01. What this covers

This explains what TuTuStay does with your device's location: when we ask for it, what we do with it, who else sees it, and how to turn it off. It sits alongside the Privacy Policy, which covers everything else we collect.

Location is optional. The app works without it. Nothing in this document describes something you cannot switch off.

02. The short version

• We read your location only while you are using the app, and only on the screens that need it.
• We take a single reading at the moment it is needed. We do not follow you.
• We never collect your location in the background or while the app is closed.
• We use it to sort hotels by distance, centre the map on you, and draw driving directions.
• Deny it and you can still search, browse, and book — by city or hotel name.
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03. When we ask, and what triggers it

The app asks for location permission through your operating system's own prompt. You can say no, and you can change your mind later.

WhereWhat happensDirections to a hotelOpening the directions screen asks for permission, because a route needs a starting point.Map screensThe map shows a blue dot for your position and a button to recentre on you."Most popular near by" on the home screenIf you have granted permission, this section is sorted by distance from you. If not, it shows a button to allow access."Near me" searchSearching near you sends your coordinates so we can return hotels around you.

If you have already granted permission, the app reads your position when one of these screens opens, rather than waiting for you to press a button.

04. What we actually collect

One position at a time. When a feature needs your location, the app asks the operating system for your current position once and uses the answer. There is no continuous tracking, no location history, and no background job.

We request approximate accuracy rather than precise — enough to sort hotels around you, not to pinpoint you. If the reading takes longer than 15 seconds, we give up rather than keep trying.

Two honest qualifications:

• While a map screen is open, the operating system's own map component follows your position to keep the blue dot in the right place. That is the platform's map showing you where you are; those readings are not sent to our servers.
• The app declares fine and coarse location permissions on Android and "when in use" on iOS. It does not declare background location on either platform, which is why the "never in the background" statement above holds.

05. Where your location goes

To us. When you search near you, we send your coordinates and a radius — currently 20 km — to our servers so we can return hotels in that area. We use them to answer the search. We do not build a location profile from them and we do not store a history of where you have been.

On map screens, what we send is the centre of the map you are looking at, not your device position. Panning the map to another city sends that city's centre — your own position is only used to move the camera.

To Google. Two things reach Google:

• Google Maps renders the maps in the app. When the map shows your position, Google's map component on your device receives it.
• Google Directions draws the route to a hotel. When you ask for directions, your coordinates are sent directly from your device to Google's Directions API as the starting point. This is the one case where a precise position leaves the app to a third party.

Google handles that data under its own privacy policy, not ours.

Nowhere else. Your location is not sent to advertisers, data brokers, or analytics services. We do not sell it. We do not pass it to hotels — a hotel receives your booking details, never your device position.

06. If you say no

Denying location permission is a supported choice, not a degraded state:

• Search and booking work normally. You search by city or hotel name and book exactly as anyone else does.
• "Near me" search returns results without the distance filter.
• The map still shows hotels; it just does not show you.
• Directions show the destination without a route from your position.
• "Most popular near by" shows a button offering to enable access instead of a distance-sorted list.

If you decline, the app may explain why the feature wants location and offer to open your device settings. It will not repeatedly nag you, and it will not block you from booking.

07. Turning it off

Location permission lives in your device settings, not ours, and you can revoke it at any time:

• iOS — Settings → TuTuStay → Location
• Android — Settings → Apps → TuTuStay → Permissions → Location

Revoking takes effect immediately. Features that need location fall back to the behaviour in Section 06.

08. How long we keep it

We do not retain your coordinates as a location history. They are used to answer the request you made — a search, a map query, a route — and are not stored against your account afterwards.

Standard server logs may record requests, including their contents, for a short operational window before being discarded. See the Privacy Policy for retention generally.

09. Children

TuTuStay is not intended for anyone under 16, and that includes these features.

10. Changes

If we change what we do with location — collect it on new screens, retain it, or send it somewhere new — we will update this document and bump its version. The effective date above reflects the current version. If a change materially affects your rights, we will tell you in the app or by email first.

11. Contact

Questions about location, or a request about location data we hold: support@tutustay.com.