NearStop Privacy Policy
Effective date: 10 October 2026
NearStop is a destination wake-up alarm. It watches how close you are to the stop you chose and wakes you before you arrive. This policy explains what data the app uses, why, and who it is shared with. In short: your location stays on your device and is used only to run your alarm. We do not sell your data, show ads or build profiles.
1. Location
- What: precise and approximate device location (GPS, Wi-Fi and cell).
- When: only while a trip alarm is armed. NearStop then runs a foreground service with a persistent notification, so you can always see that tracking is on. NearStop does not request "Allow all the time" background location on Android.
- Why: to measure your distance to the destination and ring the alarm on time.
- Storage: processed on your device. Your current destination and alarm state are kept in encrypted local storage so an armed alarm survives an app restart. NearStop does not keep a history of your positions or send it to our servers.
2. Destination search and maps (third-party services)
When you search for a stop, tap a place on the live map, or drop the pin on a spot, your search text or the coordinate of that place is sent to the map provider that performs the lookup. If you share a place from the Google Maps app to NearStop, the shared Google Maps link is opened with Google to read its location. These providers receive the request directly from your device under their own privacy policies:
| Provider | Data sent | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| A Google Maps link you share to NearStop | Reading the location in that link (only when you share one) | |
| Photon by komoot (OpenStreetMap) | Search text, coordinates | Place search and address lookup |
| Open-Meteo Geocoding | Search text | Place-name search |
| OpenFreeMap (map tiles) | Map tile coordinates and zoom level | Live map display on Home and the destination picker |
| Esri ArcGIS map tiles | Map tile coordinates and zoom level | Satellite view on the alarm preview map (only when you switch to it) |
3. Crash and diagnostic reports
If the app crashes or hits a serious error, a diagnostic report (stack trace, device model, OS version and app version) is sent to our crash-reporting provider, Sentry, so we can fix reliability problems. Reports exclude your location, and we strip API keys and URLs before sending.
3a. Motion sensors
On metro and rail trips, NearStop reads the phone's accelerometer during the trip to notice when the train stops at a station, so it can count stations in tunnels where GPS does not work. This motion data is processed only on your device, in real time. It is never stored or sent anywhere.
4. Data stored on your device
Favourites, recent destinations, repeat-alarm schedules and settings are stored only on your device. They are excluded from Android cloud backup. Uninstalling the app deletes them.
5. Permissions NearStop requests
- Location (while using the app): to track your trip.
- Notifications: to show the tracking notification and the arrival alarm.
- Alarms & full-screen alerts: so the arrival alarm and the backup timer ring on time and light up your screen.
- Start at boot: to restore scheduled repeat alarms after your phone restarts.
6. Sharing and selling
We do not sell, rent or trade your personal data, and we do not use it for advertising. Data is shared only with the service providers listed above, to provide the feature you are using, or when required by law.
7. Children
NearStop is not directed at children under 13 and does not knowingly collect their personal data.
8. Your choices
You can revoke location or notification permission at any time in Android settings. NearStop cannot track a trip without location. Clearing the app's storage or uninstalling it deletes all locally stored data. To ask about or delete any crash reports linked to your device, email us.
9. Changes
If this policy changes, we will update the effective date above. Material changes will be shown in the app.
10. Contact
Questions or requests: innovixinfinite@gmail.com