Parkeye Privacy Policy

How this policy works

This policy covers the Parkeye mobile app and the Parkeye website at parkeye.app, including the waitlist.

Parkeye may update this policy when we make material changes to the app or to the way we handle data.

If that happens, we will notify users through the app or by email. Continuing to use Parkeye after an update means you accept the revised policy.

Information we collect

We collect the minimum information needed to make parking availability, navigation, and community reporting work.

• Precise location, including in the background. If you turn on automatic park detection, the app reads your location on your device even when the app is closed or not in use, so it can tell when you enter or leave a campus parking lot. Your coordinates stay on your device; only the resulting lot and timestamp are sent to us. This is off unless you enable it, and you can turn it off at any time in your device settings or from the Profile screen.
• Motion and activity data (for example, driving versus walking), used only to detect the moment you park or leave.
• Approximate parking event data, such as when a space appears to have been vacated, so we can show availability to other users.
• Device, app, and session metadata, such as the version you are using, feature usage, and basic diagnostic information.
• Crash and performance diagnostics when the app encounters an error.
• Account details you choose to provide, such as an email address or display name, if you sign in or contact support.
• Content you post to the community forum, including posts, replies, votes, and reports.
• Website: the email address you submit if you join the waitlist at parkeye.app. We use it to contact you about launch and early access.
• Website: your light or dark theme preference, stored in your browser's local storage so it persists on return visits.
• Website: aggregate, cookie-free traffic measurements from Vercel Analytics, such as page views and referring sites. These do not identify you individually.
• Website: if you confirm a Parkeye account by email, the confirmation link routes through www.parkeye.app/auth/callback. The authentication tokens in that link are handed to the mobile app and are not stored on our web server.

Background location, specifically

Parkeye asks for 'Always' location permission for one purpose: to notice when you arrive at or leave a campus parking lot without you having to open the app. That is what keeps live availability accurate for everyone, and it is what lets the app drop a pin on where you parked.

Two separate things have to be true before any of this happens. You must grant 'Always' permission, and you must switch on automatic park detection inside the app, which is off by default. If either one is off, no background collection runs at all.

We never ask for this permission when you first open the app. It is requested only after you tap a feature that needs it, and only after we explain what it does.

How it works. The app watches a single geofence drawn around the campus. When you cross it, the app wakes up and works out on your own device whether you have parked or departed, and which lot you are in. Only the result of that calculation is sent to us: the lot, the time, whether it was a park or a depart, and how confident the app was. Your raw coordinates are never transmitted, and our servers have no field in which to store them.

Events we receive are keyed to an anonymous device identifier that rotates every 14 days, not to your account. We do not store your user ID alongside them.

The pin showing where you left your car is saved only on your device so the map can draw it. It is never sent to us.

You can revoke the permission at any time in iOS Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > Parkeye. The rest of the app keeps working; only automatic park detection stops.

We do not use background location for advertising, and we do not sell it.

How we use information

Parkeye uses the information we collect to power live parking guidance and to improve the app over time.

• Show nearby open parking spots and help you navigate to them.
• Detect when a parking space may have become available.
• Improve product reliability, understand usage patterns, and fix bugs.
• Send account or service messages, respond to support requests, and meet legal obligations.
• Operate the waitlist, send launch or early-access updates, and prevent spam and invalid submissions.
• Create aggregated or de-identified data that cannot reasonably identify a specific user.

How we share information

We do not sell or rent your personal information.

We only share data when it is needed to run the service, protect users, or comply with the law.

• Supabase (database, authentication, and file storage) — hosts your account and app data in the United States.
• Railway — hosts the Parkeye backend API in the United States.
• Vercel — hosts parkeye.app and provides aggregate, cookie-free website traffic analytics.
• Mapbox — provides maps, search, and directions. Map interactions are sent to Mapbox to render the map and compute routes.
• Transistor Software (background geolocation SDK) — runs on your device to detect parking events. It is configured with no upload destination, so it does not send your data to its own servers.
• Sentry — receives crash and performance diagnostics. We configure it not to send personal information, strip authentication headers, and identify users only by an opaque ID.
• Expo — delivers push notifications and over-the-air app updates.
• Google — only if you choose Sign in with Google, and Apple only if you choose Sign in with Apple.
• When required by law, court order, or a valid legal request.
• To prevent fraud, abuse, or other harmful activity.
• During a company transaction, such as a merger or acquisition, if the recipient agrees to follow this policy.
• In aggregated or de-identified form, where no individual user can be identified.

Retention and deletion

We keep data only for as long as we need it to provide the service, meet legal requirements, and maintain the system.

Park and depart events carry no coordinates and no account identifier, so they cannot be traced back to you. They are aggregated into anonymous lot-level availability counts. We publish an availability figure for a time period only when at least three different devices contributed to it. Below that threshold we keep anonymous totals — how many events, how many devices — and publish no availability figure at all. Those totals carry no device identifier, so they cannot be linked across time to any one person's parking.

Park and depart events are deleted once they are older than 7 days. What survives is the aggregated, anonymous lot-level count they contributed to.

When historical parking data is no longer needed in identifiable form, we try to de-identify or aggregate it so it can still help improve the app without tying it back to a specific person.

Security

We use administrative and technical safeguards to reduce the risk of unauthorized access or misuse.

No system is perfectly secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute protection of any information that is transmitted or stored.

Your choices

You can deny motion or location permissions and still use parts of the app, including the map.

If you do not want Parkeye to use certain data, you can adjust your device settings or stop using the relevant feature.

• Location: iOS Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > Parkeye. Choose Never, While Using, or Always.
• Motion: iOS Settings > Privacy & Security > Motion & Fitness.
• Notifications: iOS Settings > Notifications > Parkeye.
• Leaderboard: you can opt out of appearing on the public leaderboard from your profile.
• Waitlist: email us to be removed from the waitlist at any time.

Deleting your account and data

You can delete your account from inside the app at any time: Profile > Delete Account. No email or support request is required.

Deleting your account permanently removes your profile, preferences, favorites, points history, push tokens, and community votes. Content you posted to the community forum is anonymized rather than removed, so replies to it remain readable.

Park and depart events are not attached to your account, so there is nothing personal in them to delete alongside it. They hold only a lot, a timestamp, a confidence level, and a device identifier that rotates every 14 days. We never record your user ID against them, and they are deleted once they are older than 7 days regardless.

Some records may persist briefly in encrypted backups, and we may retain de-identified or aggregated parking data that cannot reasonably be tied back to you. We may also keep records we are legally required to keep.

If you would rather we did it for you, or you want a copy of your data, email us at the address below.

Children

Parkeye is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 13. If you are under 18, you may use Parkeye only with a parent or guardian's consent.

If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

Your privacy rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, delete, or export your personal information, to object to or restrict certain processing, and to withdraw consent. California residents additionally have the right not to be discriminated against for exercising these rights.

Parkeye does not sell or share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising, and we do not use your data for targeted advertising.

To exercise any of these rights, use in-app account deletion or contact us. We will not charge you for a reasonable request.

Contact us

Questions about this policy, your data, or a privacy request:

[email protected]

Parkeye, LLC — Virginia, United States