Last updated 28 September 2026
Bus Tracker collects as little as it can. This page says exactly what that is.
A display name, and an email address only if you choose email sign-in. The bus group you join, the child name, optional photo or emoji, and the stop you enter, and the alerts you choose. A push token, so the app can send you alerts. While a route is running, the driver's device shares its location so parents on that bus can see it. Parent devices never share location. A photo of a route sheet is read on the driver's device; the photo itself is not uploaded.
The app makes an anonymous account for your phone the first time you open it. No email or password is needed. Sign in with Apple and email sign-in are optional, for older accounts.
Two kinds of text are sent to TypeSafe (typesafe.ai) to be classified: the lines of text read from a route-sheet photo, and the notes parents write to the driver. TypeSafe only answers questions about that text, such as whether a line is a bus stop or whether a note says a child is not riding. Nothing else is sent, and the text is not used for advertising.
A driver can share a link that parents open in a web browser. A parent who opens it types their own name and their child's name. The driver sees these to approve or deny the request. An approved viewer sees only the bus position while a run is going, not the stops and not the other children. The driver can remove any viewer at any time, or make a new link, which stops the old one.
A parent who joins a bus with its code must also be approved by the driver before they see the bus or its route.
A driver can require this check for their bus. The app reads the barcode on the back of a US or Canadian driver's license, on your phone. We store only: the name on the license, the city, state and ZIP code, the last 4 digits of the license number, a keyed one-way hash of the number (so the same license can be recognized, but the number cannot be read back), the expiry date, and the distance from the home address to the nearest stop. We never store a photo of the license, the date of birth, or the street address. The phone turns the street address into a map point, and only the distance to the nearest stop is kept. The driver of that bus can see this record. Deleting your account deletes it.
No advertising identifiers, no tracking across other apps or websites, and nothing sold or shared with data brokers. There are no third-party analytics or advertising SDKs in the app.
In the app, open Settings and tap Delete account. That removes your account, your children, their alert settings, and any bus you run. You can also email bustracker@dancykier.com. Deleting the app removes everything stored on the device.
Bus Tracker is used by parents and drivers, not by children. A parent can enter a child's first name, an optional photo or emoji, and a pickup stop, so the driver knows who is getting on. The app shows this only to members of that bus group. The parent can change or delete it at any time.
If this policy changes, the date at the top changes with it.
Questions about any of this: bustracker@dancykier.com