At Roudz, we believe in the freedom of the open road, not the surveillance of it. We are committed to protecting your personal data and your right to privacy.
This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard your information when you use our platform. Because our service involves location data and GPS routes, we want to be completely transparent about what we see, what is public, and what happens behind the scenes.
By creating an account and using Roudz, you consent to the data practices described in this policy. If you have any questions, you can always reach us at info@roudz.com.
1. Information We Collect
To provide you with the full Roudz experience, we collect information in three distinct categories:
A. Information You Provide Directly
- Account Data: To create an account, you must provide an email address and a password. You may also optionally provide a display name or profile picture.
- User-Generated Content: When you use the app, we collect the routes you create, GPS coordinates you upload, comments you post, and photos you share.
B. Location & Routing Data
- Route Planning: When you search for a location or plan a route, the geographic coordinates of your start, waypoints, and destination are processed to generate the path.
- On-Demand Location: If you explicitly click the button to center the map on your position and grant your browser permission, we access your device's location services (which may include GPS, Wi-Fi, or IP-based positioning) solely to show your current location on the screen.
C. Technical & Usage Data (Analytics)
- Device Information: We collect basic technical information such as your browser type, operating system, and screen resolution to ensure the app functions correctly on your device.
- Privacy-Friendly Analytics: We use Umami, a privacy-focused analytics tool, to understand how our website is used. Umami does not collect personally identifiable information (PII), does not track you across other websites, and anonymizes your IP address.
2. How We Use Your Data
Under the GDPR, we must have a valid legal basis to process your information. We use your data for the following purposes:
- To Provide the Service (Performance of Contract): We use your email and password to authenticate your account and secure your data. We use your GPS coordinates and search queries to request route calculations from our mapping providers and display the results on your screen.
- To Build the Community (Consent / Legitimate Interest): When you choose to publish a route, upload a photo, or leave a comment, we display this User-Generated Content publicly to other users of the platform.
- To Improve the Platform (Legitimate Interest): We use anonymized analytics to understand which features are popular, catch bugs, and improve the user interface.
A Note on Live Location Tracking: We only request your device's location when you explicitly click the button to center the map. Your coordinates are retrieved strictly at that moment to update your view. We do not continuously track your movements in the background, nor do we record your live travel history to our servers.
3. How We Share Your Data
We are committed to protecting your information. Roudz does not sell your personal data, location history, or driving habits to anyone. To operate the platform and provide our core features, we only share specific data in the following ways:
- With the Roudz Community: When you submit a route to the platform, it undergoes a verification process. Once verified, the route—along with your display name, uploaded photos, and any comments—will become visible to other users on the platform.
- With Service Providers: To calculate driving directions, render maps, and process address searches, we must send geographic coordinates to our third-party mapping APIs (such as OpenRouteService). These providers process the coordinates to return the necessary map data, but they do not link this geographic request back to your personal identity or email address.
- For Legal Compliance: We may disclose your information if we are legally required to do so, such as in response to a valid court order, subpoena, or law enforcement request within our jurisdiction.
4. Cookies & Tracking Technologies
At Roudz, we prioritize your privacy by minimizing the use of tracking technologies. We only use essential cookies that are strictly necessary for the app to function securely.
- Essential Session Cookies: When you log in, we set a secure, encrypted cookie to keep your session active as you navigate the app. This is strictly necessary for authentication and security (e.g., preventing Cross-Site Request Forgery attacks). You cannot opt out of these if you wish to use an account.
- Privacy-First Analytics: We use Umami to analyze website traffic. Umami is entirely open-source, GDPR-compliant by design, and does not use tracking cookies. It anonymizes your IP address and does not track you across other websites or devices.
5. Data Storage & Retention
All personal data and user-generated content are securely hosted on servers located within the European Union, ensuring your data remains protected under strict European data privacy standards.
We keep your personal information only for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy.
- Account Information: We retain your email, password hash, and profile data for as long as your account remains active.
- User-Generated Content: Routes and photos you upload are retained indefinitely to serve the community, unless you explicitly delete them or request their removal. As noted in our Terms of Service, if you delete your account, routes you previously submitted to the public database may remain visible, but they will be anonymized and disassociated from your personal identity.
6. Your Privacy Rights (GDPR)
If you are a resident of the European Economic Area (EEA), you have specific data protection rights. Roudz aims to take reasonable steps to allow you to correct, amend, delete, or limit the use of your Personal Data.
Under the GDPR, you have the right to:
- Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
- Rectification: Request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete data.
- Erasure (The Right to be Forgotten): Request the deletion of your account and personal data from our active servers. You can typically do this directly within your account settings.
- Data Portability: Request a copy of your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
- Withdraw Consent: Withdraw your consent at any time where we relied on your consent to process your personal information.
Exercising Your Rights: To exercise any of these rights, or if you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at info@roudz.com. We will respond to your request within 30 days.
7. Children's Privacy
Our Service is intended strictly for users who are 18 years of age or older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we discover that a user under the age of 18 has provided us with personal data, we will take immediate steps to delete their account and associated information from our servers.
8. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or legal requirements. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the effective date at the top of this document.
If we make material changes to how we treat our users' personal data, we will notify you via the email address associated with your account or through a prominent notice within the Roudz application. Your continued use of the Service after any modifications indicates your acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy.