Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how the Discover Yeosu mobile application and website (collectively, the “App”) — a travel guide for visitors to Yeosu, South Korea — handles information when you use it. We built the App to be useful with as little personal data as possible. Please read this policy to understand what is collected and why. The App is published in seven languages — English, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Spanish, Russian and French — which you pick from the language button in the header, and its built-in translator additionally covers 186 languages. The language you choose is kept on your device and does not change anything this policy says.

1. Information We Collect

Location data

If you allow location access, the App uses your device’s location to show how far nearby places are and to sort listings by distance. Your location is used on your device for these features. When you specifically request walking or public-transit directions, your starting point and your destination are sent to our routing partners to calculate the route — OpenRouteService for the walking path and ODsay for the public-transit itinerary — while Naver Maps draws the map itself. Those coordinates are used to answer that one request; we do not write them to our database and we keep no location history. If you then choose to open the public-transit route in Google Maps, your starting point, your destination and the destination’s name travel with the link. Once you follow that link you are in another company’s app or site and their privacy policy governs what happens next. Location access is optional — the App works without it, simply without the distance and directions features.

Advertising data

The App displays advertisements through Google AdMob. To serve ads, AdMob and Google may collect information such as your device’s advertising identifier, IP address, general location, and device/usage information. This data is processed by Google under its own privacy policy. Ads may be personalized or non-personalized depending on your settings and region.

Push notification tokens

If you enable notifications, the App registers a device push token through Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) and/or OneSignal so we can send you updates (for example, event or festival announcements). This token identifies your device installation, not you personally. You can turn notifications off at any time in your device settings.

Text you submit for translation

The App’s translator works between Korean and any of the 186 languages listed in its language picker. A common English phrase that matches the phrasebook built into the App is answered on your device, with no network request at all. Everything else — text you type, or speech you dictate with the Speak button — is sent to our server, which forwards it to TranslateAPI (translateapi.ai, operated by VPS.org LLC) and returns the translation. We do not store the text you translate, and we do not associate it with you or your device. Please avoid entering sensitive personal information into the translator.

Microphone and voice input

The translator’s Speak button uses your device’s own speech recognition (Apple’s on iOS, Google’s on Android) to turn what you say into text. The microphone is used only while that button is active, and only inside the translator — never anywhere else in the App. The audio is handled by your device’s operating system; we do not record or store it.

Device and technical information

As with most apps and websites, basic technical information (such as device model, operating system version, app version, language, and IP address) may be processed to deliver the App, load maps, and show ads.

Information stored only on your device

Your saved favorites (“My List”), the interface language you picked, the language last selected in the translator, and your other preferences are stored locally on your device (in local storage) and are not transmitted to or collected by us.

2. How We Use Information

• To operate and improve the App and its content;
• To show nearby places and calculate distances and directions;
• To display maps and transit information;
• To display advertisements that help keep the App free;
• To send push notifications you have opted into;
• To provide in-app translation when you request it.

3. Third-Party Services

The App relies on the following third-party services, each of which processes data under its own privacy policy:

We encourage you to review these providers’ policies to understand how they handle your information.

4. Advertising Choices

You can control ad personalization and reset or delete your advertising identifier through your device settings (for example, Settings → Google → Ads on Android). You may also learn more about how Google uses data and how to opt out at policies.google.com/technologies/ads.

5. How We Share Information

We do not sell your personal information. Information is shared only with the third-party service providers listed above, and only to the extent needed to operate the App’s features (ads, maps, directions, notifications, translation), or where required by law.

The App also links out to external services such as Google Maps, Naver Map, tourism-board pages and travel providers. Following one of those links takes you to another company’s app or site, where their privacy policy governs what happens next. We have no control over, and take no responsibility for, how those services handle your information.

6. Data Retention

Push notification tokens are retained while your device remains subscribed and are removed when you disable notifications, uninstall the App, or when the token becomes invalid. Location data used for distance and directions is processed transiently and is not stored by us for profiling. Data held by third-party services is retained according to their own policies.

7. Security

We take reasonable technical measures to protect information handled by the App. However, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

8. Children’s Privacy

The App is a general-audience travel guide and is not directed to children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided personal information, please contact us and we will take appropriate steps.

9. International Users

The App is operated from South Korea, and the third-party services above may process data in other countries. By using the App, you understand that your information may be processed in locations with different data-protection laws than your own.

10. Your Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, or delete certain information, or to object to or limit certain processing (such as ad personalization). Because the App does not maintain user accounts, most controls are available directly in your device settings (location, notifications, advertising ID). For other requests, contact us using the details below.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the “Last updated” date at the top of this page. Continued use of the App after changes take effect means you accept the revised policy.