Precise location is sensitive personal information
PathRealm's core features require precise location during an activity and may show it to
members of the same team. Join only with people you trust, and enable sharing only after you
understand its purpose and impact.
1. Scope and Principles
This Policy applies to the PathRealm App, regional servers, Bootstrap configuration service,
and this website. PathRealm processes information within the minimum scope necessary for its
functions and does not use personal information for advertising profiles unrelated to team
location coordination.
“Team” or “activity” means the same PathRealm Session entered through an invite code.
Location and message visibility among team members is a core product purpose, not public
disclosure.
2. Information We Process
2.1 Information and preferences you provide
- Your display name within a team.
- Activity type, such as cycling, motorcycling, running, or hiking.
- Interface and spoken language, distance unit, automatic report, and location-sharing settings.
- Invite code, service region, and related operation details used to create or join an activity.
2.2 Device and service identity
- A randomly generated device-installation identifier and credential, plus member and Session identifiers.
- Member role, join or leave state, configuration versions, request identifiers, and synchronization progress.
- Technical metadata ordinarily associated with network requests, such as IP address, request time, status code, operating-system version, and necessary device information.
PathRealm currently does not require a phone number, email address, or social account to register an ordinary App account.
2.3 Precise location and motion data
During an activity, after you grant location permission and enable sharing, PathRealm
processes latitude, longitude, capture time, horizontal accuracy, and—when supplied by the
device—speed, direction of travel, and altitude. The App may continue to collect location in
the background while an activity is active and the relevant permission is granted.
The backend derives recent tracks, teams, team leaders, member assignment, relative order,
route distance, direct distance, and other team state. These inferences are also
information related to you and the activity.
2.4 Team messages
When you send a team message, we process the original text, sender display name, sender and
recipient identifiers, language and unit preferences, and—if you choose to attach it—a
location snapshot. The server may also generate recipient-specific relative location,
distance, and spoken text.
Speech is ordinarily synthesized locally on the recipient's device from server-delivered text; PathRealm does not need to upload a recording of your voice.
2.5 Diagnostics
App diagnostic logging is off by default. If you enable it, logs may contain feature events,
network outcomes, timing, device and App versions, location-processing state, and redacted
request or response content. Credentials, invite codes, passwords, and authorization values
are redacted where possible, but logs may still contain location or team-activity information.
Logs are first stored locally with a current total limit of approximately 10 MB and are
uploaded only when you actively send them. For specific troubleshooting or controlled
acceptance, a server diagnostic mode may temporarily retain the complete raw location track
of a designated activity. This capability is disabled by default in normal deployment.
2.6 Website data
This website currently contains no advertising, behavioral analytics, or third-party
statistics scripts. Your browser stores only the Chinese/English selection locally. Website
infrastructure may still process standard access-log data for security and operations,
including IP address, request time, page address, browser type, and response status.
3. How We Use Information
- To create, join, synchronize, leave, and end team activities.
- To show location and team state to members of the same activity within the authorized scope.
- To calculate route relationships, teams, relative member position, and distance.
- To send team messages and generate and deliver text for automatic or manual spoken reports.
- To authenticate devices, enforce permissions, process operations idempotently, restore synchronization, and prevent abuse.
- To respond to settings, deletion, access, and support requests.
- To troubleshoot problems, verify algorithms, and improve reliability when diagnostics are enabled or you provide logs.
- To comply with law and protect the safety and lawful interests of users, teammates, the service, and the public.
4. How Information Is Shared or Disclosed
4.1 Members of the same team
While location sharing is enabled, other members of the activity may see your display name,
current or recent position, motion state, displayed track, and team relationships. Team
messages and optional location attachments are delivered to the relevant teammates and may
be spoken on their devices. Share invite codes only with people you trust.
4.2 Infrastructure providers
Providers of server, storage, network, and security infrastructure may process information
within the scope necessary to operate the service. We require such processing to be used only
to provide and protect the service.
4.3 Maps and device location services
The App currently uses MapTiler
for map styles and tiles. When a map is loaded, MapTiler may receive the IP address, device
and network request information, and the map area being viewed. Device positioning is
provided through operating-system capabilities such as Apple's and is also governed by the
provider's Location Services privacy notice.
4.4 Law, safety, and protection of rights
We may disclose relevant information where reasonably necessary to comply with law or valid
legal process, respond to a security incident, protect life and health, or protect the lawful
rights of users and the service.
Except with your authorization, as required by law, or as necessary for the core service, we do not sell personal information or provide precise location to advertisers.
5. Storage Location and Retention
5.1 Regional servers and international transfer
The service region selected when an activity is created, or associated with its invite code,
determines the regional server that principally processes team data. Available regions may
include China, Asia, North America, and Europe. If you or a teammate uses the service outside
the server region, data may be transmitted across national or regional borders.
5.2 Live location and tracks
In normal mode, the server does not retain an indefinitely growing complete raw GPS history.
Location, recent tracks, and algorithm working state used for live processing have bounded
windows; under the current configuration, they ordinarily expire about 15 minutes after the
member's last valid update. The service attempts to clear corresponding live-track state when
sharing is disabled.
Message location attachments, team events, diagnostic logs, and raw location retained during
controlled diagnostic mode have separate retention behavior and are not governed by that
15-minute period.
5.3 Team, member, and message records
Session records, membership, join and leave events, team messages, location attachments, and
necessary idempotency records are stored in the business database to maintain activity
consistency, message synchronization, and recovery. The current version does not yet offer a
single in-App automatic deletion control for every historical Session record. We retain these
records while necessary for functionality, security, dispute handling, and legal obligations,
and delete or anonymize them when no longer needed. You may request deletion by email.
5.4 Local data and diagnostics
The device stores credentials, current activity state, preferences, Bootstrap cache, queued
location awaiting upload, sync progress, and necessary replay-protection state. Data is
ordinarily retained until the relevant workflow confirms and removes it, you clear or leave
the activity, or you uninstall the App.
You may clear local diagnostic logs at any time. Uploaded logs and controlled server
diagnostic files are retained as needed for troubleshooting, verification, and security
review. The current version does not promise a fixed period; you may contact us to request
deletion.
6. Security
We use measures such as encryption in transit, device credentials, team and member permission
checks, restricted server access, redaction of sensitive log fields, and bounded live-track
windows to reduce the risk of unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or loss.
No device, network, storage method, or software is absolutely secure. Protect your device
unlock credentials, invite codes, and team information, and remove members who should no
longer participate. Contact us if you discover suspicious activity.
7. Your Choices and Rights
- Choose the scope of location permission in iOS Settings, disable Precise Location, or revoke location permission entirely.
- Enable or disable location sharing and automatic spoken reports in the App.
- Leave an activity; an organizer may end the activity.
- Review and clear local diagnostic logs and decide whether to send them to the server.
- Clear App data or uninstall the App to remove corresponding local data. This does not automatically delete server data or copies on teammates' devices.
- Contact us to request access, correction, a copy, or deletion of relevant personal information; withdraw consent; or ask questions and submit complaints.
We may need to verify that a request comes from the relevant device or team member so that we
do not delete another person's information. Withdrawal does not affect processing lawfully
completed before withdrawal. Features that require withdrawn permissions may stop working.
8. Minors
Minors should use PathRealm only with a guardian's guidance and consent. Guardians should pay
particular attention to the fact that precise location is shown to teammates, confirm that
team members are trusted, and assess activity safety. Contact us if you believe a minor's
information has been processed without appropriate consent.
9. Updates to This Policy
We may update this Policy because of changes to features, data processing, third-party
services, compliance requirements, or law. The effective date will be shown on this page,
and material changes will be explained through the App, a website notice, or other reasonable
means.
10. Contact Us
For questions, rights requests, deletion requests, or security reports, contact:
