Privacy Policy
1. Information we collect
Depending on how you use RouteMate, we may collect and store:
- Account information: email address, display name, authentication information and account identifiers.
- Optional profile information: phone number and a self-declared matching category used for optional women-only matching. RouteMate does not independently verify gender in the pilot.
- Ride information: origin and destination cities or hubs, dates and times, seat availability, return-trip details, ride notes and ride status.
- Marketplace activity: seat requests, wanted-ride posts, invitations, accept/decline status, cancellations and alerts.
- Communications: messages exchanged between accepted ride participants.
- Trust and safety information: ratings, reports and block relationships.
- Trip records: ride start and finish times, recorded duration and manually entered cost-share amounts.
2. Information we do not currently collect
- RouteMate does not currently process payments or store card or bank details.
- RouteMate does not currently continuously track your device location or record a GPS route.
- Fuel and cost-sharing estimates are illustrative only.
3. How we use information
We use information to operate RouteMate, authenticate users, match drivers and passengers, display rides, manage requests and invitations, enable messaging, provide alerts, record trip progress, support safety features, prevent misuse, and improve the pilot.
4. Service providers
RouteMate relies on service providers to operate the platform, including:
- Supabase for authentication, database and backend services.
- Render for web hosting.
- Resend for transactional account emails such as confirmation and password-reset messages.
- OpenStreetMap/Leaflet for map presentation where used.
- Google Maps when you choose to open an external directions link. Google’s own terms and privacy practices then apply.
5. Sharing of information
RouteMate does not sell personal information. Information is shared only as needed to provide the service, for example showing a display name and relevant ride details to another participant. Private profile information is not intended to be publicly displayed.
6. Data security
RouteMate uses authenticated access, encrypted network connections and database access controls. No online service can guarantee absolute security, so users should avoid placing highly sensitive information in ride notes or chat messages.
7. Retention and account deletion
Account-associated information is kept while your account is active or as needed to operate the service. You can request account deletion from within RouteMate or through the public deletion page. Deleting an account removes the account and associated RouteMate user data. Minimal information may be retained only where reasonably necessary for security, fraud prevention, dispute handling or legal compliance.
8. Your choices
You can update your profile, cancel rides or requests where permitted, block users, and delete your account. Optional profile fields do not need to be provided unless required for a feature you choose to use.
9. Children
RouteMate is intended for adults aged 18 and over during the pilot. It is not designed for children.
10. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as RouteMate changes. The current version will always be published at this URL with its effective date.
11. Contact and privacy requests
For privacy or account-deletion requests, use the RouteMate account deletion page or the in-app Profile controls.