thisfar Privacy Policy

1. Local-first by design

thisfar stores your travel history, trip dates, notes, profile information, imported Friend Cards, collections, bucket-list places and app preferences locally on your device.

thisfar does not operate its own cloud account system or server database for your travel history. Your personal travel-history database is not uploaded to Eastward for advertising purposes.

The Android app uses third-party services for advertising, consent management, maps and place search as described below.

2. Advertising and Google AdMob

thisfar uses Google AdMob and the Google Mobile Ads SDK to display banner and interstitial advertisements.

When ads are requested, displayed or interacted with, Google Mobile Ads services may automatically collect or process technical and advertising-related information, including:

• IP address, which may be used to estimate general location;
• app and ad interactions, such as app launches, taps, impressions and ad views;
• diagnostic and performance information;
• device, app-set, advertising or account-related identifiers, where available and permitted; and
• information used for advertising, measurement, analytics and fraud prevention.

Depending on your region, device settings, consent choices and Google's ad-serving rules, ads may be personalized, non-personalized, limited, or served using technical delivery only.

Eastward does not provide your saved trip list, notes, Friend Cards or complete travel-history database to Google AdMob for ad personalization.

For more information about how Google uses information from apps that use Google services, see How Google uses information from sites or apps that use its services and the Google Privacy Policy.

3. Advertising consent and privacy choices

thisfar uses Google's User Messaging Platform (UMP) to request and manage advertising consent where required.

For users in the European Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom and Switzerland, a Google-certified consent message may be shown before ads are requested when required by applicable rules. The choices available in that message are provided and maintained by Google.

Where Google requires a privacy-options entry point, you can review or change your advertising privacy choices from Settings → Ad privacy choices inside thisfar. Availability of this option depends on your region and consent status.

4. Maps and network requests

Before the Map feature makes its first third-party network request, thisfar shows a one-time privacy disclosure and requires you to choose Continue.

The Map tab then loads map content over HTTPS from third-party mapping and content-delivery services, including OpenFreeMap/OpenStreetMap-based services, Esri imagery, and services used to deliver the map renderer.

As with ordinary internet requests, those providers may receive technical information such as your IP address, request metadata and requested map tiles. An IP address can sometimes be used to infer an approximate location.

thisfar does not request Android precise or approximate device-location permission and does not upload your complete travel-history database to map providers. Cookies and third-party cookies are disabled in the app-controlled map WebView.

5. Place search and geocoding

When you search for or select a place, Android's system geocoding service or the geocoding provider available on your device may process the place name in order to return coordinates and place suggestions. The provider used can depend on your Android device and system services.

6. Biometrics

If you enable biometric lock, authentication is performed by Android. thisfar receives only the authentication result. Fingerprint data, face templates and other biometric identifiers are not available to thisfar.

7. Backups, imports and exports

Automatic Android cloud backup is disabled for thisfar. If you manually export a JSON backup or Friend Card, or import data into the app, the file is saved, opened or shared only through the destination or source you choose. Exported files remain under your control.

8. Retention and deletion

Local app data remains on your device until you delete it in the app, clear the app's storage, or uninstall thisfar. Because thisfar does not maintain a thisfar cloud account or server copy of your travel history, there is no remote thisfar account database to delete.

Google AdMob, map providers and geocoding providers may retain information according to their own privacy policies, legal obligations and retention practices.

9. Sharing

Friend Card and backup import/export are initiated by you. thisfar does not automatically publish your travel history to a social network or upload it to an Eastward cloud service.

Technical advertising data may be shared with Google and advertising partners through Google AdMob as described in Sections 2 and 3.

10. Children

thisfar is a general-audience personal travel journal and is not specifically directed to children. Eastward does not knowingly operate a thisfar account or server service designed to collect personal information from children.

Advertising services used in the app may process technical information according to Google's policies, consent choices, applicable law and any age-related advertising settings configured for the app.

11. Your privacy rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights regarding personal data, including access, correction, deletion, restriction, portability or objection. Most thisfar travel data is stored only on your device and can be viewed, edited or deleted directly there.

You can also change advertising consent choices in the app when the Google UMP privacy-options entry point is required and available.

For privacy questions or requests concerning Eastward, contact us at the email address below. Requests concerning data processed independently by Google, a map provider, a geocoding provider or another third party may need to be directed to that provider.

12. Third-party services and map sources

Advertising and consent: Google AdMob / Google Mobile Ads SDK and Google User Messaging Platform.

Classic map: © OpenStreetMap contributors / OpenFreeMap.

Globe and satellite imagery: © Esri and its data providers.

Map renderer: MapLibre GL JS, used under the BSD 3-Clause license.

Third-party services operate under their own terms, privacy policies and retention practices.

13. Security

thisfar is designed to keep your travel-history data primarily on your device. Network requests to third-party services described in this policy are made using encrypted HTTPS connections where supported by those services. No method of electronic storage or transmission can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

14. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy when thisfar's features, advertising setup, data practices or legal requirements change. The effective date at the top of this page will be updated when we make material changes.

15. Contact

Developer / publisher: Eastward
Privacy & support: thisfar.support@gmail.com