PlovdivBus — Privacy Policy

Last updated: 23 April 2026

PlovdivBus (“the app”) is a free, independent public-transport tracking app for the city of Plovdiv, Bulgaria. It is developed by Teodor Sabev (“we”, “us”). This page explains what data the app uses, what leaves your device, and what we store on our side.

Short version

• We do not have a server. The app does not run our own backend and does not operate user accounts.
• We do not collect any personal data. Nothing you do in the app is logged, profiled, or sold.
• Your GPS location stays on your device. It is used locally to show nearby stops and compute walking times. It is never transmitted to us or to any third party.
• We do not use advertising, analytics, or tracking SDKs.

Data the app accesses on your device

• Precise location (ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION / NSLocationWhenInUseUsageDescription). Used only while the app is open, only to (a) show distance and walking time to each stop, (b) center the map on you, and (c) follow your trip along a route. Coordinates are processed in-memory on your device and never leave it.
• Local storage. The app saves your preferences (language, theme, walking pace, list of favorite stops) to your device's local storage using AsyncStorage. This data stays on your device and is not synced anywhere. Uninstalling the app deletes it.

Third-party services the app talks to

Because the app does not have its own backend, it fetches transit data directly from public sources. When you use the app, requests are sent to the following providers:

• A public-transport data provider — the source of real-time bus data for Plovdiv. The app sends stop IDs, trip IDs, and vehicle IDs to fetch arrivals and live positions. These requests do not contain your identity, account info, or location. Like any internet service, the provider can see the IP address of the requests, subject to its own privacy practices.
• Nominatim (OpenStreetMap) — used for address search in the route planner. When you type a street name or address, that text is sent to Nominatim to resolve it into coordinates. It does not contain personal information unless you personally type personal information into the search field.
• CARTO / OpenStreetMap tile servers — the map you see is rendered from publicly-served map tiles. Tile requests contain map coordinates and zoom level.

We do not control these third parties and do not receive any data from them about you. Their logging, retention, and privacy policies are their own.

What we store on our servers

Nothing. We operate no servers, no databases, no analytics, and no user accounts. We cannot see, retrieve, or delete any data about you, because we never receive any in the first place.

Children

The app's audience on Google Play is rated for users aged 9 and up, since it is a general-purpose public-transport tool that students and younger users may use. Because the app collects no personal data from any user — including children — it does not knowingly collect, use, or share personal information from children under 13 (as defined by COPPA) or from children under 16 (as defined by GDPR). The app does not show advertising, does not use tracking SDKs, and does not require registration or a user account.

The app complies with Google Play's Families Policy insofar as it may be used by children.

Permissions rationale

• Location (foreground only) — to show nearby stops, "leave in…" walking timers, and live navigation while riding. The app never requests background location.
• Internet — to fetch real-time transit data and map tiles from the third-party services listed above.

Your rights

Since we do not collect personal data, there is nothing on our side to request, access, correct, or delete. If you want to delete the local data the app has saved on your device, uninstalling the app removes it entirely.

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes in a way that affects what the app does with data, we will update the "Last updated" date above and, where appropriate, note the change in release notes.

Contact

Questions or concerns? Email tedisabev@gmail.com.