Overview: Your Privacy and Our Principles

No Personal Data Collection: We do not require you to create an account or provide personal details to use Trac. We do not collect any personally identifiable information (such as name, email, phone number) from users of the App. In short, we do not gather personal data, so we have no personal data to sell or share with third parties.

No Ads or Profiling: The Trac App does not contain third-party advertising and does not engage in any data mining or behavioral tracking of users.
We do not build profiles on you – our goal is solely to provide real-time shuttle information.

Location Data for Service: The only data that Trac accesses from you is your device’s location, and only if you grant permission. This allows us to detect your nearest zone and show relevant bus routes, stops, and live bus locations around you. We do not store your location on our servers, and we do not track your movements over time. Your location is used in real time to provide you with service, and once that immediate need is met, the data is not retained. We will not share your current or historical location with other users or partners.

Third-Party Services: We use reputable third-party services (Firebase and Mapbox) to make the App work. They may process certain data (described below), but we ensure that no personally identifying information from you is knowingly sent to or collected by us through these services.

Please read on for more details.

Information We Access and How We Use It

Because Trac is designed to function without user accounts or logins, the categories of data we handle are very limited:

1. Location Data (Geolocation): If you allow the Trac App to access your device’s location, we use this data to determine which transit “zone” you are in and to show you nearby bus routes, stops, and real-time bus locations. Trac does not track or log your location; location data is queried only when you are actively using location-dependent features of the App. We do not store your location history or share it with any third party. Location information never leaves your device.

2. Non-Personal Usage Data: We may collect certain non-personal, technical information automatically to help us improve the App’s performance. This can include data such as the type of mobile device, operating system version, App version, and anonymous usage statistics (e.g., which features are used most). Importantly, none of this data identifies you as an individual. If you do not provide personal information (and in Trac you will not), we make no attempt to identify you, and any usage tracking is done in aggregate only to improve the app. For example, we might track the number of times a particular bus route is viewed in the app, but not who viewed it.

3. Crash and Error Logs: To ensure the App’s reliability, we may use Firebase Crashlytics or a similar tool to collect anonymous crash reports or error logs if the app fails or encounters an error. These reports help us diagnose and fix issues. The information collected may include device type, OS version, and technical details about the error and app state leading to the crash. No personal data is included in these crash reports, but they may include technical identifiers (like a random device or installation ID) and device data at the time of the crash. This information is used strictly for debugging and improving the stability of the App.

4. Contact or Feedback Information: The App may offer ways for you to contact administrators or provide feedback (for example, via a “Contact Us” link or support email). If you choose to contact us and provide personal contact information (such as your email address or phone number) or any other details in a message, we will receive whatever information you voluntarily provide. We will use that information only to respond to your inquiry or address your feedback. We will not use it for any other purpose without your consent, and we do not add it to any marketing lists. If your question is better handled by a partner (for example, if it’s about a specific transit service), we might forward your inquiry to that transit agency to get you an answer. We will not share your contact information with any unrelated third parties, and we do not use info from support inquiries to profile you.

5. Donation Transactions: Trac may include optional links or options for you to donate to support the App or our company (for instance, linking to a website like PayPal or another payment service). These donation features are entirely optional and are not required to use the App. If you choose to donate, you will likely be directed to a third-party payment processor or website. Trac itself does not collect or process your payment information. Any information you provide in the course of making a donation (such as payment details or your name for a receipt) is handled directly by the third-party payment service, not by Trac. Be sure to review the privacy policy of the relevant payment service before donating, as any personal data you provide during a donation will be subject to that third party’s terms. Firebase Terms, Firebase Privacy, Crashlytics Terms, Mapbox Terms, Mapbox Privacy.

How We Share Information

We do not sell or rent your personal data to any third party. In fact, as noted, we do not collect personal data at all. The information that is handled by the App is used solely to provide you with the service you expect. The only circumstances in which data may be shared are the following:

With Service Providers: We utilize third-party service providers strictly to support the App’s functionality. This includes Mapbox for maps and location-based services and Google Firebase for backend services like data hosting and crash reporting. These providers may receive certain data automatically through their integration in our App. We ensure that no identifying personal details (like your name or any unique account ID) are sent to these providers, since we do not collect such information in the first place. However, Mapbox may collect location data, device identifiers, and app usage data for analytics and to improve their maps service. Similarly, Firebase Crashlytics (if used) may collect crash-related data and a device identifier as described above. These third-party services are bound by their own privacy policies, and we encourage you to review Mapbox’s and Google’s privacy notices (listed below) for more details on their data practices. We only integrate services that we trust and that have a commitment to user privacy.

Legal Compliance: We may disclose information if required by law or a legal process, or if we have a good faith belief that such disclosure is necessary to comply with legal obligations (for example, responding to a subpoena or lawful request by public authorities). However, since we retain very minimal data about users, it’s unlikely we would have much (if any) information to provide in such a case. If we ever are compelled to disclose any user data, we will attempt to do so unless legally prohibited from doing that.

Protection of Rights and Safety: If necessary, we may share data to enforce our Terms of Service, to investigate/prevent unlawful activities, or to protect the rights, property, and safety of Trac, our users, or others. This might include exchanging information with security consultants or law enforcement in the event of detecting fraud, security vulnerabilities, or threats. Again, because of the App’s limited data collection, this scenario is largely hypothetical.

Other than the above scenarios, we do not share your information with third parties. There are no advertising networks, analytics companies (aside from basic Firebase analytics if enabled), or social media platforms collecting data through Trac. Your data is your data, and we design our systems to prevent any personal data usage.

Third-Party Services and Links

As noted, Trac relies on third-party services like Firebase and Mapbox to operate. Your use of the App is also subject to these third parties’ privacy policies (listed above). Key third-party services in Trac include:

Mapbox: Mapbox provides the mapping and location visualization in our App. When you use Trac’s map features, Mapbox may automatically collect certain information such as your device’s location coordinates (when the app requests map tiles or routing) and device identifiers. This information is used by Mapbox to provide its services (for example, to return map images and to perform location-based queries) and to improve its products. Mapbox may also collect analytics on how their maps are used. For more details, you can review the Mapbox Privacy Policy. Trac does not send Mapbox any data that it wouldn’t ordinarily collect by itself; we simply call Mapbox’s services to get map data for you.

Firebase (Google): We use Google Firebase for various backend functions, such as cloud database, real time database, and possibly crash reporting or analytics. Firebase may collect non-personal device information (such as device model, OS, app version), and in the case of a crash, some debug information as described earlier. Google’s privacy policy will apply to information processed by Firebase. We configure Firebase services to the most privacy-friendly settings available (for example, we may disable Google Analytics or any user tracking that isn’t necessary). No contact information or user content is sent to Firebase from our App, since we don’t have any. Google may process data on servers around the world, including outside of Canada (only if necessary otherwise in Canada), but any such processing is on our behalf to run the App’s backend.

External Websites: If the App provides links to external websites (for example, a transit agency’s site for more information, or a third-party donations page), this Privacy Policy does not cover those external sites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of other sites or applications. If you visit an external link, the personal data you provide there (if any) is governed by that site’s privacy policy. We encourage you to read the privacy statements of any website or service you visit via links from Trac.

Data Security

Trac takes your data security seriously, especially given that we hold no personal data. We implement reasonable security measures to protect the information processed by the App. The limited data that is stored in our systems (such as crash logs or aggregate usage stats) is protected in accordance with industry best practices. We restrict access to any such data to authorized personnel who need it to operate or improve the App, and we ensure that our staff and contractors are aware of their privacy obligations. However, it’s important to note that no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security. By using the App, you understand that there is always some risk in transmitting data electronically. We have minimized this risk by keeping user data collection to an absolute minimum. In the unlikely event of a data breach involving any personal information, we will follow all applicable laws regarding notification to users and authorities.

Data Retention

Because we do not collect personal profiles or account data, we do not maintain user data repositories that need long-term retention. Location data is not stored on our servers at all. Crash logs or diagnostic information, if collected, may be retained by us or our processor (Google Firebase) for a period necessary to analyze and fix issues – typically such crash data is retained for a few months by Firebase by default. Aggregate usage data (which contains no personal identifiers) may be retained indefinitely to help us observe long-term trends in app usage, but this data cannot be traced back to individual users. If you contact us via email or support, we may retain that correspondence (including the contact info you provided) for as long as needed to address your issue and maintain records of our communication. We typically will not retain such emails longer than necessary, but some correspondence might be kept for our records (for example, feature suggestions or bug reports may be kept until they are resolved and possibly archived). If you would like us to delete an email conversation or any contact info you provided, just let us know and we will honor such requests. In summary, we strive to keep as little data as possible, and what data we do handle is either ephemeral or stored only for as long as it serves an operational purpose.

Your Choices and Controls

We believe in user privacy and control. Since we collect very minimal data, the primary controls you have relate to the optional data uses in the App:

Location Services: You have control over whether the Trac App can access your device’s location. This permission is asked when you open the App. You can choose not to allow location access; however, if the App is open for the first time, the App will not function, as it fails to select your zone, otherwise, location is not required at later times. If you initially grant location permission but later change your mind, you can always revoke the App’s location access in your device settings. Refer to your smartphone’s instructions on how to disable location permissions for specific apps. If you disable location access, Trac will no longer receive any GPS data from your device after that point.

Opt-Out of Crash Reporting/Analytics: If we use Firebase Crashlytics or basic analytics, these services generally do not collect identifiable data. However, if you are uncomfortable with any diagnostic data being collected, you have the option to opt out by not using the App or by contacting us to see if there’s an alternative opt-out method.

Do Not Track: Because we don’t track users across third-party services and do not serve ads, the App does not respond to “Do Not Track” signals in a special way – we already don’t profile or track you. If the app ever incorporates a webview or external content that could track, we will update this policy accordingly.

Uninstalling the App: The simplest way to stop all Trac services is to uninstall the App. If you no longer wish to use Trac or you object to any data practices, you can remove the App from your device at any time. Upon uninstallation, the App will delete the App storage or any information it may have collected.

Access and Deletion: Given that we do not hold personal accounts or extensive data on users, there is typically nothing for you to request access to or deletion of in our systems. However, if you have ever communicated with us and you want to review or delete any personal information you shared (such as an email correspondence), you have the right to contact us and make that request. We will assist you in retrieving, correcting, or deleting your personal information that we might have (though, again, in general we will have little to none). For example, if you emailed us and want that email deleted from our records, we will comply. We treat all such requests in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

Consent Withdrawal: Because we do not process your data based on consent (except for the location permission, which you can withdraw by turning off location), there isn’t a typical need to withdraw consent. If in the future we introduce any feature that relies on your consent, you will be free to withdraw it.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. If we make any significant changes, we will notify you by updating the “Last Updated” date at the top of this policy and, if appropriate, provide a more prominent notice (such as a notification within the App). We encourage you to review this Policy periodically to stay informed about how we are protecting your information. Any changes will be effective when posted to this page. If we make material changes to how we handle personal data, we will take reasonable steps to let you know in advance. Your continued use of the Trac App after any changes or revisions to this Privacy Policy signifies your agreement to the updated terms.

Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or the data practices of the Trac App, please contact us by email at tracinc.ca.
We will do our best to respond promptly to your inquiries. Your privacy is important to us, and we welcome your feedback. If you believe we have not adhered to this Privacy Policy or you have any other issue with how we handle privacy, please let us know, and we will work to resolve the matter. Thank you for using Trac. We hope our App makes your shuttle bus commutes easier while respecting your privacy and rights. Enjoy your journey!