Privacy, feature by feature

Saving a spot

When you save, the app records your location (with its accuracy and the time), plus any level, bay, colour zone, notes and photos you add. All of it is stored on your phone.

The app asks for each permission when you first use the feature that needs it: location, camera, photos, notifications, Bluetooth, motion and activity. You can say no to any of them and the rest of the app still works.

History keeps past spots for 30 days by default. Your current spot doesn't expire. You can delete any spot, or all of them, at any time.

Reading signs and tickets

Text recognition runs on your phone, using Apple's Vision framework on iPhone and Google's ML Kit on Android. Both are built into the app, so the photo of the sign or ticket isn't sent anywhere to be read. The cropped photo stays on your phone as a record of what was read.

Ticket reminders

Reminders are scheduled on your phone. Nothing is sent to us to trigger them.

Automatic saving

On Android, automatic saving uses the car's Bluetooth connection, your activity (driving or walking) and, with your permission, your location in the background, so it can take a fix when you leave the car. On iPhone it uses motion data and any Shortcuts automation you set up. This is all worked out on your phone. Automatic saving is off until you turn it on.

Walk-out recording (beta)

If you record your walk from the car to the exit, the app stores your steps, turns, floor changes and any photos you take on your phone. While it's recording, the screen stays on.

Maps and walking directions

The map uses Apple's MapKit on iPhone and the Google Maps SDK on Android. To draw the map, your phone downloads map data from Apple or Google, which tells them roughly which area you're looking at. Their own privacy policies cover that.

If you tap for walking directions, the app opens Apple Maps or Google Maps with your car's location as the destination.

Finding the car

The compass, barometer, step counter and camera matching ("looks like your photo") all run on your phone. Spoken directions and the audio cue are produced on the phone too.

Outdoor AR

Outdoor AR only runs when you open it, and you can turn it off in the app's settings.

On iPhone it uses Apple's ARKit location anchors, which use your location to download data from Apple about the area around you.

On Android it uses Google's ARCore Geospatial API. To work out where your phone is, it sends imagery from your camera and your location to Google. Before you use it the first time, the app shows Google's disclosure and asks you to agree.

Indoor AR, which matches your photo of the sign as you get close, doesn't send anything off your phone.

Sharing a spot

When you share, you choose what goes in. The share has two parts.

• A card image with the level, the bay, the time and your photo of the exit. The app removes the photo's hidden data (EXIF, including its location) first, and reminds you to check for number plates and faces.
• A link containing the level, bay, colour zone, exit, your note, the time and, if there is one, the car's location and how accurate it was. Photos are never in the link.

The spot sits in the part of the link after the "#". Browsers don't send that part to our website, so we never see it. Anyone who has the link can read the spot, and they can forward it to anyone else. A link can't be cancelled once it's sent, because there's no server copy to delete.

The share page in a browser

The page reads the spot from the link inside the browser. If you use the compass, the page asks for your location and your phone's motion sensors, and uses them only in the browser to point at the car. If you tap the Apple Maps or Google Maps button, that app or website receives the car's location as the destination.

iCloud sync (iPhone, optional)

Sync is off until you turn it on. When it's on, your spots, notes and photos are stored in your own private iCloud database with Apple, so they appear on your other Apple devices. We can't see that database. Turning sync off stops it, and you can delete the synced data in the app.

Backup (Android)

Android's Auto Backup can copy your spots and settings to your Google account, so they come back when you set up a new phone. Photos and AR data are left out. Google runs the backup, and you can switch it off in your phone's settings. Spots don't sync between Android devices.

Watches and cars

Apple Watch and Wear OS show the spot your phone sends them, and a watch with GPS can save a location of its own. CarPlay and Android Auto show the parked location using Apple's and Google's car templates. None of this goes through us.

Crash reports

We only receive crash reports through Apple and Google, and only if you've agreed to share them in your phone's settings. They don't include where you parked.

This website

The site doesn't use cookies or analytics. Our web host keeps standard server logs, such as IP addresses and the pages requested, to keep the site running and secure.

Your rights and contact

Because your data stays on your phone or in your own iCloud account, we usually hold nothing about you. Under UK data protection law you can still ask us what we hold, or ask us to correct or delete it. Email [email protected].

If you're unhappy with how we've handled your data, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk.

Where's my cAR? is published by Appoly Ltd.