Privacy policy
AstroCompass has no accounts and no sign-in, and never sells or shares your data. The only data that can leave your phone is a diagnostics journal keyed by a random install code, and this page explains exactly what that is, when it is sent, and how to stop it.
The short version
- We do not know who you are. The app never collects your name, email, contacts, photos library, Apple ID, advertising identifier, or precise location.
- Beta builds (TestFlight) send full diagnostics by default, and say so on first launch. You accepted this by joining the beta; you can leave the beta test at any time.
- The App Store release asks first. Diagnostics are off until you choose "Share diagnostics", and you can switch them off in Settings ▸ Privacy at any time. Nothing in the app depends on your choice. However, diagnostics are key to improving the app and diagnosing any bugs or issues you may have. We have a strict retention and deletion policy for all diagnostics.
- We keep diagnostics only long enough to find and fix problems, never more than 90 days, then delete them.
- One key: a random install code. It is generated on your phone, is not derived from your device or Apple ID, and is the only thing that the diagnostics reference. You can find this code in Settings ▸ Privacy and send it to us to have your data deleted.
What the app uses on your phone (never sent by itself)
| Data | Why the app needs it | Leaves the phone? |
|---|---|---|
| Motion and compass sensors | To know where the phone is pointing | No. A summary of pointing error at each Sky Lock is included in diagnostics if they are on. |
| Location (iOS permission) | To compute which stars, planets, and satellites are above your horizon | Only as a rough, general position rounded to about 1 km, and only inside diagnostics. |
| Camera (iOS permission) | Sky Lock: reading the stars above you | Only the night-sky frames from a Sky Lock attempt, and only inside diagnostics. The camera is never on outside of Sky Lock and no photos are stored in your photo library. |
| Notifications (iOS permission) | Celestial events and alerts you must opt in to receive | Apple delivers pushes to your device; we store no push token and no identifier for you. |
Diagnostics: what is collected
When diagnostics are on, the app records a session journal and, after each Sky Lock attempt, a diagnostics bundle. Together they contain:
- The random install code, the app build number, iOS version, device model, and time zone.
- Your approximate location, rounded to about 1 km, so the frames can be checked against the real sky at that place and time.
- A journal of semantic events: which screens and features were used, filters and searches typed into the app's search box, objects opened, Sky Lock outcomes, sensor and compass error summaries, performance timings, and errors. The continuous sensor stream is never recorded.
- The camera frames captured during a Sky Lock attempt. These are photographs of the night sky as the phone saw it. If you aim low, they may include your surroundings, so aim at the sky.
The journal does not contain your name, contacts, other apps, your photo library, keystrokes outside the app's search box, or precise coordinates.
When it is collected
1. Beta builds (TestFlight, and developer builds)
While AstroCompass is in beta, every build installed through TestFlight sends full diagnostics by default. The app shows a notice on first launch explaining this, and Settings ▸ Privacy repeats it. This is how we find and fix Sky Lock failures we could never see otherwise. If you do not want to share diagnostics, please do not install the beta; the App Store release will let you use the app with diagnostics off.
2. The production App Store release
Diagnostics are off by default. On first launch the app asks "Share diagnostics?" with a link to this policy; choosing "Not now" leaves everything off. Settings ▸ Privacy has a switch to turn sharing on or off at any time. Turning it off stops all sending immediately and deletes anything recorded but not yet sent. No feature, free or paid, depends on your answer. However, diagnostics help us improve the application and evaluate and fix bugs you may experience.
Where it goes and who can see it
Diagnostics are uploaded to Apple's iCloud (CloudKit) public database inside the developer's container for this app and to Dead Reckoning Studio LLC. The only entities with access are the developer and the automated analysis tools we use to analyze and fix bugs and issues. Today the app contains no third-party analytics, crash-reporting, or advertising software; if that ever changes, this policy will say so first, and any such partner will be held to the same protections described here. We never sell, rent, or share diagnostics with anyone.
How long we keep it
We only keep diagnostics long enough to evaluate and correct any bugs or issues, never more than 90 days, and then they are deleted, unless a specific night-sky capture is part of a documented test case for a fix, in which case only the frames and journal for that case are retained. Deletion includes our backups. You can ask for everything tied to your install code to be deleted sooner.
Deleting your data
Email support@astrocompass.app with the install code shown in the app under Settings ▸ Privacy. We will delete every session and bundle tied to that code, including from our backups, within 30 days and confirm by reply. Nothing older than 90 days exists to delete. Deleting the app from your phone also discards the install code; a reinstall gets a new one, and we cannot link the two.
Purchases
Subscriptions and tips, when offered, are processed entirely by Apple through the App Store. We receive no payment card details and no identity, only Apple's anonymous purchase records needed to unlock what you bought and to handle refunds through Apple.
All ages
AstroCompass is rated 4+ on the App Store, suitable for all ages, and collects no personal information from anyone. Diagnostics in the App Store release require an explicit choice on the device; a parent or guardian can leave them off or switch them off under Settings ▸ Privacy.
This website
astrocompass.app is a static site served by Cloudflare. It sets no cookies of ours and runs no analytics scripts. Cloudflare may log requests (IP address, user agent) for security and delivery under its own privacy policy. Email sent to support@astrocompass.app is handled by our email provider and read by the developer.
Your rights
Wherever you live, you can ask us what we hold for your install code, ask us to delete it, or withdraw consent by switching diagnostics off. Because we hold no identity, we can act only on the install code you give us. Residents of the EU/EEA, UK, California, Colorado, and other jurisdictions with privacy laws have those rights under this policy without needing to cite them.
Changes
If this policy changes in a way that matters, the effective date above changes and the app will show the new version before any newly collected category is sent. Earlier versions are available on request.
Contact
Dead Reckoning Studio LLC, Highlands Ranch, Colorado, USA · support@astrocompass.app