Privacy & limitations
What Short Cut knows.
Short Cut is a free pilot for Hyderabad, not a data business. This page lists exactly what the app asks your phone for, which services see a request, what stays on the device, and where this build falls short.
- No account Nothing to sign up for, no profile, no login.
- No analytics or ads The app ships no tracking or advertising SDK.
- Foreground location only No background permission and no location history.
- Saved things stay local Home, Work and recent trips live in app storage.
Location
The app asks for location while using the app. It is used to set your start point, show where you are on the map, follow progress during navigation, detect that you have left the route so it can reroute, and time the spoken prompts.
There is no background location permission. When you switch to another app or lock the screen, location updates pause and navigation can fall behind until you return. The app does not write a location log, does not keep a trip history, and does not send your position to any Short Cut server — there is no Short Cut server.
You can deny or revoke location in Android settings at any time. Search and the map still work, and you can pick a start point by hand.
What leaves your phone
Map tiles, search and routing are live services. A request necessarily reveals your IP address to the service that answers it, and the place you searched or routed is part of the request. These endpoints are public and independently operated; their own privacy policies apply, and this project does not control them.
| Service | What it receives | Why |
|---|---|---|
| OpenFreeMap tiles.openfreemap.org |
The map area you are viewing, plus your IP address. | Map tiles, fonts and sprites, drawn from OpenStreetMap data. |
| Valhalla demo server valhalla1.openstreetmap.de |
Start and destination coordinates, and the travel mode. | Calculates the distance-first route and its turn-by-turn steps. |
| Photon photon.komoot.io |
Your search text. | Primary place search. |
| Nominatim nominatim.openstreetmap.org |
Your search text; coordinates when a GPS fix is turned into a street name. | Backup place search, and naming your current location. |
| Overpass API overpass.private.coffee · overpass-api.de · maps.mail.ru |
A small bounding box around the route, and the street tags inside it. | Fallback route calculation when Valhalla is unavailable. |
| GitHub github.com |
Your IP address when you download the APK. | Delivers the release file and this site. |
No API keys, accounts or device identifiers are sent. The app does not upload contacts, photos, files, microphone audio or motion data, and it does not request those permissions.
What stays on your phone
The app keeps a small amount of state in its private storage so the next launch is quicker:
- Your saved Home and Work places.
- The last five recent destinations.
- Whether spoken prompts are on or off.
Nothing in that list is uploaded to this project. “Clear” on the Recent list removes those entries; changing or removing a saved place overwrites it; clearing the app's storage in Android settings or uninstalling the app removes everything.
Android's own backup setting can include app data in your device backup if you have backup enabled. That copy belongs to your Google account and is controlled by your phone's settings, not by Short Cut.
Limitations
This is an early build meant for testing in Hyderabad. It should not be treated as a dependable replacement for a mature navigation app.
- A connection is required. There are no offline maps. A route already on screen stays visible, but a new route, search or tile needs the network.
- No live traffic. Travel times are estimates from map data and posted speeds; congestion, closures and signals are not modelled.
- Map coverage varies. OpenStreetMap data can miss lanes, mislabel a one-way street or lag behind construction. Distance savings are only as good as the map underneath them.
- Public services are best effort. The routing, search and tile endpoints are shared and rate-limited. A failed request shows a retry message rather than a made-up route.
- Hyderabad first. Coverage and place data outside the city are thin, so routes elsewhere may be poor or missing.
- Unsigned by a store. The APK is signed with the project's debug key. Android will warn about installing an unknown app, updates are manual, and there are no Play Store protections.
- Battery and GPS. Continuous location during navigation uses battery, and accuracy drops between buildings, under flyovers and in poor sky view.
- Guidance, not instruction. Signs, one-way rules, closures and police directions outrank the app. Review the route before you ride.
Reporting a problem
Bugs, privacy questions and map complaints all go to the same place: the project's issue tracker.
For a routing or navigation bug, include:
- Phone model and Android version.
- App version (1.0.0) and which APK you installed.
- The start and destination you used, as place names.
- What you expected, what happened, and a screenshot if you have one.
You do not need to share your live location or personal details. If the problem is the map itself, a missing or wrong street can also be fixed upstream at OpenStreetMap, which improves the next route for everyone.