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Privacy Policy
Privacy Policy
Effective Date: May 14, 2025 · Last Updated: May 14, 2025
1. Introduction
Welcome to Trouveland (“we,” “us,” or “our”). Trouveland is a personal travel log application that lets you mark and explore visited countries, US states, cities, and landmarks on an interactive world map.
This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and the choices you have. By using Trouveland, you agree to the practices described in this policy.
2. Information We Collect
2.1 Information You Provide
- Google Account information (name, email address, and profile photo) obtained via Google Sign-In, used solely to identify your account.
- Travel data you create: visited countries, US states, cities, and landmarks.
- Friend connections you initiate through the in-app invite system.
2.2 Information We Store on Your Behalf
- Your travel data (visits.json) and contacts list (contacts.json) are stored in your own Google Drive, in a dedicated Trouveland application folder. We do not store this data on our servers.
- Your display names for friends are stored only on your device and in your Google Drive.
2.3 Information We Store on Our Servers
- A SHA-256 cryptographic hash of your Google account ID — used to power the friend system without storing your actual identity on our servers.
- Hashed friend relationship records (mutual connections between hashed IDs).
- A shared cache of place data fetched from the Google Places API — this contains only public place information (names, coordinates, place IDs) and is not linked to individual users.
2.4 Automatically Collected Information
- Standard server logs may capture IP addresses, request timestamps, and error information for debugging purposes. These logs are not used for tracking.
3. How We Use Your Information
- To authenticate you and maintain your session via Google Sign-In.
- To sync your travel data securely to and from your Google Drive.
- To enable the friend invite system, allowing you to share visits with people you know.
- To serve cached place search results, reducing redundant calls to the Google Places API.
- To diagnose technical issues and improve app stability.
We do not use your information for advertising, profiling, or any purpose beyond operating the app.
4. How We Share Your Information
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We share data only in the following limited circumstances:
- Google LLC — We use Google Sign-In (OAuth 2.0) and the Google Drive API to authenticate you and store your travel data. Your use of these services is governed by Google's Privacy Policy.
- Google Places API — We use the Google Places API to power city and landmark search. Search queries are sent to Google. Results are cached in our shared database and are not linked to individual users.
- Email delivery — When you invite a friend from within the app, a third-party email delivery service sends the invitation on your behalf. Only the recipient's email address and your display name are used for this purpose.
- Infrastructure providers — We use reputable third-party cloud infrastructure to host our backend API and database. These providers process data only as necessary to operate the service and are bound by data processing agreements.
- Legal requirements — We may disclose information if required by law, court order, or governmental authority.
5. Data Storage and Security
Your primary travel data lives in your Google Drive — a storage service you own and control. Our servers (MongoDB Atlas, hosted on AWS) store only the minimal data described in Section 2.3.
- Your Google account ID is never stored in plaintext; only its SHA-256 hash is retained.
- All communications between the app and our servers use HTTPS/TLS encryption.
- Access to our database is restricted by network-level controls and role-based credentials.
While we take reasonable precautions, no system is completely secure. We encourage you to keep your Google account credentials safe.
6. Google Drive Access
Trouveland requests access to a specific, app-scoped folder in your Google Drive (drive.appdata scope). This means:
- We can only read and write files that Trouveland itself created.
- We cannot access any other files, folders, or documents in your Google Drive.
- You can revoke this access at any time via your Google Account settings.
7. Your Rights and Choices
7.1 Access and Portability
Your travel data is stored directly in your Google Drive as JSON files (visits.json, contacts.json). You can access, download, or delete these files at any time through Google Drive.
7.2 Deleting Your Account Data
To remove your data from our servers, you may contact us at the address below. Upon verification, we will delete your hashed ID and all associated relationship records. Deleting the Trouveland app folder from your Google Drive will remove your local travel data.
7.3 Revoking Permissions
You can revoke Trouveland's Google Drive access at any time via myaccount.google.com/permissions. This will prevent the app from syncing data but will not delete data already stored in Google Drive.
7.4 Opting Out of the Friend System
The friend system is entirely opt-in. If you never use the invite feature, no relationship data is stored on our servers beyond your hashed ID (created automatically upon first sign-in to enable future use).
8. Children's Privacy
Trouveland is not directed at children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.
9. International Users
Trouveland is operated by an independent developer and uses cloud services hosted in the United States and the European Union. If you use the app from outside these regions, your information may be transferred to and processed in countries with different data protection laws. By using Trouveland, you consent to such transfers.
If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), you may have additional rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Please contact us if you wish to exercise these rights.
10. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the “Last Updated” date at the top of this document. For material changes, we will provide notice within the app. Your continued use of Trouveland after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.
11. Contact Us
If you have any questions, requests, or concerns about this Privacy Policy or your data, please contact us:
Trouveland App
Email: [email protected]
Website: trouveland.skoch.win
We aim to respond to all privacy-related inquiries within 30 days.
