StayMap Privacy Policy

Effective date: October 2, 2026

StayMap is a personal accommodation journal. Your journal is stored on your device. Mapping, optional sharing, backups and TestFlight testing involve the additional data flows described below.

Your journal and local storage

StayMap stores information you add or import, including properties and locations, dates, booking references, room details, prices, points, ratings, notes, check-in records, trip purpose and funding. Optional arrival details include property clock times, a time zone, breakfast information and arrival instructions. Personal hotel memories can include a room tip, experience highlights and one selected photo. Wallet stores the loyalty numbers, tiers, balances, expiry dates and notes you enter. Settings and storage diagnostics are also local. Your places stores saved property names, addresses, map coordinates, websites, private planning notes and any received recommendation text and author name. Saved ideas are separate from booked stays and do not increase your travel statistics. The Would return collection is derived from completed stays and your explicit review answers.

The current app has no StayMap account or automatic journal-sync service and does not integrate advertising or third-party analytics SDKs. It does not upload your journal to a developer-operated server or automatically access your email, calendar, hotel or loyalty accounts. Apple's services and TestFlight handle information separately.

Imports and the share extension

You choose the text, screenshots, PDF/text file or shared content to import. Screenshot and scanned-PDF text recognition runs on your device. Supported devices can use Apple's on-device language model to extract booking details, with a local text parser as fallback. StayMap does not send confirmations to a developer-operated AI service. Original PDFs and images are read for extraction but are not retained as booking attachments. The original files remain in the location you selected; a cloud Files or Photos provider may download them under its own practices.

Choosing Save to StayMap in the share extension stores the extracted text and preliminary booking fields in a local shared inbox. Importing directly in the app also keeps confirmation text, the first extracted fields and your corrected review draft in this inbox. It retains the full captured text, not only the booking fields, so this can include other personal information from the confirmation. Closing a review or the app keeps unfinished work for later. The app and extensions share these files through an iOS app-group container on the device. The separate Add several past stays flow keeps its source list and edited review rows in an app-private local draft until completed or discarded. Saved or discarded inbox and draft copies are normally removed; unreadable files or failed cleanup can leave copies on the device.

When you save an imported stay, StayMap retains its source text with the journal record so you can inspect Original confirmation later. For a past-stay batch, this is the source line for that stay. A local import identifier, source-text fingerprint and import time are also retained to recognize repeated imports. Editing the saved booking does not replace this source text. These source details are included in exported backups of saved stays and in recovery copies when you delete a stay. They are not automatically included in companion booking or recommendation sharing.

Opening a .staymap companion file or selecting one through Import StayMap file reads that file and keeps a local copy in a separate, app-private inbox. Its booking details remain there across app launches until you successfully add the stay or discard the pending copy. Opening or closing a review does not add the booking to your journal. Adding it creates your own independent local stay; duplicate warnings do not overwrite existing stays. A companion message, if included, is saved with your arrival notes. Selecting a file stored with a cloud Files provider may download it through that provider.

Opening a .staymapplaces recommendation file or selecting one through Your places keeps a copy in an app-private inbox until you save or discard it. Closing a review keeps it pending. You review the included places before saving them to Your places; this does not add bookings or change travel statistics. Author names are supplied by the file's creator and are not verified accounts. Existing saved places are kept when a matching recommendation is imported again.

Widgets

A separate local snapshot supplies current and upcoming property names, cities, brand or accommodation labels, dates, check-in status and an opaque stay identifier to widgets. It excludes booking references, room numbers, notes, prices, membership details and precise coordinates. Logos are bundled locally.

Hide property details in Settings removes names, cities and brand identity from that snapshot and its display. Dates and countdowns remain visible. iOS controls refresh timing, so updates may take time. Widgets can expose displayed information on your Home Screen or Lock Screen.

Personal photos

The system photo picker lets you choose an image for a stay. StayMap does not browse your full photo library. The selected image may need to download through Apple's Photos service if it is stored in iCloud. StayMap creates a smaller local JPEG copy, without the source image's embedded location metadata, and leaves the original in Photos unchanged. The saved copy appears in your stay and passport chapter and is included in your exported journal backup. It is not automatically shared with companions or uploaded to a developer-operated service.

Maps and external services

Apple's map, search and geocoding services can receive search text, property names, cities, countries, relevant coordinates and map regions. Searches occur as you type, when a hotel detail screen loads, or when coordinates are looked up for a saved stay. Map content also loads through Apple services; network activity is not limited to saving a stay.

StayMap does not request continuous or background access to your device location. Opening directions in Apple Maps or Google Maps passes the destination to that service, which may use your location under its own permissions. Hotel websites, phone calls, support and other external links use the selected app or site's privacy practices. The Explore hotel/property sheet also offers deliberate Google web searches, Google Maps searches and Tripadvisor-scoped Google searches. These links contain only the recorded property name, city and country—not booking codes, travel dates, ratings or notes. The property name/location themselves may be personal (for example, a rental nickname). Opening the sheet does not run those web searches. Website links supplied by a matching Apple Maps listing are labelled as such; searches and external reviews are not imported into StayMap.

Apple Maps privacy: https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/data/en/apple-maps/

Sharing, copies and backups

Passport-stamp and achievement sharing sends the previewed artwork to your chosen destination. Dates are included only if enabled; these artwork exports exclude hotel names, booking references, notes and membership details. Screenshots you share can include whatever is visible in them.

Your year in stays offers a previewed image shared through the system share sheet. It includes the selected year, trip-purpose label, whether the year is still in progress, and totals for nights, completed stays, countries, cities and properties. It excludes hotel and destination names, individual travel dates, ratings, photos, booking details and private notes. The app or recipient you choose receives the image under its own privacy practices.

Companion sharing sends either a readable itinerary or an importable .staymap booking file through the system share sheet to the app or recipient you choose. The preview includes property name, stay type, brand, booking platform, location, dates, nights and a map link when available. The booking file includes saved property coordinates when available. Confirmation numbers, room numbers and arrival details are included only when you enable their separate options. A companion message is separate from your private journal. Personal journal notes, room memories, photos, ratings, prices, trip purpose, funding and loyalty details are excluded. Both sharing options produce static, unencrypted copies: later edits do not update them, and StayMap cannot withdraw copies already sent. The receiving app or service applies its own privacy practices. Saving a copy to a cloud Files provider may upload or sync it under that provider's settings.

Recommendations and shortlists are shared as previewed readable text or an importable .staymapplaces file. They contain the selected property's identity, address, coordinates and optional website, plus recommendation text and an author name that you deliberately enter. They exclude stay dates, booking references, rooms, prices, ratings, journal photos, private notes and loyalty details. A friend's received author name and recommendation are not automatically copied into a new recommendation you create. These are static, unencrypted copies sent through your chosen share-sheet destination, with the same recipient and cloud-provider limitations as booking copies.

Copy actions put the selected reference, member number, property location or diagnostics report on the system clipboard. Diagnostics can include app/device versions, file paths, record counts and errors. StayMap does not automatically send that report to the developer.

Backups are unencrypted JSON files containing saved stays, memberships and Your places, including notes, booking references, member numbers, arrival details, saved memory photos, private planning notes and received recommendations. For imported stays, backups also include the retained source text and local import identifiers, fingerprints and times. Pending inbox copies, unfinished import drafts and Recently Deleted recovery copies are not included in these exported journal backups. You choose the destination in Files. A selected cloud provider may upload or sync the file under its own settings. Restore reads the file you choose and adds records locally. Device backups may separately include app data depending on your Apple settings.

Apple backup information: https://support.apple.com/en-us/108770

TestFlight and support

For TestFlight builds, Apple automatically collects crash and usage information and shares it with the developer, including installation, session, device and operating-system details. Apple also shares feedback, comments and screenshots you submit. Name and email visibility depends on the invitation method and information you provide; accepting a public-link invitation alone does not reveal them to the developer.

We use beta information to investigate problems and improve StayMap. Review feedback screenshots for private journal details. Emailing support shares your address, message and attachments with the developer and email services. Issues posted to the public support repository are public.

Apple explains TestFlight data, retention and controls here: https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/data/en/test-flight/

Managing your information

You can edit or delete stays and saved places, remove memberships, discard queued imports or unfinished past-stay drafts and change widget privacy. Deleting a stay, including using import Undo, first keeps a local recovery copy containing its saved information, including notes, photos and retained confirmation text. Settings → Recently deleted stays lets you restore it or permanently delete the recovery copy. These copies have no automatic expiry and remain on this device until you restore or remove them; a failed cleanup after restore can leave a copy for later removal. They are excluded from active history totals and exported journal backups. Deleting a stay does not cancel a reservation. Other local records remain until you remove them or the app's data. Recovery copies created after a storage failure may remain separately from the active journal.

Deletion does not remove earlier exports, clipboard copies, shared images or device/cloud backups. Manage those through the relevant app, recipient or provider. Contact the developer about access or deletion of support or beta-feedback information you shared with us. Apple-held information is managed through Apple's controls.

Contact

Email: graftonclark@me.com
Support: https://github.com/satsdisco/staymap-support

This policy will be updated when StayMap's data practices change.

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