Privacy Policy

Who runs this site

RailTrails is an independent, solo-run project. It is not operated by a company. If you have questions about this policy or how your data is handled, use the feedback link on the site.

What data we collect

Information you provide directly

• Postcode or station search input – used only to run your search (finding your nearest station, or looking up a station you named directly). This is not stored against you as an individual; it’s processed to return results and then discarded.
• Journey time and search preferences (e.g. max journey time, radius for station-to-station hikes) – used only to generate your results, not stored against an identity.
• Feedback you submit – if you use the feedback link, anything you submit is handled by that third-party service (Google Forms), per their own privacy terms. We don’t ask for more than your feedback and, optionally, a way to reach you if you choose to give one.

Information collected automatically

Google Analytics – we use Google Analytics to understand overall site usage: which pages are visited, which views (map vs. list) get used, and general traffic patterns. This helps us decide what to build next. Google Analytics uses cookies and collects data such as your approximate location (derived from IP address), device/browser type, and pages visited. We do not use this data to identify you personally, and we don’t combine it with anything you enter into the search tool.

Google’s own privacy policy governs how it processes this data: policies.google.com/privacy. You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking across all websites using Google’s opt-out browser add-on: tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

What we do NOT collect

• No user accounts, logins, or passwords – there’s nothing to sign up for.
• No payment or financial information.
• No storage of your search history tied to your identity.
• No affiliate tracking cookies (we don’t currently run affiliate links – see “Third-party services” below if that changes).

Cookies

The only cookies currently set on this site are those set by Google Analytics, for the purposes described above. We don’t use cookies for advertising, and we don’t run any other tracking or analytics services at this time.

You can control or delete cookies through your browser settings at any time. Blocking analytics cookies won’t affect your ability to use the search, map, or list features.

Third-party services

RailTrails links out to, or relies on, a small number of external services:

• Google Analytics

  Site usage statistics

  Automatically collected browsing data (see “Information collected automatically” below)

• MapTiler

  Map tiles for the map view

  Standard map tile requests (typically IP address, per MapTiler’s own policy)

• postcodes.io

  Postcode-to-coordinates lookup

  The postcode you enter, sent to resolve a location – not stored by us

• Google Forms

  Collecting feedback

  Whatever you choose to submit

We don’t share, sell, or rent your data to anyone else, for any purpose.

Legal basis and your rights (UK GDPR)

Where UK GDPR applies, our basis for the limited processing described above is:

• Legitimate interest – for running searches and generating results (this is the core function of the site, and no more data is used than is needed to do it).
• Legitimate interest – for aggregate analytics, to understand and improve the site.
• Consent – for anything you actively choose to submit, like feedback.

You have the right to ask what data (if any) is held about you, request correction or deletion, and object to processing. Given the site doesn’t hold accounts or persistent identifiable records tied to search activity, there is generally very little to retrieve or delete beyond anything you’ve submitted via feedback – but you can still get in touch via the feedback link on the site with any request, and we’ll respond as required by law.

You also have the right to complain to the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk if you believe your data has been mishandled.

Contact

Questions about this policy or your data: use the feedback link on the site.