Privacy Policy — I'm Walkin' Here! · Track your Manhattan Walks

This Privacy Policy applies to the I'm Walkin' Here! mobile app for iPhone, the related website at imwalkinherenyc.com, and related services operated by the app developer.

Introduction

I'm Walkin' Here! ("I'm Walkin' Here!", "we," "us," or "our") is a Manhattan street-exploration app for iPhone. It helps users track which Manhattan streets and neighborhoods they have walked, building toward a goal of exploring the whole island.

This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, how it may be shared, and the choices you have. Please read it before using the app.

Information We Collect

We collect information that you provide, information generated when you use the app, and information collected through device permissions that you choose to grant.

Depending on how you use I'm Walkin' Here!, this may include:

account and authentication information;
location information;
walk and route session information;
explored street and neighborhood progress;
leaderboard, friend, and social information;
walk squad membership and invite information;
in-app chat messages sent to friends or walk squads; and
limited device, sync, and app-operation information.

Location Data

I'm Walkin' Here! uses precise location to show you on the Manhattan map, record walks, match walked routes to Manhattan streets, and update your exploration progress.

If you grant location permission, the app may use your device location to:

show your current position on the Manhattan map;
determine whether a walk can be started from your current location;
record a walk after you tap Start;
match your walked route to eligible Manhattan street segments;
update explored street, neighborhood, and overall Manhattan progress; and
generate walk summaries.

Precise location may be required for accurate walk recording and street-credit calculations. You can control location permissions at any time in iOS Settings.

Background Location

I'm Walkin' Here! may request background location permission so an active recorded walk can continue if you lock your phone or switch to another app mid-walk.

Background location is used only during an active recorded walk. Tracking starts only after you tap Start inside the app. Tracking stops when you pause or end the walk. The app is not designed to track your location all day and does not use background location at any other time.

If you do not allow background location, walk recording may be limited if your phone is locked or you switch apps during a walk. You can change this permission at any time in iOS Settings.

Walk and Route Data

When you record a walk, I'm Walkin' Here! may collect or generate walk session data including:

route coordinates and GPS points;
timestamps;
distance;
duration;
matched Manhattan street segments;
newly explored streets;
explored segment IDs;
updated exploration percentages;
neighborhood progress; and
walk summaries and processing metadata.

This information is used to provide the app's core walk recording and progress tracking features.

Manhattan Street and Neighborhood Progress

I'm Walkin' Here! tracks your progress across eligible Manhattan street segments and neighborhoods. This includes total streets explored, percentage of Manhattan explored, neighborhood-specific progress, rank titles, and related progress summaries.

Account and Authentication Data

You may use I'm Walkin' Here! as a guest (no account required) or sign in using a supported authentication method. If you create or use an account, we may collect or receive:

your Firebase user ID or other account identifier;
display name;
email address, if provided via Apple, Google, email/password, or email link sign-in;
phone number, if provided via phone/SMS sign-in;
authentication provider (Apple, Google, email/password, email link, or phone/SMS sign-in);
account creation or sign-in metadata; and
account settings or profile metadata.

Authentication is handled through third-party services including Firebase Authentication, Sign in with Apple, and Google Sign-In.

If you use phone/SMS sign-in, we may collect your phone number and use it to send a one-time verification code. Phone authentication is handled through Firebase Authentication and may involve Apple, Google/Firebase, carrier, device-level, or abuse-prevention verification services used to confirm that you control the phone number and to prevent misuse.

Guest Mode / Local Use

I'm Walkin' Here! can be used as a guest without creating an account. In guest mode, your walking progress and walk history are stored locally on your device and are not synced to an account unless you sign in. Some non-account app functionality may still rely on network services, such as loading app content, maps, or public or shared app data.

If you later create an account, locally accumulated guest progress may be transferred to your new account. Deleting the app may delete locally stored data that has not been synced to an account.

Leaderboards and Friends

I'm Walkin' Here! includes leaderboard and friend features. If you use these features, certain information is visible to other users — such as your display name, exploration percentage, total streets explored, neighborhood progress, and friend status.

When you send or receive a friend request, information such as your display name and user ID is shared with the other party so they can identify and respond to the request. Accepted friendships are recorded in our database and link the two accounts.

Do not use a display name that includes sensitive personal information if you do not want it visible to others on the leaderboard or in friend search results.

Walk Squads and In-App Chat

Walk squads are small groups you can create or join to walk and compete with friends. When you use walk squads, we collect and store:

squad name, creation date, and the user ID of the squad owner;
member user IDs, display names, roles (leader or member), and rank titles;
squad invite records, including who sent each invite, who received it, and its status (pending, accepted, or declined); and
squad chat messages, including the sender's user ID, message text, timestamp, and moderation status.

Squad chat messages are visible to all current members of the squad. Messages are stored in Firebase Firestore and are not end-to-end encrypted. Do not share sensitive personal information in squad chat.

Display names, squad names, and squad chat messages may be processed by service providers for safety, content moderation, abuse prevention, and app functionality. Squad chat messages may be briefly held for moderation before becoming visible to other squad members, and messages that are not approved may be removed from user-visible chat. We may keep private, access-restricted chat archives for moderation, safety review, abuse prevention, and support.

Some shared messages may remain visible to other squad members after your account is deleted. We do not automatically delete or anonymize historical chat messages when a member leaves, is removed, or deletes their account. If you have concerns about specific messages, please contact us before deleting your account.

When you invite someone to a squad, your display name and the squad name are shared with the invited user so they can identify the invitation. When you accept an invitation, your user ID and display name are added to the squad's member list, which is visible to all squad members.

Squad leaders can remove members from a squad and update member rank titles. Removed members lose access to the squad's chat history.

Device and App Information

I'm Walkin' Here! may process limited technical information needed to operate, secure, recover, debug, or improve the app. This may include app version, sync status, local session recovery data, local caches, and certain error or state information needed to keep the app running correctly. If applicable, diagnostics or technical information may be collected to support app debugging and operational reliability.

The app does not include a third-party advertising SDK or cross-app tracking SDK.

Notifications

I'm Walkin' Here! may offer optional notifications or reminders related to walk activity. If you enable notifications, they are used to deliver app-related alerts only. You can control notification permissions at any time in iOS Settings.

How We Use Information

We use information to:

provide map, walk recording, and exploration tracking features;
calculate street, neighborhood, and Manhattan-wide progress;
display ranks and leaderboard standings;
enable friend requests, friendships, and the friends leaderboard;
create and manage walk squads, membership, and roles;
deliver squad and friend invitations and process acceptances or declines;
store and deliver in-app chat messages within squads;
review user-submitted names and messages for safety and abuse prevention;
display in-app notification badges for pending social activity;
support account creation, sign-in, syncing, and account deletion;
maintain app security and prevent misuse;
troubleshoot, debug, and improve the app;
respond to support or privacy requests; and
comply with legal obligations.

We do not use your data for third-party advertising. We do not sell your personal data or use it for cross-app tracking.

App Store Privacy Labels

Apple's App Store requires apps to disclose categories of data they may collect. Depending on how you use I'm Walkin' Here!, the app may collect data in the following categories:

Location — precise location, used for walk recording, map display, and street-credit calculations.
Contact information — email address and/or phone number, if you provide them when signing in.
Identifiers — such as your Firebase user ID, used to associate your account with your data.
User content — display names, squad names, and squad chat messages you submit within the app.
App activity — walks recorded, streets explored, leaderboard activity, friend requests, squad membership, and squad invitations.
Diagnostics or technical information — limited technical data needed to operate and debug the app, if applicable.

All data collected is used for app functionality, account sync, social features, security, support, and debugging. It is not used for third-party advertising.

How We Store Information

Information may be stored locally on your device. For signed-in users, data may also be synced to cloud services including Firebase and Firebase Firestore.

Local storage may include:

guest and local exploration progress;
cached explored street data;
active walk session recovery data; and
saved walk history.

Cloud-stored data (signed-in users only) may include:

account and profile information;
explored street progress;
leaderboard and friend data;
friend requests and their status;
walk squad details, membership, roles, and rank titles;
walk squad and friend invitation records;
in-app chat messages sent within squads; and
walk session records and related summaries.

When Information Is Shared

We do not sell personal data.

We do not use your data for third-party advertising or cross-app tracking.

We may share information in limited circumstances:

with service providers that help operate the app, such as Firebase and content-moderation providers;
with other users when you use social, friend, or leaderboard features;
if required by law, legal process, or safety or security needs;
to protect the rights, property, or safety of the app, users, or others; or
with your consent.

Third-Party Services

I'm Walkin' Here! relies on the following third-party services:

Firebase Authentication (Google LLC);
Firebase Authentication phone/SMS verification services;
Firebase Firestore (Google LLC);
Google Sign-In;
Sign in with Apple / Apple AuthenticationServices;
OpenAI content moderation services; and
Apple MapKit and other Apple system services.

These services process information according to their own privacy policies and terms. We encourage you to review those policies if you have questions about how they handle your data.

Data Sources and Open Data

I'm Walkin' Here! uses public datasets made available by the City of New York and/or the NYC Department of City Planning, including datasets related to street centerlines, borough boundaries, and neighborhood geography. These datasets are used to support Manhattan street exploration, map display, neighborhood progress calculations, and related app functionality.

I'm Walkin' Here! is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, approved by, or associated with the City of New York, NYC Open Data, the NYC Department of City Planning, or any other City agency.

NYC datasets may be updated, corrected, overwritten, discontinued, or changed by the City at any time. I'm Walkin' Here! may modify, filter, simplify, transform, or process public datasets to support app functionality. App calculations, street eligibility determinations, neighborhood boundaries, and exploration progress may differ from official City datasets or maps.

Data Retention

We keep information for as long as needed to provide the app, maintain accounts, support syncing and leaderboard features, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce agreements.

Guest and local data remains on your device until you delete it, reset your progress, or uninstall the app. Synced account data may remain until you delete your account or request deletion, subject to legal, security, backup, or operational retention needs.

In-app chat messages (squad chat) are stored in Firebase Firestore and are retained as part of the squad's record. Messages are not automatically deleted when a member leaves or is removed from a squad. Messages associated with your account may be deleted when you delete your account, where technically feasible; however, messages visible to other squad members may persist in their shared chat history. Private moderation archives may also be retained for safety, abuse prevention, support, and legal or operational needs.

Friend requests, squad invitations, and related social records that have been accepted or declined may be retained for operational and integrity purposes even after the action has been taken.

Account Deletion

If you create an account, you can initiate deletion inside the app at Settings → Account settings → Delete account.

Account deletion attempts to delete your Firebase Authentication account and associated Firestore user data where reasonably possible, including your profile, exploration progress, friend list, friend requests, and squad memberships. Some information may be retained where required or permitted for legal, security, fraud-prevention, backup, or operational reasons.

Because squad chat is a shared space, messages you sent may remain visible to other squad members after your account is deleted. Shared squad chat messages may remain in squad history unless it is technically feasible to remove or anonymize them at the time of deletion. We do not currently re-attribute or anonymize past messages on deletion, though we may associate them with a deleted-account placeholder rather than your display name. If you have concerns about specific messages, please contact us before deleting your account.

If you need help with deletion, contact us using the details in the Contact Us section below.

Your Choices and Controls

You can:

grant or deny location permissions in iOS Settings;
change location permissions at any time in iOS Settings;
pause or end active walk recording;
use the app in guest mode — no account required;
sign out of your account;
delete your account in Settings → Account settings → Delete account;
reset local progress if the option is available in the app;
control notification permissions in iOS Settings; and
contact us with privacy questions or requests.

Children's Privacy

I'm Walkin' Here! is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has submitted personal information through the app, please contact us and we will take appropriate action.

Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational measures designed to protect information against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is completely secure.

International Users

If you use I'm Walkin' Here! outside the United States, your information may be processed in the United States or other locations where our service providers operate. By using the app, you understand that your information may be processed in those locations.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, the updated version will be posted on this page with a revised "Last updated" date. If changes are material, we may provide additional notice where appropriate.

Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, your account data, or need help with account or data deletion, please reach out:

I'm Walkin' Here! — Privacy

Privacy: privacy@imwalkinherenyc.com

Support: support@imwalkinherenyc.com

Website: https://imwalkinherenyc.com