Privacy Policy
Effective October 31, 2026
Hood Ride is a neighborhood ride-sharing app: neighbors giving neighbors rides. This page explains, in plain words, what information Hood Ride collects, who sees it, how long it's kept, and how to delete your account. Hood Ride is run in the United States. Questions: [email protected].
In short: we collect as little as we can. We don't sell your information, show ads, or track you across other websites. We count visits with Cloudflare Web Analytics, which uses no cookies and doesn't follow you to other sites. Your exact location is shared only with your ride partner, only during a ride.
Who can use Hood Ride
Using Hood Ride also means agreeing to our Terms of Use. You must be 18 or older. Hood Ride isn't meant for anyone younger, and we don't knowingly collect information from anyone under 18. If we learn that an account belongs to someone under 18, we delete it.
What we collect, and why
When you sign in with Google, we receive and keep only:
- an account number from Google, so we know it's you next time;
- your first name — we don't keep your full name;
- a small copy of your profile photo, if you have one — made when you sign in, refreshed each time you sign in, and deleted with your account.
We don't ask for or keep your email address, your contacts, or anything else from your Google account. Your name and photo come only from that account; to change them, change them on Google, and they update here the next time you sign in, or when you tap Refresh from Google (tap the round button at the top left, then Change).
While you use the app:
- Your approximate area — when you're available to drive or asking for a ride, the map shows you in an area roughly 350 m (about a quarter mile) across, never your exact spot. We use it to show you to people nearby.
- Your exact location during a ride — shared only with your ride partner, only while the ride lasts, so you can find each other.
- Messages you send to other people, and ride requests.
- Your IP address, briefly, to stop abuse (for example, someone flooding the service).
- Technical error logs — records of errors and warnings, to fix problems. They don't contain your name, your location, or your messages; an error might mention an account number.
On your device: a sign-in cookie keeps you signed in (up to 30 days), and the app remembers the map area you last used so the map opens where you were, and which messages you've read so new ones show as unread (only which ones, never the messages themselves). Signing out removes them. These are needed for the app to work; we don't use advertising or tracking cookies.
Who sees what
| Who | What they can see |
|---|---|
| People nearby | Your first name and photo when they tap you, and your approximate area (as a car or a raised hand on the map). |
| People you message | Your messages, first name and photo. |
| Riders, when you're driving (those who tap your car, ask you for a ride, or ride with you) | Your car's color, make and model, as you set them in the app, so they can find you. Never your license plate (Hood Ride doesn't ask for it). Other drivers don't see it. |
| People you message or ask for a ride, when you're not driving | Roughly where you are — an area about 350 m (about a quarter mile) across, never your exact position — as of your last message or request, so they can see how far away you are. It's sent only with what you send, and goes when the conversation or request ends. |
| Your ride partner | Your exact location, only during the ride. |
| Hood Ride | What's described on this page, used only to run the service. |
Services we rely on
- Cloudflare carries all traffic to Hood Ride and protects it from attacks; it handles the secure connection, so it can see the traffic passing through. It also counts visits for us (Cloudflare Web Analytics): which pages are opened, what kind of device and browser, which site linked here, and how fast pages load. It uses no cookies, doesn't follow you to other sites, and we only see totals.
- Google provides sign-in. When you sign in, Hood Ride makes its own copy of your profile photo; photos are then shown from Hood Ride's own server, so Google doesn't see who looks at whose photo. If you tap Navigate during a ride, Google Maps opens with your destination.
- OpenFreeMap provides the map images. Your device requests them directly, so OpenFreeMap sees which area of the map you're viewing; its policy says it doesn't log IP addresses by default.
Each has its own privacy policy. We don't sell, rent, or share your information for advertising, and we don't let anyone else track you on Hood Ride.
How long we keep it
| Information | Kept |
|---|---|
| Your account (first name, photo, account number, and when you agreed to the Terms of Use) | Until you delete your account |
| Live info: your area on the map, ride requests, messages, your exact location during a ride | Minutes — gone soon after you go offline or the ride ends |
| IP addresses (to stop abuse) | A few minutes, never saved |
| Sign-out records (to keep signed-out sessions closed) | 30 days |
| Error logs | 14 days |
Delete account
You can delete your account at any time: tap the round button at the top left, then Delete account. (If you're in a ride or waiting for one, end or cancel it first.) Deleting is immediate and permanent: your account is removed, you're taken off the map, your conversations are closed, and you're signed out on every device. If you sign in again later, you start a new account.
If you can't sign in, email [email protected] and we'll help.
Your other choices
- Sign out signs you out on all your devices and takes you off the map. (If you're in a ride or waiting for one, end or cancel it first.)
- You choose when you're visible: you appear on the map only while you're available to drive or asking for a ride.
- Your browser or phone settings control location access; Hood Ride asks only when it needs it.
If you're in the EU, the UK or Switzerland
Who's responsible: Hood Ride, contact [email protected].
Why we use your information (legal bases):
- To provide the service you signed up for (a contract): your account, your area on the map, rides, ride requests, messages, and your exact location during a ride.
- Our legitimate interests: keeping the service safe and working (IP addresses briefly, to stop abuse; error logs; sign-out records), keeping a record that you agreed to the Terms of Use, and counting visits without cookies (Cloudflare Web Analytics).
Your rights: you can ask for a copy of your information, ask us to correct it, delete it, restrict it, or object to how we use it, and get it in a portable form. Delete your account at any time (the round button at the top left, then Delete account), or email us for anything else; we'll answer within one month. You can also complain to your local data protection authority.
Where it's stored: Hood Ride's servers are in the United States. Cloudflare, which carries the traffic, transfers data under the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework and the EU's Standard Contractual Clauses.
Do you have to give it? Your sign-in and your location are needed for the app to work; without them you can't use Hood Ride.
No automated decisions with legal or similarly significant effects are made about you.
How long: see How long we keep it above.
Do Not Track
Some browsers send a "Do Not Track" signal. Hood Ride doesn't track you across websites and doesn't let third parties track you on Hood Ride, so the signal doesn't change anything here — we already behave as it asks.
Security
All connections are encrypted (HTTPS). We keep as little as possible, and most of what the app uses lives only in the server's memory and disappears soon after you go offline.
Changes to this policy
If we change this policy, we'll update this page and its effective date.
Contact
Hood Ride · United States · [email protected]