Vancouver604 › Privacy
Privacy policy
Vancouver604 Privacy Policy
Last updated: October 23, 2026 · Version 1.7
Vancouver604 ("Vancouver604," "we," "us," or "our") is a free traffic, news and sports website and app for iPhone and Android for the Metro Vancouver area, operated by Temper Tantrum Studios Inc.
This policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, who we share it with, how long we keep it and what you can do about it. We've tried to write it in plain language. If anything is unclear, email us at hello@vancouver604.ca and we'll explain it.
1. The short version
- You can listen to the broadcast for traffic, news and sports, view the traffic map without creating an account or signing in.
- If you submit a report, we use the category, place and direction you chose to work out what happened and where. The app does not record your voice. If you report by text message, we convert the message into incident details and delete the transcript after 7 days.
- We collect precise location only when you actively submit a report or in the background if you've turned on Route alerts. You can turn that off at any time in iOS Settings. Not applicable on Android: the Android app does not use your location.
- We show contextual advertising based on your listening zone and the time of day. We do not track you across other apps or websites, and we do not build advertising profiles about you.
- Some of our service providers process information in the United States so some of your information is processed outside Canada.
- You can delete your account and your data from inside the app at any time: go to Settings, then Account, then Delete Account on iPhone or Android.
iPhone, Android and the website
| What | iPhone app | Android app | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listening and ad plays, under a random listener ID | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sign-in (optional) | Apple, Google or phone number | Google only | Not applicable |
| Traffic reports by tap | Yes | Not applicable on Android | Not applicable |
| Precise location | When you report; Route alerts if turned on | Not applicable on Android | Not applicable |
| Push notifications (Route alerts) | Yes, if turned on | Not applicable on Android | Not applicable |
| Usage analytics | Firebase Analytics | Firebase Analytics | Google Analytics |
| Crash reports | Not applicable | Firebase Crashlytics, same switch | Not applicable |
| Device check | Not applicable | Google Play Integrity | Not applicable |
| In-car listening | CarPlay | Android Auto | Not applicable |
| Delete your account | In the app, or by email | In the app, or by email | By email |
2. Information we collect
Information you give us
| What | When | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Incident reports: category, location, direction, optional note | When you submit a traffic report | To generate the traffic broadcast and map |
| Text message content | If you report by SMS | Same as above |
| Confirmations and votes | When you confirm or deny an incident | To assess whether a report is accurate |
| Feedback and support messages | When you contact us | To respond to you and improve the app |
| Name, email, phone number | If you sign in | To create and secure your account |
Information we collect automatically
| What | When | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Precise location (GPS) | When you submit a report | To place the incident on the map and weigh how close you were to it |
| Precise location, current position only | Only if you enable Route alerts | To alert you to incidents on your route |
| Device push token | If you enable notifications | To deliver alerts |
| Listening activity: which zone, when, which ads played | While you listen | To operate the broadcast and report aggregate figures to advertisers |
| A reputation score we calculate about you | Ongoing | To weigh the reliability of your reports |
| Crash reports (Android app only, Firebase Crashlytics) | If Share usage data is on | To find and fix crashes |
| A device check (Android app only, Google Play Integrity) | Once per listening session | To confirm that listening and ad plays come from a genuine copy of the app |
| Network counts: a one-way code made from your IP address | While you listen | To protect the service from abuse |
Information from sign-in providers
If you choose to sign in, we receive your name and email address from Apple or Google, or your phone number if you use SMS sign-in. We do not receive your password. If you use Sign in with Apple's private relay, we never see your real email address. On Android, sign-in is with Google only.
A note about your movement
While you are submitting a report, the app briefly keeps a short trail of your recent locations in the device's memory only, so it can show your recent path on the map and place the report. This trail covers the last few minutes, is never written to storage and is never sent to us or anyone else.
3. What we do not collect
- We do not track you across other apps or websites.
- We do not use advertising identifiers or build behavioural advertising profiles.
- We do not access your contacts, photos, calendar or health data.
- We do not sell your personal information.
- We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13, and Vancouver604 is not directed at children (see Section 9).
4. AI processing
Some features of Vancouver604 use third-party artificial intelligence services to operate:
- Text message reports. The text of a report sent by SMS is sent to our AI language provider (Anthropic) to extract the incident category, location and direction.
- Broadcast scripts. Incident details, news items and sports results are sent to the same provider to write the words the station reads out.
- Broadcast audio. Script text is sent to our text-to-speech providers to generate the spoken broadcast.
The app does not record your voice, and no audio you speak is sent to us or to any provider. None of these providers receive your name, email or account identity along with your report content. They receive only what is necessary to perform the specific task described above. See Section 6 for the full list of providers.
5. Advertising
Advertising on Vancouver604 is contextual. An advertiser can choose to be heard in a particular zone at a particular time of day, for example the North Shore during the afternoon commute. That is the extent of the targeting.
Advertisers receive aggregate figures: how many times an ad played, in which zones, during which times. They never receive information that identifies you, and we never let them combine our data with data of their own to identify you.
We limit each listener to a reasonable number of ad plays per hour to keep the broadcast usable.
6. Who we share information with
We use the following service providers. Each may only use your information to provide their service to us, and none are permitted to use it for their own purposes.
| Provider | What they receive | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Supabase | Our database, file storage and sign-in system | United States |
| Anthropic | The text of SMS reports, to extract incident details, and the details, news and sports the station's scripts are written from | United States |
| ElevenLabs | Broadcast script text, to generate spoken audio | United States |
| Twilio | Phone numbers and SMS content, for text-based reporting and sign-in codes | United States |
| How the app is used and device diagnostics, for analytics (Firebase Analytics), with a rough location estimated from your network address; crash reports and Play Integrity on Android; and broadcast script text, to generate spoken audio | United States | |
| Apple | Push notification tokens and message content | United States |
| Cloudflare | Website hosting and the network counts | United States and other countries where Cloudflare operates |
Processing outside Canada. Some of these providers store and process information in the United States. While your information is in another country, it is subject to that country's laws and may be accessible to that country's courts, law enforcement and national security authorities. We require every provider to protect your information to a comparable standard by contract.
We may also disclose information where required by law, or to protect the safety of a person, and we will tell you when we are legally permitted to do so.
We do not sell your personal information to anyone.
7. How long we keep things
| Information | Retention |
|---|---|
| SMS transcripts | 7 days, then permanently deleted |
| Incident reports | 90 days at full detail; location then reduced to an approximate area |
| Background location | Current position only; deleted after 24 hours |
| Push tokens | Kept while Route alerts are on, and deleted when you turn them off or delete your account. |
| Ad playback records (which ad played, when and your app's random listener ID) | Kept for up to 25 months, then deleted. For billing, we keep a monthly summary in which that ID is replaced by a one-way code that can't be traced back to you. |
| Listening records and device check results | 90 days |
| Crash reports (Android app) | 90 days |
| Usage analytics (Firebase Analytics and Google Analytics) | Up to 14 months after you last use the app or website, then deleted. Reports we keep show totals only. |
| Network counts | Up to 3 months |
| Account information | Until you delete your account |
| Inactive accounts | May be deleted after 24 months of inactivity; we'll email you first |
8. Your rights
Under Canadian privacy law you may:
- Access the personal information we hold about you. Email us at hello@vancouver604.ca. We respond within 30 days.
- Correct anything inaccurate.
- Delete your account and information. Use Settings, then Account, then Delete Account in the app on iPhone or Android, or ask by email; see our account deletion page. Your account is deleted straight away. This applies whether or not you ever signed in. On Android, you only have an account if you signed in with Google.
- Withdraw consent at any time by turning off a permission in your phone's settings or by deleting your account. Some features will stop working; listening to the broadcast will not.
- Complain to us at hello@vancouver604.ca, and to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada or the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia if you're not satisfied with our response.
If you are outside Canada. Vancouver604 is a Canadian service built for Metro Vancouver, and we handle everyone's information to the Canadian standard described here. Because we cover border crossings, some listeners are United States residents. If you are one of them, the rights above are available to you on the same terms, and if your state's law gives you additional rights, contact us and we will honour them.
What deletion actually does. The traffic reports you submitted are deleted with your account, along with their notes, transcripts and locations. The incidents they helped put on the map and on air stay in the public broadcast record, but nothing in that record links back to you. Ad playback and listening records belong to the app on your phone, not to your account, and are kept for the periods in Section 7.
9. Children
Vancouver604 is intended for drivers and commuters and is not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 13. If you believe a child has given us information, contact us at hello@vancouver604.ca and we will delete it.
10. How we protect your information
Information is encrypted in transit and at rest. Access is restricted to those who need it. We delete the most sensitive information, SMS transcripts, on a short automatic schedule so there is as little of it as possible to protect. We keep independent, encrypted backups and test our ability to restore them.
No system is perfectly secure. If a breach occurs that creates a real risk of significant harm, we will notify you and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada as soon as feasible.
11. Location Services and driving safety
Vancouver604 provides traffic and incident information for general awareness. It is not a substitute for road signs, posted regulations, law enforcement direction or your own judgment. Do not use the app in a manner that distracts you from driving safely. Use CarPlay, Android Auto or audio-only listening while driving, and never manually operate the app while your vehicle is in motion.
12. Changes to this policy
We will post any change here with a new version number and date. For a material change, particularly a new purpose for information we already hold, we will notify you in the app and ask for your consent before it takes effect.
13. Contact us
Email: hello@vancouver604.ca
We respond to privacy requests within 30 days.