Privacy Policy

1. Scope and who we are

This Privacy Policy applies to TheRouteStory mobile application, website and related services (together, the “Service”). TheRouteStory is operated by RouteBeats Technologies, a sole proprietorship registered in India under Udyam Registration No. UDYAM-OD-03-0102868, whose place of business is Baleshwar 756001, Odisha, India. References to “TheRouteStory”, “we”, “us” or “our” mean RouteBeats Technologies, which is the Data Fiduciary in respect of personal data processed through the Service under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. By using the Service, you acknowledge the practices described in this Policy.

This Policy should be read together with our Terms & Conditions. If you do not agree with this Policy, please do not use the Service.

2. Information we collect

Information you provide

• Account and profile details, such as your name, email address, profile photograph and authentication information.
• Optional profile details you choose to add, such as a phone number, date of birth, gender and a short bio. These are never required to create an account or record a journey, and you can clear them at any time.
• Journey content, including trip names, notes, markers, photographs, short videos and other media you choose to add.
• Communications you send to our support or grievance address.

Information generated when you use the Service

• Route and journey details, including GPS coordinates, timestamps, distance, speed, direction, altitude and trip status.
• Generated route images, travel journals, video-rendering status and related technical metadata.
• Basic device and technical information needed for authentication, security, diagnostics, app compatibility and reliable operation.
• Activity connected with shared journeys, such as likes and sharing actions.
• Reports and blocks you submit through Explore, including which journey or traveller they concern, so we can act on them and keep a record of what was decided.

If you sign in using a third-party provider such as Google or Apple, we receive the profile and authentication information that provider makes available according to your settings and consent.

3. Location, photos and videos

Location is a core part of RouteStory. We request location permission to record a journey, draw its route, calculate trip information, associate memories with places and create route visuals. On supported devices, an ongoing system notification may be used while a journey is recording.

Route recording is initiated through an explicit action in the app. You can pause or stop a journey and can change location permission through your device settings. Restricting permission may prevent route recording or reduce accuracy.

Photos and videos are accessed only when you choose to capture or select them for a journey, profile or export. Media may be uploaded to cloud storage so it can sync, appear in a travel journal, be used in a route film or be shared through features you select.

4. How we use information

We use personal data only where reasonably necessary to:

• Create and secure your account, authenticate you and maintain your profile.
• Record, save, sync and display trips across supported devices.
• Generate route maps, travel journals, PDF exports and cinematic route films.
• Operate Explore and other sharing features you choose to use.
• Send essential service or journey-related notifications.
• Respond to support, privacy and grievance requests.
• Detect abuse, protect accounts, diagnose errors and improve reliability and performance.
• Comply with legal obligations and enforce our Terms.

We do not sell your personal data to data brokers or use your precise journey history for third-party behavioural advertising.

5. When information is shared

We may share limited information in these circumstances:

• At your direction: when you publish a completed journey, export a journal, share a film or use your device’s share options.
• Service providers: with vendors that support hosting, authentication, cloud storage, map imagery, route processing, geocoding, rendering, notifications, email delivery and technical operations. They may process information only to perform services for us, subject to their agreements and applicable law.
• Automated writing: if you ask the app to write a Travel Book note for you, we send a third-party artificial-intelligence service the journey title, the transport used, the dates, and the place names — and, when the page is about a single checkpoint, that checkpoint’s name, its city and state, and any note you wrote there. Nothing else is sent. No photograph is ever sent, and the service cannot see your pictures. Generated text is kept separately from anything you have written yourself, is clearly offered as a draft, and can be deleted from the page where it appears.
• Feature-specific providers: a checkpoint’s coordinates are sent to a weather service to record the conditions at the moment you saved it; coordinates are sent to a mapping service to label nearby places in a route film; a place name is sent to a stock photography service when a page has no photograph of your own; and your message and address are handled by an email provider when you contact support.
• Legal and safety reasons: when reasonably necessary to comply with law, legal process or a valid government request; investigate fraud or misuse; enforce agreements; or protect users, the public or the Service.
• Business transition: as part of a merger, financing, reorganisation, acquisition or transfer of the Service, subject to appropriate confidentiality and notice where required.

6. Public and shared journeys

Content you choose to publish to Explore is public. It can be seen by other travellers, by people browsing Explore as guests without an account, and — where you share a Travel Book or film link — by anyone who has that link, on the open web, with no account and no sign-in. It may include your display profile, journey title, general place information, route imagery, journal content, photos, videos and engagement counts. Others may view, like or share that content using available features.

Before publishing, review the journey for home addresses, faces, vehicle details or other sensitive information. Removing a published journey stops future display through our Service, but copies already exported or shared by others may remain outside our control.

7. Storage and retention

Journey and account data may be stored locally on your device and in cloud infrastructure used to provide account sync, media storage and rendering. We retain personal data while your account is active and for as long as needed for the purposes described in this Policy.

When you delete a trip, media item or account, we take reasonable steps to remove associated personal data from active systems. Limited information may remain temporarily in backups, processing queues or logs, or longer where retention is required for security, dispute resolution or legal compliance. Aggregated or de-identified information that no longer identifies you may be retained.

Our website stores only what it needs to work: whether you muted the background music, and whether the opening animation has already played. It sets no advertising or analytics cookies, and we run no analytics or advertising service on the website or in the app.

8. Security

We use reasonable technical and organisational safeguards designed to protect personal data, including encrypted network transmission, authenticated access and access controls around cloud data. No internet transmission, device or storage system is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.

You are responsible for keeping your device and sign-in credentials secure and for notifying us if you suspect unauthorised access to your account.

If a personal data breach occurs, we will report it to the Data Protection Board of India and inform the people affected, in the form and within the time the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 requires. We will describe what happened, the data involved, what we are doing about it and what you can do to protect yourself.

9. Your choices and rights

Depending on applicable law, you may have rights to access information about your personal data, correct inaccurate data, request deletion, withdraw consent, and raise a grievance. You can also:

• Change location, camera, photo-library and notification permissions in device settings.
• Edit profile details and remove individual trips or media in the app.
• Delete your account from the profile screen.
• Choose whether to share a completed journey through Explore or external sharing.
• Withdraw consent by changing the relevant permission in your device settings, removing the content concerned, or deleting your account. Withdrawing consent does not affect processing already carried out while it was in place.
• Nominate another person to exercise your rights on your behalf if you die or become unable to act, as provided by the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. Tell us the nomination by writing to the Grievance Officer below.

To make a privacy request, email support@theroutestory.com from the address linked to your account. We may need to verify your identity before completing the request. If you are not satisfied with how we handle a grievance, you may escalate it to the Data Protection Board of India under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.

10. Children’s privacy

The Service is not directed to children under 18, and children should not create an account or use the Service without the involvement of a parent or legal guardian where permitted by law. We do not knowingly collect personal data from a child in violation of applicable law. A parent or guardian who believes a child has provided personal data may contact us for review and deletion.

11. Third-party services and international processing

The Service relies on third-party platforms for functions such as authentication, hosting, storage, maps, geocoding and rendering. Their handling of information is also governed by their own terms and privacy practices. Links or exports that take you to another app or website are outside our control.

Service providers may process data in countries other than where you live. Where required, we use reasonable safeguards for such transfers and require providers to handle data consistently with applicable law.

12. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Policy as the Service, technology or legal requirements change. The revised version will show a new “Last updated” date. Where changes materially affect your rights or the way we use personal data, we will provide additional notice where reasonably practicable or legally required.

13. Support and grievance contact

For privacy questions, data requests, complaints or grievances, contact the Grievance Officer below. Please include the email linked to your account and enough detail for us to understand the request. Do not send passwords or authentication codes.

We acknowledge every grievance within 24 hours of receiving it and work to resolve it within 15 days, the period allowed by the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. Where a complaint needs longer — for example where it depends on a third party or on information we have to ask you for — we will tell you why and when you can expect a resolution.