WayNear Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how the WayNear mobile application accesses, uses, transmits, and retains user and device data. WayNear is a place-search utility that helps users find nearby places by walking time.

1. Location data

Location access is optional. If you choose Current location, WayNear may access the foreground approximate or precise location made available by Android. The app sends the selected location over HTTPS to WayNear's search service so it can find nearby places and walking routes. You can instead use Type a location or Choose on map without granting current-location access.

For the current place-search flow, the selected location is processed by WayNear's Supabase-hosted backend and Google Maps Platform / Places services. The app also uses the Google Maps Android SDK when you explicitly choose a starting point on the map. WayNear's application database is designed not to persist the user's raw search-origin latitude or longitude. Infrastructure and service providers may process or retain technical request information under their own terms and privacy policies.

WayNear may also use the device/platform geocoding service to display a human-readable description of the current location.

2. Custom place or address searches

If you choose Type a location, the text you enter and a location bias may be sent through WayNear's search service to TomTom services to return location suggestions and resolve the location you select. WayNear does not intentionally persist the typed address query in its application database.

3. Anonymous device and installation identifiers

WayNear does not require a user account. To prevent the five free searches from resetting after a normal uninstall/reinstall, the Android app derives a one-way cryptographic hash from Android's app-scoped device identifier and sends only that hash to WayNear's search service for free-search quota enforcement and abuse prevention. WayNear does not use this identifier for advertising or cross-app tracking.

WayNear also creates a separate random identifier for the app installation for billing/session and operational purposes. Billing-related requests may send this random installation identifier to WayNear's billing service. Neither identifier requires a WayNear name, email address, password, or user profile.

4. Search preferences and operational telemetry

WayNear sends search inputs such as place category, walking-time limit, open-now preference, and minimum time until closing to the search service. To operate the service, enforce API-cost limits, prevent duplicate provider calls, and diagnose failures, WayNear may retain limited operational records such as:

• random request identifiers;
• search category and filter settings;
• result count and completion status;
• provider call counts and estimated provider cost; and
• application/backend build identifiers and timestamps.

These operational records are not designed to identify a person and are not intended to contain the user's coordinates, typed address, or place names.

5. Purchases and subscriptions

If you buy or restore a WayNear subscription or in-app search pack through Google Play, Google Play handles the payment transaction and payment credentials. WayNear does not receive your card number or bank-account credentials. The app receives Google Play purchase/entitlement information, including a purchase token, and sends it to WayNear's backend so the purchase can be verified with Google and the purchased search allowance can be provided.

WayNear may retain pseudonymous purchase/entitlement identifiers, product information, subscription status and billing-period information for app functionality, purchase verification, fraud prevention, accounting, support and legal/operational requirements.

6. Service providers

WayNear relies on third-party infrastructure, mapping/search, and payment services to provide core functionality. These currently include Supabase for backend infrastructure, Google Maps Platform / Places for nearby place and walking-route information, TomTom for custom place/address suggestion and resolution, and Google Play for Android purchases and subscriptions.

Google Maps Platform components may also receive technical data such as IP address, device/request metadata, service interaction information, and pseudonymous identifiers as described by Google.

7. How data is used and shared

WayNear uses data only to provide the requested search functionality, maintain service reliability and security, and control provider costs. WayNear does not sell personal data and does not use the app to serve advertising. Data is transmitted to service providers only as needed to provide and operate these functions, subject to their applicable terms.

8. Retention

Search-origin location and custom address input are intended to be processed for the requested operation rather than retained in WayNear's application database. Anonymous device/quota and installation identifiers, limited operational telemetry, and verified purchase/subscription state may be retained for as long as reasonably necessary for app functionality, reliability, abuse prevention, cost control, purchase entitlement, accounting, support, debugging, and applicable legal obligations. Service providers may apply their own retention practices.

9. Security

WayNear uses HTTPS for network communication with its production services. No method of electronic transmission or storage is completely secure, but the service is designed to minimise the amount of personal data retained by WayNear.

10. Your choices

• You may deny location permission and use another place or address instead.
• You can change or revoke WayNear's location permission in Android settings.
• You may clear the app's local data or uninstall the app at any time.

WayNear currently does not require or offer a user account, so there is no WayNear account to delete.

11. Google terms and privacy

WayNear uses Google Maps Platform. Google's processing is subject to the Google Privacy Policy and applicable Google Maps Platform terms. Use of Google Maps features is also subject to the Google Maps/Google Earth Additional Terms of Service.

12. Children

WayNear is a general-purpose place-search utility and is not specifically designed as a child-directed service. The target-audience declaration in Google Play will be maintained consistently with the released app.

13. Changes to this policy

This policy may be updated when WayNear's functionality, providers, or legal requirements change. The effective date above will be updated when material changes are made.

14. Contact

Privacy and support enquiries can be sent to support@waynearapp.com. The same support address is published on the WayNear website and will be maintained consistently with the Google Play listing.