Effective date: October 3, 2026
Who operates the app
Smokies Sidekick is operated by BotofAI.org. For privacy questions, contact info@botsofai.org.
Our privacy promise
Smokies Sidekick does not sell or rent personal information. Saved places, day plans, and alert preferences stay in your browser on your device; the app does not send them to advertisers, data brokers, or analytics services. Sponsored placements are clearly labeled. The app counts sponsored activity as described below and has no visitor account or profile database.
The app does not intentionally transmit your exact device GPS coordinates or saved trip information to venues. Some functions use outside services when needed; their ordinary connection requests are described below. We do not include saved plans or a user profile in those requests.
Sponsored placement activity
We count a sponsored view when at least half of a card is visible for one second. We also count opening a sponsored venue’s details or following an accommodation’s website link. Each action for the same venue is counted at most once per page load. Reports contain a venue identifier, event type, short-lived security token and random event identifier; they do not contain your name, email, location, saved trips or a persistent browser identifier.
Daily venue totals are stored on our server and viewed in the private owner dashboard, with staging tests separated from production activity. Random event identifiers expire after 24 hours and are removed on subsequent event processing. Counts are approximate and are not unique visitors, bookings or verified sales. The feature sets no analytics cookies and uses no third-party analytics provider. Ordinary hosting logs may still contain connection information.
Information stored on your device
The app saves places, day plans, venue map coordinates, and your interest in future offer alerts in your browser’s local storage. These items stay in that browser on that device; the current app does not sync them to a Smokies Sidekick account or server.
The app also caches its page shell, icons, and this policy page in browser storage so the guide can reopen offline. Live Google Places search results, ratings, and review counts are kept only in temporary page memory and are not added to the app’s saved places or day plans. You can remove saved items in the app or clear Smokies Sidekick’s site data in your browser settings.
Location and maps
Your location is optional. If you tap My location, your browser may ask permission. While the app is open, it uses the location returned by your device to center the map and show your position. The current app does not intentionally send or save your device’s GPS coordinates on a Smokies Sidekick server.
The map loads Leaflet from the unpkg content delivery network and map tiles from OpenStreetMap. Those services receive routine connection information such as your IP address and the map tiles requested. If you center the map on your location, the requested map area can reveal an approximate area to the tile provider. Smokies Sidekick does not send your saved places or day plan to those providers. Review the OpenStreetMap tile usage policy and OpenStreetMap information.
Information received by the host
When your browser loads the guide, our hosting provider may process standard connection information such as your IP address, browser details, request time, and the page or file requested to deliver and secure the service. This is hosting infrastructure data; Smokies Sidekick does not sell it or use it for advertising or user profiling.
The app can request live Google Places listings and venue details when the Places service is configured. A category and selected town are sent to Google to find venues; Google returns listing names, ratings, review counts, map links, and other requested details. These results stay in temporary page memory and are not saved to the app’s local storage or server. Google receives the routine connection information needed to provide the service, such as your IP address and request details. The app displays Google Maps attribution with live results and does not place Google Places content on its OpenStreetMap map. If the service is not configured or unavailable, the bundled directory remains available.
Links to other services
The guide links to business websites, Google Maps, an optional Google search for a venue's official site or tickets, the National Park Service, local event calendars, and transit information. Google Maps Platform services are subject to the Google Maps Platform Terms of Service and Google Privacy Policy. If you tap one of these links, your browser sends that provider a request and its usual connection details. Search links contain the venue name and town, not your saved trip or device location. External providers handle their requests under their own privacy policies. The app does not send them a saved profile or plan.
Retention and choices
Saved app information remains in your browser until you remove it or clear the site’s browser data. Hosting-provider technical logs, if created, are handled under that provider’s retention and privacy practices.
You can use the guide without granting location access. If you deny location permission, the map remains usable by town and park area.
Changes and future versions
This notice describes the current web preview as of the effective date above. Child location tracking is not a feature of this app. Google Places requests run only when that service is configured and a visitor chooses to load online venue results or opens venue details.
Offline trip downloads and weather
When you choose Download trip, this browser stores our guide content, independently sourced directory descriptions, and your saved plans on this device. Shared app files also include the curated directory. The download does not include Google Places responses, venue photos, or map tiles. You can remove a selected trip pack or clear site data; clearing site data also removes other saved app information.
Weather requests use a selected town or park-entrance reference point, not your device location. Our server requests National Weather Service forecasts and observations, using shared temporary caching. Your browser can save the latest forecast for offline display with its retrieval time. Saved weather expires after six hours and is not a live warning service.
Live venue photos and details load only when you request them. Repeated requests are suppressed while the same panel is open. Place IDs may be reused to avoid repeating a venue-name search. Google data is not added to offline packs.