Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Tourist Traps (“we”, “us”) collects, uses, and protects your information. It applies to our website at touristtraps.app and to our mobile apps for iOS and Android. You can browse and analyze places without an account; some features—such as saving places, purchases, and syncing across devices—require you to sign in.

What We Collect

• Account information:If you sign in with Apple or Google, we receive your email address, name, and a unique account identifier, which we use to create and manage your account. If you use Sign in with Apple and choose to hide your email, we only receive Apple's private relay address.
• Location data:If you grant permission, your device location is used while you use the app to find nearby places and show them on the map. Your location is sent to our servers to perform the search and may be retained in anonymous usage analytics to help us improve the app. It is not linked to your account or identity.
• Search queries & saved places:Search terms are sent to our servers to fetch place data. If you save a place, we store that place and its association with your account so you can access your favorites across devices.
• Purchase information:When you buy a credit pack or subscribe to Pro, we record your subscription tier and credit balance so we can deliver what you paid for. Payments are processed by Apple (in-app purchases on iOS) and Stripe (on the web); we do not receive or store your full payment card details.
• Usage & analytics:We record basic events—such as searches and place views, analyses, and saves—to understand how the app is used and improve it.
• Diagnostics & crash reports:We use Sentry to collect crash logs and error diagnostics so we can find and fix problems. These reports may include device and app information but are not used to track you.
• On-device storage:Your recent search history and your sign-in session are stored locally on your device (in the browser, or in secure storage on mobile). This data stays on your device and is removed when you sign out or clear the app.

How We Use Your Information

• •To provide core features—place search, trap analysis, nearby discovery, and saved favorites.
• •To manage your account, credits, and subscription.
• •To measure usage, maintain reliability, and improve the app.
• •To prevent abuse and enforce rate limits.

We do not sell your personal information, and the app does not track you across other companies' apps or websites for advertising.

Third-Party Services

To provide analysis and run the service, we share the minimum data needed with the following providers, each governed by its own privacy policy:

• Google Maps Platform — place search, details, and maps display
• TripAdvisor API — review ratings and counts
• Perplexity (Sonar) — review analysis and web search (place data only)
• Apple & RevenueCat — in-app purchases and subscription management on mobile
• Stripe — payment processing on the web
• Sentry — crash and error diagnostics

We send these services only the data needed to perform their function—for example, place information (name, location, type) for analysis, or purchase details for billing. We do not sell personal information to any of them.

Cookies & Tracking (Web)

On our website, we show a cookie consent banner on your first visit. You can accept or decline non-essential cookies. Our mobile apps do not use advertising cookies or trackers.

• Essential storage:We use browser localStorage to store your cookie consent preference and search history. These never leave your device and are not cookies.
• Analytics (optional):If you accept cookies, we load Google Tag Manager (GTM) and Meta Pixel (Facebook), which may set cookies for analytics and advertising purposes (e.g. Google Analytics, Meta ad measurement). These help us understand how the site is used and measure advertising effectiveness. Neither GTM nor Meta Pixel is loaded if you decline.
• Google Maps:The embedded Google Map may set its own cookies as governed by Google's privacy policy, regardless of your consent choice, as it is essential to the service.

Data Storage & Retention

Account, subscription, saved place, and analytics data are stored in a secured PostgreSQL database. Analysis results and place data may be cached on our servers (via Redis) for up to a few days to improve performance; cached data contains only place analysis results and no payment details. We keep account-related data for as long as your account is active, and remove it when you delete your account (see below).

Your Rights & Account Deletion

You can delete your account and all associated data at any time from within the app (Menu → Account → Delete Account), or by contacting us. Deleting your account removes your profile, saved places, and subscription record. Usage analytics are collected without an account identifier and recorded in anonymized, aggregated form, so they are not tied to your account and are retained separately. You may also sign out at any time to remove locally stored session data from your device.

Children

Tourist Traps is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the “Last updated” date above.

Contact

If you have questions about this privacy policy or want to exercise your data rights, please contact us through the options on touristtraps.app or open an issue on our GitHub repository.