RydPal
Privacy Policy
Last updated 11 October 2026. Applies to the RydPal rider app, the RydPal Driver app, and our websites at rydpal.com, app.rydpal.com and admin.rydpal.com.
RydPal is operated by Smart Coders LLC, 17 Comiso, Irvine, California 92614, United States. This policy explains what we collect, why, who we share it with, and the choices you have. We do not sell your personal information.
1. Information we collect
Everyone with an account
| Data | Why |
|---|---|
| Mobile phone number | It is how you sign in. We send a one-time code by SMS. |
| Name, and email address if you give one | So your driver or rider knows who to expect, and for receipts and support. A rider's name also appears on the carrier's trip record, which state rules require carriers to keep. |
| Notification token for your device | To send ride updates and requests to your phone. |
| Ride credit balance and history; the phone number of anyone you send credit to; your referral code and who used it | To run ride credit, transfers and referral rewards, and to detect abuse. |
| Ratings and comments you give and receive | Service quality. A driver's average is shown to riders once they have ten ratings. Ratings a rider receives are used by RydPal to maintain service quality. |
| Device type and sign-in times; IP address in server logs | Security, fraud prevention and debugging. |
Riders
| Data | Why |
|---|---|
| Pickup and dropoff addresses and coordinates; saved home and work addresses if you add them | To price the trip, dispatch a driver and complete the ride; saved places make booking quicker. |
| Your device location, while the app is open | To set your pickup point and show nearby drivers. The rider app never collects location in the background. |
| Saved payment cards | Cards are entered on a page hosted by Stripe and stored by Stripe. We keep only a token, the card brand and the last four digits. |
| Trip history, fares, tips, favourite drivers and the one-time rider PIN for a trip | Receipts, support, dispute resolution, and confirming you got into the right car. |
Drivers and carriers
| Data | Why |
|---|---|
| Precise location, including while the app is in the background or closed | Collected only while you are online. Used to send you nearby ride requests, to show your rider where you are and estimate your arrival, and to record the route taken for fare and dispute checks. Collection stops when you go offline. |
| Date of birth | To verify you are at least 21. |
| Carrier business name, permit or licence number, issuing state, and your rate card | To verify the carrier with its regulator, to show riders who is offering the ride, and to price offers. |
| Driver's licence, carrier permit, commercial insurance certificate, vehicle registration and a profile photo | To verify you may drive for hire, as state rules require. Reviewed by our staff. Riders see only your profile photo. |
| Vehicle make, model, year, colour and licence plate | Shown to your rider so they can identify your car. |
| Background check, driving record and drug-programme enrolment status; training completion | Regulatory compliance. We store the outcome and date, not the underlying report. |
| Trips, earnings, tips, ratings and acceptance rate | To pay you and to maintain service quality. |
| Payout account | Set up with Stripe, which collects your identity and bank details directly. We store only Stripe's account reference and whether payouts are enabled. |
Location, stated plainly
While a driver is online, the RydPal Driver app sends location to our servers about every five seconds, and about every three seconds during a trip, including when the app is in the background or the phone is locked. This is the core of the service: without it we cannot offer you a ride request or tell a rider where their car is. It stops the moment you go offline, and we do not collect a driver's location while offline. Riders' location is collected only while the rider app is open.
2. How we use information
- To provide rides: offers and pricing, matching, navigation, payment, receipts and support.
- To verify carriers' licences and drivers' eligibility, as state transportation rules require.
- To keep people safe and to investigate incidents, complaints and fraud.
- To meet legal, tax and regulatory obligations, including records regulators may require.
- To improve the service, using aggregate patterns rather than individual profiles.
We do not use your data for advertising, and we do not sell or rent it.
3. Who we share it with
| Recipient | What they receive |
|---|---|
| Your driver or rider | First name, rating, and what is needed for the trip: pickup and dropoff, and for drivers the carrier's name and permit number, vehicle, plate and profile photo. Riders never see a driver's documents; drivers never see a rider's history or payment details. |
| Stripe | Card details you enter on Stripe's page, the amount of each payment, and for carriers the identity and bank details needed to pay you. Stripe's own privacy policy applies to that data. |
| Twilio | Your phone number, to deliver the sign-in code. |
| Backblaze | Driver and carrier documents, and our nightly database backups, stored encrypted in the United States. |
| Expo | Your notification token, to deliver push notifications through Apple and Google. |
| Regulators, insurers and law enforcement | Only what the law requires, or what is needed to handle an insurance claim or a safety incident. |
Address search and routing run on RydPal's own servers using OpenStreetMap data; what you type into the address box is not sent to any third party.
4. How long we keep it
- Idle driver location is not stored. Positions used for matching live in memory and expire within about thirty seconds.
- Trip records, including the route, are kept for two years for disputes, and longer where tax or transportation rules require.
- Driver and carrier documents are kept while you drive with us and for the period regulators require afterwards.
- You can delete your account yourself in the app or on app.rydpal.com (Account → Settings → Delete account), or by emailing us. Your profile and contact details are removed at once and what remains is anonymised, except records we must keep by law.
5. Your choices and rights
- Location: you can refuse or withdraw background location in your phone settings at any time. Drivers can work with foreground-only location, but ride requests will stop arriving when the app is in the background.
- Notifications: can be turned off in your phone settings.
- Saved cards and saved places can be removed in the app at any time.
- Access and correction: edit your details in the app, or email privacy@rydpal.com from the email address on your account, or tell us your account phone number, and we will respond within 30 days.
- California residents have the right to know, delete, correct and limit the use of sensitive personal information under the CCPA as amended, and the right not to be discriminated against for exercising them. Precise location is treated as sensitive personal information; we use it only to provide the service.
- New Jersey residents have comparable rights under New Jersey privacy law.
6. Security
Traffic is encrypted in transit. Documents are held in private storage reachable only through short-lived links issued to you or to a reviewer. Card numbers never touch our servers. Access to production data is limited to staff who need it, and administrative actions are recorded in an audit log.
7. Children
RydPal accounts are for people 18 and over, and drivers must be at least 21. We do not knowingly collect information from children. If you believe a child has given us information, write to us and we will delete it.
8. Changes
If we change this policy in a way that matters, we will notify you in the app before the change takes effect and update the date at the top.
9. Contact
Smart Coders LLC, 17 Comiso, Irvine, CA 92614, United States
privacy@rydpal.com