Privacy Policy

account_circle 1. Who is responsible for your data

The data controller is FuelScout UK. For privacy questions, rights requests, complaints or account deletion, email support@fuelscoutuk.app.

database 2. Data we process

• Account data: your email address, Firebase user ID, sign-in provider and authentication or security records. If you choose Google sign-in, Google may supply basic profile information permitted by you, such as an account identifier, email, display name or profile photo.
• Location and searches: your approximate or precise device location when you grant Android location permission, and a postcode, town, route start or destination you submit. Device location is accessed only while FuelScout is open and in use. We use it to return nearby or on-route forecourts, position the map and save the last foreground area for home-screen widgets. FuelScout does not request background location access.
• Route allowance: for signed-in users, we keep the Firebase user ID, the date and non-readable hashes of route searches used that day to enforce the free daily allowance.
• Saved choices: saved forecourt identifiers, vehicle fuel type, tank or battery capacity, fuel or electric efficiency, charging connectors and theme stored on your device. Signed-in route users may also store route endpoints, route preferences, station identifiers and price-alert settings on our Firebase server.
• LPG reports you submit: no LPG price feed exists in the UK, so any LPG price shown in the app was typed in by a driver. When you report a price, mark a site as unavailable, or confirm somebody else's report, we store the site identifier, the price or status, the time and your Firebase user ID. The price itself, its age and the number of confirmations are shown to other users; your identity is not.
• Notification and plan data: a Firebase Cloud Messaging device token, route-alert delivery records and a server-controlled Free or Premium entitlement used to enforce feature limits.
• Technical and security data: IP address, device or app integrity information and request diagnostics processed by Firebase, Google Play Integrity and our cloud functions to operate and protect the service.
• Anonymous usage counts: when a search resolves to a town, when you plan a route, or when you load an area of the map, we add one to a monthly tally for that town or for a coarse map cell of roughly a kilometre. Alongside the count we record which fuel or charging view was open, the hour of the day, whether a station or charger was saved and which chain or charging network it belongs to, and, for a route, only how long it was as a broad band: under 10 miles, 10 to 30, 30 to 100, or over 100. These tallies are not linked to your account, device or session. We do not keep the text you typed, your precise position, which particular station you saved, the time to the minute, or a route's start and destination as a pair; each end of a route is counted separately. They tell us only where and when the app is busy and which drivers use it, which helps us decide where to promote it.
• Website analytics & cookies: when you visit our website (fuelscoutuk.app), if you accept analytics cookies via our consent banner, Google Analytics 4 (GA4) collects anonymized technical data (including anonymized IP, device and browser type, approximate location, page views, session duration, and referring URLs). This data is aggregated and used exclusively to monitor site performance and improve user experience. If you decline, no analytics cookies or tracking scripts are loaded.
• Early access & closed beta requests: if you submit your Google account email on our website to request early access, we process that email address solely to invite you to the FuelScout UK Google Play Closed Beta and send you testing instructions. We do not share, sell, or use this email address for marketing without your permission.
• Optional app diagnostics: if you choose “Help improve FuelScout” in the Android app, Firebase Analytics records coarse actions such as which app section was viewed, whether a fuel or charger card was opened, and whether a search succeeded; Crashlytics receives crash and stability diagnostics; and Firebase Performance Monitoring measures app start, screen rendering and network performance. We do not add precise location, search text, addresses, station identifiers, account identifiers, email addresses or the Android advertising ID to these events.

gavel 3. Why we use data and our lawful bases

• To provide searches, maps, accounts and saved features you request: performance of our contract with you, or steps taken at your request before entering a contract.
• To secure the service, prevent abuse, diagnose failures and control cloud costs: our legitimate interests in operating a safe and reliable service.
• To see where, when and by which kind of driver the app is used, which chains are popular, and to plan where and when to promote it: our legitimate interests. These counts are aggregated at the moment they are recorded and hold nothing that identifies you.
• To process website analytics via Google Analytics on fuelscoutuk.app: your consent provided via our cookie banner. You can withdraw or decline consent at any time.
• To process early access requests and Google Play closed beta invites: your explicit consent provided when submitting your email address. You may withdraw this consent at any time by contacting support@fuelscoutuk.app.
• To receive optional Firebase Analytics, Crashlytics and Performance Monitoring data in the app: your consent. These services remain disabled until you allow them, and you may withdraw that choice in Profile at any time.
• To access device location: only while FuelScout is open and after Android grants the foreground permission you choose. FuelScout does not request location when the app is closed or not in use. You can search by postcode or place instead.

We do not make decisions about you using solely automated processing that produces legal or similarly significant effects.

pin_drop 4. How location and caching work

Location or a geocoded search centre is sent to our Firebase server to request forecourts within the selected area. FuelScout does not request or access your device location in the background. Home-screen widgets use the last foreground location saved on your device. Refreshing a widget may request current station or charging-price data for that saved area, but it does not retrieve a new device location. Route searches send the start and destination to our server and Google Maps Platform to calculate driving geometry and the alternative routes Google offers. Route geometry and resolved place labels may be held in a shared server cache for up to 24 hours. We do not store the readable start or destination in your daily allowance record; it contains route hashes and is linked to your account solely to enforce the allowance. If you save a route, its readable endpoints and the station identifiers within the selected corridor remain associated with your account until you delete the route or account.

cloud_sync 5. Service providers and data sources

• Google Firebase and Google Cloud: authentication, app-integrity checks, server functions, protected storage, plan enforcement and Firebase Cloud Messaging notifications; and, only with your consent, Firebase Analytics, Crashlytics and Performance Monitoring.
• Google Analytics (Google LLC): website measurement and analytics on fuelscoutuk.app, operated with anonymized IPs and loaded only after consent.
• Google Maps Platform: maps, geocoding of places you submit, resolving which town a coarse map cell of roughly a kilometre sits in, and calculation of requested driving routes.
• Google and Meta: only if you choose their sign-in method; their handling of your account is governed by their own privacy terms.
• UK Government Fuel Finder: forecourt, brand, amenity and reported fuel-price data. FuelScout does not send Fuel Finder your account identity.
• Open Charge Map: charging point locations, connector details and community-reported tariffs, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
• OpenStreetMap: LPG refuelling point locations and, where mappers have recorded them, address, opening hours and telephone number, licensed under the Open Database Licence. A number of LPG sites OpenStreetMap does not list were taken once from AutogasApp and from Morrisons. FuelScout sends none of these sources your account identity, and reads them on a schedule rather than per search.

These providers may process data outside the UK. Where required, transfers are protected by the provider's contractual safeguards and applicable UK data-transfer mechanisms.

history 6. Retention

• Account information is kept while your account exists. After we initiate deletion, Firebase states that authentication data is removed from live and backup systems within 180 days; logged authentication IP addresses are generally kept for a few weeks. You have the right to request deletion of your account and personal data at any time — step-by-step instructions can be found on our Account Deletion page.
• Saved forecourts, preferences, cached map data and the last foreground location remain on your device until they are replaced, you remove them, clear app data or uninstall the app.
• Shared forecourt and search caches are refreshed or replaced according to operational cache rules. Security and request logs are retained according to the relevant cloud provider's documented schedules and only as long as reasonably necessary.
• Shared route geometry is cached for up to 24 hours. Daily route-allowance records are operational records that may be deleted after they are no longer needed for limits, security or dispute handling.
• Saved routes and their alert preferences are retained while your account exists or until you delete them. Device notification tokens are retained until they expire, are rejected by Firebase, or are deleted with the associated account data.
• Anonymous town, map-cell and route-length tallies are kept for about 13 months and then deleted automatically. Because they identify no one, they cannot be traced to you or removed on request.
• Website analytics records in Google Analytics are retained in accordance with standard GA4 data-retention settings (14 months).
• Optional Firebase Analytics, Crashlytics and Performance Monitoring records follow the retention controls and operational schedules configured for our Firebase project and are retained only for product analysis, stability and performance diagnosis.
• LPG reports are kept as a record of what was claimed about a site and when. If you delete your account, your identifier is removed from them and the reports themselves remain, because other drivers rely on the price and its date; your confirmations of other people's reports are deleted outright.
• If you contact us, correspondence may be retained as needed to answer the request, resolve disputes and meet legal obligations.

tune 7. Cookies, your choices and rights

Website Cookies: When visiting our website, we use essential storage for your preferences and optional Google Analytics cookies for audience measurement. You can accept or decline analytics cookies at any time via the on-screen banner, or reset your choice by clearing your browser's local storage.

Mobile App Controls: In the Android app, you may deny or revoke location permission, use the app as a guest, remove saved forecourts, disable notifications, turn optional app diagnostics on or off under “App Analytics & Diagnostics” in Profile > Privacy & Data, or sign out. Turning diagnostics off stops future collection, resets local Analytics data and deletes unsent crash reports.

Depending on the circumstances, UK data-protection law gives you rights to be informed, access, correct, erase, restrict or port your data, and to object to processing based on legitimate interests. You may also complain to us and to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

child_care 8. Children

FuelScout is not directed to children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect their personal data. A parent or guardian should contact us if they believe a child has created an account.

lock 9. Security and changes

We use HTTPS, Firebase access controls, Secret Manager and app-integrity checks. No system is completely secure. We may update this policy when the app, providers or law changes; the revised date will appear here. Material changes will be highlighted in the app where reasonably practicable.

mail 10. Contact

For privacy questions, rights requests or complaints, email support@fuelscoutuk.app. See how to delete your FuelScout account and data.