Last updated 18 August 2026
HikeGauge has no accounts, no analytics, no advertising, and no third-party tracking SDKs. Your hikes are stored on your device. This page describes the one place where data does leave it, and what happens there.
What stays on your device
- Location. While you are recording, HikeGauge reads GPS positions to draw your route and calculate distance, ascent, pace, and elevation. Those positions are written to a database on the device.
- Hikes. Titles, notes, waypoints, statistics, and the recorded track.
- Downloaded maps. Offline areas are stored locally and are excluded from iCloud backup because they are large and can be re-downloaded.
- Settings. Units, map layers, and similar preferences.
None of this is sent to the developer. There is no server that holds your hikes.
iCloud sync is optional and private
If you turn sync on, hikes are copied to your own private iCloud database through Apple's CloudKit, in the container tied to your Apple Account. The developer cannot read that container: private CloudKit databases are accessible only to the account that owns them. Apple's handling of it is covered by the Apple Privacy Policy.
Sync can be turned off in Settings, and the app has a local-only mode that never contacts iCloud at all.
Map tiles: the one network request
When you view or download map areas, the app fetches map tiles from servers operated for HikeGauge (tiles.echo.cool and tiles-vm.echo.cool), which sit behind Cloudflare. Like any web server, these record ordinary request logs:
- the IP address the request came from,
- the date and time,
- which map tile was requested, and
- the app's user agent, status code, and response size.
A requested tile identifies a rectangle of the map, so these logs can indicate which regions have been viewed from an IP address. They are kept for at most 14 days and then rotated out. They are used only to keep the service running — diagnosing errors, spotting abuse, and sizing capacity. They are never combined with anything else, never used to build a profile, never sold, and never shared with advertisers or data brokers. Cloudflare also processes these requests as a network provider under its own privacy policy.
Your recorded hikes are never part of these requests. Downloading an area in advance and then hiking in airplane mode means no requests are made while you walk.
What HikeGauge does not do
- No analytics or telemetry of any kind.
- No advertising and no advertising identifiers.
- No third-party SDKs that collect data.
- No accounts, sign-ups, email addresses, or passwords.
- No contacts, photos, microphone, or health data.
- No sale or sharing of personal information, as those terms are used in the CCPA and similar laws.
Diagnostics you choose to send
The app can export a diagnostic bundle — a recording log and a GPX track — so you can attach it to a support message. Nothing is transmitted automatically; the export happens only when you tap it, and you decide whether and where to send the file. It contains coordinates from the hike it describes, so treat it as you would any track you share.
Your control over the data
- Delete any hike in the app, which removes it locally and, when sync is on, from your private iCloud database.
- Delete downloaded map areas from the offline maps screen.
- Turn off iCloud sync, or use local-only mode.
- Revoke location access at any time in iOS Settings; the app then works as a map viewer without recording.
- Deleting the app removes the local database and downloaded maps.
Because the developer holds no copy of your hikes, there is no account to close and no data export to request. Server logs are keyed to IP addresses rather than to people; if you want the entries for a particular IP removed within the retention window, ask using the contact details on the support page.
Children
HikeGauge is rated 4+ and is not directed at children. It collects no personal information from anyone, including children.
Changes
If this policy changes, the date at the top of this page changes with it. Material changes will be described in the app's release notes.
Contact
Questions about this policy, or about privacy in the app, can be sent to support@echo.cool.