Privacy Policy & User Data Disclosures
Comprehensive transparency disclosure regarding the collection, processing, local hardware permissions, storage, and zero-sale protection of user data across the
Bridge Inspector Toolbox (BIT) mobile application (com.BridgeInspectorToolbox.app) and companion administration web platform.
1. Overview & Scope
This Privacy Policy governs the manner in which Cody Harnish, individually and doing business as Pythagoras Toolbox ("Developer", "we", "us", or "our"), collects, uses, maintains, and discloses information collected from users ("User", "Inspector", or "You") of the Bridge Inspector Toolbox (BIT) mobile Android application and associated administrative web portal (https://bridge-field-inspector.web.app).
The Application is an enterprise engineering utility specifically engineered for professional bridge inspection personnel, certified Team Leaders, licensed Professional Engineers, and transportation agencies subject to the National Bridge Inspection Standards (FHWA NBIS 23 CFR Part 650 Subpart C). We adhere to a strict zero-sale, zero-advertising data policy.
2. Local-First Architecture & Data Collection Boundaries
We do not collect, transmit, upload, host, or access any field notes, bridge defect evaluations, condition state ratings, structural sketches, sounding measurements, photos, or reporting information. All PDF report parsing, font decoding, defect sentence extraction, sounding elevation calculations, and report generation are executed strictly locally on your device. Your proprietary engineering observations, photos, and inspection files never leave your device and are never sent to external servers or cloud processors. Any export or synchronization is performed solely to your chosen local storage or your explicitly configured third-party file system (e.g., corporate Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, external SD cards, direct file exports).
Information We Collect:
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Account Credentials & Professional Identity: Full name, professional work email address, organization domain (e.g.,
@company.com), assigned engineering role (DEVELOPER, MANAGER, TEAM_LEADER, or INSPECTION_TEAM_MEMBER), and cryptographically salted password hashes (PBKDF2/SHA-256). - Statutory Qualification & Certification Records: Digital signatures, statutory NBIS qualification statements, license numbers (e.g., PE or certified Team Leader IDs), and role endorsement audit timestamps required by federal and state transportation oversight rules.
- Device & Technical Identifiers: Non-resettable hardware identifiers (such as Android ID or installation UUID) and device model names, collected strictly to enforce single-device session integrity and manage the 20-day offline field grace window. No Google Advertising ID (AAID) is ever accessed or collected.
- Quantitative Feature Usage Counters Only: The only operational telemetry collected from the application consists of anonymous, high-level numerical counters that track the quantitative use of app features (such as aggregate number of photos taken, number of sounding measurements recorded, or volume of reports generated). These metrics are used strictly for software stability, feature utilization tracking, and organization seat license compliance. These counters contain zero field note data, zero defect descriptions, zero structural ratings, zero bridge locations or numbers, and zero proprietary inspection content.
3. Sensitive Device Permissions & On-Device Hardware Usage
In compliance with Google Play Store User Data Policies, the specific rationale, scope, and technical treatment of sensitive Android hardware permissions are detailed below:
Purpose: Used exclusively to photograph bridge substructure/superstructure elements, document structural defects, capture streambed scour indicators, and record general bridge perspective views.
Handling & Protection: Captured photos are saved directly into the application's secure local media directory on the tablet. The camera is activated only when the inspector actively taps a camera button in the app. The camera is never accessed in the background, is never used for facial recognition or biometric profiling, and images are never processed by external marketing or machine vision advertisers.
Purpose: Required under FHWA NBIS 23 CFR Part 650 specifications to record latitude/longitude coordinates of inspected bridge structures and embed verifiable GPS metadata into field photo EXIF headers (UserComment, GPSLatitude, GPSLongitude).
Handling & Protection: Location is queried solely in the foreground when an inspector captures a photo or records inventory coordinates for a structure. We do not track the inspector's continuous physical location, do not maintain background movement logs, and never share location data with ad networks.
Purpose: Enables inspectors to import historical bridge inspection PDF source files for parsing and export newly compiled inspection packages, sounding matrices, and photo logs.
Handling & Protection: Access is strictly restricted to user-selected PDF files and app-specific generated inspection packages. The app does not access arbitrary personal files, device downloads, or unrelated photo galleries.
Purpose: Allows inspectors wearing field PPE (gloves, safety harnesses) to dictate bridge defect notes and sounding observations hands-free.
Handling & Protection: Audio is converted to text in real-time via the on-device Android Speech Recognizer. Audio stream data is never stored on disk, never uploaded to external audio analytics servers, and never retained once transcription completes.
4. How We Use Your Information
We use collected information exclusively for the following operational and engineering purposes:
- Authentication & Authorization: Authenticating user credentials, enforcing 4-tier Role-Based Access Control, and verifying organizational membership.
- On-Device Inspection Productivity: Executing local report parsing, sounding calculations, and document formatting entirely on your local tablet hardware without server-side data processing.
- Quantitative Feature Tracking: Aggregating high-level numerical counters (e.g., aggregate photos taken or soundings recorded) to monitor software feature performance and verify subscription seat quotas.
- Licensing & Session Security: Validating active organization subscriptions and managing 20-day offline cryptographic session leases.
- Customer Support: Addressing technical inquiries and troubleshooting ticket requests submitted through the Manager Dashboard.
5. Third-Party Services & Subprocessors
We share data only with trusted enterprise cloud infrastructure providers under strict contractual data protection agreements:
Role: Cloud Firestore database synchronization, encrypted session authentication, and portal hosting.
Privacy Policy: Google Privacy Policy ↗
Role: Tokenized corporate seat subscription processing and tax invoice generation. Raw credit card data is processed directly by Stripe according to PCI-DSS Level 1 standards and is never stored on our servers.
Privacy Policy: Stripe Privacy Policy ↗
If you or your organization choose to export, synchronize, or store bridge inspection records, photos, sounding sheets, or reports to a user-selected third-party file system or cloud storage provider (e.g., Microsoft OneDrive, SharePoint, Google Drive, Dropbox, external SD cards, USB drives, or local network file shares), such transmission and storage are governed exclusively by your organization's direct relationship with that provider. The Developer exercises zero control over third-party storage infrastructure and expressly disclaims any and all liability for third-party security breaches, service outages, synchronization failures, file corruption, or data loss. The licensee bears sole and unmitigated responsibility for maintaining required data backups and statutory engineering record preservation under FHWA NBIS 23 CFR Part 650.
🛡️ Absolute Zero-Sale & Anti-Monetization Guarantee
We do not sell, rent, lease, trade, or monetize your personal information, client inspection records, bridge photographs, or location coordinates to any third party, marketing broker, or advertising network under any circumstances. All client-collected inspection data remains the exclusive proprietary property of the inspecting agency or organization.
6. Data Retention & Account Deletion Policy
In full accordance with Google Play Store Data Safety and User Deletion mandates:
- Retention Period: Active account credentials and team member rosters are maintained as long as your organization maintains an active subscription or until deletion is formally requested. Historical inspection reports are retained by your organization according to statutory state DOT record retention guidelines.
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How to Request Data Deletion: Users and organization managers may request the complete and permanent deletion of their account credentials, personal identifiers, and associated cloud telemetry at any time by:
- Submitting an online request via our dedicated Account & Data Deletion Portal ↗,
- Submitting an account deletion ticket through the Manager Support Desk on the web portal, or
- Sending an email directly to PythagorasToolbox@gmail.com with the subject line
"Data Deletion Request"from the registered account email.
- Processing Timeline: Verified deletion requests are executed within 30 days. Upon processing, your user profile, authentication hashes, and licensing leases are permanently expunged from live databases and backups. Client-owned engineering inspection archives remain governed by your firm's administrative policies.
7. Security & Cryptographic Protections
We maintain defense-in-depth security measures to protect field data and user identity:
- Password Security: Cryptographically salted PBKDF2 with SHA-256 key derivation. Plaintext passwords are never transmitted or stored.
- Hardware KeyStore Tokens: Offline session leases are sealed utilizing the Android hardware-backed KeyStore system.
- Encryption in Transit: All data exchanged between the application, web portal, and cloud servers is encrypted via TLS 1.3 over HTTPS.
- Database Access Rules: Cloud Firestore security rules strictly isolate data by organization domain and user role.
8. Children's Privacy Protection (COPPA)
The Bridge Inspector Toolbox (BIT) application is strictly an enterprise B2B engineering productivity tool intended solely for certified adults and licensed civil engineering professionals (minimum age 18). We do not target, market to, or knowingly collect any personal information from children under the age of 13 (or under 16 in the European Economic Area). If we learn that personal data from a child has been collected inadvertently, we will immediately delete that information.
9. Policy Updates & Version Notification
We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect technological advancements, statutory rule changes, or platform enhancements. When changes are made, the "Effective Date" at the top of this policy will be revised. For material changes, registered users will be prompted to re-review and accept the revised policy upon their next application login.
10. Contact Information
If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please contact: