Last updated: January 08, 2025

This Privacy Policy describes our policies and procedures on the collection, use and disclosure of your information when you use the app and associated web site(s) and tells you about your privacy rights and how the law protects you.

We will use your personal data to learn about long-distance hikers like yourself, toward understanding hiker needs and preferences. By using the service, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy has been created with the help of the Privacy Policy Generator.

Interpretation and Definitions

Interpretation

The words of which the initial letter is capitalized have meanings defined under the following conditions. The following definitions shall have the same meaning regardless of whether they appear in singular or in plural.

Definitions

For the purposes of this Privacy Policy:

• Account means a unique account created for You to access our Service or parts of our Service.
• Affiliate means an entity that controls, is controlled by or is under common control with a party, where “control” means ownership of 50% or more of the shares, equity interest or other securities entitled to vote for election of directors or other managing authority.
• Application refers to SmarTrail, the software program provided by the Company.
• Company (referred to as either “the Company”, “We”, “Us” or “Our” in this Agreement) refers to Virginia Tech, Department of Computer Science, Virginia Tech.
• Country refers to: Virginia, United States
• Device means any device that can access the Service such as a computer, a cellphone or a digital tablet.
• Personal Data is any information that relates to an identified or identifiable individual.
• Service refers to the Application.
• Service Provider means any natural or legal person who processes the data on behalf of the Company. It refers to third-party companies or individuals employed by the Company to facilitate the Service, to provide the Service on behalf of the Company, to perform services related to the Service or to assist the Company in analyzing how the Service is used.
• Third-party Social Media Service refers to any website or any social network website through which a User can log in or create an account to use the Service.
• Usage Data refers to data collected automatically, either generated by the use of the Service or from the Service infrastructure itself (for example, the duration of a page visit).
• You means the individual accessing or using the Service, or the company, or other legal entity on behalf of which such individual is accessing or using the Service, as applicable.

Collecting and Using Your Personal Data

Types of Data Collected

Personal Data

While using the app, we may ask you to provide us with certain personally identifiable information that can be used to contact or identify you. This information will not be connected with your data for analysis and publication, only for contacting you and for payments. Personally identifiable information may include, but is not limited to:

• Email address
• First name and last name
• Usage Data

Information Collected while Using the Application

While using Our Application, in order to provide features of Our Application, We may collect, with Your prior permission, information regarding your location.

We use this information to associate your location with the answers to questions that you provide, to understand how the answers from you and others might be related to your location.. The information may be uploaded to our secure server.

Use of Your Personal Data

The Company may use Personal Data for the following purposes:

• To contact you: To contact you via forms of electronic communication, such as a mobile application’s push notifications regarding updates or informative communications related to the functionalities, when necessary or reasonable for their implementation.
• To manage your requests: To attend and manage your requests to us.
• For monetary transfers: If there are monetary or other financial benefits agreed upon for your participation in the use of the app, we will use your personal data to ensure you receive it.
• For analysis purposed: We may use Your information for other purposes, such as data analysis, identifying usage trends, and understanding the experiences of you and others using the app and associated web site.

Retention of Your Personal Data

We will retain your personal data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy and your app use agreement. We will retain and use your personal data to the extent necessary to comply with our legal obligations (for example, if we are required to retain your data to comply with applicable laws and Virginia Tech’s Institutional Review Board), resolve disputes, and enforce our legal agreements and policies.

The Company will also retain Usage Data for internal analysis purposes. Usage Data is generally retained for a shorter period of time, except when this data is used to strengthen the security or to improve the functionality of Our Service, or We are legally obligated to retain this data for longer time periods.

Transfer of Your Personal Data

Your information, including Personal Data, is processed and stored at the Virginia Tech’s offices and in any other places where the parties involved in the processing are located. Your consent to this Privacy Policy followed by your submission of such information represents your agreement to that transfer.

We will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy and no transfer of your personal data will take place to an organization or a country unless there are adequate controls in place including the security of your data and other personal information.

Delete Your Personal Data

You have the right to delete or request that we assist in deleting the personal data that we have collected about and from you.

You may update, amend, or delete your information at any time by signing in to your account and visiting the account settings section that allows you to manage your personal information. You may also contact us to request access to, correct, or delete any personal information.

Please note, however, that we may need to retain certain information when we have a legal obligation or lawful basis to do so.

Disclosure of Your Personal Data

Law enforcement

Under certain circumstances, the Company may be required to disclose Your Personal Data if required to do so by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities (e.g. a court or a government agency).

Other legal requirements

We may be required to disclose your personal data in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to:

• Comply with a legal obligation
• Prevent or investigate possible wrongdoing in connection with the Service
• Protect the personal safety of users of the service or the public
• Protect against legal liability

Security of Your Personal Data

The security of Your personal data is important to us, but remember that no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

Children’s Privacy

Our App is not to be used by anyone under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from anyone under the age of 18. If You are a parent or guardian and you are aware that your child has provided us with personal data, please contact us. If we become aware that we have collected personal data from anyone under the age of 18, we will take steps to remove that information from our server.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update Our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page.

We will let you know via email and/or a prominent notice on our service, prior to the change becoming effective and update the “Last updated” date at the top of this Privacy Policy.

You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, You can contact us by visiting this page on our website: https://techonthetrail.net/nsf-smartrail-project/