Privacy Policy

1. The short version

• You can use the map, search and directions without an account.
• Your location is used on your device; it reaches our servers only to answer a specific request, and is not stored against you unless you save it.
• Hazard reports are anonymous. We never link a report to who sent it.
• We never see your full card details. Paystack handles payments; for a subscription we keep only the card type and last four digits, to show you which card renews it.
• We do not sell your personal data.
• You can ask to see, correct or delete your data at any time by emailing info@lincolnnavigation.com.

2. Who is responsible for your data

The data controller is Jonathan Lincoln Enterprise, operator of LincolnNavigation.com. Contact for all privacy matters: info@lincolnnavigation.com.

We process personal data in line with Ghana’s Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843). Where visitors from the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom use the app, we also apply the rights and principles of the EU and UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

3. What we collect and why

The contact, business and advertising forms on this site do not send anything to our servers: they open your own email app with a message ready to send, so we only receive what you choose to send.

4. Location in more detail

Location is the most sensitive thing a map handles, so here is exactly what happens. Your browser gives your position to the app on your device. A coordinate is sent to our servers only when a feature needs it to answer a request: the weather at that spot, the address of that spot, places or hazards near it, or a route that starts there. Those requests are answered and not stored against you. We keep no history of where you have been.

With Share trip, we keep only your most recent position, and delete it when the share ends (you stop it, or the 1, 4 or 12 hours you chose runs out). Anyone with the link can see your position until then, so share it only with people you trust. Sharing only reports while the app is open.

With Fleet tools, a business can see the latest position of a vehicle only while its driver has chosen to share. We keep that latest position plus running daily totals (distance, time moving, top speed), not a route history. Businesses must tell their drivers about this and have a lawful basis to track them; see our Terms.

5. Hazard reports stay anonymous

We store the hazard itself (what, where, when, any note) but never who reported it. To stop spam and double votes, we turn your connection (IP address and browser type) into a one-way scrambled code using a secret key. It cannot be turned back into your IP address, is never shown with a report, and is deleted within two hours, or when the hazard expires for vote records. Your raw IP address is not stored. Please don’t put personal details, names or number plates in hazard notes.

6. Who we share data with

We do not sell or rent personal data. We share only what each service needs to power a feature, under its own privacy terms:

• Vercel (hosting, aggregate cookie-free analytics)
• Supabase (accounts, saved places, trip history, trip shares, fleet data)
• Upstash (hazard reports and abuse rate limiting)
• Paystack (payments)
• Google (Google sign-in if you choose it; place search via Google Places; display ads via AdSense when ads are shown; web fonts)
• Search, address and place data: Mapbox, OpenStreetMap Nominatim, Overpass API servers, Foursquare, Wikipedia
• Routing: OpenRouteService (HeiGIT), OSRM, GraphHopper, Valhalla
• Weather and alerts: Open-Meteo, OpenWeatherMap, GDACS
• Map imagery: OpenFreeMap, Esri, OpenTopoMap, AWS Terrain Tiles, Mapillary (Street view). Loading map tiles means your browser asks these servers for the area you are viewing.
• Anthropic (landmark identification, only with your permission)
• WhatsApp, only if you tap a share-to-WhatsApp button
• Booking.com, Viator, GetYourGuide, Eventbrite, only if you tap a “Book” link and leave our site. See our Advertising & Affiliates page.

We may also disclose data if Ghanaian or other applicable law requires it, to protect people from harm, or as part of a sale or reorganisation of the service, in which case this policy continues to apply.

7. International transfers

Several of these providers store or process data outside Ghana, including in the United States and the European Union. When that happens we rely on providers that offer adequate safeguards, such as standard contractual clauses, as required by the Data Protection Act and the GDPR.

8. How long we keep it

• Account data, saved places, trip history: until you delete them or your account.
• Trip shares: deleted when the share ends.
• Fleet data: until the business deletes the vehicle or its account.
• Hazard reports: automatically deleted when they expire, between a few hours and 30 days depending on the hazard type (a crash clears sooner than a damaged road).
• Anti-abuse codes and rate-limit counters: a few minutes to two hours.
• Landmark photos: not stored; discarded once the answer is returned.
• Payment records: as long as tax and accounting law requires, then deleted.
• Emails to us: as long as needed to deal with your request.

9. Your rights

Under the Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843), and where it applies the GDPR, you can:

• ask whether we hold data about you and get a copy of it;
• have inaccurate data corrected;
• have your data deleted, including your whole account;
• object to processing, or ask us to restrict it;
• withdraw consent at any time (for example, turn off location in your browser), without affecting what was done before;
• receive the data you gave us in a portable format;
• not be subject to decisions made solely by automated means that significantly affect you. We make none.

Email info@lincolnnavigation.com from the address on your account. We will reply within one month and may need to confirm it is you first. There is no charge. Data saved while signed out lives only in your browser; you can clear it by clearing this site’s data.

If you are unhappy with how we handle your data, please tell us first. You also have the right to complain to the Data Protection Commission of Ghana, or to the data protection authority where you live.

10. Cookies and similar storage

We use a few essential cookies, browser storage for your settings, and, when ads are shown, Google’s advertising cookies. The full list is in our Cookie Policy.

11. Security

Data is encrypted in transit (HTTPS). Account data is protected by row-level access rules so each account can only reach its own records, and payment and plan cookies are signed to prevent tampering. No system is perfectly secure; if we learn of a breach that affects your data we will notify you and the Data Protection Commission as the law requires. To report a vulnerability, see our Security page.

12. Children

The app is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their data. Users under 18 should have a parent or guardian’s permission, and may not buy a paid plan without it. If you believe a child has given us personal data, email info@lincolnnavigation.com and we will delete it.

13. Changes to this policy

We will update the date at the top when this policy changes. If a change materially affects how we use your data, we will also tell signed-in users by email or in the app before it takes effect.

14. Contact

Privacy questions and requests: info@lincolnnavigation.com, or use our contact page.