Privacy Policy

Japan Explorer · Effective July 10, 2026

This policy explains what information Japan Explorer ("the app", "we") collects, how it is used, and the choices you have. We collect only what the app's features need, we do not sell personal information, and we do not share it with advertising networks.

Information you provide

• Account details — your email address, a display name, and an optional profile photo or avatar. If you sign in with Google or Apple, we receive your account identifier from that provider instead of a password.
• Content you create — trash bin reports (including the location you place them at), trip itineraries, saved favorites, votes, and messages in group trip chats.

Information collected automatically

• Location — with your permission, the app uses your device's precise location to find nearby train stations and places, to attach a location to trash bin reports you choose to make, and to confirm reports are made from within Japan. Location is used when you use these features; the app does not track your location in the background.
• A random device identifier — an anonymous identifier generated on your device, used only to apply fair daily limits on free features. It is not derived from your hardware and is not used for advertising.
• Feature usage counts — how many times limited features were used on a given day.

How your information is used

• To provide the app's features: showing places near stations, saving your trips and favorites, community trash bin mapping, and group chat.
• To display community content you choose to share (for example, a published itinerary shows your display name; a trash bin report appears on the shared map).
• To keep the service healthy: preventing abuse, applying rate limits, and filtering inappropriate content.

How your information is protected

• Passwords are stored only as one-way bcrypt hashes.
• Email addresses and group chat messages are encrypted at rest (AES-256).
• All traffic between the app and our servers uses HTTPS.

Third-party services

• Google Places — when you browse places, our server sends the relevant coordinates (a station's location or your approximate position) to Google to retrieve nearby places and photos. Requests come from our server; Google does not receive your account identity from us.
• Google Maps (Android) and Apple Maps (iOS) — map tiles are provided by these platforms and are subject to their respective privacy policies.
• Hosting — our server and database run on cloud infrastructure; your data is stored there subject to this policy.

We do not use third-party analytics SDKs or advertising networks. Sponsored place listings, where shown, are served by us directly and do not involve sharing your data with the sponsor.

Data retention and deletion

• Your data is kept while your account is active.
• You can permanently delete your account at any time in the app: Profile → Delete Account. This immediately erases your account, trips, favorites, votes, and messages.
• Trash bin locations you contributed remain on the community map after account deletion, but are anonymized — the link to you is removed.

Children

Japan Explorer is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has created an account, contact us and we will delete it.

International users

The app is designed for exploring Japan and our servers may be located outside your country of residence. By using the app you consent to your information being processed where our servers operate, protected as described above.

Changes to this policy

If we make material changes, we will update the effective date above and, where appropriate, notify you in the app. Continued use after changes take effect constitutes acceptance.

Contact

Questions or requests about your data: TokyoExplorerApp@Gmail.com