This Privacy Policy explains how AltiCam ("we", "us") handles your information. AltiCam is an altitude watermark camera that runs on your device.
Two things are worth stating up front. First, we operate no servers of our own: there is no AltiCam account, no sign-up, and no back end that receives your photos, your coordinates, or your altitude readings. Second, that does not mean nothing is collected at all — the app includes advertising, consent, and analytics components from Google, and those components do collect data. Sections 4 and 5 describe exactly what they collect. We do not sell your personal information.
Photos. Photos you capture in AltiCam or import from your photo library are read, watermarked, and rendered entirely on your device. They are never uploaded to us, because there is nowhere to upload them to. A photo leaves your device only if you deliberately send it somewhere yourself through the iOS share sheet or by saving it and sharing it later. The image AltiCam produces carries only the pixels: the original file's embedded EXIF metadata, including its hidden GPS tag, is not copied into the exported image, so the only location information it carries is whatever you chose to show in the watermark.
Altitude, coordinates, heading, and pressure. These readings are produced by your device's own sensors. The dial screen displays all of them; the watermark carries altitude, coordinates, place name, and time. They are stored, if at all, only inside the image you export and in the app's local settings on your device.
Your settings. Unit preferences and dial layout choices are stored locally on your device and are removed when you delete the app.
A purchase identifier. On first launch the app generates a random identifier and keeps it in your device's Keychain. It is derived from nothing about you or your hardware, it is not displayed anywhere in the app, and it is not used for advertising or analytics. Its single purpose is to be attached to a subscription purchase as Apple's app account token, so that a purchase can be reconciled with the installation that made it. Because we have no server, this identifier is never transmitted to us; it reaches Apple only as part of the transaction.
Location (while using the app). Used to show your altitude, coordinates, place name, and heading on the dial screen, and to watermark your altitude, coordinates, place name, and time onto a photo. If you decline location access, the app still works: the photo editor can fall back to the location recorded in an imported photo's own EXIF data, and the dial screen will prompt you to enable location if you want live readings.
Place names (reverse geocoding) — an honest exception. Turning coordinates into a readable place name is done with Apple's system geocoding service (CLGeocoder), which requires a network request. When this feature is used, your coordinates are sent to Apple and are handled under Apple's own privacy policy. They are not sent to us — we have no server to receive them — but we cannot honestly claim that your location never leaves your device. If you prefer to avoid this entirely, you can leave the place-name field out of your watermark or turn location access off.
Motion and barometer. Used to read the device's barometric pressure sensor for a more stable altitude estimate and to show the pressure reading on the dial screen. Processed on device only. Not all iPhone and iPad models have a barometer; on those devices the pressure-based features are unavailable.
Camera. Used to take photos inside the app. The camera feed is never recorded or transmitted anywhere.
Photo library (add only). AltiCam requests permission to add photos to your library so it can save your watermarked images. It does not request read access to your library. When you import an existing photo, the system photo picker hands the app only the single image you selected.
App Tracking Transparency. If you use the free, ad-supported version, the app shows Apple's tracking permission prompt. Subscribers do not see it, since ads are switched off for them, and neither do users who have declined advertising in the consent form described in Section 5. Section 5 also explains what the prompt controls.
AltiCam includes the following third-party components, and they — not we — perform the data collection described here:
Google AdMob and Google User Messaging Platform (UMP). Used to serve app-open and rewarded video ads and to manage advertising consent. These SDKs may collect your advertising identifier (IDFA) where you have permitted tracking, advertising data such as ad impressions, clicks, and interactions, device and app information, and a coarse location estimated from your IP address. This IP-based estimate is a general region — it is not your precise GPS position, and the GPS position shown in the app is never passed to advertising services.
Google Firebase Analytics. Used to understand how the app's features are used, through product interaction events (for example, opening a screen or applying a template) together with basic device and app information. Firebase also automatically records App Store purchase events for the subscription. Purchase data collected this way is used for analytics only and is not used to target advertising.
Apple StoreKit. Handles the subscription purchase and reports its status back to the app. Apple processes the payment; we never see or receive your payment card details.
Crash and performance diagnostics may also be collected by these SDKs and by Apple's own platform reporting.
Each provider handles the data it collects under its own privacy policy. See Google's Privacy Policy at https://policies.google.com/privacy and Apple's Privacy Policy at https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/.
App Tracking Transparency (ATT). Before the advertising identifier can be used to link your activity with other companies' apps and websites, iOS asks for your permission. Declining does not restrict any feature of AltiCam — you simply see non-personalized ads instead of personalized ones. You can change your answer at any time in iOS Settings under Privacy & Security → Tracking.
European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. Users in these regions are shown a Google-provided consent form on first launch, covering personalized advertising and related purposes. You can reopen that form and change your decision at any time through the Privacy Options entry on the app's settings page.
Removing ads. An active subscription removes advertising from the app.
We do not receive your data, so there is nothing for us to sell, rent, or trade. The only parties that receive data in connection with the app are the platform and service providers named in Sections 3 and 4 — Apple, for system services and subscription processing, and Google, for advertising, consent management, and analytics — each acting under its own privacy policy. Data handled by these providers may be processed on servers outside your country of residence.
Because we hold no data, we have no retention period to describe. Data held on your device is under your control and is removed when you delete the photos in question or uninstall the app. Data collected by Google and Apple is retained according to their respective policies and controls.
Keeping photos and readings on the device is itself the main protection this app offers: information that is never transmitted cannot be intercepted in transit or exposed by a server breach. Network requests that the app does make — reverse geocoding, ad delivery, analytics, and purchases — use encrypted connections provided by Apple and Google. No system is completely secure, and we encourage you to protect your device with a passcode and to keep iOS up to date.
Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, or delete personal information, and to object to or restrict its processing. Since we hold no personal information about you, requests of this kind need to be directed to the provider that actually holds the data:
1. To delete everything the app itself holds, delete the app and any watermarked photos you no longer want.
2. For advertising and analytics data, use the ATT setting and, in the EEA, UK, and Switzerland, the Privacy Options form described in Section 5, and refer to Google's privacy controls.
3. For purchase records, refer to Apple's account and privacy tools.
If you are unsure which applies to your situation, contact us at the address in Section 12 and we will point you to the right channel.
AltiCam is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided information through the app, contact us and we will help you address it with the relevant provider.
We may update this Policy from time to time. Material changes will be announced through in-app notice or other reasonable means. Please review the latest version periodically.
If you have questions about this Policy, contact us at:
Email: gbhmfeedback@gmail.com