1. Overview & Core Philosophy
Welcome to Western Wheels ("we", "our", or "us"). Western Wheels is an independent transit and bus schedule application designed for commuters and transit riders using Whatcom Transportation Authority (WTA) bus services in Bellingham and Whatcom County, Washington.
2. Data Collection and Usage Summary
| Data Category | Collected by App? | Storage Location | Purpose & Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal Information (Name, Email, Phone) | No | N/A | No account creation or registration required. |
| Location Data (GPS / Coarse & Fine Location) | No (Processed locally) | RAM (Volatile) | Used strictly on-device to show your current location on the map relative to nearby bus stops. Never transmitted to our servers. |
| Saved Favorites & Settings | No (Stored locally) | On-Device Only | Saved stop IDs and map style choices are stored locally in your device's app storage (`SharedPreferences`). |
| Usage & Crash Analytics | Yes (via Google/Firebase SDKs) | Google Cloud / Firebase | Collected automatically by integrated Google Play Services and Firebase SDKs for application crash diagnostics and performance monitoring. |
3. Detailed Breakdown of Permissions & Services
3.1 Device Location Services
Western Wheels requests access to your device's approximate (`ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION`) and precise (`ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION`) location. This permission is used exclusively within the application while you are actively viewing the map interface to pinpoint your location relative to bus stops and routes. Your location coordinates are processed in memory on your physical device and are never stored, logged, or transmitted to any developer-owned server.
3.2 Internet & Network Access
The app requires internet permissions (`INTERNET`, `ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE`) for two specific functions:
- Fetching public, updated GTFS (General Transit Feed Specification) bus schedule files published by Whatcom Transportation Authority (WTA) via public API repositories.
- Rendering vector map tiles and transit layers provided by the Google Maps SDK.
3.3 Local Storage
All user customization data (e.g., your list of favorite bus stops, selected map preferences, and schedule feed update timestamps) is written strictly to your device's local application storage. It is never synchronized across devices or sent to external cloud storage.
4. Third-Party Services & External Links
The app integrates standard third-party services that may collect anonymized data or technical telemetry according to their respective privacy policies:
- Google Maps SDK for Android & Google Play Services: Provides map rendering and location overlays. Google may collect IP addresses, device identifiers, and diagnostic data. See Google Privacy Policy.
- Google Analytics for Firebase & Firebase Crashlytics: Used to diagnose app crashes, measure performance stability, and improve usability. Telemetry collected by Firebase is aggregated and non-personally identifiable. See Firebase Privacy & Security.
- GitHub Public GTFS Data Repository: Western Wheels requests updated public schedule feeds directly from WTA public repositories hosted on GitHub (`api.github.com`). Requests sent to GitHub include standard HTTP User-Agent headers.
- External Website Redirects: The application may provide external web links to official university or transit web pages. Navigating to external websites opens your device web browser; interactions on third-party sites are governed entirely by their respective privacy policies.
5. Data Retention, Deletion, & User Control
Because user preferences reside locally on your device and diagnostic telemetry is handled via Google Firebase, you retain control over your data as outlined below:
- Local Data & Clearing Preferences: You can clear all saved favorites and preferences at any time through your device settings under Settings > Apps > Western Wheels > Storage > Clear Data.
- Uninstalling the App: Uninstalling Western Wheels automatically and permanently deletes all local files, database caches, and preferences stored on your device.
- Revoking Location Permissions: You can grant or revoke location permissions at any time via your Android device's location permission manager under Settings > Apps > Western Wheels > Permissions.
- Analytics Telemetry Opt-Out & Control: Telemetry collection is managed via integrated Google Play Services and Firebase SDKs. Users can disable or limit device-level diagnostic data sharing via your Android device settings under Settings > Google > Usage & Diagnostics (or by uninstalling the application).
- Analytics & Crash Data Retention Timeline: Non-personally identifiable crash reports and aggregated analytics telemetry sent to Firebase/Google Analytics are retained according to Google's standard Firebase retention schedules—typically up to 90 days for crash log stack traces and up to 14 months for aggregated usage metrics—after which they are automatically purged by Google.
6. Children's Privacy
Western Wheels is a general audience transit utility app. We do not knowingly collect or solicit any personal information from children under the age of 13 (or under 16 in certain jurisdictions). If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us so we can immediately rectify the situation.
7. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our app functionality, legal obligations, or service providers. Any changes will be published directly on this page with an updated "Effective Date" at the top of the policy.
8. Contact Us
If you have any questions, suggestions, or concerns regarding this Privacy Policy or Western Wheels' privacy practices, please contact us:
Western Wheels Support
Developer Contact: Koos Prozinski
Email: westernwheelsbus@gmail.com
Application: Western Wheels (Android)
Package Name: com.koosprozinski.westernwheels