Overview

This privacy policy explains our policies regarding the collection, use, and disclosure of your personal information when using the Rail Crossing Locator mobile application. The Rail Crossing Locator mobile application is developed by the Department of Transportation (DOT) Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). The primary purpose of the Rail Crossing Locator application is to provide functionality for searching and filtering for rail crossings as well as providing detailed information and crash reports for individual crossings and contact information in case of emergency or further requests. The Rail Crossing Locator application utilizes the Esri ArcGIS Runtime Software Development Kit (SDK) for Android to provide mapping services and display data about rail crossings.

This privacy policy does not apply to any other FRA products, areas, or website, nor does it cover practices of other areas within the U.S. Department of Transportation. 

Information Collected

The Rail Crossing Locator mobile application collects Android version information from all users which will not be stored within the App and requests permission to access device location and storage. The device location information is translated to coordinates and then those coordinates are passed to the Esri ArcGIS Software Development Kit (SDK) to center the map at that location. These coordinates are not identifiable to an individual’s location.  Users are not required to provide access to device location or storage, however certain functionality in the application is dependent on those permissions. No information is stored or retained in any form after the app session is closed. Information is used exclusively for the functionality of the application while the app is running.

Uses of Information

The Rail Crossing Locator mobile application will be downloaded and installed by the end-user on their mobile device will collect Android version information from all users, and requests permission to access device location and storage. Android version information is used to determine what functionality, if any, is not supported by the user’s current operating system and is not stored or utilized after an initial check. Device location is utilized to display and center the map on the user’s current location. The location data is used only while the app is running to keep the user’s current location displayed on the map and is not stored or retained in any form after the app session is closed. Storage permission is utilized only in the downloading of Crash Report PDFs. No information is collected or retained about the user’s storage or file system.

Information Storage and Retention

No information collected from the user is stored or retained as part of the Rail Crossing Locator mobile application. This app will use the device’s RAM and a small amount of storage. Most of the RAM usage is for the display of the Esri map and the storage is used for the installation of app itself. 

Use of Third-party API

The Rail Crossing Locator mobile application utilizes the Esri ArcGIS Runtime SDK for Android and does not have any direct access to the user’s device or information. This SDK provides mapping functionality and serves as the primary display for the application. The Rail Crossing Locator application passes information to the ArcGIS Runtime SDK about the user’s currently selected position and scale of the map in order to filter rail crossings. The Rail Crossing Locator application also passes any filters or search data that the user enters into the search field or advanced search screen in order to further filter rail crossings. The data passed to the Esri ArcGIS SDK is used solely for the functionality of the application. The Esri ArcGIS Runtime API will not have direct access to the user’s device or any user data. 

Information Sharing and Disclosure

No information collected from the user is stored internally or shared with anyone.

Application Security

All information that is collected as part of the Rail Crossing Locator mobile application is collected using best practices for securely utilizing the Android Software Development Kit (SDK).  FRA followed official Google documentation for the usage of the standard Android API and only uses the official first-party Android API for accessing user’s device; no third-party services are allowed direct access to the user’s device.

By default, Android apps are sandboxed and cannot access other apps or share data between apps installed on the mobile device. All information is utilized only in the functioning of the application and is not stored or retained. Information that is passed to the third-party Esri ArcGIS Runtime SDK for Android is encrypted in transit and not stored or retained after use.

How to Access or Correct your Information

Rail Crossing Locator mobile application does not collect any identifiable information from the user. The Rail Crossing Locator application provides functionality for searching and filtering for rail crossings as well as providing detailed information and crash reports for individual crossings and contact information in case of emergency or further requests. The DOT FRA provides transparency about the collection, utilization, and retention of user data through this privacy policy. Users may request more information including access to records if any user data is collected or stored and about FRA data processes by contacting the DOT Privacy Office via email privacy@dot.gov. 

Analytics Tools

The Rail Crossing Locator mobile application does not use any third-party analytics tools.

Privacy Policy Contact Information

Users may contact the DOT Privacy Office by e-mailing privacy@dot.gov.