🔒 Privacy Policy
Last updated: October 2026
This policy explains what information the Urban Tales app and the urbantales.net website collect, why, who we share it with, and the choices you have. We don't sell your personal information and we don't show ads in the app.
Who Is Responsible for Your Data
Urban Tales is operated by Leandro Ferreira Pimentel, an individual registered in Mexico, who is responsible for your personal data. Contact: support@urbantales.net.
Information We Collect
Account information: your email address, display name, and, if you choose them, a profile emoji or photo. If you sign in with Google or Apple, we receive the email and name they share with us (Apple may give us a private relay address instead of your email).
Location: while you use the app, your device's location to find nearby landmarks, play their stories, and build tours. If you turn on Pocket Mode, location is also used while the app runs in the background, so stories can start with your phone in your pocket. We store the landmarks you listen to (which include their location), the city you're in, and your last known position when you log in. We don't keep a continuous record of your route.
Use of the app: stories you listen to and how far, tours you create or follow, badges, coins and streaks, which features you open, and playback diagnostics (for example, how long a story took to start, or whether it failed).
Device information: your app version, language, time zone, notification token (if you allow notifications), and on iPhone the country of your App Store account.
Direction you're facing (optional): the phone's compass, and AirPods head tracking if you allow Motion access, are used on your device to know which way you're facing. We may record only the resulting direction relative to a landmark, to improve when stories start.
Purchases: what you bought and when. Payments are handled by Apple or Google; we never see your card details.
Codes and referrals: invite, promo or travel-agency Trip Pass codes you use. A Trip Pass may carry a traveller label set by the agency that issued it.
Messages to us: what you send through support or feedback.
How We Use It
- To run the service: find landmarks, write and voice stories in your language and style, build tours, and keep your progress
- To send notifications you allowed, such as a nearby landmark or a story waiting for you (you can turn them off in your phone's settings)
- To process purchases, codes and rewards
- To understand how the app is used and fix problems
- To measure our own advertising campaigns, without collecting your advertising ID
- To prevent fraud and abuse, and to comply with the law
Who We Share It With
We share only what each service needs to do its job for us:
- Google: Places, Maps, Geocoding and Directions (receive location to find landmarks and routes), Gemini (writes stories from landmark information), Text-to-Speech (voices stories), Firebase Analytics and Cloud Messaging (app statistics and notifications), and Google Sign-In
- OpenAI: writes stories and voices them when Google is unavailable
- Apple: Sign in with Apple, and Apple Ads / SKAdNetwork attribution to measure our ad campaigns
- Meta: the Facebook SDK reports app events (such as an install or a purchase) so we can measure our ad campaigns; advertising-ID collection is turned off
- RevenueCat: manages in-app purchases and subscriptions
- Expo: delivers push notifications
- Resend: sends account emails
- Railway and MongoDB Atlas: host our servers and database
- Cloudflare: cookie-free statistics for the website
AI services receive landmark information and your chosen language and style, not your email or name. When you share a tour publicly, other people see the tour and your display name. We may also disclose information when required by law, or to protect our rights or someone's safety.
Where Your Data Is Processed
Our providers may process data in the United States and other countries outside your own. We use providers that protect personal data with appropriate safeguards.
How Long We Keep It
We keep your account data while your account exists. If you delete your account, we delete your personal data within 30 days, except what the law requires us to keep (such as purchase records). Playback diagnostics are deleted after 180 days. We may keep anonymous, aggregated statistics.
Your Rights
You can access, correct or delete your data, object to some uses, and ask for a copy of it. You can delete your account in the app (Profile → Delete Account) or by writing to us. Depending on where you live (for example Mexico, the European Union, Brazil or California), you may have additional rights, including the right to complain to your data protection authority. Write to support@urbantales.net and we'll reply within 30 days.
Security
We use encrypted connections (HTTPS), hashed passwords, and limited access to our systems. No system is completely secure, so please use a strong password and keep it to yourself.
Age Requirements
Urban Tales is not intended for anyone under 16. We don't knowingly collect information from children under 16. If you believe a child has given us information, contact us and we'll delete it.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy. We'll post the new version on this page with a new "Last updated" date and, for important changes, tell you in the app.
Contact Us
Questions about this policy or your personal data? Write to us at:
support@urbantales.net
Or use our Contact Form. See also our Terms of Service.