Apple iOS App Permissions
When you use Hitch App on your iOS device as a rider, you’ll see contextual dialogs asking you to approve certain permissions that the app requests. Allowing these permissions will ensure you have the best possible experience with Hitch App, but you’ll have the choice to opt out of each iOS permission on an individual basis. (If you’re an Android user, please see our Android App Permissions.)
To make sure you understand what features we access and what data we collect through these iOS permissions, we’ve provided a more detailed breakdown and discussion of the permissions below. You can edit your Hitch App permissions anytime by going into the Settings app on your device.
LOCATION SERVICES
You’ll see this dialog during the registration process. If you opt in, the app will collect and send precise location data to Hitch App’s servers. We use that data to personalize your experience; to display trip history in your receipts; to facilitate driver selection and pickup; to determine what products, promotions, and surveys are relevant to you; to use for analytics purposes at an aggregated level; and to customize and improve the location-based services we provide. We may cache your last known location to speed up the launch process, but we will not store a history of your location to persistent memory on the device.
CONTACTS
You’ll see this permission the first time you use a feature in the app that has the ability to utilize contact information, for example when you refer a friend to Hitch App. If you opt in, the app will be able to access the contacts on your phone and we’ll create an address book in the app that you can use for a number of social features, like splitting fares and inviting friends to join Hitch App. We’ll also use the information to make recommendations for you and other users and to customize your experience in using Hitch App services. All the contact information will be stored on our servers and synced from your phone. Hitch App will not share your contacts with anyone else or reach out to any of your contacts on your behalf without your permission.
If you opt out of this permission, you’ll have to manually enter contact information anytime you split fares, refer a friend, or use other social features in the app.
PUSH NOTIFICATIONS
You’ll see this dialog once you’ve completed the registration process with Hitch App but before you request your first ride. If you opt in, Apple Push Notification Service generates a unique token for your device and passes it to Hitch App; this device token is then sent to Hitch App’s servers and stored so that Push Notifications can be sent to you. You can read more about how Apple Push Notifications work here.
If you opt out of Push Notifications, you’ll receive updates about your trip by text message (these communications are not optional). Note that if you initially tapped Don’t Allow, the only way to opt into Push Notifications from Hitch App is to update your preferences in your phone’s Settings app.
CAMERA
You’ll see this dialog when you add a photo to your Hitch App profile (and select “Take New” instead of “Choose Existing”). You can still add an existing photo to your user profile by granting access to your Photos (see below).
PHOTOS
You’ll see this dialog when you attempt to add an existing photo to your Hitch App user profile. If you don’t allow the app access to Photos, you can still select to take a new photo for your Hitch App user profile by allowing the Hitch App app to access your phone’s Camera.