Privacy policy
Last updated 2026-10-13. العربية
Zoony is a maps and navigation app for Iraq. We collect as little as possible, never sell data, show no ads and use no analytics or advertising trackers. This page explains exactly what leaves your phone and why.
Your location
- Your location is used on your phone to show where you are, find routes and guide you. Navigation keeps using it while the screen is off or the app is in the background, until you end the trip.
- To plan a route or search nearby, the start, destination and search area are sent to our server. They are used to answer the request and are not stored with anything that identifies you.
- Live traffic (you can turn it off in Profile → Contribute to traffic). While navigating, your phone sends anonymous GPS points with a new random trip id for every trip. The first and last 300 m of every trip are never sent, so homes and workplaces cannot be found. Raw points are deleted after 7 days; only average road speeds are kept.
- Checkpoint waits. When you navigate through a checkpoint, the phone sends how long getting through took and where the checkpoint is, with no identifier at all. Samples are kept for 30 days.
- Sharing a trip sends your position to people you share the link with, only until the trip ends. The shared trip is deleted within a day.
Voice search
When you tap the microphone, your phone's own speech recognition (Apple or Google) turns your words into text; their privacy terms apply to that step. Zoony receives only the text, like a typed search, and never the audio.
Reports and map feedback
When you report something (an accident, police, a closed road, fuel at a station…) or a map problem, we receive its type, place and your optional note. Reports appear on the map for everyone without your name. Points, levels and the leaderboard are based on your reports; your nickname appears on the leaderboard only if you choose to join it.
Device identifier
The app creates a random identifier when it is first installed. It is sent with reports, votes and requests to stop spam and to measure how reliable reports are. It is not your phone number, your advertising ID or any hardware ID.
Account (optional)
Everything works without an account. You sign in with your phone number and a one-time code; there is no password. We store your phone number, your name (if you give one) and the saved places you sync (home, work, lists). You can delete your account and its data at any time in Profile → Account → Delete account.
The code is delivered by OTPIQ (otpiq.com), an Iraqi messaging service, by WhatsApp or SMS, so your number and the code pass through OTPIQ and WhatsApp or your mobile carrier. We keep only a scrambled form of the code, for 5 minutes of use and at most a day.
Crash reports (you can turn them off in Profile)
When the app crashes it sends the error message, where in the app it happened, the app version and the phone's system version. Crash reports contain no location and no identifier, and are deleted after 90 days.
Notifications. If you allow notifications, the server stores your phone's notification token (from Google Firebase Cloud Messaging), the app language and the phone type, and links it to your account if you are signed in, so we can send Zoony news and updates about your business claim. Google delivers the notification to your phone. Turn them off any time in Profile → Notifications; that deletes the token from the server.
Businesses
If you claim a place as its owner, we store the contact details you give us to verify the claim (never shown in the app), and the place details and photos you publish, which everyone can see.
If you write to us through the website's contact form, we store your name, your number or email and your message so our team can reply (by WhatsApp, a call or email). We use them for nothing else. Closed messages are deleted after a year and all messages after two years; you can ask us to delete yours sooner.
Who else sees data
Nobody outside the Zoony team, except: OTPIQ, to deliver sign-in codes; reports, place details and leaderboard nicknames are public in the app; shared trips are visible to the people you share them with; and authorities if Iraqi law requires it. Maps come from OpenStreetMap data served by our own servers. Spoken directions use your phone's own voice engine.
Security and your rights
All traffic is encrypted (HTTPS). Passwords and sign-in tokens are stored only as hashes.
Deleting your data: with an account, Profile → Account → Delete account (confirmed with a code); without one, Profile → Privacy → Delete my data. Without the app, use the account deletion page. For anything else, or to ask what we hold about your device, contact us. Zoony is not meant for children under 13.
If this policy changes, the new version is posted here with a new date, and important changes are shown in the app.