TravellBuddyPrivacy Policy
Last updated: 4 October 2026
TravellBuddy is a ride-sharing app that connects drivers who offer seats on a trip with passengers who book them. This policy explains what information the TravellBuddy app and website collect, why, who it is shared with, how long it is kept, and how you can delete it. Questions: support@travellbuddy.in.
1. Information we collect
| Information | When | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Name, email address, phone number, password (stored only as a secure hash) | When you create an account | To run your account, sign you in and let drivers and passengers contact each other about a trip |
| Google account name, email and account ID | If you choose “Continue with Google” | To sign you in |
| Profile photo | If you add one | Shown to the people you travel with |
| Precise location | When you use the map, search near you, offer or follow a trip, or send an SOS, and only after you allow location access | To set pickup and drop-off points, show nearby rides, share a driver’s position with booked passengers during a trip, and attach your position to an SOS alert |
| Trip and booking details: routes, stops, times, seats, price, booking requests, messages to the driver | When you offer or book a ride | To provide the ride-sharing service |
| Driver verification: driving licence number and photos or PDFs of your driving licence, Aadhaar card and vehicle registration certificate (RC) | Only if you register as a driver | To check the identity of drivers and the vehicles they use, for the safety of passengers |
| Vehicle details and photos | If you add a vehicle | Shown to passengers so they can recognise the car |
| Emergency contacts (names and phone numbers you enter) | If you add them in the Safety Center | So an SOS can reach them |
| SOS alerts: time, your location if available, and the trip | When you press SOS | To respond to safety incidents |
| Ratings and reviews | When you review someone after a trip | Shown to other users to build trust |
| Saved places and search history | When you save a place or search | To make searching faster |
| Push notification token | If you allow notifications | To send ride and booking updates to your phone |
We do not collect your contacts list, messages, call logs, microphone audio, health or payment information. TravellBuddy does not take payments: fares are settled directly between passenger and driver. We do not show ads, do not use advertising identifiers and do not use analytics or tracking tools.
2. Camera, photos and files
The camera is used only to scan a boarding QR code and to photograph documents, your profile picture or vehicle. The photo and document pickers only give the app the files you choose. Nothing is recorded or uploaded unless you confirm it.
3. Location
TravellBuddy uses your location only while the app is open. It does not collect location in the background. While a driver has an active trip open, the driver’s location is shared with the passengers booked on that trip and with anyone a passenger shares the trip link with. Sharing stops when the trip ends or the app is closed.
4. Who we share information with
- People you travel with. Drivers see the name, photo, phone number and pickup point of passengers who book them; passengers see the driver’s name, photo, phone number, vehicle, rating and, during a trip, location. Reviews are visible to other users.
- People you share a trip link with see the trip’s route, status and the driver’s position until the trip ends or the link is revoked.
- Your emergency contacts receive an SOS message when you send one from your phone.
- Service providers that process data for us: Supabase (database hosting, servers in South Korea), Cloudflare (network and hosting), Google (Maps, Google Sign-In and Firebase Cloud Messaging), Expo (push notification delivery), and the OpenStreetMap-based services Nominatim, Photon and OSRM (address search and routes, which receive the searched text or coordinates).
- Authorities, when the law requires it or to protect someone’s safety.
We do not sell your personal information.
5. Where your information is stored and how it is protected
Your information is stored on servers operated by our providers, including in South Korea. All traffic between the app and our servers is encrypted (HTTPS). Sign-in tokens are kept in your phone’s secure storage. Driver documents are stored privately and can be seen only by you and the TravellBuddy team that reviews them.
6. How long we keep information
| Information | Kept for |
|---|---|
| Account and profile | Until you delete your account |
| Trip locations (routes, stops, driver positions) | 90 days after the trip |
| Trip share links | 30 days after they expire or are revoked |
| Sign-in sessions (including the IP address) | 30 days after they end |
| Notifications | 180 days |
| Rejected or replaced driver documents | 1 year after the decision |
| SOS alerts and their location | 3 years, for safety and legal reasons |
7. Deleting your account
You can delete your account in the app: Profile → Security → Delete my account, or by following the steps on travellbuddy.in/delete-account.html. Deleting your account permanently erases your name, email address, phone number, password, profile photo, Google sign-in link, saved places, preferences, sessions, driving licence number and driver documents. Your past trips, bookings and reviews remain only in anonymised form (shown as “Deleted user”) so that the other people on those trips keep an accurate history. Trip locations and SOS records are then removed on the schedule in section 6.
8. Your choices and rights
- You can view and correct your profile in the app at any time.
- You can refuse or withdraw location, camera, photo and notification permissions in your phone’s settings; the features that need them will then not work.
- You can ask us for a copy of your information, to correct it, or to delete it, by writing to support@travellbuddy.in. You may also have rights under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (India) and other applicable laws.
9. Children
TravellBuddy is intended for people aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect information from children.
10. Changes
If we change this policy we will update the date above, and tell you in the app when the change is significant.
11. Contact
Email support@travellbuddy.in for any privacy question, request or complaint.