Privacy policy
Last updated: October 12, 2026
Don't Wait is built to need as little data about you as possible. Browsing wait times, cameras, guides, forecasts and nearest crossings needs no account. Saving favorites needs a free account, on the website and in the iPhone and Android apps. A free account is needed only for commute alerts, lock-screen tracking, community wait reports and syncing your settings between devices. Here's exactly what we store and why.
Data we store on your device
Your direction filter, vehicle type, favorited crossings, expanded card, search query, and whether you've granted location access — all of these are kept in your browser's localStorage (or the equivalent storage inside the Don't Wait mobile app). Nothing about these preferences leaves your device unless you sign in. Clearing your browser data, or deleting the app, wipes them entirely.
Location
If you tap "Find nearest crossings," your browser or phone asks for permission to share your location. The coordinates are used only to sort the list of crossings by distance, and they stay on your device. We never send your coordinates to our servers.
In the iPhone app, to make "shortest wait near me" work in Siri, the app also remembers the last location it used for distance sorting, rounded to about 100 m, in storage that only the app, its widget and its Siri shortcuts on your phone can read. It is never uploaded and it is cleared if you turn location sorting off.
In the Android app, the last location used for distance sorting may likewise be kept on your phone, rounded, so widgets can show the nearest crossings. It is only stored in the app's private storage on your phone and is never uploaded.
Accounts (optional)
If you choose to sign in with email, we store your email address and a list of your favorited crossings + UI preferences in our database (Cloudflare D1). This lets your favorites follow you across devices. We send exactly one kind of email: the sign-in email, which contains a 6-digit code and a sign-in link. Codes and links expire after 15 minutes and are deleted from our database within a day after that. Signed-in sessions last up to 90 days unless you sign out. We don't send marketing email and we don't sell or share your email address.
Delete your account any time from the My Account page (website or app): choose "Delete account" and confirm. This immediately and permanently removes your email address, favorites, preferences, and all sessions from our database. You can also email hello@dontwait.app and we'll do it for you.
Sign in with Apple (optional)
On the website and in the iPhone and Android apps you can sign in with Apple instead of (or as well as) an email code. If you do, we receive an Apple user identifier and the email address Apple shares with us, which may be a private relay address (Hide My Email) that forwards to your inbox. We use them only to recognize your account, and we store them with it. We also keep a token from Apple solely so we can revoke Don't Wait's access to your Apple ID when you disconnect Apple or delete your account (both remove the stored identifier and token). We never receive your Apple password.
Sign in with Google (optional)
On the website and in the iPhone and Android apps you can sign in with Google instead of (or as well as) an email code. If you do, we receive a Google account identifier and the verified email address Google shares with us. We use them only to recognize your account, and we store them with it. If you already have an account with the same verified email address, Google sign-in is connected to it automatically. We don't keep any Google token. When you disconnect Google or delete your account, the stored identifier is removed. We never receive your Google password.
Bot protection & abuse limits
When you request a sign-in email or send a contact message, Cloudflare Turnstile checks that you're a person, usually invisibly. To do that, Cloudflare processes signals about your browser or device, such as your IP address and browser characteristics, only to tell people from bots; see Cloudflare's Turnstile privacy addendum. To stop our sign-in and contact forms being used to send spam, we also keep a one-way hash (not the actual value) of the email address and IP address used, for up to 2 days.
App updates (iPhone and Android apps)
The app checks dontwait.app for a newer version of its interface when it opens and while you use it, and downloads it if you choose "Update now". These requests contain the app's version identifiers and anonymous status codes about the update or loading process (for example, that an update finished downloading, that notification permission was answered, or that the sign-in suggestion was shown or dismissed) so we can fix problems. They don't include your location, email address, or any account information, and like any request they appear in our hosting provider's server logs (see below).
Commute alerts (iPhone and Android apps)
Alerts require a free account. If you set one up, we store it with your account: the crossings, days, times and wait limit you chose, your time zone, and the push-notification token (issued by Apple, or by Google on Android) of each phone you're signed in on, so we can send you wait times. Delete an alert in the app to remove it. Signing out removes that phone's token; deleting your account removes all your alerts and tokens; and we delete a token as soon as Apple or Google tells us it's no longer valid. On iPhone, notifications are delivered by Apple's Push Notification service. On Android, they are delivered by Google's Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM), and we store the FCM registration token of each Android phone you're signed in on with notifications allowed. We use Firebase only to deliver notifications: no Firebase Analytics, no advertising ID and no Crashlytics.
If you tap "Track on lock screen" on iPhone, we store the Live Activity push token (issued by Apple) and the crossing you chose for up to 4 hours, to update the wait on your lock screen, then delete them. Ending the tracking, deleting your account, or Apple reporting the token invalid also removes them.
On Android, "Track on lock screen" shows an ongoing notification (an Android "Live Update") that our server updates through FCM. We store a token made of a random tracking ID plus your phone's FCM token, and the crossing you chose, for up to 4 hours, then delete them. Swiping the notification away or tapping Stop ends the tracking.
Android app waitlist
If you join the Android waitlist ("Get notified"), we store that flag with your account and email you once when the Android app launches. It is removed when you delete your account.
My lanes
"My lanes" lets you say which trusted-traveler programs you have (NEXUS, SENTRI, Global Entry, a passport card or other RFID document, and SENTRI vehicle enrollment) so the app can show and use the fastest lane you can actually drive in. The choice is saved on your device. If you're signed in it is also saved with your account preferences so it follows you across devices. It is used only for the best-lane wait on crossing cards, in your widgets, alerts and lock-screen tracking, and in Siri answers. It is never shown to other people, and deleting your account deletes it.
Widgets, Quick Settings tile and shortcuts (iPhone and Android apps)
Widgets show the crossings you've favorited, or the crossings you choose in Edit Widget (including a custom name and direction). Your favorites, a list of crossing names, your lanes and your home direction are copied to storage shared between the app and its widget on your phone, and stay there. The widget fetches the same public wait times as everyone else; it sends no account or personal information to us. Tapping a widget opens the matching crossing in the app.
On Android, the widgets, the Quick Settings tile and the launcher shortcuts work the same way: they read data stored on your phone and fetch only the public wait times.
Siri & Shortcuts (iPhone app)
You can ask Siri or the Shortcuts app for a crossing's wait, for example "What's the border wait at Peace Arch in Don't Wait". This runs on your phone using the crossing list, favorites and lanes stored there, plus the same public wait times everyone gets. For "near me", Siri uses your phone's location only if you've already allowed it for this app (otherwise it offers to continue in the app, where iOS asks you). Your coordinates are used on the phone to pick the closest crossings and are never sent to us. Your spoken request is handled by Apple under Apple's privacy terms; we don't receive it.
Alerts that start lock-screen tracking (iPhone and Android apps)
If you turn on "Also show on lock screen" for an alert, your phone gives us a one-time Apple "push-to-start" token that lets the alert start a Live Activity on your lock screen when it fires. We store that token with your account (linked to your account, not to your location), use it only for this, and delete it when you sign out on that phone, delete your account, or Apple reports it invalid. The started activity then uses the same short-lived Live Activity token and up-to-4-hour limit described above.
On Android, an alert with "Also show on lock screen" can start the ongoing notification for you. For that we store your phone's FCM token with your account, use it only for this, and delete it when you sign out on that phone, delete your account, or Google reports it invalid.
Sharing and app ratings (iPhone and Android apps)
The Share button opens your phone's share sheet with a link to the crossing; nothing is sent anywhere unless you pick an app and send it. Occasionally the app may ask for an App Store rating using Apple's built-in prompt (on Android, Google Play's in-app review). Whether and how you rate is handled by Apple or Google; we don't see your answer, and the app doesn't send anything to us when it asks. A dismissible sign-in suggestion may also appear now and then; we remember on your device only when it was last shown.
Android backups
Backups are turned off for the Android app, so its local data isn't copied to Google's backup services. Uninstalling the app removes its local data from your phone.
Community wait reports
Signed-in users can report how long they waited at a crossing. We store the number of minutes, the lane, the crossing, the time, and the account that submitted it (used only to limit how often one account can report). Reports are numbers only, with no free text. The public sees only an aggregate estimate (a median, a count, and how recent the latest report is), never who reported. These are user-reported figures, not official ones. Deleting your account deletes all of your reports.
Service providers
Don't Wait is run on two service providers, who process data only on our behalf and under data-protection terms that require them to protect it at least as well as this policy does: Cloudflare (hosting, database, bot protection, and website analytics; privacy policy) and Resend (delivering sign-in and contact-form emails; privacy policy). Apple delivers push notifications and handles Sign in with Apple. Google delivers Android push notifications (Firebase Cloud Messaging) and handles Sign in with Google (website and both apps). In the apps, the provider that has no built-in sign-in sheet on that phone (Google on iPhone, Apple on Android) opens in the in-app browser; we keep the result for up to 5 minutes so the app can pick it up. We don't sell personal information or share it with anyone else.
Cookies
On the website we set one cookie, sid, only after you sign in. It identifies
your session and expires after 90 days. The mobile app stores the same session token in
the app's private storage on your device instead of a cookie, and removes it when you
sign out. We don't use any tracking cookies.
Contact form & server logs
If you send us a message through the contact form, the email address and message you type are delivered to our inbox by email (via Resend) and used only to reply; they aren't stored in our database. Like most web services, our hosting provider (Cloudflare) processes standard request data such as IP address, user-agent, and the page or API address requested, to deliver the service and defend it against abuse. These logs are kept only for a limited period for operations and security.
Analytics & ads
On the website we use Cloudflare's built-in, privacy-respecting analytics (no cookies, no personal data). The mobile app contains no analytics or advertising SDKs and does not track you across other apps or websites. We may show advertisements via Google AdSense or similar networks in the future; if and when we do, this policy will be updated to describe the data those networks collect and how to opt out.
Children
Don't Wait is not directed at children under 13. We don't knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has given us personal information, email hello@dontwait.app and we'll delete it.
How long we keep data
- Account data (email, favorites, preferences, alerts, tokens): until you delete your account.
- Sessions: up to 90 days, or until you sign out or delete your account.
- Sign-in codes and links: valid for 15 minutes, deleted from our database within a day after they expire.
- App sign-in hand-off codes (Google on iPhone, Apple on Android): valid for 5 minutes and single use; stored only as a one-way hash and removed when used or soon after they expire.
- Abuse-limit records (one-way hashes of email and IP address): up to 2 days.
- Lock-screen tracking tokens: up to 4 hours.
- Community wait reports: public estimates use only the last 2 hours of reports. The individual report rows (minutes, lane, crossing, time, and the submitting account) are deleted automatically after 90 days, or straight away when you delete your account.
- Error reports: 30 days (see below).
- Hosting logs: kept by Cloudflare for a limited period.
Error reports
When the app or website hits an error, it sends a short technical report to our server: the error message, the page or screen, the app version, and the device or browser type. It contains no name, email address or location. Error reports are kept for 30 days and used only to find and fix bugs.
Your rights & choices
You can ask to access, correct or delete the personal information we hold about you. The fastest way to delete it is Delete account on the My Account page (website or app). You can also email hello@dontwait.app from the address on your account.
Depending on where you live, laws such as Washington and other US state privacy laws, the California CCPA/CPRA, Canada's PIPEDA, and the EU and UK GDPR give you specific rights. We honor access, correction and deletion requests from anyone, wherever you live. We don't sell personal information, and we don't share it for targeted advertising. We respond within 30 days. If you're unhappy with our answer, reply to tell us, and you may also contact your local privacy regulator.
International transfer
Don't Wait is operated from the United States. Our service providers (Cloudflare's global network and Resend) may process data in the United States and other countries where they operate. By using the service you understand your information may be processed outside your country.
Contact
Questions about this policy? Email hello@dontwait.app.