Privacy Policy
Effective Date: 20 June 2025
Last updated: 25 October 2026
1. Who We Are
Parking Space Finder (“we”, “us”, “our”) is an app and website developed and run by a private individual, not a company.
Controller: Kirill Rozhkov, Germany
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://parkingfinder.ink
This Policy explains what data the Parking Space Finder iOS app and the website parkingfinder.ink (together, the “Service”) process, why, on what legal basis, who receives it, how long it is kept and what choices you have.
The Service has no accounts and no sign-in. We never ask for your name, email address, phone number, contacts or photos, and we do not sell personal data.
2. Summary
| What | Why | Legal basis (GDPR) | Kept |
|---|---|---|---|
| Map area you are viewing (map tile numbers), the fuel stations whose prices you look at, and your IP address | Load parking spots, other places and fuel prices for that area | Providing the Service, Art. 6(1)(b); security, Art. 6(1)(f) | Not stored with any identifier; IP addresses in server logs up to 30 days |
| Spot data inside a share link you create | Make the link work for the person you send it to | Providing the Service, Art. 6(1)(b) | 90 days, then deleted automatically |
| Purchase records sent by Apple | Unlock Premium, handle refunds, count sales | Contract, Art. 6(1)(b); legal obligations, Art. 6(1)(c) | As long as needed for refunds and accounting |
| App usage events (Firebase Analytics) | Understand which features are used | Your consent, Art. 6(1)(a) | See § 7 |
| Crash reports (Firebase Crashlytics) | Find and fix crashes | Legitimate interest in a working app, Art. 6(1)(f) | 90 days |
| Advertising data (Google AdMob) | Show ads that pay for the free version | Your consent for personalised ads, Art. 6(1)(a) | Set by the ad partner (see § 5) |
| Website usage (Google Analytics) | Understand which pages are useful | Your consent, Art. 6(1)(a) | See § 7 |
| Website visit statistics without cookies (Cloudflare Web Analytics) | Count page visits and measure how fast pages load | Your consent, Art. 6(1)(a) | No identifier; see § 7 |
3. The App in Detail
3.1 Location
If you allow location access, the app uses your precise GPS position on your device to centre the map and to show spots near you. Your GPS coordinates are not sent to us.
To show parking spots, the app asks our server for the map tiles (grid squares) of the area on your screen. Like every web request, this request also carries your IP address. Tile numbers tell us roughly which area is being viewed, but we do not store them together with any identifier, do not keep a history of where you have been and do not build location profiles.
Fuel prices (Premium) are loaded the same way: the app asks our server for the prices of the fuel stations on your screen or nearest to you, by their map IDs, not by your position.
Two things the app does with your position stay on your device or go to Apple, not to us:
- Parked car and parking timer: where you parked and the timer you set are stored only on your device. They are not sent to us or to anyone else and are not part of any analytics event. The timer’s reminder is a notification your device creates itself.
- Emergency numbers: to show the emergency numbers of the country you are in, the app asks Apple’s geocoding service which country your position lies in, so Apple receives that position. The app keeps the answer on your device and asks again only after you have moved about 20 km.
You can turn location access off in iOS Settings at any time; the map still works, you just pan to the area yourself.
3.2 Search and Directions
Place search in the app uses Apple’s map search, so the text you type is sent to Apple. To show the address of a parking place, the app asks Apple’s geocoding service for the address at that place’s position. Analytics only records the length of a search, never the text. When you ask for directions, the destination is handed to the map app you choose (Apple Maps, Google Maps or Waze), which then applies its own privacy policy.
To tell you about a new version, the app asks Apple’s App Store whether one is available; the request names the app and your App Store country.
3.3 Favourites
Favourite spots are stored on your device and synced through your own iCloud account (iCloud key-value storage). We cannot access them.
3.4 Share Links
When you share a spot, the app sends that spot’s details (name, position and type of the parking place, not your own location) to our server, which creates a short link. The link and its data are deleted automatically after 90 days.
3.5 Premium Purchases
Payments are handled entirely by Apple; we never see your name, Apple ID or payment details. To unlock Premium the app sends the App Store receipt to our server, which checks it with Apple. When you buy Premium or a purchase is refunded, Apple also notifies our server. We store the purchase record (product, price, currency, store country, date and Apple’s transaction number) to handle refunds and count sales, and we send an anonymous count without any buyer or device identifier to our analytics.
3.6 Analytics (Firebase Analytics)
With your consent, the app sends usage events such as screens opened, buttons tapped, filters changed, purchase steps and ad impressions to Google Firebase Analytics, together with a random app-instance identifier, device model, OS and app version, language and approximate location (city and country) derived from your IP address. Events never contain your GPS position, search text or anything that names you.
The app asks for this consent through Google’s consent form (see § 6). If you do not consent, Analytics storage stays off: no identifier is used, and Google may receive only limited, non-identifying signals that it uses to model statistics.
3.7 Crash Reports (Firebase Crashlytics)
If the app crashes or hits an error, Firebase Crashlytics sends a crash report: stack trace, device model, OS and app version, and a random installation identifier. Reports contain no location, no search text and nothing that names you. We use them only to fix bugs.
3.8 Remote Configuration (Firebase Remote Config)
The app downloads settings from Firebase Remote Config, which uses a random installation identifier to deliver them. No usage data is attached.
3.9 Advertising (Google AdMob)
The free version shows ads from Google AdMob. Google and the ad networks it works with receive your IP address, device and app information, and, if you allow it, the advertising identifier (IDFA).
Older app versions: versions before 2.0.0 include the InMobi advertising SDK and mediation adapter. InMobi mediation has been disabled, and version 2.0.0 removes these components. For information about data InMobi processed when it was used, see the InMobi Privacy Policy.
- In the EEA, UK and Switzerland, the app shows Google’s consent form before any ad is requested. Personalised ads are used only if you consent; otherwise ads are non-personalised or not shown.
- Apple’s tracking prompt (ATT): the IDFA is shared only if you tap “Allow”. If you decline, it is not shared.
4. The Website in Detail
- Server logs: every request to parkingfinder.ink is logged with IP address, time, requested page and browser information to keep the site running and defend it against abuse (Art. 6(1)(f)). These logs are kept up to 30 days.
- Web map: the parking maps on the website are served from our own server. If you press “locate me”, your browser shares your position only with the page to centre the map; it is not sent to us.
- Place search and addresses on the web map: your search text, and the position of a parking place you open on the map, are forwarded by our server to the OpenStreetMap Foundation’s Nominatim service to find places and the parking place’s address; your IP address is not passed on.
- Street View link: the “Street View” button on a parking place opens Google Maps in a new tab. Nothing is loaded from Google until you press it; Google then receives the position of that parking place, and its own privacy policy applies.
- Google Analytics: loaded only after you choose “Allow analytics”. It then receives the page visited, browser and device information and an identifier stored in a cookie.
- Cloudflare Web Analytics: also loaded only after you choose “Allow analytics”. A small script from static.cloudflareinsights.com reports the page visited, the page you came from, browser and device type, country, and page-load timings to Cloudflare (cloudflareinsights.com). It sets no cookies, stores nothing on your device and assigns you no identifier; according to Cloudflare, your IP address is used only in transit to work out the country and is not stored for these statistics. We use the totals to count visits and to see how fast pages load.
- Changing your choice: choose “Privacy choices” in the website footer at any time; “Necessary only” stops both Google Analytics and Cloudflare Web Analytics from loading from the next page you open and deletes the Google Analytics cookies. Withdrawing consent does not affect processing that happened before.
- No ads: the website does not show advertising.
5. Who Receives Data
We use these providers. Each processes data under its own terms; where they act on our behalf, they are bound by data processing terms.
| Provider | What for | Privacy information |
|---|---|---|
| Google (Firebase Analytics, Crashlytics, Remote Config, AdMob, User Messaging Platform, Google Analytics) | Analytics, crash reports, app settings, ads, consent form | Google Privacy Policy, How Google uses data from apps and sites |
| Apple | App Store purchases, map search, address and country lookup, new-version check, iCloud sync of favourites | Apple Privacy Policy |
| Cloudflare | Network protection, delivery and cookieless visit statistics (Web Analytics) for parkingfinder.ink | Cloudflare Privacy Policy |
| Amazon Web Services (AWS Lightsail, Frankfurt, Germany) | Hosting our server and database | AWS Privacy Notice |
| OpenStreetMap Foundation (Nominatim) | Place search and parking place addresses on the web map | OSMF Privacy Policy |
We do not sell or rent personal data to anyone.
6. Your Choices
- Ads and analytics consent in the app: open Privacy Policy from the app menu and tap “Privacy options” at the bottom to change or withdraw your consent at any time. Withdrawing consent does not affect processing that happened before.
- Tracking (IDFA): iOS Settings › Privacy & Security › Tracking.
- Location: iOS Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services › Parking Space Finder.
- Website analytics: “Privacy choices” in the website footer (Google Analytics and Cloudflare Web Analytics).
- No ads at all: buying Premium removes ads.
7. How Long We Keep Data
| Data | Retention |
|---|---|
| Server logs with IP addresses (app and website) | Up to 30 days |
| Share links | 90 days, then deleted automatically |
| Purchase and refund records | As long as needed to handle late refunds and meet accounting rules |
| Firebase / Google Analytics user-level data | Per the retention setting of our Analytics properties; reports we look at are aggregated |
| Cloudflare Web Analytics | No identifier or IP address is stored for it; Cloudflare keeps the visit statistics under its own policies |
| Crash reports | 90 days (Crashlytics default) |
| Advertising data | Kept by Google under its own policies |
8. International Transfers
Some providers (Google, Apple, Cloudflare) may process data outside the EU/EEA, for example in the United States. Such transfers rely on the EU–US Data Privacy Framework where the provider is certified, or on the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses.
9. Your Rights
Under the GDPR you have the right to access, correct or delete your data, to restrict or object to processing (including processing based on legitimate interests), to data portability, and to withdraw consent at any time.
Because the Service has no accounts, we usually cannot tell which data belongs to you (Art. 11 GDPR). If you contact us, we will help as far as we can identify you, for example using an Apple transaction number for purchase records. You can also reset your advertising identifier and delete the app, which removes its identifiers from your device.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority, in particular in the EU country where you live or work.
To exercise any right, email [email protected].
10. Children
The Service is not directed to children under 16, and we do not knowingly collect their data. If you believe a child has provided data, contact us and we will delete it.
11. Security
All traffic between the app or website and our server is encrypted (HTTPS). Server logs are kept separate from other data, and access to the server is restricted.
12. Changes to This Policy
If our practices or the law change, we will update this Policy and the “Last updated” date above. Significant changes will be announced in the app.