Privacy policy

Part A — Website camper-service.app

Hosting and server logs

This website is hosted on Firebase Hosting, a service of Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland. When a page is requested, access data is logged automatically: IP address, time of the request, requested address, amount of data transferred, referrer, and browser and operating system identifiers.

The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. The legitimate interest lies in running the service and defending against attacks. The data is not combined with other sources and not used to analyse how visitors use the site.

A data processing agreement under Art. 28 GDPR is in place with Google. A transfer to the United States cannot be ruled out; it is based on the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses.

Contact by email

If you write to me, I process your details to answer your request. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR where it concerns the app or a purchase, otherwise Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. Your message is kept as long as needed to handle it or as required by statutory retention periods. Email is handled by OVH SAS, 2 rue Kellermann, 59100 Roubaix, France.

What the website does not do

• No cookies and no similar storage in your browser.
• No audience measurement, no analytics, no tracking.
• No third-party content — images are served from this site, fonts come from your device, no external resources are loaded.
• No contact form, no newsletter, no sign-up.

Part B — Camper Service app for iPhone

Principle

The app has no user account and no server of its own. It asks for no name, address or contact details and contains no third-party crash reporting. It uses two libraries from Google: the Mobile Ads SDK for the ads in the free version and Firebase Analytics for the usage statistics — each has its own section below. The app does not ask for permission to track you across apps and therefore has no access to your iPhone’s advertising identifier (IDFA).

The station data ships with the app. Finding the nearest station does not involve any network request.

Location

The app uses your location to calculate distance and direction to stations, and for the direction arrow also the compass and, while you are driving, your direction of travel. It only requests your location while you are using the app (“While Using the App”), never in the background. Your location is processed in your device’s memory only; it is neither stored nor sent to me or anyone else — saved places contain the coordinate of the place, not yours.

The app only accesses your location if you allow it in the iOS dialog (§ 25(1) TDDDG, Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR). You can withdraw permission at any time under Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services. The map remains usable; the Nearby list does not.

Settings on your device

Your filters, the selected mode, the last open tab and whether you have already answered the advertising consent dialog are stored locally on your device so the app looks the same next time and does not ask again. This information never leaves the device. The legal basis is § 25(2) no. 2 TDDDG, as storing it is strictly necessary for the function you requested.

Saved places

I cannot see which places you save or what you note about them. The list does not go to any server of mine. It stays on your device and, if you are signed in to iCloud, in your own iCloud account.

When you save a place, the app stores its OpenStreetMap identifier, its name, its coordinate, the type of entry and your note, plus when you saved it and when you last changed the note. If you are signed in to iCloud, the app also puts the same list into Apple’s iCloud key-value store. That way it survives deleting the app and is available on your other devices signed in with the same Apple Account. Without an iCloud sign-in, everything stays on your device only. iCloud is covered by Apple’s privacy policy.

What belongs in a note: information about the place. The app does not encrypt the list itself; on the device only iOS encryption protects it, and in iCloud it is not end-to-end encrypted. So do not write health data, login details or anything personal about other people in it.

The legal basis for storing it on your device is § 25(2) no. 2 TDDDG, as storing it is strictly necessary for the function you requested. For the copy in your iCloud account it is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR, as it is part of that function.

Getting rid of it: if you remove a place in the app, it disappears from your device and from iCloud. So that another device does not bring it back, only its OpenStreetMap identifier and the time of removal remain, for the last 200 removed places. In the iOS settings you can turn off iCloud for Camper Service under your name → iCloud; the app then stores nothing more in iCloud. Deleting the app only removes the copy on your device; the list in iCloud remains. To get rid of it completely, remove the places in the app first.

Place search and route

I see neither your search terms nor your routes. Neither goes to any server of mine. What the app needs for them comes either from your device or straight from Apple.

Place search: searching the places in the app runs entirely on your device. If you have a network, the text you type also goes to Apple Maps, so that addresses and places outside the data set can be suggested too.

Route: to work it out, start and destination go to Apple Maps. The finished route is stored on your device — the last five — not in iCloud and not on any server of mine. After that it works offline. A backup of your iPhone can include the file; that is Apple’s device backup, not a transfer by the app.

For Apple, its own privacy policy applies. The legal basis for sending this to Apple is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR: it is part of the function you are using. For storing it on your device it is § 25(2) no. 2 TDDDG, as it is strictly necessary for exactly that function.

Getting rid of it: swipe a saved route away in the app. Delete the app and all of them are gone — routes live on the device only.

Advertising (Google AdMob)

The free version shows ads in two places: in the Nearby results list and on the detail screen of a place, one each, labelled “Ad”. No advertising appears on the map, in the map sheet, in CarPlay, in the widget, on your saved places or full screen. Buying the full version removes the ads, and the app loads no more of them. The provider is Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland. Google acts as an independent controller for serving ads; the Google Ads Controller-Controller Data Protection Terms apply between Google and me.

Consent dialog

Where required by law, for example in the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom, the app asks for your consent through Google’s consent dialog (User Messaging Platform, a platform certified under the IAB Transparency & Consent Framework). The dialog does not appear at launch but only when the ad first becomes visible. Until then the app loads no ads. You can use the app fully without giving consent.

• With consent, Google may store and read information on your device to serve ads, measure impressions, detect fraud and limit how often an ad is shown. The legal basis is § 25(1) TDDDG and Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR.
• Without consent, you get “limited ads”: Google stores and reads nothing on your device and picks the ad by context only. For serving and abuse detection, Google still processes technically necessary data such as your IP address. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR; the legitimate interest lies in funding the free version.

In both cases the app explicitly requests non-personalised ads: Google does not choose them based on your interests or past behaviour and builds no profile for them. The app does not pass your location to Google, although Google can infer your approximate location from your IP address.

What data Google receives

IP address, device and system information (such as model, iOS version, language), the app’s identifier and information about the ad and whether you tap it; with consent, also identifiers stored on the device. Google’s platform stores your answer in the dialog on the device as a record of consent. Google may transfer data to the United States; Google LLC is certified under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. How Google uses data from its partners’ apps is described at policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites, and in general in Google’s privacy policy. From Google I only receive aggregated reports, such as how often ads were shown and tapped.

Changing your consent

You can change or withdraw your decision at any time with effect for the future: in the Info tab under Settings → Ad settings. If you would rather not see ads, you can remove them with the full version. If you tap an ad, the advertiser’s offer opens, for example a website or the App Store; their privacy notice applies there.

Usage statistics

From the first launch, the app counts which screens and features are used, until you turn that off. The switch is in the Info tab under Settings → “Usage statistics”. Turn it off and nothing more is collected, and the device’s previous random key is discarded. I use Google’s Firebase Analytics for this.

What is counted

• Which screens you open, plus app launches, updates and deleting the app.
• Whether CarPlay and the widget are used, whether a Siri shortcut was triggered, whether Ahead mode was started, which filters you set, whether you saved a place and whether you tapped “Navigate”.
• Whether you picked a result in the place search — and whether it came from your device or from Apple Maps — and whether you worked out a route, with the corridor width you chose (2, 5 or 10 km).
• Whether the purchase prompt was shown and on what occasion, and whether a purchase followed.
• Device model, iOS version and the country. Google derives the country from the IP address; the app does not report it.
• A random identifier for this installation of the app, the app instance ID. It is randomly assigned and not tied to any name.

What is not counted

• No location, neither precise nor approximate.
• Not which place you look at. That you opened a detail screen is counted — which one, not.
• No notes, no saved places, no search terms. Of a route neither start nor destination, neither its length nor the places along it.
• No advertising identifier (IDFA) and no vendor identifier (IDFV). There is no dialog about tracking across apps.
• The statistics are not linked to the advertising account: ad revenue and usage data are not brought together. That is a deliberate decision.

Recipients, retention, legal basis

The recipient is Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland; processing also takes place at Google LLC in the United States, which is certified under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. Google deletes the data after 14 months. How Google handles it is set out in Google’s privacy policy.

The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. My legitimate interest is to see which features are used, in order to develop the app further. You can object to this processing at any time (Art. 21 GDPR) — that is what the switch is for.

Maps from Apple

The map in the Map tab and the small map preview of the nearest station are displayed with Apple MapKit. To do so, your device loads map tiles from servers of Apple Inc. or Apple Distribution International Ltd., Hollyhill Industrial Estate, Hollyhill, Cork, Ireland. Apple receives your IP address and the requested map area. Because that area usually shows your surroundings, it allows conclusions about your approximate whereabouts.

Apple processes this data under its own privacy policy. The legal basis for using it is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR: a map is an obvious part of an app that shows places, and MapKit is the map service of the operating system you already use. Without a connection the app loads no tiles; the list, arrow and details still work.

Navigation with other apps

When you tap “Navigate” and choose Apple Maps, Google Maps or Waze, the app hands the station’s coordinates to that app — or, if it is not installed, to its website in your browser. From then on, that provider’s privacy policy applies: Apple for Apple Maps, Google for Google Maps and Waze. I receive nothing from this. The hand-over only happens when you trigger it.

Websites, phone and OpenStreetMap

• Operator website: tapping it opens the page in a browser view inside the app. The website’s operator receives the usual connection data; their privacy notice applies.
• Phone number: tapping it hands the number to your device’s Phone app.
• “Report a problem”: opens openstreetmap.org in the browser. Whatever you enter there is processed by the OpenStreetMap Foundation under its privacy policy. Notes on OpenStreetMap are publicly visible.
• Copy coordinates: puts the coordinates on the clipboard. The app never reads the clipboard.

App Store

Downloads and updates are handled by the App Store of Apple Distribution International Ltd. Apple processes data under its own responsibility, such as your Apple Account. From Apple I only receive aggregated figures such as downloads per country, which do not identify individuals. If you have turned on “Share with App Developers” in iOS, Apple also provides me with crash reports and usage statistics without your name or Apple Account. You control this under Settings → Privacy & Security → Analytics & Improvements.

In-app purchase

Apple handles the purchase of the full version. It removes the ad and unlocks the features listed in the app. I never see your payment details or Apple Account. The app checks on your device, using receipts signed by Apple, whether the full version is unlocked; there is no server of my own involved. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR.

Your rights

You have the right of access (Art. 15 GDPR), rectification (Art. 16), erasure (Art. 17), restriction of processing (Art. 18), data portability (Art. 20) and to object to processing based on legitimate interests (Art. 21). You can withdraw consent at any time with effect for the future — for advertising directly in the app under Ad settings, for location in the iOS settings. You object to the usage statistics with the switch in the settings. Otherwise, please contact the address above. Data that Google processes for ads is held by Google, which answers access requests about it itself.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority (Art. 77 GDPR). The competent authority is the State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information of Rhineland-Palatinate (LfDI Rheinland-Pfalz), Germany.