Privacy policy
Effective 20 October 2026
niarT is operated by Joseph Raymond. For privacy questions, contact [email protected].
What stays on your device
Ticket images, imported PDFs, recognised ticket text, fares, saved stations and saved searches are processed or stored on your device. Camera scanning, photo selection, document import and location access happen only when you choose those features. Your GPS coordinates are used locally to find nearby stations and, when you enable it during a guided journey, help identify when you are near a stop. They stay on your device unless you separately agree to optional location contributions, described below. Location guidance pauses when the app is not visible; it does not continuously track you in the background.
Offline route planning uses downloaded transport data. It does not send your planned route to a journey-planning provider. Device or browser backups may retain local app data according to your own Apple or browser settings.
What reaches our server
To show live services or check historical delays, niarT sends the necessary station codes, travel date and time window. When checking a scanned ticket, these journey fields are sent; the ticket image, barcode, recognised text and paid fare are not uploaded.
A random identifier is stored in your browser or app installation to count unique active installations across tabs and repeat visits. Our server stores a hashed version with its latest activity time and removes it after 24 hours without activity. It is not your name, email, Apple ID or an advertising identifier. Different browsers and devices are counted separately; clearing storage can create a new identifier. We also record request response times, response codes and feed failures to keep the service working.
Our hosting connection, including Cloudflare, processes network information such as your IP address and connection metadata to deliver and protect the service. The service is not completely data-free simply because most features run locally.
How data is used
We use this information to fulfil your requests, share cached transport results, monitor reliability and investigate faults. We do not sell your data, use advertising trackers, or track you across other apps and websites. niarT does not currently require a customer account.
App trial and subscriptions
Your seven-day free app trial starts when you first open the iOS subscription edition. No purchase or subscription is needed to start it, and it never charges you automatically. The first-open time and elapsed-time checks are kept locally in the device Keychain to retain the trial across app restarts and help prevent it resetting when app storage is cleared. This trial information is not uploaded to our server.
After the free period, a paid subscription is required to use the iOS app. You can choose to subscribe earlier. Apple handles monthly and annual subscription payments, renewal and purchase restoration. niarT verifies Apple-signed purchase records on your device. We do not receive your card details, Apple Account credentials or a customer subscription profile on our hosting server. Apple processes purchase information under its own privacy policy.
Guided commutes and reminders
Home/work stations, commute times, travel days, preferred routes and active journey progress are stored on your device. You can opt into scheduled iPhone reminders and turn them off in Guidance or iOS notification settings. These local reminders ask you to check your journey; they are not background live disruption checks. Live service checks run while niarT is open and reuse shared server data. Station codes and historical search windows are sent when needed to check transport services; a named home/work profile is not uploaded. Location samples are uploaded only with the separate contribution consent below.
After you tap a map’s location control, niarT can refresh your position while its maps are open. The blue dot and accuracy halo are calculated on your device. Use “Location on ×” to stop updates and hide the dot; updates pause when the app is in the background. Without separate contribution consent, these coordinates stay on your device. We do not identify your train automatically.
Optional location contributions
You can separately choose “Agree & share” to help us evaluate more accurate train positions. This is optional and is not required for nearby stations, the blue dot, routes, tickets or subscription access. We rely on your consent for these contributions. While a map is open, location is on and the app is online, niarT can send precise coordinates, accuracy and observation time in small batches. It pauses when hidden, offline or location is stopped. Low-accuracy, stale and out-of-area readings are skipped. Unsent samples stay in memory and are not stored for later offline upload.
Each contribution session uses a random identifier that rotates at least every 30 minutes of collection. No name, Apple Account, advertising identifier, home/work profile, ticket or permanent device identifier is attached. Location sequences are pseudonymous and can still reveal movements; we do not describe them as fully anonymous. The contributions currently support internal evaluation only: they do not change train positions, establish that you boarded a service, count passengers, or trigger location-based notifications.
Raw samples expire within 24 hours, with automatic cleanup every five minutes. They are kept in a separate private database excluded from niarT’s scheduled application backups. We do not publish samples or send them to rail operators, advertisers or data brokers. Cloudflare processes the encrypted connection as our infrastructure provider; location is therefore not described as having no third-party processing.
Open “Help improve train locations” in Guidance to withdraw consent and choose “Stop & delete my samples”. Sharing stops immediately and niarT requests deletion using the contribution-session secrets retained on your device for up to 25 hours. If offline, deletion is retried on reconnection or while the app is open; normal expiry still applies. Server revocation records contain no coordinates and expire within 48 hours. Clearing local storage or uninstalling removes your deletion secrets and may prevent a targeted deletion request, but samples still expire automatically. You may withdraw without affecting other app features or the lawfulness of earlier processing.
Providers
Our server obtains transport information from Rail Data Marketplace/National Rail and TfL. Historical journey lookups send station codes, dates and time windows to the relevant rail data provider; they do not include your account identity or ticket image. Cloudflare provides the secure connection to our hosting service. See Cloudflare’s privacy policy.
Retention
Anonymous API timing records are kept for up to one hour and active-session records for up to 24 hours. Session identifiers on your device last for the current browser session. Historical journey requests and results can be cached for up to 30 days; some search indexes refresh or expire sooner. These shared rail records are not maintained as customer profiles.
Operational access and error logs are retained for fault investigation. Existing private backups may retain older operational records. Local saved data remains on your device until removed. Support emails are retained while needed to answer your request or resolve the issue.
Your choices
You can refuse or revoke camera and location access in device or browser settings and still use station searches and manually entered ticket details. Photo and file pickers give access only to items you select. Edit your home/work stations, travel days, times and preferred routes in Guidance. Saved delay searches are available under Claims. Clear app/browser storage to remove local saved data. Contact us about access, deletion or other privacy requests; we do not have an account directory linking anonymous activity to your identity.
See subscription terms for the free period, billing and cancellation details.
Changes
If niarT introduces customer accounts, other payment providers, advertising or new data collection, this policy and the App Store disclosures will be updated before those changes are released.