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Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how SydMetro handles information when you use the SydMetro iPhone app. SydMetro is operated by Rishi Singhal.
Last updated: July 26, 2026
Scope
This Privacy Policy applies to the SydMetro iPhone app and the SydMetro support, privacy, and terms pages published at sydmetro.app.
Information SydMetro handles
SydMetro is designed to work without account creation, profile registration, advertising identifiers, or in-app analytics.
Depending on how you use the app, SydMetro may handle the following categories of information:
1. Location data
If you allow location access while using the app, SydMetro uses your location in memory to infer whether your likely origin is Home Station or Work Station so it can show the most useful direction faster.
If you turn on the optional Station Live Activity feature, SydMetro may request Always location access. When enabled and allowed by iOS, SydMetro monitors only the areas around your saved Home Station and Work Station so the app can detect station entry and exit events and show live M1 departure information on the Lock Screen or Dynamic Island without you opening the app.
SydMetro does not use Station Live Activity location monitoring for unsaved stations.
iOS provides SydMetro with full-resolution location data so that station areas can be detected reliably. That data is evaluated on the device. The only location information transmitted to SydMetro's live service backend is the identifier of the saved station associated with an entry or exit event.
2. App preferences stored on your device
SydMetro stores a small set of preferences locally on your device using Apple's standard on-device storage APIs, including:
- your selected Home Station
- your selected Work Station
- whether onboarding has been completed
- your haptics preference
- whether Station Live Activity is enabled
- a generated device identifier used for Station Live Activity event delivery
These settings are used to personalize the app experience on your device.
3. Live Activity event data
If Station Live Activity is enabled, SydMetro sends event data to SydMetro's live service backend so the backend can start, update, and stop Live Activities. Those events include:
- a generated event ID
- a generated device ID
- the Live Activity push tokens used to start and to update the activity
- the event type, such as registering a push-to-start token, station entry, station exit, or activity dismissal
- your saved Home Station ID and Work Station ID
- the station ID associated with the monitored station area
- whether the station is your Home Station or Work Station
- the inferred journey direction
- the app build, schema version, timestamp, and current location authorization state
SydMetro uses this data to provide the Station Live Activity feature, troubleshoot delivery, and maintain the reliability of the live service.
4. Network request data
When SydMetro fetches live departures or M1 alert information, the app sends network requests to SydMetro's service endpoints and the transport-data sources needed to return current metro information. Those requests include the standard technical request metadata processed by web infrastructure, such as IP address, request timing, and device-to-server connection details.
SydMetro uses this network activity only to provide the app's live functionality, support service reliability, and protect the service from abuse.
How SydMetro uses information
SydMetro uses information only for the limited purposes needed to operate the app, including to:
- show live M1 departures
- show M1 alerts and planned maintenance information
- infer likely journey direction when location access is allowed
- monitor your saved Home Station and Work Station areas when Station Live Activity is enabled and Always location is allowed
- start, update, and stop Station Live Activities
- preserve your saved anchors and app preferences on your device
- open support and legal pages when you choose to visit them
What SydMetro does not do
SydMetro does not:
- require an account
- sell personal information
- use third-party advertising SDKs
- use cross-app tracking
- use in-app analytics or profiling
- store your precise location on SydMetro's own persistent app storage
- sell, rent, or share your location data for advertising
- monitor station areas other than your saved Home Station and Work Station for Station Live Activity
Data retention
Location data used for direction inference is used only while the app is open and is not written to storage. If Station Live Activity is enabled, iOS wakes SydMetro for monitored Home Station or Work Station area entry and exit events, and SydMetro uses those events to operate the Live Activity feature.
Locally stored preferences remain on your device until you change them, reset the app's preferences, or remove the app.
Station Live Activity event records are deleted automatically approximately 48 hours after they are received. The Live Activity push tokens and the saved Home Station and Work Station pair are deleted automatically after 60 days without use, and that period restarts each time the feature runs. These records expire without any action required from you.
Network-side request logs are retained by the infrastructure providers used to deliver SydMetro's live functionality and support website, for operational needs such as troubleshooting reliability and protecting the service from abuse.
Third-party services and data sources
SydMetro relies on third-party services and infrastructure to function, including:
- Apple's iOS platform services, including location permission and on-device storage APIs
- SydMetro-hosted web infrastructure used to fetch live app data
- Apple's ActivityKit and push notification services used for Live Activities
- Transport for NSW or related transport-data sources that provide metro service information
Those third parties may process information under their own terms and privacy policies.
Children's privacy
SydMetro is a general-audience app. SydMetro is not designed for children under the age at which standalone privacy protections are specifically required in your jurisdiction, and SydMetro does not knowingly collect personal information from children through an account system or user-submission workflow.
International use
SydMetro is operated from Australia and is intended for users seeking Sydney Metro M1 information. If you access the app from another location, you understand that service infrastructure and support resources may operate in Australia or other jurisdictions used by SydMetro's providers.
Changes to this Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time to reflect changes to SydMetro, legal requirements, or operational practices. The "Last updated" date above indicates when this version was last revised.