Privacy policy
What we collect, why, and the choices you have. We keep what we collect to the minimum the app needs.
Your data, your say
Shared beyond OtterWay only if you agree, always anonymised, and never used to track you across other apps.
Location only when you walk
Only while you plan a route or during a walk you started.
Delete any time
Profile → Delete account clears everything straight away.
Who we are
OtterWay is run by Studio Soren Limited (company number 16279385), the data controller for your information. Contact us at hello@theotterway.app.
What we collect and why
| Information | Why we use it |
|---|---|
| Your first name, email address and password (stored securely, never readable by us) | To create your account, sign you in and keep your walks and contacts across devices |
| Your email choices | Whether you want the monthly walk recap and OtterWay tips and news. Both can be turned off in the app or with the Unsubscribe link in those emails |
| Your precise location, while you plan or walk | To plan routes from where you are and guide you during a walk. Location only runs in the background during a walk you started, and stops the moment it ends |
| Your location during a walk with arrival check-in on | Sent to OtterWay about once a minute, only so we can tell your trusted contact where you were last seen if you don’t arrive or answer our check-in. Deleted 2 days after the walk |
| Walks you take: destination, the route suggested, the route you walked, time, distance, check-in answers and your ratings | To show your past walks and, combined anonymously with other walkers, improve route scores for everyone |
| Route options you were shown, the one you picked, and where you left a suggested route | To learn which routes walkers prefer and suggest better ones |
| Places you save | Favourite places and trusted routes, so you can get to them quickly |
| Trusted contacts you add (name, phone number and email) | So you can share your walk and they can get check-in alerts and SOS. We email them once to ask if they agree, and they can decline at any time |
| Your Pathfinder subscription status, if you subscribe | To unlock Pathfinder features. Apple or Google take the payment, so we never see your card details |
| Street reports you send (type, location, optional note and photo) | To learn which streets need attention and warn other walkers |
| The devices you sign in on | The type of phone (for example “iPhone · iOS 26”) and a scrambled id for this install of the app. When a new device signs in, we email you, with the town your phone thinks it’s in if location is allowed |
| Feedback you email us | To improve OtterWay |
We don’t use your information to track you across other apps or websites. We only share it beyond OtterWay, anonymised, if you agree.
How your feedback improves routes
When you rate a walk or report something on the street, OtterWay uses it to suggest better routes for everyone. To do this we store the route you were shown, the route you walked, which route option you picked, and where you left a suggested route.
To protect your privacy:
- Walks are split into small sections of street, and only combined results from several walkers are shared. Nobody can see your name, your walks or your individual ratings.
- Report notes and photos are never shown to other walkers.
- If you delete your account, your walks, ratings and reports are deleted, and your part in the shared results is removed.
We do this under our legitimate interest in making walking routes safer and healthier, and we only use the combined results this way.
Sponsored pins
The free version of OtterWay shows a small number of clearly labelled sponsored pins on the map from vetted local businesses. Pathfinder, our optional subscription, is ad-free.
Pins are chosen only by the area of the map you’re looking at, never from a profile of you. Businesses only see the total number of times their pin was seen and tapped, never who you are, and we never share your personal information with them. We don’t accept ads for gambling, vapes, tobacco, alcohol or predatory financial products.
This website and the beta
If you join the beta on theotterway.app, we keep your email address, which phone you use (iPhone or Android), whether you want build updates, and when you confirmed and got your invite. We use them only to send your invite link and the emails you chose. The form also stores a scrambled (hashed) version of your network address for a short time to stop spam sign-ups.
If you send a business enquiry, we keep your name, business name, email, postcode and message so we can reply.
If you leave the beta list, we delete your email within 30 days; sign-ups that are never confirmed are deleted 30 days after their link expires. This website never shows ads. The cookies it can use are explained below.
Emails we send
- Account and safety emails, always: sign-up codes, password resets, new sign-in alerts, your data download and account deletion. Trusted contacts get their invite and, if you don’t arrive or answer a check-in, an alert with your last known location.
- Beta emails: your confirm link and your invite. Build updates only if you ticked the box.
- Only if you choose: the monthly walk recap and OtterWay tips and news. Each has an Unsubscribe link.
Services that help run OtterWay
We use trusted providers that only process data to run the service:
| Provider | What it does |
|---|---|
| Supabase | Accounts, database and photo storage (stored in London, UK) |
| Resend | Sending our emails |
| Cloudflare | Hosting this website and running its sign-up and enquiry forms |
| Google Analytics (Google Ireland / Google LLC) | Website visit statistics, only if you accept analytics cookies on this website. Never used in the app, for ads, or linked to your OtterWay account |
| RevenueCat | Managing Pathfinder subscriptions; receives an anonymous app user ID and your purchase status |
| openrouteservice (HeiGIT, Germany) | Planning walking routes, through our server; receives the start and end points of a route |
| Photon by komoot | Place search; receives what you type and your approximate location, so results near you come first |
| OpenFreeMap (OpenStreetMap data) | Map tiles, main roads and nearby places; receives the map area being shown |
| Open-Meteo | Air quality; receives an approximate location (from the app), or one rounded to about 10 km (for “We miss you” emails) |
| Apple and Google | App distribution, beta testing (TestFlight and Google Play), in-app purchases (Pathfinder), notifications, and working out the town for new sign-in alerts on your phone |
How long we keep it
We keep your information while your account is open, with these exceptions: locations shared for an arrival check-in are deleted after 2 days, and data download files after 7 days.
When you delete your account, we delete your profile, contacts, walks, places, trusted routes, reports, photos, devices and data downloads straight away, and remove your part in shared route scores. Deleting your account doesn’t cancel a Pathfinder subscription, so cancel it first in your App Store or Google Play settings. Backups are cleared within 30 days.
Your choices and rights
You can change your details and email choices in the app (Profile → Settings), download a copy of everything we hold (Profile → Settings → Download my data), turn off location for OtterWay in your phone’s settings, and delete your account at any time in Profile → Delete account or by following these steps.
Under UK data protection law you can also ask for a copy of your data, ask us to correct it, or object to how we use it. Email us and we’ll respond within one month. If you’re unhappy with how we handle your data, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk.
Safety
Route scores are estimates to help you choose, not guarantees of safety. OtterWay doesn’t replace emergency services: if you’re in danger, call 999.
Children
OtterWay isn’t intended for anyone under 16.
Changes
If we change this policy, we’ll update the date above. For an important change we’ll email every account at least 30 days before it applies, and tell you in the app.