Plain-language summary
The App stores everything on your device. We do not run a server, collect analytics, have user accounts, or share your data with third parties for advertising or tracking. The only personal data the App uses is your device's location, and the App itself does not upload it anywhere. This policy covers both the iOS and Android versions of the App.
§ 01 Information We Collect
The App accesses the following information only with your permission and only while the App is in use:
- Precise location. Used to display historical markers near you on the map and to sort the "Nearby" list by distance from your current position. Location data is read from the operating system, used in real time, and is never stored, logged, or transmitted by the App.
§ 02 Information Stored on Your Device
The App stores the following on your device using the local storage frameworks provided by the operating system (SwiftData on iOS, Room on Android). This data lives in your device's private app sandbox and is never sent off the device:
- The bundled Pennsylvania Historical Marker dataset (titles, descriptions, coordinates, counties — published publicly by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission).
- A flag and timestamp recording which markers you have marked as "visited," if you choose to mark any.
- The timestamp of your most recent "Refresh from data.pa.gov" action, if any, so the Settings screen can display it.
You can erase all of this at any time by deleting the App from your device.
§ 03 Network Activity
The App makes network requests in the following circumstances:
- When you tap "Refresh from data.pa.gov" in the Settings screen, the App downloads the latest marker dataset from
data.pa.gov, a public open-data portal operated by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The request includes only the standard HTTPS metadata required to deliver the response (your device's IP address as seen by data.pa.gov, the User-Agent set by the operating system, and the URL of the dataset). This request is governed by data.pa.gov's privacy policy. - Android only: When a map is displayed, the Google Maps SDK for Android requests map tiles and related resources from Google's servers to render the map. See § 04 Third-Party Services below.
The App does not use ads, analytics SDKs, crash reporting services, or third-party trackers.
§ 04 Third-Party Services
Map rendering differs by platform:
- iOS: The map is rendered by Apple's MapKit framework, which is part of iOS and governed by Apple's privacy policy. No third-party SDKs are used.
- Android: The map is rendered by Google's Maps SDK for Android, delivered through Google Play services. Rendering the map requires the SDK to communicate with Google's servers to fetch map tiles and related data. This communication is governed by Google's privacy policy and the Google Maps Platform Terms of Service. The Android version of the App also uses the Google Play services Location component to obtain your device's location from the operating system; the same Google policies apply.
The App contains no advertising, analytics, or crash-reporting SDKs on either platform.
§ 05 Your Choices
You can revoke location access at any time from the operating system's settings:
- iOS: Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services → PA Historical Markers.
- Android: Settings → Apps → PA Historical Markers → Permissions → Location (the exact path may vary slightly by device manufacturer and Android version).
The App will continue to function without location access; markers will simply not be sorted by distance, and the map will not center on your position.
To delete all data stored by the App, remove it from your device.
§ 06 Children's Privacy
The App is suitable for all ages and does not knowingly collect personal information from anyone, including children under 13.
§ 07 Changes to This Policy
If we materially change this policy we will update the effective date above and, where appropriate, note the change in a future App release.
§ 08 Contact
Questions or concerns: