Privacy Policy

Effective October 23, 2026

This policy explains what personal information BFT LLC ("we") collects through TransitOracle (transitoracle.com and the TransitOracle apps for iPhone and Apple Watch), why, and your choices. We collect as little as we can: there are no accounts and no ads, and we never sell or share your personal information.

What we collect

• Your saved stops and commutes stay on your device: in your browser's local storage on the site, and in the app (shared with its widgets and your Apple Watch). We never receive them.
• Your location, only when you use Near me. On the stops page and in the apps' stop lists, the nearest stops are found on your device and your location isn't sent anywhere. Near me in the trip planner sends it to our server rounded to about 100 metres, only to find the stops within a walk of you. It isn't logged, stored or put in the page's address, and our analytics are kept from seeing it.
• Usage and device information on the site: the pages you open, what you tap, the stops and lines you look at, trips you plan (the stops, not your location), page speed, browser and device type, the site you came from, and an approximate location (country, region and city) worked out from your IP address, collected by PostHog. PostHog doesn't keep the IP address itself. With your consent (below) it also records session replays: what was shown, clicked and scrolled, with anything you type hidden. Cloudflare Web Analytics counts visits without cookies.
• Errors: when something breaks, the error, the page's address and your browser's name and version are sent to Sentry and PostHog.
• Technical data: our host, Cloudflare, sees your IP address with every request, as any web host does, and uses it to deliver the site and protect it from abuse (for example, by limiting how many requests one address can make). Our own request logs leave out query strings, so they never hold a position.
• The map: your browser loads map tiles from OpenFreeMap, which sees your IP address and the area of the map you're viewing.
• Email: if you write to us, we keep your message and address to answer you.

Cookies and local storage

• Necessary: your browser's local storage keeps your saved stops and your cookie choice.
• Analytics: PostHog's cookie and local storage, which let it tell one visit from the next and record replays. In a European time zone (the European Economic Area, the UK and Switzerland, among others) the site asks first and loads nothing from PostHog until you agree. Elsewhere it runs unless you choose "No thanks" in "Privacy choices" at the bottom of every page, or your browser sends a Global Privacy Control signal. After "No thanks", PostHog counts the visit in memory only: no cookie, nothing stored, no replay. You can change your choice at any time.

The iPhone and Apple Watch apps

The apps work like the site: your saved stops and commutes stay on your devices, the nearest stops are found on your device, and the planner's Near me sends your location rounded to about 100 metres, as above. Commute alerts and Live Activities are scheduled on your device. The iPhone app tells PostHog which screens you open and what you tap (the stops and lines, never your location), your device and app version, crashes, and session replays of your use of the app with anything you type hidden. You can turn this off in More → Privacy; in a European time zone it stays off until you turn it on, and off, nothing is sent. The apps don't track you across other companies' apps or websites and don't use Apple's advertising identifier.

Why we use it

To provide the site and the apps, to keep them secure and working, and to understand how they're used so we can improve them (our legitimate interests), and, where the law requires it, with your consent for analytics cookies and replays.

Who helps us run TransitOracle

These service providers process data on our behalf, under their own security and privacy terms: Cloudflare (hosting, security and visit counts), PostHog (analytics, session replay and error tracking), Sentry (error reports), OpenFreeMap (map tiles) and Apple (distributing the apps). Most are based in the United States, so your data may be processed there. We share information otherwise only if the law requires it, to protect people or the service, or as part of a sale or merger of the business. MBTA and MassDOT receive nothing about you: we fetch their public feeds ourselves.

How long we keep it

• Analytics, session replays and error reports: for the provider's retention period (session replays for 30 days), then deleted.
• Emails: as long as needed to answer you, and then only as long as the conversation is useful.
• Saved stops and commutes: on your device until you remove them, clear the site's data or delete the app.

Your rights

Depending on where you live (for example under the GDPR, UK GDPR or California's CCPA/CPRA), you can ask to access, correct, delete or get a copy of your personal information, object to or restrict how it's used, and withdraw consent. Because there are no accounts, we usually can't tell which records are yours: "No thanks" in "Privacy choices" stops new ones, and clearing the site's cookies starts afresh. For anything else, email support@bft.llc (with roughly when you visited and from what device, if you'd like records found); we'll answer within 30 days. You can also complain to your local data protection authority. We don't sell personal information or share it for cross-context behavioural advertising.

Children

TransitOracle isn't directed to children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect their personal information. If you believe a child has given us information, contact us and we'll delete it.

Security

We use encrypted connections everywhere, keep secrets out of our code, serve the site's code ourselves rather than from other companies' servers, and give each service only the access it needs. No system is perfectly secure, but we'll tell you and the authorities promptly if a breach affects your information.

Changes

We'll update this policy as TransitOracle changes; the date at the top shows the latest version, and we'll give notice on the site of significant changes. Questions: support@bft.llc.