Privacy Policy

Last updated: May 2026

Our Privacy Promise

RestMap was built with privacy as a core principle. We believe you shouldn't have to sacrifice your privacy to find a clean restroom.

What We Don't Collect

• Personal information - We don't require accounts, emails, or any identifying information
• Location history - We don't store your travel history, the restrooms you visit, or your movement patterns
• Device identifiers - We don't collect device IDs or create user profiles
• Cross-app tracking - We don't track you across other apps or websites

On-Device Processing

• Location - Your device's location is used to find nearby restrooms and recommend stops along routes. We don't receive or store your location on our servers.
• RestRoom IQ scoring - Quality scores and recommendations are computed on your device using bundled data and on-device machine learning. No data is sent to external servers for AI analysis.
• Preferences, favorites, trip history - Stored locally on your device using Apple's secure storage. RestMap also syncs a copy through your iCloud account so that your preferences, contribution stats, badges, and recent activity move with you between your iPhone and iPad and survive reinstalling the app. This sync uses Apple's iCloud Key-Value Store; data never leaves your iCloud account or our app sandbox.

Community Ratings

When you choose to submit a rating, we store the following anonymously in our shared ratings database (Google Firebase):

• The location of the place being rated (not your location)
• Your rating (Good, Okay, Poor, or No Restroom)
• Optional amenity information you provide (e.g., changing table, accessibility)
• Optional review text you choose to write
• A random submission ID (UUID) so other travelers can thank your contribution

Submissions are anonymous - they are not linked to any account, device identifier, or personally identifying information. Because submissions are anonymous, we cannot offer in-app deletion of individual ratings; you can request removal of a specific submission by emailing us with the location and approximate submission time.

Community Thanks

When another traveler taps to thank one of your ratings, reviews, or hours updates, we record an anonymous count next to that submission. To stop the same person from thanking the same item twice, we attach a one-way hashed key derived from a random per-install identifier - never your Apple ID, email, or device serial. The hash cannot be reversed to identify you, your device, or any other contribution you've made.

Thanks counts are stored alongside the contribution in Firebase; the hashed dedup keys are visible only as opaque strings on individual contribution records. We do not aggregate them, build profiles from them, or share them with third parties.

Analytics

We use privacy-preserving analytics to understand aggregate app usage (which features are used, crash reports). This helps us improve the app but does not identify individual users. You can opt out of analytics in your device's Settings under Privacy.

Third-Party Services

• Apple Maps - For map display, search, and directions. When you query the map or request directions, your query is handled by Apple according to their privacy policy.
• Google Firebase - For anonymous community ratings storage and aggregate analytics. Firebase does not receive personally identifying information from RestMap.

Data Sources

RestMap's restroom database combines public data from several sources, credited explicitly in the app:

• OpenStreetMap - Public restroom locations contributed by the OSM community
• Refuge Restrooms - Safety and accessibility data for transgender and non-binary users
• Open Charge Map - EV charging station locations
• Apple Places - Business and POI data from Apple Maps

These datasets are bundled with the app or fetched without user identifiers; using them does not share information about you.

Data Storage

Your preferences, favorites, and trip history are stored locally on your device. Community ratings are stored anonymously in Google Firebase. We do not sell or share your data with third parties for marketing purposes.

Your Rights

• Deny location access in Settings (the app will function with limited features)
• Request removal of a submission you've made by emailing us
• Report inappropriate content from within the app

Children's Privacy

RestMap is rated 4+ on the App Store and is suitable for all ages. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children, since the app does not collect personal information from any user.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. We will post any changes here with an updated date. Significant changes will be highlighted in the app.

Contact Us

If you have questions about this privacy policy or wish to request data removal, please contact us at flush.restmap@gmail.com.