Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

TrailWise ("we," "us," or "our") is committed to protecting the privacy of your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard your data when you use our website www.trailwise.io.

2. Information We Collect

We may collect the following types of personal information:

• Name
• Email Address
• Profile Image
• Location Data — precise GPS coordinates collected while you use the app. This includes foreground location (when the app is open) and background location (while a hike is actively being recorded, even if the app is not in the foreground). Recorded hike tracks (GPS paths, distances, and elevation data) are stored as part of your activity history.

3. How We Use Your Information

We may use your information for the following purposes:

• To provide services (such as login functionality, and profile notifications).
• To enhance the user experience (such as profile customisation).
• To display your current position on the trail map — foreground location is used to show where you are relative to nearby trails.
• To record your hike route — background location is used to continuously capture your GPS track while an active hike is in progress, so that your route, distance, and elevation gain are accurately recorded even if you switch to another app or lock your screen. Location tracking stops as soon as you end the hike.

2a. Location Data — Additional Details

Your location data is used solely to provide in-app functionality as described above. We do not sell, share, or disclose your location data to third parties for advertising or any other purpose. Recorded hike GPS tracks are stored on our servers and associated with your account; they are only visible to you unless you explicitly choose to share them. You can revoke location permission at any time via your device settings — doing so will prevent hike tracking and map positioning features from functioning.

3a. On-Device AI

Some TrailWise features use an artificial-intelligence model that runs on your phone rather than on our servers. This section describes exactly what that means for your data, because it differs from how most apps handle AI.

The model is an optional download. It is not included in the app. If you choose to use these features, the app downloads the model to your device over Wi-Fi, and tells you its size before it starts. If you never download it, these features simply do not appear, and nothing else about TrailWise changes.

Nothing is sent to us to be processed. When you use an on-device AI feature, your question, your hiking history, your location and any photograph involved are read by the model on your own device. They are not transmitted to TrailWise, to Google, or to any other party for that purpose. There is no server call to make, which is also why these features work with no mobile signal.

Photographs you take to report a trail condition are never uploaded. The photo is read on your device to suggest what it shows; the resulting report — the condition type and the coordinate — is what is sent, if you choose to submit it. The photograph itself never leaves your phone and we never receive a copy. This is specific to trail-condition reporting: photos you deliberately attach to a recorded activity are uploaded, as they always have been, and are covered elsewhere in this policy.

Nothing you type, say or photograph is used to train any model. We do not collect prompts or model output for training, we do not sell them, and we do not pass them to the model's authors.

What we do collect. So that we can tell whether these features work, we record anonymous usage events — for example that a model download was started or completed, or that a feature was used. These contain no prompt content, no photographs and no route data, and they are subject to the same analytics consent described in section 4a.

The model is Google's Gemma, used under its open licence. Its licence and those of the other open-source components TrailWise is built on are listed in the app under Settings.

4. Cookies and Tracking

We may use cookies and similar tracking technologies to improve the user experience (such as maintaining a logged in state).

4a. Analytics

We use PostHog to collect anonymised analytics about how you use the website. This helps us understand feature usage, diagnose errors, and improve the product. Before you make a cookie choice, and if you decline, we collect analytics in a cookieless mode that stores nothing on your device and identifies visitors only through a privacy-preserving identifier that is reset daily — this anonymous, aggregated measurement relies on our legitimate interest in understanding and improving the site. If you accept via the cookie banner, we additionally use cookies and local storage to recognise your device across visits. You can accept or decline at any time via the cookie banner, and IP addresses are anonymised before storage. PostHog data is processed in the EU. For more information, see the PostHog Privacy Policy.

5. Data Security

We take reasonable measures to protect your data from unauthorised access or disclosure.

6. User Rights

You have the following rights regarding your data:

• Account deletion: You may permanently delete your account and all associated data at any time. On the mobile app, go to Settings → Delete Account. On the web, go to Account → Delete Account. Deletion is immediate and irreversible.
• Data access and portability: You may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you by contacting us at the address below.
• Correction: You may update your display name, email address, and home region at any time from your account settings.

6a. In-App Purchases and Subscriptions

TrailWise Pro subscriptions purchased through the App Store or Google Play are managed by Apple or Google respectively. You can restore a previous purchase at any time by going to Settings → Restore Purchases in the app. Subscription cancellations and refunds are handled directly by Apple or Google — please visit reportaproblem.apple.com (iOS) or the Google Play support site (Android).

7. Data Retention

We will retain your data for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy.

8. Consent

By using our website, you consent to the terms of this Privacy Policy.

9. Legal Compliance

We comply with relevant data protection laws, including the GDPR.

10. Updates to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time, and any changes will be reflected on this page.

11. Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at contact@trailwise.io.