Privacy Policy
Introvert Maps is an offline-first hiking and biking map for iPhone and Apple Watch. It is built to work without an account and without tracking you. This policy explains, plainly and completely, what the app does and does not do with your data.
The short version
- There are no user accounts and no sign-in. We do not ask for your name, email, or any profile.
- The app is offline-first: you download maps, routing data, and train timetables while you have a connection, then use them (and on-device search) without a signal. Weather, live train-delay updates, river levels, and weather alerts refresh over the internet when it is available and are cached, so the last copy still shows when you go offline.
- We use no third-party advertising or analytics SDKs, and we do not track you across apps or websites.
- The only information that ever leaves your device to us is an optional diagnostics report that is turned OFF by default — and reports you choose to send from the in-app feedback inbox.
Data downloaded to your device
To work offline, the app downloads map regions, routing data, and train timetables while you have a connection; once downloaded they are stored on your device and used without a signal. The map files are served from our content-delivery domain (cdn.introvertmaps.com) and the app fetches a small index and a few live features from our server (maps.introvertmaps.com). On first launch the app may also fetch a coarse overview of your current region so a map appears. Downloading a file necessarily involves your device’s IP address, which is visible to the hosting server as part of any internet request; we do not use it to build a profile of you, and there are no accounts to attach it to.
Location
With your permission, the app uses your location to show your position on the map, to keep you oriented while hiking, and to plan routes. Route planning runs entirely on your device using downloaded routing data — your location and routes are not sent to us for routing. Aside from the weather, river, and alert refreshes described below (where a coordinate or coarse area is sent to fetch nearby data), your location is not shared with anyone, and it is never shared with advertisers or used to track you.
Weather
When you open the weather view, the app fetches a local forecast for the area you are looking at. It normally requests this through our own server (maps.introvertmaps.com), which relays the free Open-Meteo weather service. If our server cannot be reached, the app queries Open-Meteo directly as a fallback — in that case the approximate (rounded) coordinates are sent to Open-Meteo so it can return the forecast for that area. No account, name, or identifier is attached to the request. The forecast is cached on your device so it can be shown again while you are offline.
River & water levels
The river-levels overlay fetches recent gauge readings from our server for the area you are viewing, and caches them on your device so the last copy shows offline. A coordinate or coarse area is involved to fetch nearby gauges; no account, name, or identifier is attached.
Weather alerts
Severe-weather warnings are fetched from our backend for a coarse area around you. No identifier is attached, and the result is cached like the forecast.
Optional diagnostics (off by default)
The app has an optional Diagnostics setting that is turned off by default. It stays off, and nothing is sent, unless you explicitly enable it in the app’s settings. It exists so that, if you run into a problem, you can help the developer diagnose it.
When — and only when — you turn Diagnostics on, the app sends its application log to the developer’s server. This log:
- can include GPS coordinates (they appear in the diagnostic log lines the app records while running);
- includes a random per-install identifier generated on your device, used only to group log lines from the same installation — it is not tied to your identity and is not an advertising identifier;
- includes basic technical details such as app version and OS version, and crash and hang summaries (collected via Apple’s MetricKit) that ride the same channel — these too are sent only while Diagnostics is on.
When you enable Diagnostics, only log lines recorded after you opt in are sent; earlier history is not retro-shipped. Turning Diagnostics back off stops all sending immediately. This data is used solely to diagnose and fix problems in the app. It is not sold, and it is not shared with advertisers or analytics providers.
In-app feedback
If you send a report from the in-app feedback inbox, it goes to our backend keyed by a random per-install identifier (stored in the iOS Keychain), plus an email address only if you choose to provide one. It is used solely to reply to your report and improve the app — there is no account, and it is not used for advertising or tracking.
On-device AI & translation
The AI assistant and the offline translation features run entirely on your device. Your chat messages and the text or photos you translate are not sent to us or to any third party.
Apple Health (Apple Watch)
If you choose to record a hike as a workout, the app uses HealthKit to save that workout (and to keep GPS active during the hike). This data is stored in Apple’s Health app on your device under your control. It is not sent to us and is not used for advertising.
Camera and photos
The camera and photo-library permissions are used only for the app’s in-app photography features (including night long-exposure) and for OCR translation, which runs on-device. Photos you capture are saved to your own photo library. They are not uploaded to us and are not shared with any third party.
Bluetooth & local network
Bluetooth is used to connect optional heart-rate and speed/cadence sensors for activity recording. The local-network / MultipeerConnectivity permission is used only to share a downloaded region directly with a nearby device. These features exchange data with your sensor or the other device; nothing about them is sent to us.
Sharing maps with a nearby device
The app can share already-downloaded map regions directly with another nearby device over a local peer-to-peer connection. This is a device-to-device transfer for hikers without signal — the map data travels directly between the two devices and does not pass through our servers.
Data we never collect
There is no advertising identifier, no cross-app tracking, no user profile, and no server-side personal profile of you. The only traffic that reaches us is: static downloads (your IP is visible to the host, as with any download, but is not profiled); the weather, river, delay, and alert refreshes; feedback you choose to send; and — only if you opt in — diagnostics.
Children
The app is a general-purpose maps utility and is not directed at children. It does not knowingly collect personal information from children.
Map data attribution
Map data is derived from OpenStreetMap, © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License (ODbL). Full credits are on the data sources page.
Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, the updated version will be posted at this URL with a new effective date.
Contact
Questions about privacy? Email privacy@introvertmaps.com.