Fuel Up Privacy Policy

Effective date: October 12, 2026

Fuel Up is provided by Anthony Hayward, an independent developer. This policy explains how Fuel Up uses information to show U.S. fuel prices, personalize recommendations, and operate optional Driving Research. No signup or account is required to browse stations and prices.

Using Fuel Up

With your permission, Fuel Up uses your location to find nearby stations. Fuel type, brand, membership, language, and appearance preferences personalize the app. Station information and reported prices come from third-party sources and may be cached on your device. Requests to our servers and service providers may include the location and technical information needed to deliver a requested feature. App interactions, app and device versions, errors, crash reports, and performance information may be processed to operate and improve the service. We use information in support messages to respond to your request.

App usage and installation profiles

From the first opening of an updated app, a random installation identifier links a device profile and product-usage timeline. This includes device model, operating-system and app versions, screen dimensions and scaling, language and time zone; onboarding steps, completion and errors; permission requests and observed permission choices; app opens, screen visits and observed foreground duration; map gestures, station selections, Go taps and selected station identifiers; and settings changes. It does not identify your name or track activity in other apps. A device installation is not necessarily one person.

Usage records are stored on your device, then uploaded in small batches over Wi-Fi or cellular, normally shortly after an action while the app is open. Background transfers and offline retries depend on iOS and connectivity. Precise research coordinates and motion history remain part of the separately enabled research study. App usage does not include raw audio, private messages, contacts, advertising identifiers, or screen recordings. Usage profiles and timelines are retained to evaluate onboarding and improve the app. Contact support to request deletion.

Optional Driving Research

Research is optional and is not required to use the map or Trends. Collection begins after you accept the research consent and grant the required permissions. With background location permission, collection can continue while the app is not on screen.

Research records may include precise locations and timestamps; location accuracy, speed, course, and geofence events; motion classifications and confidence, such as driving, walking, or stationary; and historical motion transitions, step counts, walking-distance estimates and floors when Apple's Motion & Fitness services provide them, together with general arrival and departure estimates at visited places. Records may also include station identifiers, arrival and departure observations, inferred visits, notification events, and your answers about stopping or buying fuel.

To evaluate collection reliability, research may record permission state, app and operating-system versions, background-refresh and low-power state, battery and charging state, the app’s observable audio output type, connectivity, recent Fuel Up interactions, and collection errors. A random participant ID, session and event identifiers, sample counts, and a push-notification device token associate records with the participating installation. The random ID is not your name, but the data is not anonymous: persistent identifiers and precise locations can link records to a person or device. A detected visit is an inference; an unanswered notification is not a confirmed fuel purchase.

We use research records to improve driving and station-stop detection, evaluate features, develop recommendations, and diagnose failures. This research does not collect HealthKit medical records or a continuous raw accelerometer stream.

Uploads and notifications

Research events are stored locally before syncing. In the updated app, automatic uploads use available Wi-Fi or cellular and coalesce nearby events briefly before uploading the queue. Older app versions may still wait for Wi-Fi and 500 pending samples. Manual Sync Data uploads pending samples using an available connection, including cellular. Small control requests and periodic sample-count reports may use cellular data. An authorized research administrator can request a participant sync; when the app can process that request, queued records may upload over cellular as well as Wi-Fi. Connectivity, iOS scheduling, and your collection controls affect when this occurs. These requests may use your data allowance.

With notification permission, Fuel Up can ask you to label a station visit and notify you of collection problems. Apple Push Notification service delivers remote notifications. Test notifications and their responses are marked separately in stored research records.

Service providers and sharing

Fuel Up does not sell your personal information or use research records for advertising tracking across other companies' apps or websites. Supabase provides backend services for research records. Apple provides maps, device location and motion services, and push delivery. Station, routing, hosting, and diagnostic service providers may process information needed to operate their services. Information may be disclosed when legally required or necessary to protect the service and its users. If ownership changes, information may transfer with the service, subject to applicable notice requirements.

Retention and deletion

Uploaded research events are retained until you request deletion. Successfully uploaded local events may be removed after 30 days; unsent records remain queued. Pausing collection does not delete existing records.

Use the delete control in Settings > Driving Research to remove research events from your device and the active research database. Deletion requires a network connection and two confirmations. If deletion cannot complete, collection is paused and local records remain so you can retry. The backend revokes the participant credential and removes associated event records, sync requests, counts, test-notification records, and push registrations. A minimal revoked-participant record is retained to prevent further use of that credential. Copies in operational backups may remain until those backups expire.

Deleting the app removes local app data but does not itself request deletion of previously uploaded research records. Use the in-app deletion control before uninstalling, or email support with your participant ID. Do not send your participant credential, passwords, or detailed location history by email. Support correspondence is retained as needed to resolve requests and meet applicable obligations. Operational diagnostics and security records are retained as needed to maintain the service and investigate problems.

Your choices

You can decline research, pause collection, sync manually, or delete research records from the research screen. Location, Precise Location, Motion & Fitness, and notification permissions can be changed in iOS Settings. Revoking a permission can limit the related feature. Core station browsing does not require research enrollment.

Security and processing

Fuel Up uses encrypted network connections and access controls. No system is completely secure. Service providers may process information in countries with different data-protection laws. Fuel price coverage is currently limited to the United States.

Children

Driving Research is not intended for children under 13. If you believe a child has provided research records, contact us so we can address them.

Changes and contact

We may update this policy as the app changes and will update its effective date. Material changes requiring consent will be communicated before collecting the additional data.

For support, privacy questions, or deletion requests, email anthonyhayward1000@gmail.com.

Support: https://sites.google.com/view/fuel-up-gas/support