PRIVACY POLICY

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Account Information

When you create an account, we collect your email address, username, full name (optional), profile photo (optional), cover photo (optional), and home state. This information is necessary to provide the service and identify you within the 4WDGrid community.

1.2 Precise Location Data

When you record a trip, the App collects precise GPS location data at approximately 5-second intervals. This includes latitude, longitude, elevation, speed, heading, and GPS accuracy. This data is essential to the core function of the App — recording your off-road trips and matching them to known tracks.

Location data is collected in the foreground and background while trip recording is active. A visible indicator (the REC banner) is displayed at all times during recording. Location data is NOT collected when you are not actively recording a trip.

We also collect approximate location data (lower accuracy) to centre the map on your position and show nearby tracks. This occurs only while the App is in the foreground.

1.3 Trip and Activity Data

We store your recorded trip data including the GPS route (as a geographic line), distance travelled, duration, elevation gain and loss, maximum and average speed, and any waypoints or photos you add. We also store which known tracks you have completed, including the date, direction of travel, vehicle used, and a confidence score for the match.

1.4 Vehicle Information

If you use the Rig Garage feature, we collect information about your vehicle including make, model, series, year, modifications, specifications, and photos. This information is provided voluntarily and is used to display your vehicle profile and to power the Rig Battles leaderboard feature.

1.5 User-Generated Content

We collect content you create within the App including photos, captions, condition reports on tracks, kudos (likes) on other users' trips, and any other content you submit.

1.6 Device and Usage Information

We collect standard device information including device model, operating system version, app version, and anonymous usage analytics. This helps us improve the App and diagnose issues.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use your information for the following purposes:

• Core service delivery: Recording your trips, matching them to known tracks, calculating statistics, awarding badges, and displaying your profile and rig details to other users.
• Community features: Displaying your trips and activity in the feeds of users who follow you, powering leaderboards and challenges, and enabling kudos and social interactions.
• Aggregated and anonymised insights: Your trip data contributes to aggregated, anonymised datasets including heatmaps showing popular driving areas and candidate track detection for discovering new trails. This aggregated data cannot be traced back to individual users.
• Track network improvement: When multiple users drive the same unmatched route, the anonymised and aggregated route data may be used to identify and add new tracks to the 4WDGrid database.
• Service improvement: Analysing usage patterns to improve App features, performance, and user experience.
• Communication: Sending you service-related notifications (trip completion, badge awards, new followers) and, with your consent, promotional communications about 4WDGrid features.

3. How We Store and Protect Your Information

Your data is stored in a secure PostgreSQL database hosted by Supabase, which uses Amazon Web Services (AWS) infrastructure located in the Asia-Pacific region. Data is encrypted at rest and in transit using industry-standard encryption protocols (TLS 1.2+, AES-256).

We implement Row Level Security (RLS) on our database to ensure that users can only access their own personal data through the App. Your raw GPS trip points, individual trip geometries, and personal account details are not accessible to other users.

The following data is visible to other users by design: your username, profile photo, cover photo, bio, home state, completed tracks, trip summaries (distance, duration, date), rig details, and badges. This visibility is core to the community features of the App.

4. Data Sharing and Third Parties

We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

We share data with the following service providers who are necessary to operate the App:

• Supabase (database hosting) — Stores all App data. Subject to Supabase's privacy policy and data processing agreement. Data is hosted in the Asia-Pacific region.
• Mapbox (mapping services) — Receives tile requests that include approximate map viewport coordinates to render maps. Mapbox does not receive your identity, trip data, or GPS traces. Subject to Mapbox's privacy policy.
• Apple (App Store and analytics) — Receives standard App Store analytics and crash reports. Subject to Apple's privacy policy.
• Expo / EAS (build and update services) — Used to build and distribute the App. Does not receive or store user data.
• RevenueCat (payment processing) — If and when in-app purchases are introduced, RevenueCat will process subscription payments. They will receive your Apple ID purchase token but not your location data, trip data, or personal information.

We may disclose your information if required by law, court order, or government regulation, or if we believe disclosure is necessary to protect the safety of our users or the public.

5. Aggregated and Anonymised Data

We generate aggregated, anonymised datasets from user activity. This includes heatmaps showing the frequency of driving activity in geographic areas, candidate track routes derived from multiple users driving similar unmatched routes, and general statistics about track popularity and seasonal usage patterns.

This aggregated data is stripped of all personally identifiable information. It cannot be used to identify, locate, or track any individual user. We may use this anonymised data for research, analysis, and to improve the track database.

We may share anonymised, aggregated insights with partners such as parks authorities or tourism organisations, but only in a form that cannot identify individual users.

6. Your Rights and Choices

6.1 Access and Export

You can view all your personal data within the App at any time, including your profile, trips, completions, and rig details. You can export your individual trip data as GPX or GeoJSON files using the export feature in the App.

6.2 Correction

You can edit your profile information, rig details, and other user-generated content at any time within the App. If you believe we hold inaccurate information about you that you cannot correct within the App, contact us at privacy@4wdgrid.com.

6.3 Deletion

You can delete individual trips, rig photos, and other content within the App. You can request deletion of your entire account by using the Delete Account option in the App settings or by contacting us at privacy@4wdgrid.com. Account deletion will permanently remove your personal information, profile, trip history, rig details, and all associated data. Anonymised, aggregated contributions (such as heatmap cells and candidate track data) that have already been processed cannot be individually reversed as they contain no personally identifiable information.

6.4 Location Permissions

You can revoke location permissions at any time through your device settings. Revoking location access will prevent trip recording but will not affect your ability to browse tracks, view your profile, or use other non-location features.

6.5 Notifications

You can manage notification preferences within the App settings or through your device notification settings.

7. Data Retention

We retain your account data and trip history for as long as your account is active. Raw GPS trip point data is retained for the lifetime of your account to support features such as GPX export, detailed trip review, and track matching accuracy improvement.

If you delete your account, we will delete your personal data within 30 days. Backups containing your data may persist for up to 90 days before being automatically purged.

Anonymised, aggregated data (heatmap cells, candidate track aggregates, anonymised statistics) is retained indefinitely as it contains no personally identifiable information.

8. Children's Privacy

4WDGrid is not intended for use by children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child under 16, we will delete it promptly. If you believe a child under 16 has provided us with personal information, please contact us at privacy@4wdgrid.com.

9. International Data Transfers

Your data is primarily stored in the Asia-Pacific region through our hosting provider Supabase (AWS). Some service providers (such as Mapbox) may process limited data in the United States. Where data is transferred outside Australia, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by posting the updated policy within the App and, where appropriate, by email. Your continued use of the App after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

11. Complaints

If you believe we have breached your privacy rights under the Australian Privacy Act, you may lodge a complaint by contacting us at privacy@4wdgrid.com. We will respond to your complaint within 30 days. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).

12. Contact Us

For any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data:

Email: privacy@4wdgrid.com
Website: 4wdgrid.com

4WDGrid Pty Ltd
Australia