Privacy Policy | Himawari CIRCUIT

1. Introduction

Himawari Tech ("we," "us," or "our") provides the Himawari Circuit mobile app and related services (together, the "Service"). This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, how we use and share it, and the choices and rights you have.

2. Who We Are

Operator: Himawari Tech
Address: Plus One 402, 3-14-34 Kamiosaki, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-0021, Japan
Privacy contact: support@himawari-tech.jp

3. Information We Collect

Account information

Email address
Sign-in credentials (we do not store your password; our authentication provider manages it)
If you sign in with Apple or Google, the identifier and email address they provide

Profile information

All profile fields are optional. You can use the Service without them.

Display name
Bio
Profile photo
Country or region
Birth year (other users see only your age group, never the year)

Session information

Precise location (latitude, longitude and accuracy)
Speed
Acceleration (G-force)
Lap times, sector times and the date and time of each session
Which device recorded the session (your phone's built-in GPS or an external GPS receiver)

Track information

Names, descriptions and regions of tracks you create
Track locations and the coordinates of the lines used for timing

Vehicle and maintenance information

Vehicles you register, and their photos
Maintenance records and photos
Tire information and photos

Group information

Group names, descriptions and photos
Messages you post in groups
Membership and read status

Other information

Your support inquiries
Reports you submit (the reason and the text of the reported content)
Users you have blocked
Wallpaper images you set in the app
Push notification details (a delivery token and your operating system) and delivery results
Your subscription status and its history
Which versions of our Terms of Use and this Privacy Policy you accepted
Your app language and time zone (used to send notifications and emails in your language and to show dates in local time)
If you installed the app from a search ad on the App Store (Apple Ads), information about which ad you came from, such as the campaign, ad group and search keyword (iOS only; see Section 10)
IP address (collected when you register or send an inquiry, used only to prevent abuse, and automatically deleted after a limited time; it is also recorded for a limited period in the access logs of our authentication and hosting providers)

We do not use analytics tools, and we do not track you across other apps or websites. We do not show ads inside the Service. Payment details such as card numbers are handled by Apple and Google; we never receive them.

4. Location Information

We use your location to time laps and record your driving line.

We record your location continuously only from when you start a session until you end it
We record only while the app is on screen. We do not collect location in the background
If you connect an external GPS receiver, we record the location it measures
We use recorded locations to show your driving line, lap times and speed

Before we use your location for the first time, the app shows a "How we use your location" screen and asks for your consent. You can withdraw your consent at any time by turning off location access in your device settings, but you will not be able to record sessions.

5. Cookies and On-Device Storage

Our website uses cookies only to keep you signed in. We do not use cookies for advertising or tracking
The app stores your sign-in status, settings and any sessions not yet uploaded on your device. Sessions and wallpaper images are removed when you delete the app. Your sign-in status and settings are kept in the device's secure storage (such as the iOS Keychain) and may remain after you delete the app

6. How We Use Information

To provide, operate and maintain the Service
To time laps and record and display sessions
To show leaderboards and session comparisons between users (according to your visibility settings in Section 7)
To answer your inquiries
To send important notices and tell you about changes to our terms
To provide Paid Plans and manage subscriptions
To prevent abuse and handle violations of our Terms (including reviewing reports)
To improve the Service and develop new features
To measure the performance of ads we have placed
To create statistics in a form that does not identify you

7. What Other Users Can See

Some information you post or record can be shown to other users. You choose who can see it.

Session history: private by default. You can choose public, group members only, or private
Live timing while you drive: private by default. You can choose public, group members only, or private
Groups: private by default. Each group can be public or private
Display name, profile photo and bio: shown to other users if you add them
Age group: shown if you add your birth year. Your birth year itself is never shown

Changing a setting cannot undo what other users have already seen. Please check your settings before you post.

8. Sharing and Disclosure

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it for targeted advertising. We do not share it with third parties except:

with your consent;
with the service providers listed in Section 9, to operate the Service;
when required by law; or
when necessary to protect a person's life, body or property and it is difficult to obtain your consent.

9. Service Providers

We use the following providers to run the Service. They process information only on our behalf and under our supervision.

Supabase Inc. (United States): authentication and storage of data and images
Vercel Inc. (United States): server hosting and access logs
650 Industries, Inc. (Expo, United States): push notifications and app update delivery
RevenueCat, Inc. (United States): subscription management, and measuring the performance of our ads
Resend, Inc. (United States): email delivery
Upstash, Inc. (United States): temporary data used to prevent abuse and to cache translations
Anthropic, PBC (United States): machine translation. When you tap "Translate" on another driver's bio, that bio text is sent to Anthropic to be translated. We send only the text, not who wrote it or who is reading it

Your information may be processed and stored in Japan, the United States and other countries where these providers operate.

10. Third-Party Services

Maps are provided by Google Maps (Google LLC). When the app shows a map, your device communicates with Google, and information such as the map area shown is sent to Google. Google's handling is governed by its own privacy policy
Address search and track outlines use Nominatim and the Overpass API (OpenStreetMap Foundation). Our servers send the address you enter or the track coordinates; your device does not contact these services directly
Payments for Paid Plans are made through Apple Inc. and Google LLC, which handle your payment details
We sometimes place search ads on the App Store (Apple Ads). If you installed the app from one of those ads, we receive information about which ad you came from through a mechanism provided by Apple Inc. (AdServices), and use it together with your subscription status to measure how our ads perform. This mechanism does not use the advertising identifier (IDFA) and is not used to track you across other apps or websites. If you did not install from an ad, all we learn is that you did not

11. Retention and Deletion

We keep information for as long as needed to provide the Service
You can delete your account at any time in the app. Your account and related information are deleted immediately
Some information may remain after deletion because it is linked to other users' records, is needed for our records of handling reports, or is used for statistics. In each case, we remove anything that links it to you

For details, and for how to request deletion if you cannot use the app, see the Account and Data Deletion page.

12. Security

We protect your information against unauthorized access, loss, destruction, alteration and leakage through measures such as encryption in transit and access controls, and we supervise our service providers appropriately.

13. Age Requirement

The Service is intended for adults aged 18 and over and is not directed to children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18, including children under 13. If we learn that we have collected information from someone under 18, we will delete it and close the account.

14. Your Rights and Choices

You can view, correct and delete your profile and session records in the app at any time. You can also ask us to:

tell you what personal information we hold about you and give you a copy in a portable format;
correct inaccurate information;
delete your information; or
stop processing your information, or withdraw consent you have given (for example, to the use of your precise location).

To make a request, contact us at the address in Section 17. We will verify your identity and respond as required by law, generally within 45 days. We do not charge a fee, and we will not treat you differently for using these rights.

Additional information for U.S. residents

Some U.S. state laws (such as those of Connecticut and other states) give their residents rights over their personal data, including the rights listed above, and treat precise location as sensitive data.

Sensitive data: we process precise location only to provide the Service's core features (lap timing and driving lines), and only with your consent. You can withdraw consent at any time in your device settings.
Sale, targeted advertising and profiling: we do not sell personal data, we do not process it for targeted advertising, and we do not use it for profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects. There is therefore nothing to opt out of, but you may still contact us.
Appeals: if we decline your request, you can appeal by replying to our decision and writing "Appeal" in the subject. We will respond to your appeal within 60 days. If you are not satisfied with the outcome, you can contact your state Attorney General.

15. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Policy when laws or the Service change. For material changes, we will notify you in the app or by other means.

16. Language

This Policy is provided in English and Japanese. If the two versions differ, the English version prevails for users outside Japan.

17. Contact

For questions or complaints about how we handle personal information, use "Support" in the app or email us.

Operator: Himawari Tech
Address: Plus One 402, 3-14-34 Kamiosaki, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-0021, Japan
Email: support@himawari-tech.jp