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PlainWalk Privacy Policy

Last updated: September 30, 2026

PlainWalk (the “App”) is designed with your privacy as the first priority.

Information We Collect

The App never sends your walking records to the developer’s servers. The one exception is Shared maps, and only the walks you put on a map yourself (see below).

  • Location: Used to draw the roads you have walked onto your blank map. Your location data is stored on your device and is never transmitted to the developer, except the walks you yourself put on a shared map (see below). Only if you turn on “Back up to iCloud” yourself is a copy also stored in your own iCloud (see below).
  • Motion data (steps and activity): The device’s motion sensor and pedometer are used to display your step count for today and to tell how you got around on a walk (walking, running, cycling or riding). The activity and the steps per minute used for this are saved on your device as part of the walk. They are never transmitted to the developer.
  • Apple Health (optional): Only if you connect it in Settings > Apple Health, the app reads your steps, heart rate, active energy, state of mind and workout routes. It only reads; it never writes to Apple Health. Steps, heart rate, active energy and state of mind are read each time they are shown and are not saved, not transmitted to the developer, and not used for ads. When you draw a workout on your map, its route is saved on your device as a walk, but it is left out of iCloud backup.
  • Home and work (optional): Places you set in Settings > Home and work are saved only on your device, only to notice when you leave or arrive. They are never transmitted to the developer, are not included in iCloud backup or shared maps, and are not shown on your map.
  • Photos: Photos taken with the Spot feature are stored on your device. As with location, a copy is stored in your own iCloud only when iCloud backup is turned on.

Advertising

The App occasionally shows an ad (Google AdMob) after a walk ends. To deliver those ads, information such as an advertising identifier may be sent to Google.

  • If you decline the iOS tracking prompt, only non-tracking ads are served
  • Where legally required (EU, UK and others), a Google User Messaging Platform consent form is shown first
  • Google’s privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy
  • Buying the “Remove Ads” in-app purchase stops ads entirely; for buyers the ads SDK is never even initialized

Your trails, location data and photos are never shared with advertisers.

iCloud Backup (off by default)

Turning on “Profile > Backup” stores a copy of your walks and photos in your own iCloud. No developer server is involved, and the developer cannot access the contents. It is off by default; unless you turn it on, your records never leave your device.

When you turn it off, you can choose whether to keep or delete the copy already in iCloud.

Shared Maps

When you make a shared map under Profile > Collection > Shared maps, or join one from an invitation link, the walks you put on that map are stored on the developer’s server (hosted on Cloudflare) and shown to the people on the same map.

  • Only what you put on a map is sent: a thinned track (a list of coordinates), the start and end time, and the distance of that walk. Photos, saved places, step counts and any other records are never sent.
  • No account is created. The App generates a random identifier for your device to tie your walks to the map. A display name is optional; if you enter one, the people on the same map see it.
  • Taking a walk off a map deletes it from the server. Leaving a map deletes all of your walks on it, and when the person who made the map closes it, everything on it is deleted.
  • Only the people who joined a map can see it. Nothing is public. Anyone who opens the invitation link can join, so share the link only with people you want on the map.

Where Your Data Is Stored

All records (trails, pioneered distance, step counts, photos) are stored on your iPhone. No account registration is required. The only thing the developer’s server receives is the walks you yourself put on a shared map (see above).

Sharing With Third Parties

Your walking records and location data are never shared with third parties. Google AdMob is used solely to deliver advertising (see above). The Shared maps server runs on infrastructure provided by Cloudflare, Inc., where the walks you put on a map are stored. No analytics SDKs are used.

Deleting Your Data

You can delete all records at any time from “Profile > Reset data” inside the App (this deletes the iCloud copy as well). Walks you put on a shared map are deleted from the server when you take them off, leave the map, or the map is closed. Deleting the App removes its data from your device; if you kept the iCloud copy, you can restore it when you reinstall.

Permissions

  • Location (While Using the App): Required to record your trail. Recording continues while the screen is off, but stops as soon as you end the recording. Only if you choose “Notify me” or “Record automatically” under Profile > When you start moving, or turn on Home and work, does the App ask for “Always” location access. It is needed so iOS can wake the App when you start moving, or when you leave or arrive at home or work, even while it is closed. With that setting off, the App works with “While Using” and never asks for “Always”. Your location still never leaves your device (except walks you put on a shared map yourself).
  • Motion & Fitness: Used to display your step count and to tell how you got around on a walk, and, if you turned on “When you start moving”, to notice that you have started moving.
  • Health (read only): Only if you connect it in Settings > Apple Health, used to read the values and workout routes described above.
  • Camera: Used to photograph a spot you like.
  • Notifications: Used for the morning walk reminder, the weekly recap, and, if you turned on “When you start moving”, notices about starting and recording a walk.

All permissions can be revoked at any time in iOS Settings.

This Website (plainwalk.app)

To learn which pages are read and improve the site, this website uses the analytics tools below. They are not used in the app.

  • Google Analytics 4: uses cookies to count the pages you view, where you came from, your approximate region (country and city), your device and browser type, and whether you tapped a link to the App Store. IP addresses are not stored. Google signals and ad personalization are turned off. Visitors from the European Economic Area, the UK and Switzerland get no analytics cookies. To opt out, block cookies in your browser or use the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on. How Google uses this data: https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites
  • Cloudflare Web Analytics: counts page views without cookies and without identifying you.

Contact

If you have questions about this policy, please contact [email protected].

Changes

If this policy changes, this page will be updated.