Privacy Policy

§01Overview

Rail Mate ("the app", "we", "us") is an engineering tools app for rail maintenance professionals, published by Dean Jones operating as a sole trader in Australia. This policy explains what information the app handles, where it is stored, and who — if anyone — it is shared with.

The short version: Rail Mate is designed to work without collecting your personal information. The app does not require accounts. Your inspection data, photos, and calculations are stored on your device. The only information that leaves your device is anonymous crash and usage data (which you can disable) and a transaction identifier when you purchase Pro.

§02What information we handle

Rail Mate handles the following categories of information:

• Inspection data you create — calculator inputs and outputs, scope items, notes, and photos. This stays on your device.
• Photos from your camera or library — only images you explicitly select or capture inside the app. These stay on your device.
• Purchase information — a transaction identifier and receipt data for the Pro unlock, handled by Apple and RevenueCat. We do not receive or store your payment card details.
• Crash reports and diagnostics — anonymous technical data if the app crashes, so we can fix bugs. Collected via Sentry. You can opt out.
• Anonymous usage analytics — counts of feature usage and screen views, with no personal identifiers attached. Collected via PostHog. You can opt out.

We do not collect your name, email address, phone number, physical location, contacts, or any form of government or identity document.

§03On-device storage

All inspection data you create in Rail Mate — scopes, calculator history, photos attached to scope items, and notes — is stored locally on your iOS device using standard iOS storage. This data is not transmitted to our servers, because there are no Rail Mate servers that receive user inspection data.

This means:

• Your data is as secure as your device. If your phone is lost, stolen, or wiped, the data is gone with it. We cannot recover it for you.
• Your data does not sync between devices. Moving to a new phone means the old data stays on the old phone unless you export PDFs first.
• If you uninstall the app, iOS deletes the app's stored data as part of the normal uninstall process.

We recommend exporting completed scopes as PDFs and storing them in your own system (email, cloud drive, asset management tool, etc.) to preserve records beyond the lifespan of your device.

§04Camera and photo library access

Rail Mate requests access to your camera and photo library for a single purpose: attaching photos to scope items during inspections. iOS will prompt you the first time you use a feature that needs this access, and you can grant or deny permission at that point.

When you capture or select a photo:

• The image is copied into the app's own storage, attached to the scope item you selected.
• The image is not uploaded to any server.
• The image is not shared with any third party.
• The image's embedded location data (EXIF GPS) is preserved within the file but is not read or used by the app for any purpose.

You can revoke camera and photo library permissions at any time via iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Camera / Photos → Rail Mate. Doing so will prevent new photo attachments, but existing attachments in your scopes will not be affected.

§05Payments and the Pro unlock

The Pro unlock is a one-time in-app purchase processed by Apple via the App Store, with entitlement verification handled by RevenueCat, Inc.

What Apple handles

Your payment method, App Store account, billing address, and the actual transaction are all handled by Apple under Apple's Privacy Policy. We have no access to your payment card details and we cannot see your App Store account information.

What RevenueCat handles

When you purchase Pro, RevenueCat receives:

• An anonymous app-generated user identifier (not tied to your name or email)
• The App Store transaction receipt, which RevenueCat validates with Apple
• Your device type and iOS version, for receipt validation purposes

RevenueCat uses this information solely to verify your purchase and tell the app whether your Pro entitlement is active. See RevenueCat's Privacy Policy for their full data handling details.

What we receive

We receive a binary flag — Pro active or not — plus aggregate purchase counts for business reporting. We do not receive your App Store account details.

§06Analytics and crash reporting

To keep the app stable and to understand which tools are actually used, Rail Mate uses two third-party services: Sentry (crash reporting) and PostHog (product analytics).

Sentry — crash reporting

If the app crashes or hits a handled error, Sentry receives:

• Technical details about the error — stack trace, function names, line numbers
• Device model, iOS version, and app version
• An anonymous device-level identifier generated by the app (not an Apple advertising identifier)

Sentry does not receive your inspection data, photos, or calculator inputs. Personally identifying user content is scrubbed before transmission. See Sentry's Privacy Policy.

PostHog — anonymous usage analytics

PostHog records aggregate events such as which calculator was opened, whether a scope was exported, or whether Pro was purchased. Each event includes:

• The event name and basic metadata (e.g. "twist_calculator_opened")
• An anonymous app-generated identifier so we can distinguish unique devices
• Device model, iOS version, app version

PostHog does not receive your calculator inputs, scope contents, photos, or any personal information. We use this data to understand which tools are valued, where users drop off, and where bugs cluster. See PostHog's Privacy Policy.

Opting out

Both Sentry and PostHog can be disabled in Rail Mate → Settings → Privacy. When disabled, no further events or crash reports are sent from your device. Opt-out is respected immediately and persists across app launches.

§07Third-party sharing and selling of data

We do not sell your data. To anyone. Ever.

The third-party services described in this policy (Apple, RevenueCat, Sentry, PostHog) are data processors acting on our behalf for the specific, limited purposes listed above. They are not permitted to use your data for their own marketing, profiling, or resale purposes, and their contractual terms with us prohibit this.

We do not share your data with advertisers, data brokers, insurance underwriters, or any other third party not named in this policy.

§08Children

Rail Mate is a professional tool for rail maintenance workers. It is not directed at children and is not intended for use by anyone under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect information from children.

§09Your rights

Under the Australian Privacy Act 1988 and other applicable privacy laws, you have the right to:

• Access your data — your inspection data is on your device and already accessible to you inside the app.
• Delete your data — delete scopes inside the app, or uninstall the app to remove all local data.
• Opt out of analytics — via Settings → Privacy in the app.
• Request information about analytics data tied to your device identifier — contact us and we can request deletion from Sentry and PostHog using your app-generated identifier.
• Lodge a complaint — with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at oaic.gov.au.

§10Security

Inspection data is stored using standard iOS app storage, which benefits from the device's own encryption when a passcode is set. We recommend enabling a device passcode or biometric lock to protect your inspection data if your phone is lost or stolen.

Data transmitted to Sentry, PostHog, Apple, and RevenueCat is sent over TLS-encrypted connections.

§11Changes to this policy

If we change this policy in a way that materially affects how your information is handled, we will update the effective date at the top of this document and announce the change via a notice inside the app at next launch. The current version of the policy is always available at railmate.com.au/privacy.html.

§12Contact

Privacy questions, requests, or complaints:

• Email: support@railmate.com.au
• Operator: Dean Jones, sole trader, Australia

We aim to respond to privacy enquiries within 30 days.