Overview & Purpose
Welcome to School GPS ("we", "our", or "the Application"). School GPS is an educational logistics and student transport safety platform created to connect schools, bus drivers, and parents in real-time.
Our primary objective is to enhance student safety, reduce school bus waiting times in adverse weather conditions, and provide verified parents with transparent notifications regarding their children's daily transit between home and educational institutions.
This Privacy Policy describes our practices concerning the collection, usage, disclosure, and protection of personal data when you interact with our mobile application available on iOS (Apple App Store) and Android (Google Play Store). By accessing or utilizing the School GPS application, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agreed to the practices outlined in this policy.
User Roles & Ecosystem
School GPS operates under a strict role-based access model where privileges, visibility, and data processing are customized to specific user responsibilities.
| Role | Purpose in System | Location Processing | Data Visibility Scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parents & Families family |
Track child's school bus, receive pickup/drop-off alerts, view assigned driver info. | None in background. Optional foreground map centering. | Restricted to their child's designated bus and school schedule. |
| Bus Drivers driver |
Navigate school routes, transmit live bus location, verify student boarding. | Continuous GPS during active trips only (Foreground + Background). | Assigned student passenger roster and route stops for their vehicle. |
| School Managers school_manager |
Oversee school transit fleet, assign drivers to vehicles, monitor attendance. | None. Administrative portal only. | Restricted exclusively to vehicles and students registered at their school. |
| System Administrators admin |
System maintenance, onboarding educational facilities, security audits. | None. | Encrypted server maintenance and operational integrity oversight. |
Information We Collect
We collect only the minimum necessary information required to operate a reliable and safe school transport monitoring service.
👤 Account & Profile Information
When an account is created by your school or registered directly: Full name, account identifier, role designation, assigned school name, and securely hashed authentication credentials.
🎓 Student & Transportation Data
Student first and last names, grade level, designated morning/afternoon bus stop coordinates, vehicle assignment, and timestamped boarding/arrival check-in records. Student records are created solely by schools or authorized legal guardians.
🛰️ Real-Time Telemetry & Location Data
Geographic coordinates (latitude, longitude, speed, direction, altitude, and timestamp). For bus drivers, this data is continuously gathered during active route trips. For parents, no background location is ever collected.
📱 Technical & Diagnostic Telemetry
Device model, operating system version, network connection status, crash logs, and push notification tokens (APNs / FCM) used exclusively to dispatch real-time bus proximity alerts.
Location Data & Background Tracking Disclosure
Location data is the core foundation of our student transit safety system. In compliance with Apple App Store Review Guidelines (Guideline 5.1.5) and Google Play's Location and Background Location Policy, we provide complete transparency:
🚌 Specific Disclosure for School Bus Drivers
The School GPS mobile application utilizes ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION, ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION, and ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION (accompanied by FOREGROUND_SERVICE_LOCATION on Android and "Always" location access on iOS) for drivers.
- Why background tracking is required: While driving, a bus driver must focus entirely on safe road navigation. They frequently switch to external turn-by-turn navigation apps, receive urgent communications, or lock their phone screen. Background location ensures continuous GPS updates so parents and schools always know where the bus is.
- Strict trip boundaries: Location transmission is ONLY initiated when the driver manually clicks "Start Trip" and ceases the instant they tap "End Trip". We do not track drivers during off-duty hours or personal time.
- Persistent notifications: On Android, a continuous system notification is prominently displayed in the notification drawer whenever a trip is active and GPS is being transmitted.
👨👩👧 Explicit Guarantee for Parents and Families
Parents and guardians are NEVER tracked in the background. If a parent grants location permission, it is utilized solely in the foreground when viewing the live map to show the parent's current position relative to the approaching bus. This permission is completely optional and can be denied without impacting the ability to see the bus.
Revoking Location Permissions: You retain complete control over your location settings at all times. You can disable or modify location access via your device's native operating system settings (Settings > Apps > School GPS > Permissions).
Children's Online Privacy (COPPA & GDPR-K Compliance)
Protecting the privacy and digital well-being of young learners is our highest ethical obligation. School GPS fully adheres to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), GDPR Article 8, and Google Play's Families Policy.
No Direct Child Registration: Minors and students under 16 years of age are not permitted to register accounts or operate the application independently. All student profiles are managed by verified educational institutions with parental consent or directly by parents/guardians.
Zero Commercial Exploitation:
- We do NOT collect personal information directly from children.
- We do NOT display behavioral ads, commercial promotions, or third-party marketing banners.
- We do NOT sell, rent, license, or monetize student or parent data under any circumstances.
- Student transit records are strictly segregated and accessible only to their authenticated parents and authorized school administrators.
If a parent or guardian discovers that unauthorized personal data belonging to their child was provided to the system without appropriate authorization, they may contact our privacy team directly at privacy@school-gps-live.com to have the record reviewed and permanently purged.
How We Use Information
Every piece of data collected serves an explicit operational purpose directly connected to student transportation safety:
- Live Map Visualization: Plotting accurate bus coordinates on maps for waiting parents.
- Proximity Alerts: Generating automated push notifications when the school bus is approaching the student's designated stop.
- Emergency Transit Response: Assisting school administrators in dispatching mechanical aid or rerouting in case of roadblocks, accidents, or severe traffic delays.
- Attendance & Boarding Confirmation: Enabling drivers and schools to verify that all students are safely aboard or have arrived at school grounds.
- Authentication & Fraud Prevention: Ensuring only authorized individuals can access specific school fleet routes.
Data Sharing & Third-Party Services
We operate a closed-loop system. We do not sell data to data brokers, advertising networks, or marketing intermediaries.
Data is disclosed strictly under the following operational boundaries:
- Within the School Ecosystem: Location telemetry and student boarding status are shared only with the verified parents associated with that specific bus route and the administrative dashboard of the corresponding school.
- Essential Infrastructure Partners: Map Tile Providers (OpenStreetMap / Carto) for rendering maps without identifying students, and Push Notification Gateways (Apple APNs & Google FCM) solely for arrival alerts.
- Legal Compliance: We may disclose information if required by a valid court order, governmental inquiry, or applicable legal obligation to protect the life and physical safety of children or personnel.
Data Security & Storage Architecture
We implement rigorous technical and organizational measures to safeguard your personal data from unauthorized access, loss, or destruction.
🛡️ Security Controls Implemented
- Encryption in Transit: All communications between the mobile application and backend servers are secured using Transport Layer Security (TLS 1.3 / HTTPS).
- Cryptographic Credential Hashing: User passwords and sensitive tokens are hashed using modern cryptographic algorithms; plaintext credentials are never stored.
- Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Administrative permissions prevent unauthorized users from viewing records outside their assigned educational institution.
- Data Retention Cycles: Granular GPS breadcrumbs and detailed trip paths are routinely pruned after 90 days.
User Rights & Account / Data Deletion
In strict compliance with Apple App Store Guideline 5.1.1(v) and global privacy laws, you possess the full right to access, rectify, and permanently delete your account and all associated personal data.
How to Delete Your Account and Data:
- In-App Deletion: Open the School GPS mobile application > Navigate to Settings / Profile > Tap Delete Account & Data > Confirm your request.
- Direct Email Request: Use the interactive form below or email us directly at privacy@school-gps-live.com with your registered username and school name.
What Happens Upon Deletion: Within 7 business days of request verification, your profile credentials, child affiliations, and past transit history will be permanently and irrevocably erased from our primary databases and backup archives.
Direct Account Deletion Request Generator
Submit a formal account and data removal request directly to our Data Privacy Team.
Contact & Support
If you have questions, inquiries, concerns regarding this Privacy Policy, or need technical assistance, please reach out to our team:
🏢 School GPS Official Support & Privacy Team
Privacy & Data Inquiries: privacy@school-gps-live.com
Technical Support & Assistance: support@school-gps-live.com
In-App Support: Accessible directly via Settings > Help & Feedback inside the mobile application.