Trailstation — Privacy Policy

This is the privacy policy for Trailstation, an iPhone and Apple Watch app for building and playing time-synced audio “stations” from audio you import.

We wrote this in plain English. If anything is unclear, write to the contact address above.

What we collect

Nothing. Trailstation has no servers of its own. There is no analytics, no advertising, no account, and no login, and we — the developer — never receive any information about you or your use of the app. The app only uses a connection for two optional, user-initiated features: syncing time with a nearby device (a direct, local device-to-device link — see “Syncing time with a nearby device” below) and creating an iCloud share link (see “Sharing a station”). In both cases the developer receives nothing.

What the app stores on your device

Everything the app needs lives in its own private storage on your device (its app sandbox). This includes:

• Audio files you import. When you build a station, you choose audio files through Apple’s standard file picker. Copies of those files are stored in the app’s private storage so it can play them offline.
• Stations you build. The station name, the order of tracks, and the crossfade setting.
• How you’ve organized them. Any folders you create and which stations you put in them. This is just your own filing, stored on your device.
• Small app settings. Minor bookkeeping the app uses to keep your iPhone and Apple Watch in step (for example, which stations it has already sent to your watch). This is stored on-device using the system’s standard preferences storage and is never transmitted to us.

This data is created by you, for you, and stays on your device. None of it is sent to the developer or to any third party.

Sharing a station

You can share a station as a single self-contained .trailstation file using the iOS share sheet — for example over AirDrop or as an email attachment. When you do this, you are sending your own file to a recipient you choose; it uploads to no server and the developer never sees it. Whatever service you choose to send it through (e.g. email) is governed by that service’s own privacy policy.

You can also choose Save to iCloud Drive. This uploads the station file to your own iCloud Drive (Apple’s storage tied to your Apple ID) and then opens the Files app, where you can use Share ▸ Copy Link to create a link to send. The file lives in your iCloud, not on any Trailstation server — the developer never has access to it. Any link you create is generated and managed by Apple, and you can delete the file from iCloud Drive at any time. This is the only feature that sends anything over the internet, and it runs only when you tap it. iCloud storage is governed by Apple’s privacy policy.

Export Track Files hands the station’s original audio files back to you as a plain folder through the iOS share sheet. Nothing is uploaded — the files go wherever you send or save them.

Apple Watch

If you send your stations to a paired Apple Watch, the audio is transferred directly between your own iPhone and your own Apple Watch using Apple’s on-device Watch Connectivity framework. It does not pass through any server, and the developer never sees it.

Syncing time with a nearby device

Stations stay in sync because every device reads the loop position from its own clock. On a long trip with no signal, you can re-align two clocks by tapping Sync Time Nearby. This uses Apple’s Multipeer Connectivity to form a direct, short-range link between your device and the nearby device (peer-to-peer Wi-Fi/Bluetooth over the local network). The two devices exchange only timestamps to measure the clock difference — no audio, no personal data, no internet, and no server of any kind is involved. The connection is active only while the sync screen is open and is torn down as soon as you finish. iOS asks for Local Network permission the first time; it is used solely for this feature.

What we do not collect

• We do not collect your name, email, phone number, address, or any contact information.
• We do not collect your location.
• We do not collect device identifiers, advertising identifiers, or analytics data.
• We do not collect usage patterns, listening history, or which stations you build.
• We do not run any third-party analytics SDK (no Firebase, no Mixpanel, no Sentry, no Crashlytics).
• We do not run any advertising SDK.
• We make no network requests to any server of our own. The app connects only for two optional, user-initiated features: a direct local link to a nearby device for time sync (no internet), and uploading to your own iCloud for link sharing — never to us.
• The nearby time-sync feature exchanges only clock timestamps with the device you choose; it sends no audio and no personal data, and uses no internet.

What we share with third parties

Nothing. We collect no data, so there is nothing for us to share. There is no analytics provider, no advertising network, and no data broker. The only third party that can ever be involved is Apple — and only if you choose to create an iCloud link, in which case your file is stored in your own iCloud (Apple acts as your storage, not ours).

How we protect your data

• By design: we run no server of our own, so there is no database, no logs, no backups, and no employees with access to your data. If you create an iCloud link, the file is stored in your own iCloud, encrypted by Apple.
• At rest: iOS and watchOS encrypt on-device app data when your device is locked.

Your rights and how to exercise them

You are in full control at all times.

• Delete a station: swipe to delete it inside the app. This also removes the audio files that station used from the app’s storage. You can do the same on the Apple Watch.
• Delete everything: delete the Trailstation app from each device. iOS and watchOS remove all of the app’s on-device data when the app is deleted.

If you live in a jurisdiction with statutory data-subject rights (EU/UK GDPR, California CCPA/CPRA, etc.), you have the right to request a copy of any data we hold about you and to request its erasure. Because Trailstation collects no data and we never receive any, our answer is: we hold no data about you.

Children

Trailstation collects no data from anyone, including children. The audio that plays in the app is audio you choose to import yourself.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy in any meaningful way, we will update the “Last updated” date above and note the change in the Changelog below. We will never quietly start collecting data.

Contact

Questions, requests, or concerns: stormsunity@gmail.com

We try to reply within a few business days. We are a small team — please be patient.

Changelog

• August 22, 2026, v1.0: No change to what we collect — still nothing. Documented two additions that stay entirely on your device: folders for organizing stations, and Export Track Files, which hands your original audio back to you through the share sheet without uploading anything. Clarified that iCloud sharing is the only feature that sends anything over the internet (nearby time sync is a direct local link).
• June 27, 2026, v1.0: Added off-grid time sync with a nearby device — a direct, short-range local-network link that exchanges only clock timestamps (no internet, no servers, no data collected) — and reading track title/artist tags from your own files. Updated the network wording to cover the local-network feature.
• June 6, 2026, v1.0: Added optional iCloud-link sharing (uploads a station to your own iCloud Drive to create a shareable link); clarified the network/offline wording accordingly.
• June 4, 2026, v1.0: Initial publication.