Privacy Policy

TONearby is a mobile app that helps you find nearby Toronto parks, community centres, and drop-in recreation activities. This Privacy Policy explains what information TONearby uses, how it is used, and what choices you have.

Information TONearby Uses

Location

TONearby may ask for access to your device location. Location is used to show nearby parks, community centres, distances, map results, and activity results around your selected area.

TONearby uses location only while you are using the app and does not request background location access. TONearby does not send your precise device location to our own servers; nearby results are calculated in the app.

You can use TONearby without granting location permission. If location permission is not granted, the app uses Toronto City Hall as the default search location until you choose another area.

Accounts (optional)

You can use TONearby without an account. If you choose to sign in — with email and password, Google, or Apple — TONearby stores your email address, a display name where your sign-in provider shares one, and identifiers needed to connect your sign-in methods. Authentication is provided by Firebase Authentication.

Saved Areas

If you save a Home area, Work area, or picked map area, that information is stored on your device. If you sign in, saved areas are also synced to your account so they are available when you reinstall or change devices.

Data Synced to Your Account

When you are signed in, TONearby stores in your account:

• favourite places you save
• saved searches and their filter settings
• family profiles — a nickname, an optional age or age band, and interests. Family profiles never store birthdates and exist only to make age filtering easier.
• notification preferences, including quiet hours and daily limits
• basic install and device records (such as device model and platform) used to manage notifications across your devices
• your in-app notification inbox

Signed-out (guest) versions of these features store data only on your device.

Push Notifications (optional)

If you enable notifications and grant permission, TONearby stores a push token for your device so it can deliver alerts you asked for, such as updates about favourite places or new sessions matching a saved search. Push delivery uses Expo's notification service. You can turn notifications off at any time in the app or in your device settings; TONearby also honours your quiet hours and daily limit settings.

Calendar and Reminders (optional)

Adding an activity to your calendar creates an event through your device's calendar only when you tap “Add to calendar.” Reminders are local notifications scheduled on your device; they are not sent to our servers.

Cached App Data

TONearby may store recently loaded recreation activity data on your device. This helps the app load faster and keep showing recent information when your internet connection or Toronto open data is temporarily unavailable. This cached data does not include personal information about you.

Feedback

If you submit feedback through the app or this website, we may collect the information you choose to provide, such as feedback category, message, name, email address, and phone number (all optional except the message), along with basic technical information such as app version, platform, device model, and operating system version. Feedback is used to respond to issues, improve the app, and understand reported problems.

Analytics and Crash Reports

TONearby uses Firebase services to understand basic app usage and diagnose crashes or technical problems. This may include app opens, feature usage counts, selected filter types, crash reports, app version, platform, device model, operating system version, and an anonymous installation identifier.

This information helps improve reliability and understand which features are used. TONearby does not use this information to sell advertising or create user profiles for advertising.

Data Sources

TONearby uses public datasets and APIs, including City of Toronto open data, to show parks, community centres, and recreation activity information. TONearby is not an official City of Toronto app. City datasets may change or contain errors.

Third-Party Services

TONearby uses third-party services that may process information according to their own privacy policies, including:

• Google Maps (Android) and Apple Maps (iOS), for map display
• Firebase, for authentication, synced account data, analytics, crash reporting, and feedback storage
• Google and Apple sign-in, if you choose those sign-in methods
• Expo, for push notification delivery
• City of Toronto open data, for public recreation data

You can review Google's privacy policy at policies.google.com/privacy and Apple's at apple.com/legal/privacy.

How Information Is Shared

TONearby does not sell your personal information and does not share your personal information with advertisers. Information may be processed by service providers used to operate the app, such as Firebase and Expo, only for app functionality, account sync, notifications, analytics, crash reporting, feedback handling, and reliability.

Account Deletion

You can delete your account at any time from the app (Account → Delete account). Deletion takes effect immediately: push tokens are removed right away and your account is scheduled for permanent deletion. If you change your mind, signing in again within 30 days restores your account; after 30 days, your account and its synced data are permanently removed. See Delete your account for details.

Data Retention

• Saved areas, guest data, and cached recreation data remain on your device until you remove the app or clear app data.
• Account data is kept while your account is active and permanently removed after the 30-day deletion recovery window.
• Feedback submissions and technical logs may be retained as long as reasonably needed to maintain, support, and improve the app. Feedback is not linked to your account.

Children

TONearby is not directed specifically to children under 13. The app provides general public recreation information. Family profiles are created and managed by the account holder and store only a nickname, optional age or age band, and interests — never birthdates.

Your Choices

• use the app as a guest, without an account
• deny or revoke location permission in your device settings
• use the app with Toronto City Hall as the default location
• turn notifications off in the app or device settings
• avoid submitting optional feedback contact information
• delete your account from the app at any time
• uninstall the app to remove locally stored app data from your device

Contact

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or TONearby's privacy practices, contact kordikmail@gmail.com.