# Privacy Policy for RoadTrip **Last Updated:** August 22, 2026 RoadTrip is a free app that lets a group of people share their live location with each other on the way to a shared destination. This page explains what data RoadTrip collects, how it's used, and how it's shared, so you can decide whether to use the app. RoadTrip has **no accounts and no login screen**. There's no email, password, or phone number involved anywhere in the app. ## Information We Collect ### Display Name The first time you open RoadTrip, you're asked for a display name — just so the rest of your group can tell you apart on the map. This name is stored only on your device. It's shared with the other members of a journey **only while you're actively part of that journey**, so they can see whose location marker is whose. ### Location Data While you're actively part of a journey (from the moment you create or join one, until you leave or it ends), RoadTrip reads your device's GPS location and shares it with the other members of that same journey so everyone can see each other's position and distance to the destination on a live map. - By default, location is only tracked **while the app is open and in the foreground** — it stops as soon as you background or close the app. - When you start or join a journey, you're asked whether to allow "Always" (background) location access so your position keeps updating for the group even while you're using another app, like Maps for directions. This is optional: if you decline or only grant "While Using the App," RoadTrip falls back to foreground-only tracking with no loss of functionality besides that pause when backgrounded. - Whenever background tracking is active, RoadTrip shows a persistent notification ("Journey in progress") for as long as it's happening, so it's never hidden from you. - Location is **not tracked at all** unless you are actively in a journey, and any background tracking stops the moment you leave or end that journey (which also removes the notification). - Your location is visible only to the other members of the same journey (identified by a private journey code), never published or made visible to anyone else. ### Device Identifier RoadTrip uses Firebase Anonymous Authentication to give your device a random, non-identifying ID. This ID isn't linked to your name, email, or any other personal information — it exists purely so the app's backend can tell which location update came from which device within a journey, and to enforce that you can only ever update your own location, not anyone else's. ### Camera If you scan a QR code to join a journey, RoadTrip briefly uses your camera to read the code. Nothing captured by the camera is stored, saved, or transmitted anywhere — it's used only to decode the QR code on your device in that moment. ### Journey History A list of journeys you've created or joined — destination, any intermediate stops, your role, and timestamps — is stored on your device and also synced to our Firestore database under your anonymous device ID, so your history is preserved even if you reinstall the app. Only you can read or write your own history; it's never visible to other users, sold, or shared with anyone. ## How Journey Data Is Stored and Deleted While a journey is active, its destination and each member's location are stored in a Firestore database (provided by Google Firebase) so they can sync live between everyone's devices. When the journey creator ends the journey, that data is **deleted immediately** — it isn't retained or archived anywhere. If you leave a journey without ending it, your location is removed from that journey, though the journey itself continues to exist for the remaining members until they end it. ## Third-Party Services RoadTrip relies on the following third-party services to function. Each is governed by its own privacy policy, which we encourage you to review: - **Google Firebase** (Authentication and Firestore database) — used to sync journey, location, and journey-history data between your devices and group members. See [Google's Privacy Policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy). - **Google Maps Platform** (Maps SDK and Places API) — used to display the map and power destination search/autocomplete. Search text you type is sent to Google to return matching places. See [Google's Privacy Policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy). - **Google AdMob** (Google Mobile Ads SDK) — used to show ads in the app. Ad display is controlled by a remote setting and may not always be active. To serve ads, AdMob may collect device and advertising identifiers (such as your device's advertising ID) and use them for ad delivery and, where applicable, ad personalization. See [Google's Privacy Policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy) and [How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services](https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites). RoadTrip does not use any analytics or user-tracking SDKs beyond what AdMob itself requires to serve ads, and we do not sell your personal data to anyone. ## Children's Privacy RoadTrip does not knowingly collect information from children under 13. Since the app collects no email, account, or persistent identity beyond a device-local display name, we have no practical way to identify a user's age. Ads, when shown, are not knowingly directed at children. If you're a parent or guardian and believe your child has used the app in a way that concerns you, please contact us using the details below. ## Data Security Location and journey data are transmitted over encrypted connections to Firebase. As with any online service, no method of transmission or storage can be guaranteed 100% secure, but we don't retain journey data any longer than the journey itself is active. ## Changes to This Policy We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Last Updated" date. ## Contact Us If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, contact us at vinod.sigadana.labs@gmail.com.