Privacy Policy
Subway Times (NYC Subway Times Widget) — the iPhone and Android apps and the website at mta-times-production.up.railway.app — shows live New York City subway departures. This is the whole of what it does with your information.
The short version. No account. The mobile apps show a small banner ad and collect usage and crash statistics. On iPhone, ad tracking is optional: if you allow it through Apple’s permission prompt, Google AdMob can use your advertising identifier to personalize and measure ads across other companies’ apps and websites. The app stays free and works the same if you decline. Android uses Google’s advertising consent tools and the device’s advertising ID controls, as described below. Your GPS location is used only to find nearby stations and is never shared with advertisers. We do not upload your saved favorites to our own service. The website itself has no ads and no analytics.
Information we don’t collect
You don’t sign in, and we don’t ask for your name, email address, or contact list to use the app. Our advertising provider processes device information as described below.
Location
If you use the “Nearby” feature, the app asks your device for your location while you’re using the app and sends your coordinates to our server so it can calculate which subway stations are closest to you. We use those coordinates only to answer that request — to return the nearby-station list — and not to advertise to you, profile you, or track you. Your GPS location is never passed to Google’s ad SDK or shared with any advertiser, and we don’t sell location data.
On Android, the coordinates may be precise or approximate depending on the location permission you grant. The nearest-station widget keeps the last available location on your device. Tapping its refresh button can briefly run a foreground location service, with an Android notification, to update that location. The app does not request always-on background location access.
Location is optional. You can decline it, and the rest of the app — searching for stations and viewing departures — works without it. You can change your choice at any time in iOS Settings → Subway Times → Location, or in Android’s app settings under Permissions → Location.
Advertising
The mobile apps show a small banner ad served by Google AdMob. To serve and measure ads, Google’s software receives technical information from your device: its IP address (which implies a general geographic area), device model and operating-system version, app- or developer-scoped identifiers, and whether ads are viewed or tapped. The SDK may also collect diagnostics, performance data, and app interaction information for advertising and analytics.
On iPhone, during onboarding, we explain ad tracking and offer to show Apple’s App Tracking Transparency permission prompt. If you allow tracking, Google AdMob can access Apple’s advertising identifier (IDFA) and use it to link activity across other companies’ apps and websites for personalized advertising and ad measurement, subject to your other consent choices.
Android does not use Apple’s tracking prompt. Google AdMob may receive Android’s advertising ID and app set ID to serve and measure ads, subject to your consent and device settings. You can reset or delete the advertising ID in Android’s privacy or ads settings; the exact menu varies by device. Deleting the advertising ID does not stop all of the technical processing described above.
On iPhone, if you select No thanks on our onboarding screen, we skip Apple’s prompt. If you do not grant tracking permission, AdMob cannot access your IDFA and we do not permit tracking across other companies’ apps and websites. You can still use every feature, and the app stays free. Ads may still appear without IDFA, subject to your advertising consent choices; declining tracking does not turn off the technical data processing described above.
You can manage tracking permission after it has been requested in iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking. This permission is separate from access to your location.
We use Google’s User Messaging Platform to check advertising consent requirements each time the app launches and show a privacy form when required. These choices are separate from Apple’s tracking permission. We request ads only when Google’s consent system indicates that ad requests are allowed. When required, an Ad Privacy option appears on the iPhone home screen or in Android’s Help sheet so you can revisit your choices.
You can read more about how Google uses information from apps that use its services and Google’s privacy policy.
Analytics and crash reports
The mobile apps use Google Firebase for usage statistics (Analytics) and crash reporting (Crashlytics). Usage statistics are events like which screens are viewed and which features are used, along with device model and operating-system version; crash reports additionally include the technical state of the app when it crashed. These services use app-instance or installation identifiers; this does not require a Subway Times account. Firebase Analytics is configured without the advertising identifier. On Android, analytics signals are also disabled for personalized advertising. We use this information to understand which features matter and to find and fix bugs — never to profile you, and it is not sold or shared for advertising.
Information saved on your device
Your favorite stations, recently viewed stations, and direction preferences are stored on your device and are available to the app’s widgets. We do not upload these saved lists to our own service. On Android, the operating system may back up or transfer these preferences according to your device backup settings, so they can return after reinstalling the app or moving to another device. Android backups exclude the app’s saved location and departure caches. Separately, viewing a station can generate a Firebase usage event containing that station’s identifier.
Information handled by our servers
When you view a departure board, the app requests data from our server, which relays the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s public real-time transit feeds. Like any website or internet service, our hosting provider automatically processes basic technical information — such as your device’s IP address — for the limited purpose of delivering responses and keeping the service running and secure. We don’t use this information to identify you, and we don’t combine it with your location or your saved stations.
Where the data comes from
Subway schedules and live departure times come from the MTA’s published GTFS and GTFS-Realtime feeds. Subway Times is an independent app and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
Children’s privacy
Subway Times is a general-audience transit utility and is not directed to children. We don’t knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.
Changes to this policy
If we make a material change to this policy, we’ll update the date at the top of this page.
Contact
Questions about this policy or your privacy? Email james@westfourthlabs.com.
© 2026 James Wegner