Privacy Policy

Effective Date: January 15, 2025

Last Updated: January 15, 2025

1. Introduction

Welcome to Roadtrip Ninja! We are committed to helping families with young children find safe, fun, and family-friendly stops during their road trips. This Privacy Policy explains how Roadtrip Ninja ("we," "our," or "us") collects, uses, protects, and shares your personal information when you use our website, mobile application, and related services (collectively, the "Service").

We know that sharing your information with us is based on trust. We take your trust seriously and are committed to being transparent about our data practices while protecting your privacy and the privacy of your family.

This policy applies to all users of our Service, including parents, caregivers, and other family members who use Roadtrip Ninja to plan and share travel experiences.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide Directly

  • Account Information: Name, email address, password, and profile information
  • User-Generated Content: Reviews, ratings, comments, photos, and descriptions of locations and amenities
  • Location Information: Information about places you search for, visit, or review
  • Communication Data: Messages sent through our platform and correspondence with our support team
  • Preferences: Travel preferences, family size, children's ages (in general ranges), and accessibility needs

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

  • Usage Data: How you interact with our Service, including pages viewed, features used, and time spent
  • Device Information: Device type, operating system, browser type, and mobile device identifiers
  • Location Data: With your permission, your device's GPS location to show nearby family-friendly stops
  • Log Data: IP address, access times, and referring websites (IP addresses are shortened for privacy)
  • Analytics Data: Aggregated usage statistics to improve our Service

2.3 Information from Third-Party Sources

  • OpenStreetMap Data: Public geographic and location data used to provide mapping services
  • Social Media: If you choose to connect social media accounts, basic profile information
  • Authentication Services: Information from third-party login providers (Google, Apple, etc.)

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your information to provide, improve, and personalize our family-friendly travel service:

3.1 Service Provision

  • Create and manage your account
  • Provide location-based recommendations for family-friendly stops
  • Enable you to share reviews, photos, and recommendations
  • Display user-generated content to help other families
  • Provide customer support and respond to inquiries

3.2 Service Improvement

  • Analyze usage patterns to improve our features and user experience
  • Develop new family-oriented features and services
  • Ensure the accuracy and quality of location information
  • Detect and prevent spam, abuse, and inappropriate content

3.3 Communication

  • Send important service announcements and safety updates
  • Respond to your questions and support requests
  • Send optional newsletters and family travel tips (with your consent)

3.4 Legal and Safety

  • Comply with legal obligations and law enforcement requests
  • Protect the safety and security of our users, especially families and children
  • Enforce our Terms of Service and community guidelines
  • Prevent fraud, abuse, and other harmful activities

4. When and How We Share Information

We do not sell your personal information. We may share your information in the following limited circumstances:

4.1 Public Information

  • Reviews, ratings, and photos you choose to make public
  • Your username and profile information associated with public content
  • Location information for places you've reviewed (but not your personal location)

4.2 Service Providers

  • Hosting and infrastructure providers
  • Analytics services (with anonymized data where possible)
  • Email communication services
  • Customer support platforms
  • Content moderation services to ensure family-safe content

4.3 Legal Requirements

  • When required by law or legal process
  • To protect the rights, property, or safety of our users
  • To prevent fraud or other illegal activities
  • In connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets (with notice)

4.4 With Your Consent

We may share information in other circumstances with your explicit consent.

5. Data Retention

We retain your information only as long as necessary to provide our services and comply with legal obligations:

  • Account Data: Retained while your account is active and for up to 2 years after account deletion
  • User-Generated Content: Public reviews and photos may be retained to maintain the integrity of our community database
  • Analytics Data: Aggregated and anonymized data may be retained indefinitely for service improvement
  • Log Data: Detailed logs are retained for 180 days; IP addresses are shortened after 30 days
  • Legal Requirements: Some data may be retained longer when required by law

You can request deletion of your personal information at any time, subject to legal and operational requirements.

6. Children's Privacy (COPPA Compliance)

Protecting children's privacy is fundamental to our family-focused mission. Roadtrip Ninja is designed for use by parents and caregivers, not directly by children under 13.

6.1 Age Requirements

  • Users must be 18 years or older to create an account
  • Users between 13-17 may use the service with verified parental consent
  • We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13

6.2 Family-Safe Content

  • All user-generated content is moderated for family-appropriate material
  • We prohibit sharing personal information about children in reviews or photos
  • Photos containing recognizable children require appropriate privacy considerations

6.3 Parental Rights

If we discover we have collected information from a child under 13 without parental consent, we will:

  • Delete the information as soon as reasonably possible
  • Not use the information for any purpose
  • Not disclose the information to third parties

6.4 Reporting

If you believe we have collected information from a child under 13, please contact us immediately at privacy@roadtripninja.com.

7. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal information:

7.1 General Rights

  • Access: Request a copy of your personal information
  • Correction: Update or correct inaccurate information
  • Deletion: Request deletion of your personal information
  • Portability: Receive your data in a commonly used format
  • Objection: Object to certain uses of your information

7.2 California Residents (CCPA)

California residents have additional rights including:

  • Right to know what personal information is collected and how it's used
  • Right to delete personal information
  • Right to opt-out of the sale of personal information (we don't sell your data)
  • Right to non-discrimination for exercising privacy rights

7.3 European Residents (GDPR)

EU residents have additional rights including:

  • Right to restrict processing of your data
  • Right to data portability
  • Right to object to processing based on legitimate interests
  • Right to lodge complaints with supervisory authorities

7.4 Exercising Your Rights

To exercise your privacy rights, contact us at privacy@roadtripninja.com or use our in-app privacy settings. We will respond within the timeframes required by applicable law.

8. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information:

  • Encryption: Data is encrypted in transit and at rest using industry-standard protocols
  • Access Controls: Strict access controls limit who can view your personal information
  • Regular Audits: Regular security assessments and vulnerability testing
  • Incident Response: Procedures to detect, respond to, and notify users of security incidents
  • Employee Training: Staff trained on privacy and security best practices
  • Data Minimization: We collect only the information necessary for our services

While we implement strong security measures, no system is completely secure. We encourage you to use strong passwords and keep your account information confidential.

9. International Data Transfers

Our service may involve transferring your information to countries outside your residence. When we transfer data internationally:

  • We ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your information
  • We use Standard Contractual Clauses or other approved transfer mechanisms
  • We comply with applicable cross-border data transfer laws
  • We maintain the same level of protection regardless of where data is processed

10. Third-Party Services

10.1 OpenStreetMap Integration

We use OpenStreetMap data and services to provide mapping functionality. OpenStreetMap has its own privacy policy that governs their data practices. We do not share your personal information with OpenStreetMap beyond what's necessary for map functionality.

10.2 Analytics Services

We use analytics services to understand how our Service is used. These services may collect information about your usage, but we configure them to protect your privacy and anonymize data where possible.

10.3 External Links

Our Service may contain links to third-party websites or services. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of external sites. We encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing personal information.

11. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience:

11.1 Types of Cookies

  • Essential Cookies: Required for basic service functionality
  • Performance Cookies: Help us understand how the Service is used
  • Functional Cookies: Remember your preferences and settings
  • Analytics Cookies: Provide insights to improve our Service

11.2 Managing Cookies

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Note that disabling certain cookies may limit Service functionality. We respect Do Not Track signals where technically feasible.

12. Updates to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in our practices or applicable law. When we make significant changes:

  • We will notify you by email (if you've provided an email address)
  • We will post a notice on our Service
  • We will update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this policy
  • For material changes affecting children's privacy, we will provide additional notice

Your continued use of the Service after changes become effective constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

13. Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:

Email: privacy@roadtripninja.com

Data Protection Officer (EU): dpo@roadtripninja.com

We will respond to your inquiry within 30 days (or sooner as required by applicable law).