Privacy policy
Last updated 5 October 2026
Who we are
Passing Tales is an app that plays short audio stories about the places you pass. It is run by Mindaugas Mačiulaitis, a private person, who decides how your data is used (the "controller" under the GDPR). Write to [email protected] about anything on this page. Passing Tales is to move to a company; this page will name it when that happens.
In short
- You don't make an account. We never ask for your name, email or phone number.
- No ads, no analytics or tracking tools, and we sell nothing about you.
- Your GPS position stays on your phone unless you switch on drive logs. The stories you play still tell us roughly where you were and when (see “Feedback and plays”).
Your location
The app uses your phone's location to play the story for each place as you pass it, even when the app is closed or not in use. Your GPS position is used on your phone and is not sent to us unless you switch on drive logs. Each story you play is reported with the place it is about and the time (see “Feedback and plays”), so those reports show roughly where you were and when.
Your install ID
The first time the app sends us something, it makes a random ID for this installation and registers it with our server. The ID is not linked to your name, phone number or Google account. You can see it in Settings › Install ID; quote it when you write to us about your data. Uninstalling the app removes the ID from your phone, and a new install gets a new one.
Feedback and plays
When you like, dislike or report a story, and when a story starts, finishes or is skipped, the app sends us: a random ID for that event, your install ID, the place, which version of the story, what happened, and when. We use this to find stories to fix and to choose what to write next. We keep it while the app is offered, and delete it when you ask.
Drive logs (optional, off by default)
If you switch on drive logs in Settings, the app sends us the log of each trip: location points with their time, speed and accuracy, which stories played, and app errors. We use them to make stories start at the right moment. We keep each log for at most 90 days after we receive it. Switching drive logs off stops the uploads and deletes the logs we hold for your install ID.
Subscriptions
If you subscribe, Google Play takes the payment; we never see your card details. We use RevenueCat to check what you have bought: the app gives RevenueCat your install ID, and RevenueCat receives your purchase records from Google Play. See Google's privacy policy and RevenueCat's privacy policy.
Network and server logs
All traffic to our servers passes through Cloudflare, which protects it and speeds it up. Our server logs each request with your IP address to find faults and stop abuse, and keeps the logs for 7 days.
Where your data is kept
On a server in Nürnberg, Germany. Database backups are stored with Cloudflare R2 in Europe and deleted after 30 days, so data you asked us to delete can stay in a backup for up to 30 days. Cloudflare and RevenueCat are US companies. Cloudflare's transfers of your data rely on the EU–US Data Privacy Framework; RevenueCat's rely on standard contractual clauses.
Why we may use your data
- Feedback, plays and server logs: our legitimate interest in running the app, improving it and keeping it secure.
- Drive logs: your consent, which you withdraw by switching them off.
- Subscriptions: to provide what you bought.
Your rights
You can ask to see, correct or delete your data, to limit how we use it, or to get a copy to take elsewhere; you can also object to how we use it or withdraw your consent. Write to [email protected] with your install ID; we answer within one month. You can also complain to the data protection authority where you live or work.
Children
Passing Tales is made for drivers and is not aimed at children.
Changes
When this page changes, the date at the top changes too.