Privacy Policy
Turns by Atlas and Tales
Last updated: May 2026
The short version: Turns uses your location only during active tours, never tracks you in the background, never sells your data, and works offline. We collect the minimum needed to deliver the experience.
What Turns does
Turns is an audio tour app for road trips. You purchase and download tours, then drive. The app uses your GPS location to play narration at the right moment as you arrive at each stop. All content is downloaded to your device before you drive — the app works fully offline.
Location data
Turns accesses your location only while the app is in use and a tour is active. We use "When In Use" location permission — never "Always."
Your location is processed entirely on your device to determine when you've arrived at a tour stop. Your location is never sent to our servers, never stored, never shared, and never used for advertising.
When no tour is active, Turns does not access your location.
Account information
If you create an account (required for purchases), we collect:
- Name (optional) — for display in the app
- Email address — for account identification
If you sign in with Apple and choose to hide your email, we receive Apple's private relay address. We never see your real email.
We use Firebase Authentication (Google) to manage sign-in. See Firebase's privacy documentation.
Purchase information
Purchases are handled entirely by Apple through the App Store. We do not collect or store your payment information. Apple provides us with a transaction receipt confirming your purchase.
Tour ratings
If you choose to rate a tour (always optional), your rating is stored on our servers with your user ID and the tour ID. Ratings are private — not displayed publicly. We use aggregate data to improve our tours.
Email subscriptions
If you opt in to tour announcements, your email is stored by Buttondown, our email provider. Unsubscribe anytime via the link in any email, or from our support page.
Diagnostic data
If you contact support, you may choose to send a diagnostic snapshot (app version, iOS version, device model, tour states, recent errors). This is only collected when you explicitly tap "Contact Support" or "Copy Support Snapshot" — never automatically.
We do not use any third-party analytics, crash reporting, or tracking SDKs.
What we do NOT collect
- Your location history or movement patterns
- Your contacts, photos, or files
- Browsing history or app usage outside Turns
- Device advertising identifiers
- Any data for advertising purposes
Third-party services
- Firebase Authentication (Google) — sign-in. Privacy policy
- Apple StoreKit — purchases. Privacy policy
- Amazon Web Services — content delivery and storage. Privacy policy
- Buttondown — email subscriptions. Privacy policy
- Apple MapKit — map display. Privacy policy
We do not use advertising networks, analytics platforms, or social media SDKs.
Data retention
- Account data — until you delete your account
- Ratings — until you delete your account
- Downloaded tours — on your device until you offload or delete the app
- Email subscriptions — until you unsubscribe
- Diagnostic snapshots — deleted after support resolution, typically within 30 days
Your rights
- Delete your account — from the app or by contacting support
- Delete your data — email us and we'll delete everything within 30 days
- Offload tours — remove downloads from your device anytime
- Unsubscribe — via the link in any email
- Request your data — contact us to receive a copy of everything we hold
Children's privacy
Turns is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13. If you believe we have, please contact us and we'll delete it promptly.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy. Significant changes will be communicated through the app or via email. The date at the top reflects the most recent revision.
Contact
Questions about this policy or your data?
Email: support@atlasandtales.com