Legal

Privacy Policy

Last updated: September 2026

Your privacy matters to us. This Privacy Policy explains how South West Coast Path Guide ("the App", "we") collects, uses, stores and protects your personal information. We are committed to being transparent about our data practices and respecting your rights.

1. Information we collect

Information you provide directly

• Account information: your name and email address when you create an account
• Password: stored securely using industry-standard hashing (we never store your password in plain text)
• Content you submit: reviews, walk logs, and suggested edits to trail information
• Photos: a profile photo, and photos you upload to points of interest, reviews or bug reports, are stored on our servers
• Support messages: your name, email and message content when you contact us

Information collected automatically

• Usage data: screens visited, features used, and interactions with the App
• Device information: device model, operating system version and screen size
• Approximate location: based on IP address, used to show your route area

Precise location

When you start recording a stage, we collect your GPS location - including in the background while your screen is off - to track your walk, show your progress, and power the lock-screen Live Activity. Recording is always started by you and stops when you finish, reach the stage end, or after 8 hours. Outside of recording, your position is used only on your device to show where you are on the map.

2. How we use your information

• Provide the App: create and manage your account, remember your route and progress, and deliver the features you use
• Transactional emails: registration confirmation, password resets, and important service updates
• Improve the App: understand how walkers use the App so we can improve functionality and trail content
• Respond to enquiries: reply to messages you send us

3. Marketing communications

We will never send you unsolicited marketing emails. If we offer a newsletter, it is strictly opt-in, infrequent, and you can unsubscribe at any time using the link in every email or by contacting us.

4. Analytics

The App uses PostHog, hosted in the EU (Frankfurt), to understand which screens and features are used. While you are signed in, this data is linked to your account so we can understand usage across sessions. It is never used for advertising and never includes your photos, reviews or precise GPS location. You can turn analytics off at any time in the App under Settings → Privacy.

5. Third-party services

We use the following third-party services that may process your data:

• Mapbox provides our interactive maps and may collect usage data when you interact with them. See Mapbox's Privacy Policy
• Booking.com and Expedia - accommodation bookings via affiliate links
• OpenWeather - weather forecasts for your route area
• PostHog - EU-hosted product analytics
• Amazon Web Services - hosting and photo storage
• Sign-in providers (Apple, Google) if you choose to sign in with them

We do not sell, rent or trade your personal information to any third party.

6. Data retention & deletion

We retain your personal data for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the App. If you delete your account, we remove your personal data within 30 days, except where we are required by law to retain certain information.

Content you contributed - reviews, walk logs and photos - is retained after your account is deleted so it remains useful to other walkers, but it is unlinked from your account and no longer displayed with your name or profile. You can ask us to delete that content as well, at any time, by emailing hello@southwestcoastpathguide.com. See how to delete your account for full details of what is deleted and what is retained.

Anonymised and aggregated data that cannot identify you may be retained for analytics and service improvement.

7. Your rights

We are an Australian company and handle your personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles. Because the App is offered to walkers in the United Kingdom and the European Economic Area, the UK GDPR and EU GDPR also apply to users there. Wherever you are, you have the right to:

• Access - request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Rectification - request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data
• Erasure - request deletion of your personal data
• Data portability - receive your data in a structured, commonly used format
• Restrict processing - ask us to limit how we use your data
• Object - object to processing for certain purposes
• Withdraw consent - at any time, where processing is based on consent
• Complain - to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) if you are in the UK, or your local supervisory authority if you are in the EEA

You can delete your account directly in the App under Profile → Delete account, or by emailing us. See how to delete your account for step-by-step instructions. To exercise any other right, contact us at hello@southwestcoastpathguide.com. We respond within 30 days.

8. Data security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your data, including encryption in transit (HTTPS/TLS), secure password hashing, access controls for internal systems, and regular review of our security practices. No method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

9. Children's privacy

The App is not directed at children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child under 16 has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will promptly delete it.

10. International data transfers

We are based in Australia and use service providers in other countries, so your data may be processed outside your country of residence, including in Australia, the EU and the United States. For disclosures outside Australia we take the steps required by Australian Privacy Principle 8 to ensure your data is handled consistently with the Australian Privacy Principles. Where personal data is transferred out of the UK or EEA, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or standard contractual clauses approved by the European Commission.

11. Legal bases for processing

Where the UK GDPR or EU GDPR applies to you, our legal bases for processing are:

• Performance of a contract - creating and operating your account, storing your route, walks and content
• Consent - any newsletter, and precise location collection via your device's permission prompts; you can withdraw each at any time
• Legitimate interests - product analytics to improve the App (with an in-app opt-out) and fraud and abuse prevention

12. Device permissions

The App asks for permissions only when a feature needs them: Location (map position and recording walks, including in the background while recording), Camera (photographing points of interest), and Photo library (choosing photos to upload). Every other feature works if you decline; you just lose that capability.

13. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes are posted on this page with an updated "Last updated" date. For significant changes we will notify registered users by email.

14. Contact us

South West Coast Path Guide is operated by Ponferrada Pty Ltd, 92 Buckland Street, Alexandria, NSW 2015, Australia. We are bound by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and, for users in the UK and EEA, we are the data controller for the purposes of the UK GDPR and EU GDPR. Email: hello@southwestcoastpathguide.com