This Privacy Policy explains how Roadmates ("Roadmates", "we", "us") collects, uses, shares, and
protects information when you use the Roadmates mobile app and website (together, the "Service").
Roadmates helps cyclists and motorcyclists organize and join group rides, including Audax/BRM
(Brevet Randonneur Mondial) style events with control-point check-ins.
By using the Service, you agree to the collection and use of information as described in this
policy. If you don't agree, please don't use the Service.
1. Information we collect
Account & profile information
Email address and password (used to authenticate you; we never see or store your password in plain text — it's handled by our authentication provider).
If you sign in with Google, your name, email address, and profile photo as provided by Google.
Display name, bio, and profile photo you choose to add.
Optional fields you may add yourself: phone number, emergency contact name and phone number, and AIR (Audax India Randonneurs) rider number.
Location information
Check-in geotags — your GPS coordinates at the moment you check in at a control point or take a check-in photo.
Live location sharing — while a ride is in progress, if you turn this on, your device's location is periodically sent so other participants in that ride can see roughly where you are. For rides where the organizer has turned on background location sharing, and only after you separately grant "Allow all the time" location permission, this continues while the app is in the background or your screen is locked, for as long as the ride stays live and you keep sharing on. It stops automatically once the ride ends, once you turn sharing off, or if you force-close the app — Roadmates never tracks your location outside of a ride you've actively opted into, and never after the app itself has been closed by you or your device.
Route-conformance tracking ("breadcrumb") — if a ride's organizer enables this feature for a ride, your location is logged periodically along your route during that ride, again only while the app is open in the foreground.
Ride locations — the start point, destination, and control points you or a ride organizer enter when creating or editing a ride.
SOS / emergency alerts — if you trigger the in-app SOS feature, your location at that moment is shared with the ride's organizer so they can respond.
Background location. Background location access is used only to keep your position
visible to your ride group during a live ride you've explicitly opted into, even when your screen is
off or you're using another app. It is never used for advertising, and Roadmates does not collect your
location when you're not actively sharing on a live ride.
Public share links. You or a ride's organizer can generate a public link that shows
live location on a map without requiring the viewer to have a Roadmates account or be logged in.
Anyone with that link can view the location(s) it exposes for as long as the link is active. Only
create or share such a link with people you intend to see that information, and revoke it from
within the app once it's no longer needed.
Photos
Check-in photos you take within the app to confirm you reached a control point.
Cover photos you add for a ride, a destination, or a place to stay.
Ride activity
Rides you create, join, or organize; your roster/participant status; check-in timestamps; control points you've marshaled; roles such as organizer or marshal.
Technical & usage information
Standard technical logs (such as IP address and access timestamps) collected automatically by our infrastructure and hosting providers, used for security, troubleshooting, and preventing abuse of the Service.
2. How we use your information
To operate core features: creating and joining rides, roster management, check-ins, live-location sharing among ride participants, control-point timing for brevet-style rides, and SOS alerting.
To verify ride completion and control-point timing for brevet (BRM) record-keeping.
To prevent abuse of the Service (for example, limits on how many rides an account can create at once).
To communicate with you about your account or the Service, and to respond to support requests.
To maintain, secure, and improve the Service.
3. How we share your information
With other riders in a shared ride — your display name, roster status, check-in photos and times, and your live location if you've opted to share it, are visible to other participants of that same ride (and, for some organizer settings, to anyone viewing that ride's public page).
Via public share links — as described above, if a share link is created for a ride, anyone with the link can view the location(s) it shares, whether or not they use Roadmates.
With service providers who process data on our behalf, under their own confidentiality and security obligations, including:
Provider
Purpose
Supabase
Database, authentication, and file/photo storage
Google
Google Sign-In, and (only when this routing option is active for a feature) place/destination search results
OpenStreetMap-based services (Overpass, Photon)
Open-source destination search and place-name lookup — only location coordinates or search text are sent, not your account identity
MapLibre map tile providers
Rendering maps in the app — no personal account data is sent, only map tile requests
milesweb
Hosting the Roadmates website/app backend infrastructure
If required to comply with a legal obligation, court order, or governmental request.
To protect the rights, property, or safety of Roadmates, our users, or the public.
We do not sell your personal information.
4. Data retention
We retain your account and ride data for as long as your account is active, and ride/check-in
records as part of the historical record of that ride (including for brevet verification purposes)
unless you request deletion. If you stop using the Service without deleting your account, your data
may remain stored until you request its removal.
5. Your rights and choices
You can review and update most of your profile information directly within the app.
You can turn live-location sharing off at any time from within an active ride, including when it's running in the background — this immediately stops further location collection.
You can revoke a public share link at any time from within the app.
To request access to or correction of your personal data, contact us at
app.ridemates@gmail.com. We'll respond within a reasonable time
and in line with applicable law.
The Service is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from
anyone under the age of 13 (or a higher age where local law requires it). If you believe a child has
provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will take steps to remove it.
7. Data security
We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your information. However, no
method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is completely secure, and we can't
guarantee absolute security.
8. International data transfers
Our service providers may store and process data in countries other than your own. Where this
happens, we rely on those providers' own safeguards and contractual protections for cross-border
data transfers.
9. Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We'll update the "Last updated" date above when
we do, and, where changes are significant, we'll provide additional notice (such as an in-app
notice).
10. Contact us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data, contact us at:
Dileep Kumar S app.ridemates@gmail.com Trivandrum, Kerala, India