Privacy Policy

01. Who we are

NextCharge is operated by Stellolabs, based in NSTP, Islamabad, Pakistan (“we”, “us”, or “our”). This policy covers the NextCharge iOS app and this privacy page.

02. Information we handle

Account and driver profile

If you sign in with Google or Apple, your chosen sign-in provider and Firebase Authentication provide information associated with your account, such as your name, email address, profile photo URL, and account identifier. NextCharge does not receive your Google or Apple password. Apple may provide a private relay email address if you choose Hide My Email, and supplies your name on initial authorization. Apple does not provide a profile photo. You can also enter a nickname and EV model.

Location, searches, and routes

With your device permission, the app accesses your location, which may be precise, for location-based features. Search text and selected places are sent to Google Places. Route origin and destination coordinates are sent to Google Directions to calculate routes. Apple’s geocoding service may process coordinates to identify your city or area. The current app requests location while in use, rather than background location access.

Community and station contributions

We store posts, replies, station details, status updates, timestamps, and helpful reactions in Firebase Cloud Firestore. Contributions may include your display name, EV model, account identifier, and a station’s name, address, and coordinates. Posts, replies, contributor details, and station updates are shared with other app users. Avoid including private information in public contributions.

Settings saved on your device

The app stores preferences such as theme, map filters, nickname, EV details, battery settings, and onboarding status on your device. Nickname and vehicle details may also be included when you contribute to the community. Device backups may preserve locally stored information according to your Apple settings.

Technical information

Service providers may process IP addresses, device or app information, authentication records, and request logs to deliver and secure their services. If you contact us, we receive the information you include in your message.

03. How information is used

• Authenticate your account and display your driver profile.
• Find charging stations, search places, and calculate routes.
• Publish community contributions and record helpful reactions.
• Remember preferences and calculate charging estimates.
• Respond to support and privacy requests, maintain the service, and address misuse.

04. Sharing and service providers

Information is shared with providers where needed to deliver the features described above:

• Google Sign-In, Sign in with Apple, and Firebase Authentication: account access and authentication.
• Firebase Cloud Firestore: storage and retrieval of station and community data.
• Google Maps, Places, and Directions: maps, place searches, and routes.
• Apple location services: device location and reverse geocoding.

Google’s handling of information is described in the Google Privacy Policy and Firebase privacy information. See also Apple’s Privacy Policy.

Public contributions are visible to other users, who may copy or share them. Information may also be disclosed where required by applicable law or necessary to address fraud, security threats, or threats to people’s safety.

NextCharge does not use analytics tools to track how you use the app. The current app does not include advertising SDKs. Service providers still process the information needed to deliver authentication, maps, searches, routes, and data storage, as described above.

05. Storage, retention, and security

Account information and contributions are held through Firebase services. Providers may process information outside Pakistan or your country of residence. The applicable storage locations depend on the services and project configuration.

Signing out or uninstalling the app does not automatically delete your account or contributions stored on our servers.

We retain account information while your account is active. When you confirm Delete Account in the app and the operation succeeds, your account is deleted immediately from the active authentication system. This does not mean every copy of information is instantly erased from provider logs or backups; those follow the provider’s retention and deletion schedules. Before completing account deletion, we replace posts and replies associated with your account with deleted placeholders, remove their author details, remove your helpful reactions, and remove your account attribution from station records. Shared station information and other users’ replies remain. Contributions made without signing in cannot automatically be matched to your account; contact faisal@stellolabs.com about those records. Support correspondence is retained as needed to handle your request and any related legal obligations.

No method of electronic transmission or storage can guarantee absolute security. Do not include passwords or other sensitive information in community posts or support messages.

06. Your choices and requests

• Location: change access in iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services → NextCharge. Location-based features may be limited when access is disabled.
• Profile: edit your nickname and vehicle selection in Driver Profile.
• Google access: manage NextCharge’s connection in your Google Account. Revoking Google access does not itself delete data already held by NextCharge.
• Privacy requests: contact the address below to request access, correction, or deletion of your account or contributions. Depending on applicable law, other rights may be available. We may need to verify that a request relates to your information.

Use Delete Account in the app to delete your account. You may be asked to sign in again to verify ownership before confirming deletion. Once data cleanup and the deletion operation succeed, account deletion takes effect immediately. If an operation fails or is interrupted, some cleanup may already have occurred; retry deletion to finish. Signing out is not account deletion.

For help with deletion, other privacy requests, or contributions made without an account, email faisal@stellolabs.com. Identify the relevant account or provide details of the contribution, such as its text, station, and approximate date. We may ask for information needed to verify ownership. Email requests require review and are not automatically completed by pressing Delete Account. We respond within the timeframe required by applicable law.

07. Children’s privacy

NextCharge is designed for EV drivers and is not directed at children. If you believe a child has provided personal information, contact us so we can investigate and address the information as appropriate under applicable law.

08. This privacy website

This page itself contains no analytics scripts, advertising, cookies, or external fonts. Our hosting provider may process connection information, such as IP addresses and server logs, when you visit.

We do not add analytics to this page. Hosting-related operational logs are separate from analytics and are subject to the hosting provider’s retention practices.

09. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the app or our practices change. The effective date above identifies the latest version. Where required, we will provide additional notice or obtain consent before applying a material change.