Last updated: 15 October 2026
Cyprus Bus shows live and scheduled public-transport times for Cyprus, published by BotSquash. This policy explains how the app handles your information. Short version: no account and no analytics. Your precise GPS location stays on your device; online place search sends only your search text and an approximate area (about 1 km). The free version shows a small banner ad from Unity Ads on trip results, stop departures and timetables; Cyprus Bus Pro has no ads. The optional Cyprus Bus Pro upgrade is a subscription, a 7-day pass or a lifetime purchase. Ride mode uses your location only while a ride is running, only in the foreground and only on your device. Details below.
None, ourselves. The outside parties involved are Google Play Billing, if you make a purchase, and Unity Ads in the free version, both described below.
The free version shows one small banner ad from Unity Ads (Unity Technologies) at the bottom of trip results, stop departures and the full timetable. There are no ads on the map, in search, during a ride, or in full screen. No ads are shown the first time you use the app. The Unity SDK may collect your advertising ID, device and network information, approximate location derived from your IP address (never your GPS location), and ad interaction data, and may share it with its ad partners, for advertising, measurement and fraud prevention. This data goes to Unity, not to us. See Unity's Game Player and App User Privacy Policy.
If you grant location permission, Cyprus Bus uses your device's GPS to find bus stops near you and, in Ride mode, to follow your trip. Your precise location stays on your device - it is compared against the app's own bundled/downloaded stop database locally and is never sent to us or to any server. Two things reveal only a rough area: online place search sends Photon an approximate area, rounded to about 1 km, never your exact position; and when the map shows where you are, the map tile servers see which area is on screen (see "Online search and map"). Location permission is optional: the app's search, favourites, and schedule features all work fully without it.
Ride mode. When you tap "Start ride" on a trip, the app compares your phone's position with the stops of your planned trip and sounds an alarm shortly before your stop. While a ride is running, Android shows an ongoing notification (next stop and stops remaining), and the app uses location in the foreground service that powers it. The ride ends when you reach your destination, after a timeout, or when you stop it, and location use then stops. Your position and your ride are processed only on your device: they are not sent to us or to any server, and they are not kept after the ride. The app does not track your location in the background outside an active ride. You can turn the permission off at any time in Android settings; Ride mode then cannot run.
Online place search. When you search for a place, the app first searches its own offline list of stops and places. It also asks Photon, a place-search service run by komoot that uses OpenStreetMap data, to find addresses and places. That request contains your search text and, if the app already knows where you are, an approximate area (your position rounded to about 1 km) so nearby places are listed first. It contains no account, no advertising ID and never your exact position. Like any web request, Photon sees your IP address. See komoot's privacy policy.
Map tiles. The map loads its images (tiles) from the OpenStreetMap tile
servers (tile.openstreetmap.org). Those servers see your IP address and which map
area is being viewed, as with any website showing an OpenStreetMap map. See the
OpenStreetMap Foundation privacy
policy.
Places near a stop. On the page of some stops (airports, hospitals,
universities, beaches) the app may list nearby pharmacies and shops from OpenStreetMap's
Overpass service (overpass-api.de). That request contains the stop's public
location, not yours.
Open in Google Maps. If you tap "Google Maps" for directions, the app opens Google Maps with the destination only. Cyprus Bus does not add your position; Google Maps works out your starting point itself, under Google's privacy policy.
Cyprus Bus contacts two official Cyprus public-transport open-data endpoints (operated by the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works, via motionbuscard.org.cy) to:
These requests contain no personal information - no account identifier, no advertising ID, nothing that identifies you. They are the same kind of request any transit map or timetable website makes to read public data.
The optional home-screen widget shows the next departure for your favourite stops. It reads data your device already downloaded and displays it locally - nothing is transmitted to make the widget work.
Commute Watch lets you save regular trips with days and times. The saved trips and their
schedule stay only on your device. Before a saved trip, the app checks the
public live-position feed (the same request as for live times, containing no personal data) and
shows a notification on your phone. Line alerts come from one small public file
(https://botsquash.com/cyprus-bus-alerts.json) that lists strikes, stoppages and
timetable changes. Fetching it sends no account, no advertising ID and no saved lines; the app
decides on your device which notices match your lines. The optional free 7-day taste of Commute
Watch is tracked on your device only.
Bus schedule and live-position data is sourced from the Cyprus National Access Point / the Department of Public Works, Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works (motionbuscard.org.cy), published as open data under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence (CC-BY 4.0) - full licence text at creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0. Cyprus Bus is an independent app and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by the Cyprus government or Motion.
The optional Cyprus Bus Pro upgrade unlocks Commute Watch, line alerts, unlimited departure reminders, saved journeys and favourite stops, and the home-screen widget. Journey planning, search, timetables, the map, offline data, fares, live times, Ride mode and service alerts stay free. Pro is sold three ways, all through Google Play:
cyprus_bus_pro_sub,
plans monthly and yearly). It renews automatically
each month or year at the price shown in the app until you cancel. New customers may be offered
a free trial on the yearly plan; if you do not cancel before the trial ends, the yearly price
is charged. Payment is charged to your Google Play account.pass-7d). A prepaid pass that gives Pro for
7 days and does not renew; nothing is charged again.cyprus_bus_pro). A one-time purchase, not a
subscription. It does not renew.Cancelling. Cancel a subscription at any time in Google Play: open the Play Store, tap your profile picture, then Payments and subscriptions, then Subscriptions, choose Cyprus Bus Pro and tap Cancel subscription. You keep Pro until the end of the period you already paid for. Uninstalling the app does not cancel a subscription. Refunds are handled by Google Play under its own policy. If a payment fails, Google Play may give a grace period before Pro stops.
The purchase is sold and processed entirely through Google Play Billing. We never see or store your card or payment details. Google Play holds the record of the purchase, which is what makes it restorable: the Settings screen shows your plan and its renewal or expiry date, and offers a "Restore purchases" button if you reinstall or switch devices. Cyprus Bus keeps no account and no copy of your purchases on any server of its own.
Cyprus Bus previously offered a "Remove Ads" annual subscription
(remove_ads_annual). That product was never activated in Google Play and was
never sold to anyone, so no one holds a subscription to it and there is nothing to cancel.
It has been withdrawn.
Cyprus Bus itself holds essentially no personal data about you - no account, no server-side profile, nothing beyond what's described above. To the extent any data processing does apply to you (through Google Play Billing if you make a purchase, or Unity Ads in the free version - their own processing, described above), you have the following rights under the GDPR:
To exercise any of these rights regarding data we could plausibly hold (there is very little, since the app has no account or server-side storage), contact us at the email below.
Cyprus Bus is not directed at children under 13. The app itself collects no personal data from anyone; the free version's Unity Ads banner is described under "Ads".
If this policy changes, the "Last updated" date above will change. Continued use of the app means you accept the current policy.
Questions about this policy? Email [email protected].