RideCircle Privacy Policy & Data Protection Notice

Last updated: September 5, 2026

1. Introduction & Legal Framework

This Privacy Policy explains how Maheshwar Thakur, trading as RideCircle ("Data Fiduciary," "we," "us," or "our"), collects, uses, stores, and protects your personal information when you use the RideCircle mobile application, website, and related software services (collectively, the "Service").

We are committed to safeguarding user privacy and processing personal data transparently in accordance with applicable privacy legislation, including the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act) of India, as well as general principles under international data protection laws (such as GDPR and CCPA where applicable).

2. Information We Collect

We collect only the data necessary to provide and secure our group riding functionality:

• Account Details: When setting up your profile, we ask for your name, email address, and security verification answers. Passwords are salted and converted into secure cryptographic hashes before storage. We never store or view plaintext passwords.
• Real-Time GPS Data: While you are in an active ride session, RideCircle accesses precise GPS coordinates to show your location on interactive group maps. Location tracking runs strictly during active rides and ends immediately when you exit the ride or close the application. RideCircle does not track your location in the background when no ride is active.
• Motion Hardware & Crash Detection: During rides, RideCircle accesses your phone's accelerometer and gyroscope to detect sudden crash impacts. Motion data is analyzed locally on your device hardware; raw sensor logs are never sent to our servers. A crash alert is transmitted to your group only when an impact is registered and not canceled by you.
• Ride Metadata & In-App Broadcasts: We keep basic ride logs (ride titles, join codes, member lists, start/end times, and each rider's distance and average speed for that ride) and short broadcast messages sent to your group during a ride.
• Ride Route (when a destination is set): If a ride's creator sets a destination, we calculate and save the resulting route between the ride's starting point and that destination, so it can be shown as a small map preview in your ride history later, along with the destination's place name and a general area name for the ride's starting point (such as a city or neighborhood, never a precise address). This is the suggested route only — it is not a record of your actual live GPS movement during the ride, and does not reflect any detours you may have taken.
• Information We Do Not Collect: We do not collect credit card numbers, financial credentials, advertising tracking IDs (such as IDFA or GAID), or web browsing activity outside the app.

3. Why We Process Your Data

We process your personal data under clear legal grounds:

• Service Delivery (Contractual Obligation): To maintain user accounts, render live group map displays, transmit in-app messages, and deliver crash/SOS alerts to group members.
• User Consent: To access device GPS positioning, motion hardware, and camera/photos (if you choose to upload a profile picture).
• System Integrity & Legal Compliance: To protect server security, prevent fake account creation, handle technical bugs, and comply with lawful requests from governmental or judicial authorities.

4. Data Sharing & Infrastructure Partners

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data to third parties or marketing brokers. To operate the platform, we work with established technical infrastructure providers:

• Firebase Realtime Database (Google) — handles real-time location synchronization, quick messaging, and group alert notifications during active rides.
• Mapping Services (OpenStreetMap, OpenFreeMap, Esri, OpenTopoMap) — renders background map tiles. Tile requests automatically process standard network request information (such as IP address and map coordinates) according to each provider's privacy standards.
• Geoapify — handles address searches and route calculations. Search queries are routed through our backend servers so your device never connects directly to Geoapify.
• Cloudinary — stores and serves profile picture uploads. Images are uploaded directly from your device to Cloudinary; our servers only store the resulting image URL.
• Neon & Render — Neon manages our secure Postgres database (account records and ride history); Render hosts our server applications and API services.

5. Cross-Border Data Transfers

To ensure continuous service uptime, server infrastructure may process or store data outside your home country (including secure cloud facilities in the United States or the European Union). Where international data handling takes place, we ensure appropriate technical and contractual protections are applied to keep your information secure under applicable standards.

6. Data Retention & Storage

• Account Information: Retained while your account remains open and active.
• Live GPS Positions: Transient. GPS coordinates are cleared immediately after a ride session finishes or when you disconnect.
• Ride Routes: If a destination was set for a ride, the calculated route is retained as part of that ride's history record for as long as the ride remains in your history.
• Ride Logs: Basic ride summary records remain available so you can review past rides, including the calculated route if a destination was set. If you close your account, your personal details are detached or anonymized from ride records saved by other participants.

7. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on applicable privacy legislation (such as India's DPDP Act, GDPR, or CCPA), you have specific rights regarding your personal information:

• Access & Review: Request a summary of personal information held about you and how it is processed.
• Correction & Deletion: Update inaccurate account information or request account deletion and data removal.
• Permission Control: Revoke location or motion sensor access at any time through your mobile device settings.
• Grievance Redressal: Submit questions or formal complaints regarding data processing to our Grievance Officer.

You can delete your account directly inside the app by going to Settings → Delete Account, or by emailing us at ridecircle.official@gmail.com.

8. Protection of Minors

RideCircle is intended strictly for adult vehicle operators and riders aged 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 18. If we become aware that an account belongs to a minor under 18, we will remove the account and delete associated data promptly.

9. Policy Updates

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect app upgrades, regulatory updates, or operational changes. When changes occur, we will update the "Effective Date" at the top of this document or provide an in-app notification before changes take effect.

10. Grievance Officer & Contact Details

In accordance with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and the Information Technology Rules of India, the contact information for our Grievance / Data Protection Officer is provided below:

Grievance Redressal Officer: Maheshwar Thakur
Entity / Data Fiduciary: RideCircle Operations
Email: ridecircle.official@gmail.com
Location: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Response Commitment: Inquiries will be acknowledged within 48 hours and addressed within 30 days of receipt.

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