Privacy Policy

Map Tools: Fake GPS & Trails Privacy Policy Last Updated: September 2, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains what data the Android app Map Tools: Fake GPS & Trails ("the App") processes and how. The App is a developer tool designed for developers, testers, and users to test location-based scenarios on their device.

Developer / Data Controller: Abdulkadir ER Contact: akillisletme@gmail.com

1. Purpose of the App

Map Tools: Fake GPS & Trails has been developed for the following legitimate use cases:

• Testing location-based applications • Trying different GPS scenarios during software development and quality assurance • Simulating map, route, location, and scheduling features on a device • Educational, experimental, and personal privacy awareness use

The App must not be used for the following purposes:

• Cheating in games, apps, or services • Fraud, deception, or identity concealment • Violating the terms of use of third-party apps or services • Any illegal, harmful, or unauthorized activity

The user is responsible for how the App is used. The App does not encourage illegal use or misuse.

2. Data We Process

A. Location and Simulation Data Stored on Device

The following data you create or save within the App may be stored locally on your device:

• Mock GPS coordinates • Favorite locations • Joystick starting positions • Saved routes • PRO route waypoints and route parameters • Human behavior simulation settings • Scheduled locations • Walks you record ("My Walks") — real GPS tracks where every point carries latitude, longitude, altitude, and a timestamp • Unfinished recording drafts (temporary records kept during a recording in case of a crash) • Home widget and floating widget slot settings • Map and interface preferences • Vehicle favorites, unit preference, and accent color • Daily usage (quota) counters • Language, theme, and consent preferences

This data is not uploaded by us to any external server, sold, or shared with third parties. The data is stored on your device, in Android's app data area.

B. Real Device Location

The App may request Android location permission for certain features. For example:

• Centering the map on your current location • Caching the current location locally to improve the map experience • Easing the selection of a starting point at the user's request • Sampling your real GPS track only while you are recording a walk that you started yourself (see Section G below for details)

Your real device location is not sent to our servers. The App does not use your real location for advertising, analytics, profiling, or third-party marketing purposes.

If the user uses the current location feature, the last known location may only be cached locally on the device. This data can be deleted by clearing the app data from Android settings or by uninstalling the App.

C. Route Files and Sharing

The App may import route files such as GPX, KML, or TCX if selected by the user. These files are processed on the device and used to create a route.

The App may also initiate the following sharing actions at the user's explicit request:

• Sharing a Google Maps link • Sharing a route link • Exporting or sharing a GPX file

The sharing action is performed via Android's system share sheet or a third-party app chosen by the user. Once shared, the third-party app's own privacy policy applies.

D. Local Preferences

The App may store the following information locally on the device:

• Language selection • Theme preference • Map view settings • Usage/consent status • Favorites and saved routes • Scheduler settings • Widget and floating widget settings • Local flags related to setup guide and permission status

This information is kept on your device. You can use the App without creating an account (anonymously); signing in is optional. If you sign in with Google or with an email address and password, only your account information (identifier, email, sign-in method, and support fields such as language and app version) is stored on our servers. The content data listed above (routes, walks, favorites, settings) stays on your device even when you are signed in and is not uploaded to the cloud. For details and deletion methods, see the Data Deletion page.

E. Photo Location Metadata (Photo GPS Editor)

The Photo GPS Editor feature edits the EXIF location (GPS) metadata of a photo you explicitly select, entirely on your device. The edited photo is saved as a new copy to your device gallery. This operation is fully local; your photos and their metadata are not sent to our servers. The App does not scan photos in the background; it only accesses the single file you select. This feature requires Android's ACCESS_MEDIA_LOCATION permission (see Section 4).

F. Tools (Measurement and Calculation Tools)

The features in the "Tools" mode — Ruler (distance), Area, Circle, Bearing, Compass, Sun, Sun Path, Cooldown, Safe Radius, and Shadow — run entirely on your device. These tools do not use the internet or any server, do not collect any data, and never send any information off the device. The Compass and Bearing tools only read the device's magnetometer sensor and require no additional permission. Calculated values are only displayed on screen.

G. Walk Recording and Real Location (Walk Mode)

The App's Walk mode records your real GPS track when you press the record button. Every recorded point contains latitude, longitude, altitude, and a timestamp.

• Recording continues with the screen off and while the App is in the background; a foreground service and a persistent notification are used for this. The notification stays on your screen for as long as the recording is running. • Recording ends only when you stop it. • So that your walk is not lost if the App closes unexpectedly, points are written to a temporary draft on your device while recording; on the next launch you are asked whether you want to recover that draft. For this reason a walk you have not saved yet may also remain on your device for a while. • Before you name and save a recording, you can trim the beginning and end of the track — for example to leave your home address out of it. • The heat map derived from your recordings is computed on the fly only to be drawn on screen; it is not stored separately and is never sent anywhere. When the feature is off, it is not computed at all. • The altitude profile is drawn from the GPS altitude already stored in the recording; no external elevation service is used. • If you follow a saved track while walking it, GPS runs continuously for as long as tracking is on. Your location is used only to compute your distance to the track (and to alert you with a vibration when you drift away from it); it is never sent anywhere. Tracking continues until you stop it. • No location data is sent to our servers. Your recordings stay in the local database on your device. • If you share a recording as GPX, the file carries location, altitude, and time information. From the moment you share it, the receiving app and its privacy policy apply.

3. Third-Party Services and SDKs

The App uses the following third-party services:

A. Google Maps Platform

The Google Maps SDK is used for map display, coordinate selection, and map interaction.

According to Google's own policies, the Google Maps SDK may automatically process certain technical data such as IP address, device metadata, SDK/app information, crash metrics, unique identifiers, and map interactions.

The processing of this data is subject to Google's own privacy policies. We do not have access to the raw data sent to Google by the Google Maps SDK and do not store this data on our own servers.

Google Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy

B. Firebase Remote Config

Firebase Remote Config is used to manage app configurations such as app version and forced updates.

For Firebase to function, Remote Config may process technical information such as country code, language code, time zone, platform/OS version, Firebase Android App ID, and app package name.

We do not use Remote Config for user tracking, advertising, behavioral analytics, or profiling.

C. Firebase Crashlytics

Firebase Crashlytics may be used to improve app stability and detect crashes.

Crashlytics may process technical crash data such as app version, package name, device model, operating system version, crash time, error logs, stack traces, and similar. This data is used to fix bugs and improve the security/stability of the App.

We do not knowingly collect personal content such as name, email, phone number, contacts, messages, payment information, or user-saved mock location lists through Crashlytics.

D. Internet Connectivity Check

The App may check whether the device is online to provide a smooth map experience. This check is used only to show the user an appropriate screen when offline. This process is not used to create a user profile or perform behavioral tracking.

E. Address Search (Geocoding)

When you search for a place name on the map, the text you type is resolved into coordinates through the device's Android system geocoder. This resolution happens over the internet and the backend provider may be Google; therefore only the search query you type leaves the device. We do not store your search queries, associate them with you, or use them for profiling. Your real location coordinates are not sent during this operation.

F. Cloud Firestore (Read-Only)

The App only reads the app_meta/changelog document from Cloud Firestore to display the "What's New" (changelog) text. This is one-way: the App reads data from this document, and no user data is written or uploaded to Firestore. During the read request, Firebase infrastructure may process standard connection metadata such as the IP address as a technical necessity of the request; this data is subject to Google's own policies. Your saved locations, routes, or other personal data are not associated with this operation.

4. Permissions and Their Purposes

The App may use the following Android permissions or system settings:

Location Permission: Used to center the map on the current location, to ease location selection at the user's request, and to sample your real GPS track while recording a walk. The second use only kicks in when you start a recording yourself.

Foreground Service Permission: In addition to broadcasting mock locations, it is used so a walk recording you started can continue with the screen off and while the App is in the background.

Mock Location / Developer Options: Required for the App to be selectable as a mock location provider in the Android system. This is done by the user via Android's developer settings.

Notification Permission: On Android 13 and above, the notification permission may be required to show the status of foreground service operations such as mock location, the floating widget, or a walk recording. The persistent notification shown while a recording runs lets you see at any moment that the recording is on.

Display Over Other Apps / Overlay Permission: Used for the floating widget feature. This permission is requested only if the user enables this feature.

Exact Alarm / Scheduling Permission: Android's alarm permissions may be required for the scheduled location feature to run at the specified time.

File Picker: Used to import GPX, KML, or TCX route files if the user selects them. The App does not scan all files on the device; it only accesses the file selected by the user.

Media Location Permission (ACCESS_MEDIA_LOCATION): Used so the Photo GPS Editor can read the original EXIF location data of the photo you select. From Android 10 onward, EXIF GPS data is stripped without this permission. It is only needed when you use this feature.

Usage Access (PACKAGE_USAGE_STATS): Used only for the optional Smart Shield feature. Granted manually by the user from the system "Usage access" settings. It reads only the package name of the app currently in the foreground to match it against your defined rules; it does not read screen content. This feature does not use the Accessibility Service.

5. About the Smart Shield Feature

Smart Shield uses Android's Usage Access permission (PACKAGE_USAGE_STATS) solely to detect which application is currently in the foreground (its package name only), so it can automatically apply the GPS location profile you assigned to that app and stop automatically when you leave the application. Smart Shield does NOT use the Accessibility Service. It does not read screen content and does not collect, store, transmit, or share any personal or sensitive data. The feature is optional and turned off by default; a prominent in-app disclosure is shown and your explicit consent is required before the permission is requested. You can revoke it anytime from Android's "Usage access" settings.

This feature operates strictly locally. For detailed information regarding data processing, privacy boundaries, and user controls, please review our standalone Usage Access Disclosure page.

6. Data We Do Not Collect

The App, on its own behalf, does not collect, sell, or share the following data with third parties for marketing purposes:

• Name, email address, phone number • User account or login information • Contacts, SMS, call logs • Camera or microphone data • Financial or payment information • Advertising profile via advertising identifier • User behavior profile • A centralized server database containing your saved mock locations

How third-party SDKs process technical data is subject to the policies of the respective services.

7. Data Sharing

We do not sell user data.

App data is not shared with third parties except in the following cases:

• The user explicitly initiates a sharing action • Technical operation of integrated third-party services such as Google Maps SDK, Firebase Remote Config, or Firebase Crashlytics • Legally mandated requests or legal obligations

Your saved favorites, routes, and simulation settings are not automatically shared by us.

8. Data Retention

Data stored on the device may remain on the device until deleted by the user.

To delete this data, you can:

• Use the delete/reset features within the App • Clear app data from Android Settings > Apps • Uninstall the App from the device

The App does not use device backup (android:allowBackup="false"). Therefore, when you uninstall the App or clear its app data, all local data — including your recorded walks — is permanently deleted and cannot be recovered; there is no cloud backup. We recommend exporting any walks you want to keep as GPX beforehand.

Technical data processed by Firebase or Google services is managed according to those services' own retention and deletion policies.

9. Data Security

App data is stored in Android's app data area. This area is isolated from other apps by the Android app sandbox mechanism.

That said, no storage or transmission method is 100% secure. Device security, screen lock, operating system updates, and device access controls are the user's responsibility.

10. Children's Privacy

The App is not directed at children under 13. The App is a technical tool that requires familiarity with Android Developer Options and the concept of mock locations.

We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child's personal data has been processed, please contact us.

11. International Users

The App can be used worldwide. App data stored on the device remains on your device.

Google Maps and Firebase services may process technical data over Google's global infrastructure. This processing is subject to Google's privacy policies and terms of service.

12. Your Rights

Under applicable laws, you may have the following rights:

• Delete your local data • Revoke Android permissions at any time • Clear local data by uninstalling the App • Request information about our privacy practices • Request correction of incorrect or missing information • Object to data processing activities to the extent permitted by law

You can contact us at the following address for your requests: akillisletme@gmail.com

13. Policy Changes

This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time. Changes are reflected in the "Last Updated" date on this page.

For significant changes, users will be notified, where possible, through in-app notification or a Play Store description.

14. Contact

For questions about privacy, data processing, or the App's permissions:

Email: akillisletme@gmail.com Developer: Abdulkadir ER

15. Governing Law

This Privacy Policy has been prepared with reference to the laws of the Republic of Turkey, in particular the Law No. 6698 on the Protection of Personal Data (KVKK). If the App is used in other countries, the relevant local data protection regulations may also apply.

— Change Note (August 2, 2026): Updated for Walk mode (real GPS track recording) and the features built on it. A new section "G. Walk Recording and Real Location" was added, stating explicitly that recording only runs when the user starts it, that it continues with the screen off via a foreground service and a persistent notification, that a timestamp is stored with every point, and covering unfinished recording drafts, track trimming, the heat map, the altitude profile, route following, and the fact that exported GPX files carry time information. Recorded walks, recording drafts, quota counters, and vehicle/unit/accent preferences were added to the processed-data list; the rationale for the location, foreground service, and notification permissions was updated; a notice that no device backup is made (allowBackup=false) was added. The tools list was updated to the current 10 tools. The App was renamed from "Location Simulator – Mock GPS" to "Map Tools: Fake GPS & Trails"; all references in this document were updated. Page URLs are unchanged.

Change Note (June 21, 2026): Updated for the v2.1.0 release. Smart Shield now uses the Usage Access permission (PACKAGE_USAGE_STATS) instead of the Accessibility Service; all related wording was updated. The "Tools" mode (Compass, Ruler, Area, Circle, Sun & Sun Path, Cooldown) was added as an on-device feature that uses no internet and no extra permissions.

Change Note (June 1, 2026): Updated for the v1.7.0 release. The read-only use of Cloud Firestore (app_meta/changelog "What's New" text) and the Photo GPS Editor feature were explicitly added; the ACCESS_MEDIA_LOCATION permission was noted in the permissions section.