Privacy Policy
This policy explains what the DAR Animal Alert mobile app (“DAR”, “the app”) uses, why, and what you can control. It applies to the Android and iOS app operated by DAR Ltd. It is not a policy for roadside cameras or the detection systems run by our infrastructure partners.
1. Who we are
DAR Ltd. is the data controller for this app. For privacy questions: privacy@dar-safety.com. For support: eye.dar.management@gmail.com.
2. What DAR does
DAR warns drivers about animals on or near the road ahead. Roadside cameras and detection are operated separately. The app’s job is to know roughly where the phone is, receive a time-critical alert, and present it without requiring you to look away from the road.
You do not create a name-and-password account. The app uses a pseudonymous device identity.
3. Data the app uses
Location (precise, including in the background). Required for the app to work. On the device, location is used to decide whether an animal alert is relevant to your drive. While tracking is active and the app is built with a DAR server address, the app sends latitude, longitude, speed, accuracy, and a time stamp over HTTPS to the DAR server so it can choose which nearby devices should receive an alert. If a particular build has no server address configured, those location reports are not sent. Location is not written by the app to a public database.
Push token and device identity. The app creates a Firebase Anonymous Authentication identifier and an FCM (push) token. The token is registered with the DAR server (when a server address is configured) so animal-alert pushes can be delivered. Alerts arrive only as Firebase Cloud Messaging pushes. The app does not poll the internet for alerts.
Alert history on this phone. Received alerts (animal type, distance, time, and related details shown in the app) are stored locally for up to 30 days, then removed by the app. You can also delete them in the app.
Android physical activity (driving detection). On Android, the operating system can tell the app when the device is in a vehicle, so background location can start and pause automatically. That activity signal is used only in the moment. It is not stored, not logged, and not sent to DAR or Firebase. Automatic driving detection is not available on iOS yet; on iPhone, tracking starts when you open DAR.
Optional car Bluetooth (Android only). Off by default. If you turn on “Require car Bluetooth” and choose a paired device, the app stores that device’s identifier and name on the phone and checks whether it is connected before starting protection after a vehicle is detected. This can mean protection does not start if you drive without connecting to that device. Bluetooth identifiers are not sent to the DAR server.
Optional diagnostics. If you consent, Firebase Crashlytics may receive crash and diagnostic information, and Firebase Analytics may receive app-use events (for example that tracking started). These events do not include raw GPS coordinates, alert identifiers, or the contents of notifications.
Support messages you choose to send. If you use “Report a problem”, the app can copy a diagnostic summary (without raw GPS) to the clipboard or your email app. Nothing is sent until you send it. Messages go to eye.dar.management@gmail.com.
4. Why we use this data
- To deliver animal-on-road alerts in time for you to react.
- To keep protection working when the screen is locked or another app is in front.
- To store a short local history of alerts on this device.
- If you opted in, to find and fix crashes and understand whether the app is working.
We do not sell personal data. We do not use the app for advertising. We do not use the data for cross-app tracking.
5. Who else processes data
Google Firebase (Anonymous Authentication, Cloud Messaging, and, if you consented, Analytics and Crashlytics) processes data as a service provider. See Google’s Firebase documentation and privacy terms.
When a DAR server address is configured, location reports and device registration are sent to the DAR service hosted by our infrastructure partner so nearby drivers can be selected for an alert. That partner operates the server; this policy describes what the app sends.
All of those connections use HTTPS. The Android app does not allow cleartext HTTP in production.
6. How long data is kept
Local alert history on the phone is kept for up to 30 days, then pruned, unless you delete it sooner in the app.
Location is reported only while tracking is active. How long the DAR server keeps location or registration records is governed by the DAR service, not by this app.
Optional Crashlytics and Analytics retention follows Google Firebase defaults for those products unless we configure a shorter period.
7. Your choices
- Required location and (on Android) physical-activity permission can be changed in system settings. Without location, DAR cannot protect you.
- Notifications can be turned off in system settings; you may then miss alerts.
- Optional analytics and crash diagnostics can be withdrawn in Privacy & data in the app.
- Car Bluetooth strict mode can be left off. That is the default.
- You can delete data this app holds on the device from Privacy & data. That stops tracking, clears local history and settings (including car Bluetooth and passenger snooze), resets analytics identity, and turns off crash collection on this install.
Deleting data in the app deletes what this app stores on this phone. It does not by itself delete records the DAR server may already hold. Server export or erasure, when available, is handled through DAR Ltd. at the contact addresses above.
8. Children
DAR is a driving safety app. It is not directed at children under 16.
9. International processing
Firebase is operated by Google and may process data in the United States or other countries where Google operates. Where a DAR server is configured, location reports go to that service’s hosting region.
10. Your rights
Depending on where you live (including the UK and EEA), you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or restrict processing of personal data, and to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. Contact privacy@dar-safety.com.
11. Changes
We will update this page when the app’s data use changes, including when a production server address is first shipped or when server-side deletion becomes available. The effective date at the top will change.