Privacy Policy

The short version

There is no account to create and no ads. Your saved commute lives on your own device. Location access is optional and supports nearby stations, walking estimates, and automatic boarding detection on Android. Walking estimates send coordinates to Mapbox. We use analytics to understand usage and fix problems, with controls described below. We don't sell your information.

No account, no ads

Rail Six has no sign-up, no login, and no user profile. We don't ask for your name, email, or phone number to use the app, and we don't show advertising or sell your information to anyone. Because there is no account, we hold no personal directory of who our users are.

Your saved commute

When you save a commute (your usual service, start station, and destination), that choice is stored locally — in your browser's storage on the web, or on your device in the iOS and Android apps. It does not sync across devices and is not stored on our servers in a form tied to you.

You can change or clear your saved commute at any time from Settings. Clearing it removes it from your device.

Location

The nearest-station shortcut uses your location, with permission, to choose a nearby station. You can decline permission and select stations by name instead.

On Android, Can I still catch it? requests a recent precise location fix and sends your coordinates and the boarding station's coordinates to Mapbox to calculate a walking-time estimate. Rail Six does not send that location fix to its own servers or save a history of your device coordinates.

Android can also use location and physical-activity signals, with permission, to recognize when you board a train while the commute screen is active. Boarding detection processes these signals on your device. The Android app does not request background location access. Trip progress and arrival notifications use transit schedules and vehicle updates; an active trip can continue displaying a notification when you leave the app.

You can revoke location and physical-activity permissions in Android settings. Manual station selection, departure boards, and manual trip tracking remain available. Mapbox's separate data handling and telemetry choices are described below.

Analytics and error reporting

To understand how Rail Six is used and to fix problems, we use PostHog for product analytics and error tracking. This is tied to an anonymous identifier, not to your real-world identity — we don't know who you are.

On the web and iOS, this can involve:

• Usage events: which screens you open and which features you use (for example, saving a commute or switching direction), plus general technical details like your device or browser type and approximate region.
• Cohort attributes: coarse product properties such as your commute mode and home/work station, used in aggregate to improve the most-used trips. These are not linked to a named account.
• Error reports: when something crashes or fails, we record the error so we can fix it.
• Session replay (web): a reconstruction of interactions that helps us debug layout and flow issues. All text inputs are masked, so what you type into fields is not captured.

On the web, analytics respects your browser's Do Not Track setting: if you have it on, we don't initialize analytics. Analytics traffic is routed through our own domain (t.railsix.com) rather than a third-party host.

Android analytics, when enabled in the app build, sends screen names, the app version, and a random installation identifier to PostHog. It does not include device coordinates, station names, saved routes, session replay, or person profiles, and disables IP-based geolocation enrichment. You can turn off Share anonymous analytics in Android Settings. The Android 0.1.0 launch build has PostHog analytics disabled. Mapbox telemetry is separate from this setting.

Contacting support

If you send us a message through the in-app support form, we receive what you write and the email address you provide so we can reply. To help us reproduce the problem, the support message may also include technical context such as a session identifier and the page you were on. You can always reach us directly at hello@railsix.com instead.

Third-party data and services

Departure times, platforms, and service alerts come from GO Transit (Metrolinx) data. Requests to Rail Six services include the stations or routes needed to return transit information. Like other online services, our hosting providers process network information such as IP addresses to deliver and protect these requests.

Mapbox provides maps and walking directions. It receives request contents, IP addresses, device and SDK information, and generated identifiers for service delivery, security, and usage measurement. Requests for walking directions include precise coordinates.

The Android Mapbox SDK also sends usage and location telemetry when location is available and telemetry is enabled. You can opt out through the map's attribution information control. Mapbox describes its processing and retention in its privacy and security FAQ. PostHog processes analytics as described above. We do not sell your information to these providers.

Children

Rail Six is a general commuter app intended for people aged 13 and over, and is not directed at children under 13. If you believe a child has provided personal information to us, contact us at hello@railsix.com so we can investigate and address it.

Your choices and rights

You stay in control:

• Your commute: change or clear it any time in Settings; it lives on your device.
• Location: grant or revoke the permission in your browser or device settings.
• Analytics: on the web, turning on Do Not Track stops analytics from running. On Android, turn off Share anonymous analytics in Settings. Mapbox telemetry has its own opt-out in the map attribution control. Clearing your browser storage or Android app data removes the locally stored analytics identifier.

If you have a question or a request about your data — including access or deletion requests under laws such as Canada's PIPEDA or the GDPR — email us at hello@railsix.com and we'll help.

Changes to this policy

If we change how we handle data, we'll update this page and the "last updated" date above. Material changes will be reflected here before they take effect.

Contact

Questions about this policy or your privacy? Email hello@railsix.com or use the contact form.