Privacy Policy

Last updated: May 16, 2026

This Privacy Policy describes Our policies and procedures on the collection, use, and disclosure of Your information when You use the Service (the Bus Forecast mobile application and website) and tells You about Your privacy rights.

By using the Service, You agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

1. Information We Collect and How We Use It

Bus Forecast is built with your privacy in mind. We minimize the data we collect and keep your personal routines on your device wherever possible.

Location Information (Optional)

You can use Bus Forecast completely without granting location access by manually searching for places or dropping pins on the map. However, for added convenience, You may choose to grant access to Your device's location to quickly find nearby bus stops or route directly from your current position.

How it is used: If enabled, Your location is sent to our routing servers solely to calculate your immediate trip.
How it is stored: We do not track your location history, and your location data is not tied to your identity. You can enable or revoke location access at any time through Your device settings.

Saved Locations (Local Storage)

When you save locations (like "Home" or custom pins) to speed up your searches, this data is saved locally on your device. We do not upload, harvest, or store your saved locations on our servers.

Push Notification Tokens

If you choose to enable trip notifications, we collect a secure push notification token generated by your device (via Apple or Google). We use this token exclusively to send you live updates about your active bus trips.

Usage and Diagnostic Data

When you use our API (by searching for a route or viewing bus ETAs) or visit our website, our servers automatically log standard, anonymized diagnostic data to ensure the app is functioning correctly. This includes basic information such as the time of your request, crash reports, and the type of operating system you are using. This data is not used to identify you personally.

2. Personal Data & User Accounts

We do not require you to create an account to use Bus Forecast. Furthermore, We do not ask for, collect, or store Personally Identifiable Information (PII) such as your name, email address, phone number, or physical address within the application.

If you choose to contact us for support via email, we will only use your email address to respond to your specific inquiry.

3. Disclosure of Your Information

Because we collect virtually no personal data, there is very little we can share. However, we may disclose the minimal data we do handle in the following situations:

Service Providers: We use trusted third-party services (such as Expo for sending push notifications and Apple/Google for mapping interfaces) to facilitate our Service. These providers only have access to the data necessary to perform their specific tasks.
Legal Requirements: We may disclose diagnostic or server data if required to do so by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities.

4. Security of Your Information

The security of Your data is important to Us. All location and routing requests sent between the Bus Forecast app and our servers are encrypted using modern security protocols (HTTPS). While We strive to use commercially reasonable means to protect Your data, remember that no method of transmission over the Internet is 100% secure.

5. Children's Privacy

Our Service does not address anyone under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from anyone under the age of 13. If You are a parent or guardian and You are aware that Your child has provided Us with Personal Data, please contact Us so we can take steps to remove that information from Our servers.

6. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update Our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify You of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Last updated" date at the top of this document. You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how your data is handled, You can contact us:

By email: ulee36@gatech.edu
By visiting this page on our website: https://busforecast.app/contact