Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Plan Your Road Trips ("we," "our," or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our road trip planning platform.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide

• Account Information: When you create an account, we collect your name, email address, and profile picture (if provided through social login).
• Trip Data: Destinations you add, routes you plan, notes you create, and any other content you add to your trips.
• Social Interactions: Friend connections, group memberships, and any posts or comments you make in community groups.
• Communications: Messages you send to us for support or feedback.

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

• Usage Data: Pages visited, features used, and actions taken within the Service.
• Device Information: Browser type, operating system, and device identifiers.
• Location data: On the web we infer only a general location from your IP address. In the mobile app, with your permission, we use your device's precise location to show your position on the trip map and surface nearby places. During an active trip, if you turn on live trip sharing, we use your location in the background to share your position with the travel companions you have invited. Location access is optional, only used while the relevant feature is active, and you can revoke it at any time in your device settings.
• Cookies: Session cookies for authentication and preferences. See Section 6 for more details.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Provide, maintain, and improve the Service
• Create and manage your account
• Save and sync your trip plans across devices
• Enable social features (friends, groups, shared trips)
• Personalize your experience with relevant destination suggestions
• Respond to your inquiries and provide customer support
• Send important service announcements (security alerts, terms updates)
• Analyze usage patterns to improve our platform
• Prevent fraud and ensure security

4. Information Sharing

We do not sell your personal information. We may share information in these circumstances:

4.1 With Your Consent

• Trip plans you explicitly share with friends or groups
• Profile information visible to other users (based on your privacy settings)

4.2 Service Providers

We use third-party services that may process your data:

• Authentication: Google Sign-In, for users who choose to sign in with Google (subject to Google's Privacy Policy)
• Maps & routing: OpenStreetMap for map tiles and OpenRouteService for driving directions. Your map view and route requests are processed to render the map and calculate routes.
• Payments: Stripe processes subscription payments. We never see or store your full card details (subject to Stripe's Privacy Policy)
• Email & notifications: Amazon Web Services (SES) for transactional email, and Expo's push service to deliver mobile notifications to your device.
• Hosting: Amazon Web Services and Neon (PostgreSQL) host the app and store your data, in the United Kingdom / European Union region.

4.3 Legal Requirements

We may disclose information if required by law, legal process, or government request, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of our users or others.

5. Third-Party Content

Our Service displays content from third-party sources:

• Destination images & articles: Sourced from Wikimedia Commons and Wikipedia under their respective licenses. We do not collect data about which images or articles you view.
• Place & location data: Geographic information from the GeoNames database and OpenStreetMap.
• Map tiles: Served by OpenStreetMap.

These third parties may have their own privacy practices. We encourage you to review their privacy policies.

6. Cookies and Tracking

We use cookies and similar technologies for:

• Essential Cookies: Required for authentication and security. These cannot be disabled.
• Preference Cookies: Remember your settings like dark mode preference.
• Analytics: Help us understand how users interact with the Service.

You can control cookies through your browser settings, but disabling essential cookies may prevent you from using certain features.

7. Data Retention

We retain your information as follows:

• Account Data: Retained while your account is active and for a reasonable period after deletion for legal compliance.
• Trip Data: Retained until you delete it or close your account.
• Usage Logs: Automatically deleted after 90 days.

8. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your data, including:

• Encryption of data in transit (HTTPS)
• Secure authentication via OAuth providers
• Regular security assessments
• Access controls limiting employee access to user data

However, no method of transmission over the Internet is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security.

9. Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights:

9.1 All Users

• Access your personal data through your account settings
• Update or correct your information
• Delete your account and associated data
• Export your trip data

9.2 European Users (GDPR)

If you are in the European Economic Area, you additionally have the right to:

• Request a copy of your personal data
• Object to processing based on legitimate interests
• Request restriction of processing
• Data portability
• Lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority

9.3 California Users (CCPA)

California residents have the right to:

• Know what personal information we collect
• Request deletion of personal information
• Opt-out of the sale of personal information (we do not sell your data)
• Non-discrimination for exercising your rights

10. Children's Privacy

The Service is not intended for children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe we have collected information from a child, please contact us immediately.

11. International Transfers

Your information may be transferred to and processed in countries other than your own. We ensure appropriate safeguards are in place for such transfers in compliance with applicable law.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes by posting a notice on the Service or sending an email. Your continued use after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

13. Contact Us

For questions about this Privacy Policy or to exercise your rights, please contact us:

Email: [email protected]
Website: planyourroadtrips.com

For data protection inquiries in the EU, you may also contact our Data Protection representative.