Privacy Policy

HitchRoute, operated by Mastakel Systems ("HitchRoute," "we," "us," or "our"), provides campground discovery, camper profiles, community features, and related services through hitchroute.com and the HitchRoute mobile application (collectively, the "Service"). This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, why we use it, when it may be shared, and the choices available to you.

1. Information we collect

Account and contact information

When you create or update an account, we may collect your name, mobile telephone number, email address, mailing address, and account identifiers. We use telephone numbers for passwordless verification and account access.

Profile information

You may choose to provide a profile photo, biography, interests, RV or camping rig type, hometown, gender, pronouns, relationship status, and orientation. Profile privacy settings let you control whether groups of profile details are public, visible to friends, or hidden. Information you intentionally make public or share with friends can be viewed by those audiences.

Location information

With your device permission, HitchRoute may process precise location information to find nearby campgrounds and attractions, show relevant results, validate campground check-ins, and determine whether you are close enough to use on-site community features. You can deny or revoke location permission through your browser or device settings, although location-based features may then be unavailable. HitchRoute does not use precise location information for targeted advertising.

Content, activity, and communications

We collect content and activity you submit through the Service, including campground and campsite reviews, ratings, favorites, dislikes, private notes, check-ins, community posts, profile images, friend requests, blocks, private messages, and campground or campsite recommendations you share. Content posted to a campground community or included in a visible profile may be seen by other users. Private messages are visible to their participants and may be accessed by authorized personnel when reasonably necessary for safety, abuse investigation, legal compliance, or support.

Device and technical information

We may collect IP address, browser and device type, user-agent information, session and security records, push-notification subscription details, referring pages, and diagnostic information. We use cookies and similar browser storage to maintain sessions, remember preferences, enable installation, and support application functionality.

2. How we use information

We use information to:

• Create, authenticate, maintain, and secure accounts.
• Provide campground discovery, search, profiles, reviews, favorites, messaging, community feeds, check-ins, and nearby recommendations.
• Deliver requested email and push notifications and honor notification preferences.
• Personalize and improve the Service and troubleshoot technical issues.
• Prevent fraud, spam, abuse, unauthorized access, and violations of our rules.
• Respond to support, privacy, and legal requests.
• Comply with law and protect HitchRoute, our users, campground operators, and the public.

3. When information is shared

HitchRoute does not sell personal information and does not share personal information for cross-context behavioral or targeted advertising. We may disclose limited information in the following circumstances:

• At your direction. Information is shared when you publish it, select a profile audience, message another user, or otherwise direct us to share it.
• Service providers. Vendors may process limited information on our behalf to provide hosting, storage, telephone verification, email, push notifications, maps and place search, security, and operational support. Current services may include Twilio, Google Maps Platform, OpenStreetMap, Cloudflare, web-push delivery services, email delivery infrastructure, and our hosting providers. These providers receive information only as needed to perform their services and operate under their own applicable terms and privacy commitments.
• Safety and legal obligations. We may preserve or disclose information when we reasonably believe it is necessary to comply with law, legal process, or valid government requests; enforce our policies; investigate abuse or security incidents; or protect rights, property, and safety.
• Business changes. Information may be transferred as part of a merger, financing, acquisition, reorganization, bankruptcy, or sale of all or part of the business, subject to applicable law.

Future campground reservations

HitchRoute does not currently provide direct reservation booking. If booking is introduced, the information needed to request and manage a reservation will be shared with the campground or operator you choose and with payment or reservation service providers involved in the transaction. We will provide additional notice and update this policy before or when those features become available. We will not send booking details to a campground unless you initiate or authorize the reservation-related interaction.

4. Data storage and retention

Account information and user content are stored on systems operated for HitchRoute and, where needed to provide the Service, by contracted infrastructure providers. We retain information for as long as reasonably necessary to provide the Service, maintain security and business records, comply with law, resolve disputes, and enforce agreements. Retention periods vary by data type and purpose. Information may remain in encrypted backups for a limited period after deletion from active systems.

5. Security

We use administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards designed to protect information, including encrypted network connections and access controls. No internet service or storage system can be guaranteed completely secure, and we cannot promise absolute security.

6. Your choices and rights

You may edit profile and account information, change profile visibility, control email and push-notification preferences, withdraw device permissions, remove your own content where the feature permits, and block other users. Depending on where you live, you may also have rights to access, correct, delete, or obtain a copy of personal information and to appeal a denied privacy request.

Account and data deletion requests

Visit our account deletion page to request deletion of your HitchRoute account and associated personal information. We may need to verify your identity before completing the request. We will delete or de-identify applicable account information unless retention is required for security, fraud prevention, legal compliance, dispute resolution, or other lawful purposes.

7. Children’s privacy

HitchRoute is intended for adults age 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided personal information, contact us so we can investigate and take appropriate action.

8. Third-party links and services

The Service may link to campground websites, mapping and directions services, attractions, restaurants, and other third-party services. Their privacy practices are governed by their own policies, not this Privacy Policy.

9. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy as HitchRoute evolves. We will post the revised policy at this URL and update the effective date. If a change materially affects how we handle personal information, we will provide additional notice when reasonably appropriate.

10. Contact us

For privacy questions or requests, contact:

HitchRoute / Mastakel Systems
Email: hello@hitchroute.com