Privacy Policy

Last updated: 2026-08-21

Draft notice: this policy was drafted from Trace's actual data-handling practices to satisfy app-store and regulatory disclosure requirements. It has not yet been reviewed by a lawyer -- treat it as a working starting point, not certified legal advice, until it has been.

Who we are

Trace ("we", "us") operates the Trace mobile app. This policy explains what data we collect, why, and how you can control or delete it. Trace is designed to work without collecting your name, email address, or phone number.

Data we collect

• Device account key. When you first open Trace, the app generates a random key on your device and registers a pseudonymous account with us. We store a one-way hash of this key, never the key itself, so we cannot reverse it back to your device.
• Pseudonym. A randomly assigned display name shown to other users. It is not derived from any personal information.
• Live location (only while a broadcast is active). When you go visible, your device sends your current location so nearby users can find you. This location is fuzzed (rounded to an approximate area) before anything is shared with other users, is held only in short-lived cache memory (see "Data retention" below), and is never written to our permanent database. While a broadcast is active, this continues even with your screen locked or the app backgrounded -- a persistent notification is shown the entire time so it's never silent -- and stops automatically when the broadcast ends. Outside of an active broadcast, Trace does not access your location at all -- not in the background, not while the app is closed.
• Social graph. Friend connections, blocked accounts, and pending friend requests, all keyed to pseudonymous account IDs.
• Reports you file. If you report another account, we store the reported pseudonym, the reason selected, and any details you add, so we can review it.
• Push notification token. If you enable notifications, we store a token issued by Apple/Google (via Expo) so we can deliver alerts, e.g. when a friend goes visible nearby.
• Basic timestamps. When your account was created, when it was last active, and when you accepted these terms.

We do not currently collect analytics, advertising identifiers, or marketing data. If that ever changes, we will update this policy and, where required by law (including the EU's GDPR, California's CCPA/CPRA, Quebec's Law 25, and Canada's PIPEDA), ask for your explicit opt-in consent before collecting it.

Data retention

Live location is never written to our permanent database at all -- it exists only in short-lived cache memory (Redis) for the duration of the broadcast you chose to start, which you control and which is capped at 60 minutes of active broadcasting per session (a scheduled start delay, if you set one, doesn't itself transmit any location). It is deleted automatically and permanently the moment your broadcast ends or that time limit is reached, whichever comes first.

Everything else we collect (listed above) is kept only for as long as your account exists, and is permanently deleted the moment you delete your account (see "Your rights and choices" below) -- we don't keep a separate backup or archive of it afterward, and this includes any reports you've personally filed against other accounts. The one exception runs the other way: if someone you reported later deletes their own account, the report itself stays on file (with the display name it was filed under preserved, but no longer linked to a live account) so a pattern of abuse remains reviewable even after the reported account is gone.

Beta signup list

If you leave your email address on this website to be notified when Trace launches, we store it for that purpose only -- to send that one announcement. This is separate from using the app itself (described above) and is never linked to an in-app account or pseudonym. You can ask us to remove your email from this list at any time by emailing support@gotrace.win.

Third parties we rely on

Trace runs on the following infrastructure providers, each of which processes data on our behalf:

• Railway -- hosts our backend, database, and short-lived location cache.
• Expo -- builds the mobile app and delivers push notifications to your device.
• MapLibre / OpenFreeMap -- renders map tiles. Open-source and free to use, no API key or account tied to it -- your device fetches map imagery directly, and no location data is sent to it as part of that (it only ever receives which map tiles are visible on screen, the same as loading images from any other website).

We do not sell or share your data with anyone, including for cross-context behavioral advertising -- there's nothing to opt out of, because it doesn't happen in the first place.

Your rights and choices

Wherever you are, you can:

• Choose who can see each time you go visible: everyone, or friends only.
• Block or report any account, at any time, from that account's profile.
• Delete your account entirely from Settings > Legal & Privacy > Delete my account. This permanently removes your account, friendships, blocks, and the reports you've filed, and ends any active broadcast. This cannot be undone.
• Request a copy of the data we hold about your account, or ask us to correct it, by emailingsupport@gotrace.win -- since Trace is designed to collect very little in the first place (see "Data we collect" above), this is usually a short list.

If the EU's GDPR, California's CCPA/CPRA, Quebec's Law 25, or Canada's PIPEDA applies to you, the choices above are how Trace honors your rights to access, correct, delete ("erasure"), and receive a copy of ("portability") your personal data under those laws -- in-app self-service or a direct email to us, not a separate formal-request process you have to navigate. We won't deny you service, charge you a different price, or provide a different level of service just because you exercised any of these rights.

If you're not satisfied with how we've handled a request, you can also complain to your local data protection authority -- in the EU, your national supervisory authority; in Canada, theOffice of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada; in Quebec specifically, theCommission d'accès à l'information.

Children's privacy

Trace is not directed at children. You must be at least 16 years old to use Trace -- above the minimum age set by both the USA's COPPA (13) and Quebec's Law 25 (14), so this one age applies everywhere Trace is used rather than varying by region. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone younger, and we do not collect birthdates or other identifying information that would let us verify age beyond your own confirmation at sign-up.

Contact us

Questions about this policy or your data? Email support@gotrace.win.