iWalk Cornwall App - Privacy policy

Privacy policy for the iWalk Cornwall App

User data and personal information

The iWalk Cornwall app does not share, store or transmit any personal information (PII) such as email addresses, device identifiers, etc.

Location data

The app uses location data (latitude and longitude) for the following:

  • While the app is in use (displayed on screen):
    • to show your approximate current location (if you are in Cornwall) as a blue dot on the map of walks in the Walks Shop.
    • to show walks near your approximate current location when you choose this option in the Walks Shop.
  • When the app is in the background (even when closed / not in use / screen is off), the app collects (receives and processes) location data during your walk:
    • to display your location on the route map.
    • to enable tracking of your progress around the route. Due to the real-time nature of a walk, the app needs to receive location data even when it is in the background (screen is off or another app is in the foreground) in order to alert you if you need to follow a walk direction at that moment. Receiving and processing location information in the background only starts when the walk begins and ceases as soon as the walk ends.

We do not retain/store/transmit/share your location data which we treat as highly-sensitive personal information. The location data received by the app never leaves your device and is not stored anywhere permanent on it.

Compass data

The app receives a compass bearing (if your device has one) during a walk in order to display your orientation on the map. If your device doesn't have a compass, a crosshair icon is shown rather than an arrow. We do not retain/store/transmit/share your compass data.

Anonymous usage statistics ("analytics")

The app uses a randomly-generated anonymous identifier to help us diagnose issues and improve performance of the app.
This identifier remains constant if you re-install the app or if you install it on another device which is signed in with the same Google or Apple account.
However, since it's just a random number, there's no way it can be traced back to you as an individual.
The analytics data we collect is sent to Google Firebase for the purpose of technical support, usage analysis, performance monitoring and the Crashlytics crash reporting service to enable us to detect and diagnose app crashes in order to improve the stability of the app.
We do not share this analytics data with anyone else or use it for any purpose other than that stated above.
Data is expired after 12 months.
If you do not wish the app to collect anonymous data, you can switch off analytics from the home screen via More options > Settings and uncheck "Send anonymous usage stats". However, we recommend leaving this switched on as it will significantly improve the technical support we can provide if you subsequently have a problem.

In-app purchases and payment information

The purchasing of walks within the iWalk Cornwall app is done entirely through Apple and Google's in-app purchase mechanisms (they are the retailers and we effectively wholesale the content to them) and the in-app purchases (walks) from these companies are stored in your Apple or Google Account.
Consequently we do not hold or have access to any payment, card or contact information associated with your Apple or Google account.
Apple do not give us the ability to refund purchases on their platform (you must contact Apple).
Google do permit us to refund purchases if you can provide us with an order number (by default we cannot identify you).
We record walks purchased against the anonymous user identifier to be able to monitor our sales and calculate walk popularity.

Camera

The app integrates with your device's camera to allow you to take photos during a walk without needing to switch to a different app. These photos are stored to the private photo gallery on your device. The app does not collect, share or access the photos once they are taken.

Contacting us

The "Contact us" section of the app uses email to send us messages containing feedback or issues with the app or a particular walk.
Since we normally can't tell who you are in our analytics (since they're anonymous), we'll ask you if it's OK to pre-populate the email with some diagnostic information to help us quickly troubleshoot any problems you are having (we sometimes receive requests for help on the same morning someone wants to do a walk). This will include the anonymous identifier which will allow us, for example, to locate any error messages recorded in our analytics that relate to your issue.
You can remove this information from the email before sending it if you change your mind about sending it to us.

Reporting footpath issues

When a footpath issue is reported in the app together with a direction number, and this relates to a public footpath, this is sent as an email to the Countryside Access Team at Cornwall Council who manage the footpaths. This allows them to ask any followup questions to get the issue resolved. The app displays a reminder before creating an email to Cornwall Council and does not automatically send it (you need to press send in your email app).

Please note that if you send feedback about public footpaths to us instead (either by failing to specify a direction number, or sending this under an incorrect heading e.g. as an app issue), this will be manually forwarded to the Cornwall Council Countryside Access Team together with your contact email address so that they can clarify the issue with you and give you status updates on its resolution.