VendRoam Privacy Policy

This policy covers the VendRoam app on Android (Google Play) and on iPhone (the App Store). Both apps work the same way and share the same servers, so everything below applies to both unless it says "Android" or "iPhone".

What we collect

Location (vendor)

While a vendor is working their shift, the app sends their precise device location to our servers so it can be shown live on a map to anyone following that vendor (anyone with the vendor's barcode or link can follow them). This is a core, always-visible feature: a vendor's live location is visible to their followers whenever they're on shift. When a shift ends, including one our servers end automatically after a long gap with no location updates, the vendor's location is removed from our servers.

Private spots (vendor)

Vendors can save up to three private spots, such as their home or where they store their van. While a vendor is inside one, the app sends no location at all and removes any location already shown, even mid shift. Private spots are saved on the vendor's own phone only: they are never uploaded to our servers and we never see them.

Location (customer)

Your location is saved to our servers only when you follow a vendor, or when you tap "Ping me here" on that vendor's map screen. It is stored privately per vendor you follow, so our servers can compare it against that vendor's live location and notify you when they're nearby, even if the app is closed at that moment. It is never shown to the vendor or to any other customer. While you have the app open, it also uses your location on your phone to check whether a vendor you follow is nearby; that check runs on your phone and doesn't send your location anywhere.

Personal info

A vendor's contact phone number and email are public and shown to anyone following that vendor, since the app's purpose is letting customers reach the vendor. Separately, if a vendor records a customer's contact details against a private calendar/party booking, that information is stored privately and is never shown publicly or to any other customer.

Recovery code emails (vendor)

If a vendor uses "Forgot your code?" to have their recovery code re-sent, we email it to the contact email on their vendor, sent from our Gmail account. To send it and to stop repeat requests, we briefly keep a copy of that email and a record of when it was requested. Both are deleted automatically within about a day, and deleting your vendor deletes any copy sent to your current contact email straight away.

Photos

Menu item photos a vendor uploads are stored on our servers and shown publicly on that vendor's page, as part of displaying their menu.

Subscription & billing data

If a vendor subscribes to VendRoam's paid plan, the purchase itself is handled by the store you bought it from: Google Play Billing on Android, or Apple In-App Purchase on iPhone. Purchase and subscription status (e.g. active, trial, expired) is shared with RevenueCat, our subscription management provider, tied to your VendRoam vendor ID, so one subscription works for your vendor on any device. We never receive your name, email, or payment/card details: Google or Apple handles those directly and doesn't share them with us. This data is used solely to determine whether a vendor's shift is allowed to go live.

Crash & diagnostic data

The app uses Firebase Crashlytics to automatically collect crash reports, app-not-responding (ANR) events, and non-fatal error reports when something goes wrong, so we can find and fix bugs. These include device/OS info and a stack trace of the failure, tied to the same anonymous device ID as everything else in the app — never your name, precise location, or any personal profile. This is collected on every install; there's currently no in-app opt-out.

Device identifier

Each device is given an anonymous, randomly-generated ID (via Firebase Anonymous Authentication) with no personal profile attached. It exists solely so our servers can verify who owns a vendor, or which follower record belongs to your device — there is no login, username, or password anywhere in the app.

App integrity check

To stop fake or modified copies of the app from using our servers, each request is checked with Firebase App Check: Google Play Integrity on Android, and Apple's App Attest on iPhone (DeviceCheck on iPhones that don't support App Attest). This confirms the request comes from the genuine app on a real device. It doesn't identify you and adds nothing to your data.

Push notification token

To deliver proximity notifications and vendor announcements, your device's push-notification token is stored with your private per-vendor follower record. On Android this is a Firebase Cloud Messaging token; on iPhone, Firebase Cloud Messaging delivers notifications through Apple Push Notification service (APNs). The token carries no personal profile, and is removed when you stop following that vendor or delete your data.

Camera and photos

The camera is used only to scan a vendor's QR/barcode to follow it. You can instead pick a photo of a vendor's barcode from your phone; that photo is read on your device only to find the barcode, and is never uploaded or stored. No photo or video is captured, stored, or transmitted from either.

Clipboard (iPhone)

The first time you open the iPhone app, it offers to follow a vendor from a link you copied. It reads your clipboard only if you tap the system Paste button on that screen, and only that once; it never reads the clipboard by itself. What you paste is checked on your phone for a VendRoam vendor link and isn't stored or sent anywhere, apart from looking up the vendor in that link. (The Android app never reads your clipboard: it only sees text you paste into its "Paste a vendor link" box yourself, and "Copy my link" only writes to it.)

Local storage

The list of vendors you follow, a vendor's private spots, and related local app state live on your device and are removed automatically if you uninstall the app.

How we use it

Solely to provide the app's core features: live vendor tracking, proximity notifications (including ones delivered while the app is closed), event and menu display, and the contact-the-vendor flow for bookings and enquiries.

We do not sell your information, use it for advertising, or share it with data brokers.

Security

All data is sent over encrypted connections (HTTPS/TLS) between the app and our servers.

Third-party services

Both apps: Google Firebase (Cloud Firestore, Cloud Functions, Cloud Messaging, Anonymous Authentication, Cloud Storage, App Check, and Crashlytics), Gmail (only to send recovery code emails), and RevenueCat (subscription management for vendor subscriptions).

Android: the Google Maps SDK, Google Play Integrity (for App Check), the Google Play Install Referrer API (used only to auto-suggest following a vendor right after installing from a scanned barcode link), and Google Play Billing.

iPhone: Apple Maps, Apple Push Notification service (APNs), App Attest and DeviceCheck (for App Check), and Apple In-App Purchase.

Your controls

Customers: tap the delete icon next to any vendor in "My Vendors" to stop following it — this removes it from your device straight away and deletes your private data associated with that vendor from our servers, right in the app. To delete your data for every vendor you follow in one action, go to My Vendors → Settings → Danger Zone → "Delete All My Data". If your phone is offline at the time, the server deletion completes as soon as it's back online. No need to contact us either way. See also our Delete your data page.

Vendors: open Settings → Edit → Danger Zone → "Delete My Vendor" to permanently delete your vendor and everything tied to it (menu, calendar, followers, photos, recovery code, and any recovery code emails), right in the app. This cannot be undone and immediately removes the vendor for every customer following it.

Subscriptions: manage or cancel a vendor subscription where you bought it: in Google Play (Play Store → Payments & subscriptions → Subscriptions) on Android, or in your Apple ID settings (Settings → your name → Subscriptions) on iPhone. Deleting your vendor doesn't cancel a subscription by itself.

If you need help with something the app's controls don't cover, contact [email protected].

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the app changes. Material changes will be reflected here with an updated effective date.