Privacy Policy

01Overview

Waystamp is a single-developer Android app that lets you collect digital stamps for real places — temples, historical sites, and nature spots across India — by physically visiting them. This policy explains what information the app collects to make that work, what it's used for, who else can see it, and how to have it deleted.

The short version: Waystamp collects your Google account basics, the location needed to confirm you've arrived somewhere and to draw directions, and a record of which stamps you've collected — which other Waystamp users can see on the leaderboards (Section 4). Visit photos you add stay private to you. It does not run ads, does not sell data, and does not share your data with data brokers.

02Data we collect

Waystamp does not collect payment information — the app has no purchases. It does not access your contacts or messages, and it only reads a photo you explicitly pick yourself to add to one of your stamps. Photos are resized before upload and you can remove one at any time from the stamp.

03How location is used

Location is the most sensitive thing this app touches, so here's exactly where it goes:

• Stamp collection eligibility — checked on your device against a curated place's coordinates. Only a plain yes/no ("within range" or not) drives the app's behavior; nothing about this check is transmitted anywhere.
• Arrival notifications — a geofence around each curated place triggers a local notification when you enter it. This runs on-device via Android's geofencing APIs.
• Trip mode — if you switch it on in Settings, Waystamp keeps checking your location on your device while the app is closed, so it can tell you when you arrive at a stamp. An ongoing notification shows while it runs, it switches itself off after 6 hours, and you can stop it any time. Location is compared on your phone and never uploaded.
• Directions & search — when you request directions or search for a destination, your coordinates and query are sent to Google's Maps, Places, and Routes APIs to compute the result. This is a live request, not something Waystamp stores afterward.
• New-place notifications — your device works out the nearest Indian state to you and subscribes to a topic named after that state (for example, a generic "karnataka" topic). We broadcast to state topics when a new place is added; we never receive or store your coordinates for this feature.
• Friday weekend suggestion — the app keeps the last location it saw while you had it open, on your phone only, so that on Friday evening it can suggest the nearest stamp you haven't collected. It is never uploaded. Turn it off in Settings.

04What other users can see

Waystamp has leaderboards — a global one and one for the state you're currently in — showing collectors by stamp count. Other signed-in Waystamp users can see:

• your display name, profile photo and total stamp count;
• the places you've collected and the date of each, by tapping your name on a leaderboard;
• the name of the state you were last in when you opened the app, because it decides which regional leaderboard you appear on.

Other users can never see your email address, your GPS position or location history, or any visit photo you add to a stamp — those photos are stored in a private folder only your own account can open.

If you'd rather not appear on the leaderboards or have your collection visible, contact us (details in Section 10) and we'll exclude your account.

05Third-party services

Waystamp is built on Google Cloud and Firebase. Each service below only receives the data described in Section 2 that's relevant to its job:

• Firebase Authentication — manages Google Sign-In and issues your account identity.
• Cloud Firestore — stores your collected stamps, achievements, streak, and your leaderboard entry (name, photo, stamp count and current state name).
• Firebase Cloud Messaging — delivers the "new place added" push notification, addressed by state topic, never by individual device or account.
• Cloud Storage for Firebase — stores visit photos you add, in a private folder that only your account can read.
• Firebase Crashlytics — receives crash and diagnostic reports to help fix bugs.
• Firebase Analytics — records anonymous usage events so we can see whether the app actually helps people reach places: which screens are opened, which curated place was viewed or collected (by its public place id), which story language was chosen, and how long after installing someone collects their first stamp. It never receives your name, email, photos, or location coordinates. You can switch it off at any time in Settings › Privacy, which stops collection entirely.
• Cloud Functions — runs the server-side logic that reacts to a new place being added (to send the notification above) and pre-generates stamp artwork and history text before a place is published; it never runs anything triggered by an individual visit.
• Google Maps SDK, Places API, Routes API — render the map, power search, and compute directions. Google's own privacy policy governs data in transit to these APIs.

None of these services are used to serve you ads, and Waystamp does not integrate any ad network, advertising identifier, or cross-app tracking SDK. The measurement described above is used only to improve the app, and never to build a profile of you or to target advertising.

06Retention & deletion

Your account data — profile info, collected stamps, achievements, and streak — is kept for as long as your account exists, so your passport stays intact across sessions and devices.

To delete your account and all associated data, use Settings → Account → Delete account in the app (details), or email us at waystampapp@gmail.com from the address linked to your account. We'll confirm and remove your account record, collected stamps, visit photos, and leaderboard entry within 30 days. Crash reports already submitted to Crashlytics are device-diagnostic in nature and aren't linked to your account identity, so they're retained under Google's standard Crashlytics retention window rather than deleted individually.

07Security

Data in transit between the app and our backend is encrypted (HTTPS/TLS). Firestore security rules restrict your stamp, achievement, and streak data to your own signed-in account — the only exception is the leaderboard fields described in Section 4, which are readable by any signed-in user by design. No password is ever handled by Waystamp directly; sign-in is delegated entirely to Google.

08Children's privacy

Waystamp is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has created an account, contact us and we'll delete it.

09Your choices

• Location permission can be denied or revoked at any time in Android Settings — stamp collection and arrival notifications simply won't work without it, but the rest of the app still functions.
• Notification permission can be turned off the same way; you'll stop receiving arrival and new-place alerts.
• Leaderboard visibility can be opted out of by request — see Section 6.
• Dark mode is on by default and can be switched off in Settings → Appearance — included here only because it's the other toggle living next to Account in that screen.
• Signing out is available anytime from Settings → Account; it ends your session without deleting your data.

10Changes & contact

If this policy changes in a material way, we'll update the effective date above and, where practical, note it in the app. Continued use of Waystamp after a change means you accept the revised policy.

Questions, deletion requests, or leaderboard opt-outs: email waystampapp@gmail.com.