Sprocket ("Sprocket", "we", "us") is a location-based social network for motorcycle riders, operated by the Sprocket team. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect through the Sprocket mobile app (iOS and Android), the website at sprocket.city and the live-location web viewer, how we use and share it, how long we keep it, and the choices you have.
Sprocket is free to use. There is no paid tier, no subscription and no advertising. We do not sell your personal data, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioural advertising.
Some features only work with location, which is sensitive, so we explain in section 3 exactly when we collect it, who can see it and how long we keep it.
We collect information you give us, information created as you use Sprocket, and a small amount of technical data from your device.
Location is central to Sprocket. It is always optional. You can deny the permission, and the map, SOS and sharing features will be limited. Here is every way we use location.
While the app is open, and on iOS while you are riding if you allow "Always" location access, your position is sent to our servers so nearby riders can see you on the live map. Presence is held in a short-lived store and expires about 90 seconds after your last update. We do not keep a history of your live-map positions. Your privacy mode controls who sees you:
| Mode | Who sees you on the map |
|---|---|
| Public | Everyone, at an approximate position (rounded to about 110 m). |
| Mutuals | Only riders you follow who also follow you, at your precise position. |
| Group | Only the riders in a group ride you have joined. |
| Ghost | Nobody. You are not placed on the map at all. |
Visible while parked (optional): when you stop, your bike can stay on the map at an approximate position (about 110 m). It disappears when you ride again, or after 7 days. Ghost-mode riders are never shown as parked.
So that you can be alerted when a rider near you raises an SOS, we keep a single last known location for your account, refreshed while you use the app (at most every 15 seconds). We keep it even in Ghost mode, because hiding from the map is not the same as opting out of emergencies. It is overwritten each time, so no history is kept. It is never shown on the map or to other riders, and it is used only to find riders near an SOS. This setting is on by default, and you can turn it off at any time in your privacy settings.
You can share your live location for a set time (15 minutes to 24 hours) with specific riders, a chat, a club, a club event's attendees, your followers, your mutuals, the public, or anyone who has a private link. You choose precise or approximate (about 110 m). While a share is running we process your position, speed, heading, battery level and whether you are moving or stopped, and we keep a recent trail (up to 200 points) for viewers. On Android a foreground service keeps sharing in the background and shows a persistent notification. On iOS the app may be woken to resume sharing. You can stop or revoke a share at any time. When a share ends, the trail is deleted, and the last recorded position is cleared from the share record within about 24 hours.
Anyone with a share link can open it in a web browser. The web viewer loads map tiles from OpenStreetMap, whose servers receive the viewer's IP address.
On iOS, with your permission, the app uses motion data on your phone to tell whether you are riding or stopped, so sharing can pause when you park. Only the resulting "moving / stopped" state is sent to us, never raw sensor data.
| Permission | Why |
|---|---|
| Location (while using) | The live map, nearby riders, SOS, location messages and sharing. |
| Location (always / background) | Staying on the map while riding with the screen off (iOS) and keeping a live location share running (Android foreground service). |
| Motion & fitness (iOS) | Detecting riding vs. stopped, as described above. |
| Camera, photos | Taking or attaching photos and videos to your profile, posts, bikes, listings and chats, and saving photos to your library. |
| Microphone | Recording voice messages and the sound on videos you send. |
| Notifications | Messages, ride requests, SOS alerts and account activity. On Android, SOS alerts may show full-screen. |
You can change any permission at any time in your device settings.
We do not use your data for advertising, and we do not build advertising profiles.
Your profile, posts, comments, club activity, listings, Two-Up listings, ratings (after the blind rating window closes) and map presence are visible to other users according to your settings and the feature. Messages are visible to the people in the conversation. Blocked users cannot see or contact you.
We use these providers to run Sprocket. They process data only on our instructions.
| Provider | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Our cloud hosting provider | Servers and database that run Sprocket. |
| Cloudflare | Network security, content delivery, and storage of uploaded photos, videos and files. |
| Google (Firebase Cloud Messaging, Google Maps, Google Sign-In) | Push notifications, the in-app map, and signing in with Google. Google Maps receives map requests from your device. |
| Apple (Push Notification service, Sign in with Apple) | Push notifications on iOS and signing in with Apple. |
| Twilio | Text messages to your emergency contacts when you raise an SOS. The message includes your name and coordinates. |
| Sentry | Error monitoring for our servers. |
| OpenAI (where enabled) | Automated classification of text for abusive content. The text is sent without your account details. |
| GIPHY | GIF search in chat. Our server sends your search terms without your identity. GIFs are then loaded from GIPHY's servers, which see your device's IP address. |
| Email delivery provider | Service emails, if we send you any. |
When you raise an SOS, your name, location and message go to riders near you and to the emergency contacts you chose (by push and by text message). Riders who respond can message you.
SOS is always raised by you. It alerts riders within about 30 km, found by their last known location, and your emergency contacts. It opens conversations with riders who respond. If you have not resolved the SOS, we check in with you after about an hour and close it automatically after about six hours. Live sharing is described in section 3. A link can be revoked at any time, and it shows only the shared session, never your ride history.
| Data | How long we keep it |
|---|---|
| Live map presence | About 90 seconds after your last update. |
| Parked position | Until you ride again, or 7 days at most. |
| Last known location (SOS) | Overwritten on each update. Cleared when you delete your account. |
| Live share trail | While the share is active. The last position is cleared about 24 hours after the share ends. |
| Hazard reports | Removed from the map when they expire, and deleted about 7 days later. |
| Two-Up requests and listings | Requests expire after 24 hours unanswered. Listings expire after their departure time. Ride and rating records stay with your account. |
| Deleted messages | Text and attachments are removed when you delete a message. |
| Account, profile and content | For as long as your account exists. |
| Server logs | For a limited period, for security and troubleshooting. |
| SOS events, reports, moderation and verification records | May be kept after account deletion where needed for safety, fraud prevention or legal reasons. |
When you delete your account, we immediately remove your email, phone number, password, avatar and cover photo, bio, home city, last known location, gender identity, emergency contacts, push devices, follows and Google/Apple sign-in links. We also revoke Sign in with Apple and sign you out everywhere. To keep conversations intact for others, posts, comments and messages you wrote in shared spaces stay, credited to an anonymous "Deleted Rider". See Delete Your Account & Data.
To make a request, email us from the address on your account. We will reply within 30 days.
We encrypt data in transit (HTTPS and secure WebSockets), hash passwords, use short-lived, rotating sign-in tokens, keep tokens in your device's secure storage, and limit staff access by role. We fetch links through a guarded proxy. Exact Two-Up locations are stored separately from public data. No system is perfectly secure, so please use a strong, unique password. If a breach affects your data, we will notify you and the authorities where the law requires it.
Sprocket is not directed at children under 16, and you must be at least 16 (or older if your country requires it) to use it. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 16. If you believe a child has given us personal data, contact us and we will delete it.
We and our service providers may process your data in countries other than yours, including the United States. Where required, we rely on appropriate safeguards, such as the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses, for these transfers.
Each version of this policy has a version number and an effective date, shown at the top of the page. Every earlier version stays available in the version history. For material changes, we will tell you in the app or by email before they take effect. If you keep using Sprocket after a change takes effect, the new version applies.
Questions, requests or complaints about this policy or your data? Email us at [email protected].