Privacy Policy

CanalRoute (“we”, “us”) is an app that helps you plan scenic boat routes through Amsterdam’s canals: pick how long you want to be out, and CanalRoute plans a route or a round-trip loop over the water, shows your position, and points the way. This policy explains what data we handle and why.

1. The short version

CanalRoute has no accounts and no login. We don’t ask for your name, email, or any way to identify you. We show ads to no one and we process no payments. The only personal data involved is your location, which is used on your device to plan and guide your route. That’s it.

2. What data we handle

• Precise location — used on your device to show where you are on the canal map, to plan a route from your position, and to guide your trip while you’re on the water. During an active trip, location is also used in the background so your route keeps being captured even when your phone is in your pocket or the screen is off. Live guidance uses the iOS “While Using the App” permission; background capture during an active trip uses the “Always” permission. You grant these through the standard iOS location prompts, and you can change or withdraw either any time in iOS Settings.
• Anonymous route traces (only if you opt in) — if you turn on “Help improve routing” in Settings (it is off by default), the shape of a completed trip is sent to our database to improve future route quality. These traces carry no name, no account, no device identifier, and nothing that links them to you — they cannot be traced back to a person. You can turn this off any time.
• On-device settings — small preferences (like whether you’ve planned your first route, or your opt-in choice) are stored only on your device using iOS’s standard storage. They never leave your phone and we never receive them.

We handle no email address, no payment data, and no advertising identifier. We do not track you across other apps or websites.

3. Why (legal bases, GDPR)

• Providing the service (legitimate interest / performance): showing your position and planning and guiding your route.
• Consent: iOS location permission, and the optional, off-by-default anonymous route traces that help us improve routing.

4. Who we share data with (processors)

• Supabase — database and hosting in the EU, used only to store the anonymous route traces described above (when you opt in).

We do not sell your data and do not share it for any purpose beyond the above.

5. Retention & deletion

Because route traces are anonymous and contain nothing that identifies you, there is no personal profile to hold or delete. If you don’t opt in, we hold nothing about you at all. You can stop contributing new traces any time by turning the setting off, and you can remove all on-device data by deleting the app.

6. Your rights

Under the GDPR you have rights of access, rectification, erasure, restriction, and portability, and you may withdraw consent at any time. Because we hold no data that identifies you, we may be unable to link a request to specific records — but you can always contact us at the address above, and you may lodge a complaint with the Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens).

7. Children

CanalRoute is not directed at children under 16.

8. Changes

We may update this policy; the date at the top shows the latest version. We’ll flag important changes in the app.