Privacy at Equidistant

Updated 30 October 2026

Equidistant helps groups choose a meeting place in London. For privacy questions or requests about data held by the app, contact Ben Jones at btjones.me@gmail.com.

Your Google account

Sign-in provides your Google account identifier, verified email address and, when available, name. We use these to identify your account, manage sessions, enforce recommendation limits and grant access to approved features. We do not request access to your Gmail, contacts, calendar or files.

A secure, HTTP-only cookie keeps you signed in for up to seven days. The server stores a hash of its random session token, along with your account details. Signing out revokes that session. Short-lived sign-in records expire after ten minutes; expired records are removed during routine sign-in cleanup.

From 20 September 2026, we also keep a separate account record containing your account identifier, verified email address, first and latest recorded sign-in times, and number of successful sign-ins. This lets us identify registered users and understand repeat use of the beta. This record remains after you sign out or your session expires, until you request its deletion. It is stored in our server database and is not sent to Google Analytics.

Your group and map

Normal travel-time planning runs in your browser using a downloaded model. Personal participant names, starting locations and map settings are saved in this browser, separately for each Google account. They are not synchronized between devices. Privately configured starting groups are sent only to their intended account, not to every signed-in visitor. Clearing this site's browser data removes personal saved workspaces. Signing out preserves them for your next visit.

Shared availability groups

When you create a shared group, its names and starting locations are copied from your personal planner into our server database. Group membership, individual availability dates and statuses, and the account and time of each availability update are also stored there. Every member can view and edit everyone's availability and people. These changes synchronize across devices. Later changes to a personal planner do not change the shared snapshot.

Invitation links grant editing access to anyone who has the link and chooses to join with Google sign-in. Share them only with your intended group. Links expire after seven days; joining establishes ongoing group membership. The server stores a hash of each invitation token. An unopened invitation is temporarily kept in tab storage for up to ten minutes so sign-in can finish. Removing a person hides their availability but does not immediately erase historical records. For removal of group data or membership, contact the address above.

Services used when you search

• Address searches send the search text to OpenStreetMap's Nominatim service.
• Venue recommendations send the meeting-area coordinates and your search text to Google Places and OpenAI, including web research. Avoid putting private personal information in a venue search. Recommendation requests to OpenAI use its no-response-storage setting; providers' own processing and retention rules still apply.
• Approved live travel-time comparisons send starting and destination coordinates through our server to TravelTime. These comparisons are optional and restricted to approved accounts.
• Map tiles and venue photos are loaded from map and place providers. Their services receive the network information needed to deliver that content.

Recommendations are cached on the server for up to 24 hours, separately for each account. Search timestamps enforce a rolling one-hour limit; older quota records are removed during later requests. Aggregate cost counters are retained for approximately 40 days. Expired cache records are removed during routine cache cleanup.

Usage and hosting

A separate anonymous browser cookie lasts up to one year. Sign-ins update aggregate browser counts and coarse country, region and city information supplied by the hosting service. The app does not store raw IP addresses in these records; sign-in abuse controls use hashed client addresses. Google Analytics is configured with advertising and analytics cookie storage denied, but can receive cookieless usage measurements. Hosting and other providers also process network information and operational logs under their own policies.

Account information and recommendation caches are stored in the app's server database. Personal participant workspaces remain in browser storage; shared availability groups are stored in the server database. We do not include Google email addresses or names in analytics events.

Your choices

You can sign out from the app menu, clear this site's browser data, and remove Equidistant from your Google account's connected apps. To request removal of server-held account information or ask about its use, contact the address above.