Legal

Privacy Policy

Last updated: October 16, 2026

The short version Parallel predicts parking odds from statistics, not surveillance. We use your approximate location to show you probabilities for nearby streets. We don’t use street cameras, we don’t track other people’s cars, and we don’t sell your data.

Who this policy covers

This Privacy Policy explains how Parallel (“Parallel,” “we,” “us”) collects, uses, and shares information when you use the Parallel iOS app and this website. By using Parallel, you agree to the collection and use of information as described here.

Information we collect

Location data. Parallel uses your device’s location, with your permission, to determine which streets and blocks to show probabilities for, and to let you search for or check odds at a specific address. You can grant location access “while using the app” or deny it entirely in iOS Settings; without it, you can still search addresses manually.

Usage and device data. Like most apps, we collect basic technical information automatically: device type, OS version, app version, crash logs, and general usage patterns (which screens are opened, which features are used). This helps us fix bugs and understand which parts of the app people rely on.

Information you provide. If you contact us for support, we keep what you send us (your message and the email address you contacted us from) so we can respond.

Signs read by AI (optional). If you turn on Read signs with AI (Settings → Sign scanner; off until you turn it on), Parallel sends the photo of a sign you scan, the time, and the app’s own reading of it to Anthropic’s AI, through our server, for a second opinion. When you ask “Can I park here?” with AI, it sends the posted sign texts of that street, the street’s name, the time, and the permit zones you have set. This is used for that one reading only, and Parallel does not store it.

Parking tickets (Parallel Pro). When you ask Parallel to check a parking ticket, it sends the photo of the ticket, the time you parked, and the posted sign texts near your car to Anthropic’s AI, through our server, to be read once. The AI is instructed never to repeat your ticket number, licence plate or any name in its answer. Parallel stores neither the photo nor the answer.

Sign reports (Help fix the map). When the AI reads a sign differently from Parallel’s map, or reads a sign where the City lists none, the app sends what each said, the place rounded to about 10 metres, and the time rounded to the quarter hour, so we can correct the map. These reports never include the photo and carry no identifier of you or your device. We keep them for 90 days. You can turn this off in Settings → Sign scanner → Help fix the map.

Ask Parallel (optional). When you ask Parallel a question, your question, the time, and what it needs to answer it (your position, your parked car and your saved places, with their names and locations) are sent to Anthropic’s AI, through our server. Parallel’s own odds and street rules are worked out on your phone and sent along with them. Nothing is kept once you have the answer.

What we deliberately don’t collect

No photos kept. Parallel’s predictions don’t come from images of the street. The camera is used only when you scan a sign or a parking ticket, and Parallel never stores those photos on its servers.
No account or sign-in required, and no profile of you as a person.
No contacts, microphone, health, or financial data.
No continuous background location tracking. We only use location while the app is in use.
No selling of personal data to advertisers or data brokers, ever.

How we use information

To show you the probability of an open spot on streets near you or near an address you search.
To operate, maintain, and improve the app.
To diagnose crashes and technical problems.
To respond to support requests.

How we share information

We do not sell personal information. We share limited data only with:

Service providers who host our infrastructure or provide crash/analytics tooling on our behalf, under obligations to protect it.
Apple, as required for App Store distribution, in-app functionality, and anonymous aggregate analytics Apple provides to developers.
Anthropic, our AI provider, only for the optional sign and ticket readings and Ask Parallel described above. Anthropic processes this data on our behalf and, under its commercial terms, does not use it to train its models.
Authorities, if required by law, regulation, or legal process.

Data retention

We keep technical and usage data only as long as needed to operate and improve the app, and support messages for as long as needed to resolve your request and maintain a record of it. Location data used to fetch a probability is not stored against your identity after the request is served.

Your choices

Control location access any time in iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services → Parallel.
Turn reading signs with AI, and Help fix the map, on or off any time in Settings → Sign scanner.
Request a copy or deletion of any data we hold that’s tied to your support correspondence, by contacting us below.

Children’s privacy

Parallel is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us information, contact us and we’ll remove it.

Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational safeguards to protect information in our care. No method of transmission or storage is perfectly secure, so we can’t guarantee absolute security.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the app changes. We’ll update the “Last updated” date above, and for material changes we’ll provide notice in the app or on this site.

Contact us

Questions about this policy or your data? Reach us at privacy@parallelparking.info.