of this website has been created with the greatest possible care. However, no guarantee can be given for the accuracy, completeness and timeliness of the content.

Privacy

Protecting your personal data is important to us. We process your data exclusively on the basis of the statutory provisions (GDPR, TKG 2021).

Searches

When you run a search, the entered username and the selected search mode are sent to our server to process the request. Search results are stored temporarily (30 minutes by default) and deleted automatically. Legal basis: performance of the service you request (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR).

Data provider

To answer a search we send the searched username and the internal Instagram ID of that account to our data provider HikerAPI (hikerapi.com). The provider returns publicly visible profile information: the usernames, display names and account status of the most recent followers or followed accounts. No data about you as a visitor (such as your IP address, email or account) is sent to the provider. The provider is located outside the European Economic Area, in a country without an adequacy decision of the European Commission. The transfer is limited to what is necessary to provide the search you request.

Data about searched accounts

Search results contain publicly available information about Instagram accounts of other people. We process this data on the basis of legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) and store it only temporarily for the duration stated above. If you are the holder of an account and do not want it to appear in our results, or you want to object to the processing, write to hello@simongrimm.at. We will exclude the account.

Cookies

We set a strictly necessary session cookie that remembers which rows you unlocked and protects the service against abuse. If you log in, an additional authentication cookie keeps you signed in. These cookies do not require consent (§ 165 (3) TKG 2021).

Advertising

For free users we show ads via Google Ad Manager (Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland). Ads are only requested after your consent choice is known, which is collected through a consent management platform certified under the IAB Transparency & Consent Framework. If you decline, only non-personalised or limited ads are shown. You can change your choice at any time via the privacy settings link provided by the consent banner. Data may be transferred to the USA on the basis of the EU–US Data Privacy Framework. Premium users see no ads and no ad scripts are loaded for them.

Account

If you log in, we process your email address to send one-time login links and codes and to manage your subscription. Authentication and account data are stored with Supabase (servers in the EU, Frankfurt). Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR.

Payments

Premium subscriptions are processed by Stripe Payments Europe, Ltd. (1 Grand Canal Street Lower, Dublin 2, Ireland). Stripe receives your payment details, billing address and email to process payments, calculate VAT and issue invoices. We never see or store your card details. We store your Stripe customer ID, subscription status and the time you agreed that the service starts immediately. Invoices are retained as required by tax law (7 years).

Hosting and infrastructure

This website is hosted by Vercel Inc. When you visit it, technically necessary access data (IP address, time, requested page) is processed in server log files. Temporary search and session data is stored with Upstash (Upstash, Inc.) in the EU. IP addresses are used for rate limiting and are kept for at most one minute.

Your rights

You have the right to access, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing, data portability, withdrawal of consent and objection. If you believe that the processing of your data violates data protection law, you can lodge a complaint with the Austrian Data Protection Authority.

Controller: Simon Grimm, Altach, Vorarlberg, Austria · hello@simongrimm.at

Terms of Service

1. Provider and scope

These terms apply to the use of FollowScope, operated by Simon Grimm, Achstraße 47, 6844 Altach, Austria. By using the service you accept these terms.

2. The service

FollowScope shows up to five of the most recent followers or followed accounts of a public Instagram account. Results come from publicly available information and are provided without guarantee of accuracy, completeness or availability. Private accounts cannot be looked up. The service may be offered free of charge, financed by advertising, or as a paid subscription. We may limit the number of searches per day and change, pause or end free features at any time.

3. Premium subscription

Premium removes advertising and unlocks all results of a search immediately. The price is 5.00 € per month. No VAT is charged (small business exemption under § 6 (1) 27 UStG). The contract is concluded when you complete the checkout with our payment provider Stripe. The subscription runs for one month and renews automatically for one further month at a time until you cancel. Payment is charged in advance for each month.

4. Cancellation

You can cancel at any time with effect from the end of the paid month, in your account under "Manage subscription" or by email to hello@simongrimm.at. Premium remains active until the end of the paid period.

5. Fair use

The service is intended for personal use. Automated access, scraping and reselling of results are not permitted. To protect the service, searches are limited per day, currently to 200 searches per Premium account. We may suspend accounts that abuse the service.

6. Acceptable use

You may not use the service to harass, stalk or monitor other people, or for any unlawful purpose. You are responsible for how you use the information.

7. Liability

We are liable without limitation for intent and gross negligence and for personal injury. For slight negligence we are liable only for the breach of essential contractual obligations, limited to the foreseeable damage typical for this type of contract. Mandatory consumer rights remain unaffected.

8. Applicable law

Austrian law applies, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. Consumers additionally keep the protection of the mandatory provisions of the country in which they have their habitual residence.

Right of Withdrawal

Withdrawal instruction

If you are a consumer, you have the right to withdraw from this contract within 14 days without giving any reason. The withdrawal period expires 14 days after the day the contract is concluded.

To exercise the right of withdrawal, you must inform us (Simon Grimm, Achstraße 47, 6844 Altach, Austria, email hello@simongrimm.at) of your decision to withdraw by an unequivocal statement, for example an email. You may use the model withdrawal form below, but it is not obligatory. To meet the deadline it is sufficient to send your notice before the withdrawal period has expired.

Effects of withdrawal

If you withdraw, we reimburse all payments received from you without undue delay and no later than 14 days after we receive your notice, using the same means of payment you used, at no charge to you. If you requested that the service begins during the withdrawal period, you pay us an amount in proportion to the service provided until you informed us of your withdrawal.

Model withdrawal form

Complete and return this form only if you wish to withdraw from the contract.

Disclaimer

No affiliation with Instagram or Meta

FollowScope is an independent service operated by Simon Grimm. It is not affiliated with, endorsed, sponsored, authorized or approved by Instagram, Meta Platforms, Inc. or any of their subsidiaries. FollowScope is not an official Instagram product.

No imitation

FollowScope uses its own name, logo and design. It does not copy the appearance of Instagram, does not present itself as Instagram and never asks for your Instagram username and password. If a page asks for your Instagram login in our name, it is not from us.

Trademarks

Instagram and Meta are trademarks of Meta Platforms, Inc. They are used on this website only to describe what the service does. All other trademarks belong to their respective owners.

Public information only

FollowScope only shows information about public Instagram accounts that any logged-in Instagram user can see in the app: the list of accounts a public profile follows or is followed by, with username, display name and account status. We do not access private accounts, private messages, email addresses, phone numbers or any content that is not publicly visible, and we do not build profiles of people over time.

No guarantee

Results are provided as is, without any guarantee of accuracy, completeness, order or availability. They may be outdated or incomplete. Do not rely on them for important decisions. We are not responsible for content published by third parties on Instagram.

Acceptable use

You may only use FollowScope in compliance with applicable law. Using results to harass, stalk, monitor or pressure another person, for spam, or for any other unlawful purpose is prohibited. Automated access and reselling of results are not permitted. You are solely responsible for how you use the information.

Removal and objection

If you hold an Instagram account and do not want it to be searchable on FollowScope or to appear in results, write to hello@simongrimm.at from an address that lets us verify you, and name the account. We exclude the account without charge and normally within 72 hours.

Reports of legal violations

If you believe that content on this website infringes your rights, please contact us at hello@simongrimm.at before taking legal steps. We will review justified notices without delay and remove the content concerned, so that involving a lawyer at your cost is not necessary.

External links

This website may link to external websites. We have no influence on their content and accept no liability for it. The respective operator is responsible for the content of linked pages.