TrailPilot — Privacy Policy

Last updated: 10 November 2026

TrailPilot ("the app", "we", "us") is a GPS navigation and route-recording app for off-road and desert driving. This policy explains what data the app accesses, why, and how it is handled. By using TrailPilot you agree to this policy.

1. Location data

TrailPilot's core purpose is to show your position on a map, record the routes you drive, and navigate you to destinations. To do this the app accesses your device's precise (GPS) and approximate location.

• Foreground location — used to display your position, record tracks, and provide turn-by-turn navigation while the app is open.
• Background location — used only to continue recording your route when the screen is off or you switch to another app during an active recording or navigation session. A persistent notification is shown whenever background tracking is active.

Your location data and recorded routes are stored locally on your device only (in an on-device database). We do not upload, sell, or share your routes or location history with us or any third party.

2. Data stored on your device

• Recorded routes (coordinates, timestamps, speed, elevation, distance).
• Saved waypoints, favorites, and search history.
• App settings and preferences.

This data never leaves your device unless you explicitly export or share it yourself. Uninstalling the app deletes it.

3. Third-party services

To provide maps, search, and routing, the app sends the minimum necessary requests (such as map tile coordinates or a destination you search for) to:

• Map tiles — OpenFreeMap and Esri (ArcGIS) serve the map imagery.
• Routing — the OSRM routing service calculates driving routes between points you choose.
• Place search — geocoding/search providers resolve the place names you type.

These providers receive only the data needed to fulfil a request (e.g. the area of the map you are viewing, or the text you searched). They do not receive your recorded route history.

4. Crash reporting, usage counts & analytics

Anonymous usage counts (iPhone and Android). To know how many people use TrailPilot, the app adds 1 to a shared daily, weekly and monthly total the first time it is opened in that period, and when you save a recording or start navigation that day. Only the date, the platform (iOS or Android) and the counter name are sent. No location, name, device identifier or advertising identifier is sent, so the counts cannot be linked to you or your phone, and they are not used for tracking or advertising. You can turn this off in Settings → Privacy → "Share anonymous usage counts and freeze reports".

Crash reports. If the app hits an error, it sends a short anonymous report (the error message, app version and operating-system version) so we can fix it.

Freeze reports (iPhone and Android). If the app stops responding for 2 seconds or more, it sends a short anonymous report so we can find what slowed it down: the app version, the phone model and operating-system version, the screen that was open, how long it froze, and the last few lines of the app's diagnostics log with every location removed. No name, device identifier or advertising identifier is sent, and at most 3 reports are sent per app session. The same switch as the usage counts turns them off.

Android only. The Android app also uses Google Firebase Crashlytics and Firebase Analytics, which may collect a device identifier, device model, crash logs and anonymous feature-usage events. This information is processed by Google and is not used to identify you personally. See Google's Privacy Policy. The iPhone app does not include these Firebase tools.

4a. Information you choose to share

• Your name (optional). If you enter a name when you first open the app, it is stored on your device. It is sent only with a trail you choose to submit to the community catalogue, so you can be credited, and, on Android, with your Founder record.
• Trail submissions. When you submit a trail, its GPS track, the details you add and your name are sent to us for review before it may appear in the Discover catalogue.
• Trail notifications (optional). When you submit a trail, the app asks whether it may notify you. If you allow it, your phone's notification address (a push token from Apple or Google) is sent with the submission and is used only to tell you when that trail is published. You can turn notifications off at any time in your phone's settings.
• Trail ratings. When you rate a trail, the app sends the trail, your star rating and an ID for your phone (on iPhone a random ID the app creates; on Android the app-specific device identifier described below), so that rating again replaces your earlier rating. No name or location is sent.
• Founders programme (Android). To count the first 500 early users, the Android app stores an app-specific device identifier and the date you joined.

5. Camera

If you choose to attach a photo to a recording, the app uses your camera only at that moment. Photos are stored locally with the route.

6. Data we do NOT collect

• We do not require an account, and do not collect your email or contacts. Your name is only sent if you enter it and submit a trail (see 4a).
• We do not sell or rent any data.
• We do not share your location history or recorded routes with advertisers.

7. Children

TrailPilot is not directed at children under 13 and does not knowingly collect data from them.

8. Your choices

• You can revoke location or camera permissions at any time in your device's system settings (the app's tracking features will stop working).
• You can turn off anonymous usage counts and freeze reports in Settings → Privacy.
• You can turn off trail notifications in your phone's settings.
• You can delete all local data by clearing the app's storage or uninstalling it.

9. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the app evolves. The "Last updated" date above reflects the latest version.

10. Contact

Questions about this policy: abdur.sheikh@gmail.com