Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

The App is developed and published by Firefly Team (“we”, “us”, “our”), the developer named on the App’s pages in the Apple App Store and Google Play. For the purposes of data protection laws such as the EU and UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we are the controller of the personal data described in this policy, except where a third party acts as an independent controller (see Section 11).

You can reach us at any time at elflyhight@gmail.com.

2. Location

Location is the core of the App: it is what lets the App stamp where a photo was taken.

• Precise location, only while in use. The App asks for location permission and reads your device’s precise location while the camera is open (and, on Android, when you edit a photo). It does not use location in the background.
• iOSThe App asks for “While Using the App” permission only. It also uses the compass and motion sensors on your device to show heading and orientation; this stays on your device.
• AndroidThe camera screen asks for camera, microphone and location permissions together, because every capture is stamped with location. The App saves your last known location on your device so the camera can start faster.
• What it is used for: the visible stamp (coordinates, address, date and time, heading), the small map on the stamp, the location picker where you can search or choose another place, and the GPS metadata written into photos (see Section 4).
• Not used for ads or analytics. The App does not put your location into analytics events or ad requests. (Advertising partners may still infer an approximate location from your IP address; see Section 8.)

3. Where location is sent

To show an address, a map or the weather, the App sends coordinates (and, when you search, the text you type) to the services below. Each service also receives your IP address and standard technical request data. They provide their results directly to your device; we do not receive or store your location.

iOS Apple only

• Apple’s geocoding service turns your coordinates into an address while the camera is open (at most about every 15 seconds), turns addresses you type or search into coordinates, and reads the address of a photo you pick for editing.
• Apple Maps (MapKit) draws the small map on the stamp and the maps in the location picker and stamp editor.

Android Google and independent map services

• Address lookup: the App first uses the Android geocoding service provided by Google. If that fails, it tries, in order, OpenStreetMap Nominatim, BigDataCloud and Photon (by komoot). Searches for a typed address use Google, then Photon, then Nominatim.
• Nearby places: when you open the address editor, your coordinates are sent to Photon (by komoot) to list nearby places.
• Map on the stamp: a static map image is loaded from Geoapify, using coordinates rounded to about 11 metres.
• Map picker: map tiles are loaded from OpenStreetMap’s tile servers, which reveals the map area you are viewing.
• Weather: when you edit an existing photo, the coordinates stored in that photo are sent to wttr.in to show the weather.
• Google Maps: if you tap an address on a stamp, it opens in the Google Maps app or website.

4. Photos and videos

Photos and videos you take or edit are saved on your device. We do not upload, store or view them. You choose when to share a file, using your device’s share options.

• Location inside photos. Photos you take with the camera include GPS metadata in the file: latitude, longitude, altitude, speed and GPS time, plus location accuracy on iOS and direction on Android. This metadata comes from your device’s actual location, even if you changed the address shown on the stamp. Videos and edited photos do not get GPS metadata. Anyone you share the original photo with can read this metadata.
• iOSCaptures are stored in the App’s storage on your device, together with a list of each capture’s coordinates, address and date so the App can show them. Because the App supports file sharing, this storage is visible in the Files app and on a computer connected to your iPhone. By default the App also saves a copy to an album named “GeoCamera” in Photos, using add-only access. To edit an existing photo you choose it with the system photo picker, which gives the App only that photo.
• AndroidCaptures are saved to the shared “Pictures/GPS Camera” folder on your device, where other apps with photo access can see them. To edit an existing photo, the App reads it from your gallery, including its location metadata (with your permission), and uses that location as described in Section 3.

5. Other information we collect

5.1 Information you send us

If you contact us from the App, the message opens in your own email app. We receive your email address, your message and any attachments you add. AndroidThe email is pre-filled with your Android version, language/region and App version. We use this only to answer you and to improve the App.

5.2 Information collected automatically

When you use the App, we and the service providers listed in Section 11 automatically collect:

• Device and app information: device model, operating system and version, App version, language, country or region, network type and similar technical data.
• Identifiers: your device’s advertising identifier (the IDFA on iOS, only if you allow tracking; the Advertising ID on Android, unless you have deleted it), app- or developer-scoped identifiers, the app instance and installation IDs generated by Google Firebase, and IDs generated by advertising SDKs. These relate to your device; they do not tell us your name.
• Usage data: which screens and features you use and for how long, settings you change (such as stamp style or language) and similar events. Usage data does not contain your location, addresses, photos or videos.
• Advertising data: which ads were requested, shown and tapped, and related measurement data.
• Diagnostics: crash and diagnostic information collected by our advertising SDKs and Firebase, and Android crash reports collected by Firebase Crashlytics.
• Approximate location derived from your IP address by advertising partners, used to show the right consent message and to serve and measure ads.

5.3 Notifications

AndroidThe App can display push notifications sent through Google’s Firebase Cloud Messaging, if notifications are allowed for the App on your device. Firebase issues a messaging token to your device; the App keeps it on your device and does not send it to our servers. iOSThe App does not send notifications.

5.4 What we do not collect

The App does not access your contacts, calendars, health data, call logs or SMS, does not use location in the background, and does not process faces.

6. Device permissions

You can change permissions at any time in iOS Settings › GEO iOS or Settings › Apps › GEO › Permissions Android.

7. How we use information

If you are in the European Economic Area (EEA), the United Kingdom or Switzerland, the table also shows our legal basis under the GDPR.

We do not sell your personal information for money. We do not make decisions based solely on automated processing that have legal or similarly significant effects on you.

8. Advertising and tracking

The App shows ads from Google AdMob: native, interstitial and app-open ads, plus banner ads on Android. AndroidAdMob can also fill ads through Liftoff Monetize, Unity Ads, InMobi and Mintegral (“mediation”). These partners may collect the data described in Section 5.2 to serve ads, limit how often you see the same ad, measure performance and detect fraud, and, if you allow it, to personalise ads.

• Consent in the EEA, UK, Switzerland and some U.S. states. Where required, the App shows Google’s consent message when it starts, before any ad is requested. iOSA Privacy Options item appears in the App’s Settings where it applies, so you can change your choice at any time. AndroidTo change your choice, clear the App’s storage (Settings › Apps › GEO › Storage) or reinstall the App, and the consent message will appear again; you can also contact us.
• iOSApp Tracking Transparency. iOS asks for your permission before your data can be used to track you across other companies’ apps and websites. If you choose “Ask App Not to Track”, you will still see ads, but they will be less relevant. Change it any time in Settings › Privacy & Security › Tracking. Apple’s SKAdNetwork lets advertisers measure campaigns without identifying you.
• AndroidAdvertising ID. Reset or delete it in your device settings (usually Settings › Privacy › Ads, or Settings › Google › Ads).

Ads are provided by third parties. We do not control their content or the websites and apps they link to.

9. In-app purchases

The App currently has no in-app purchases. If we add any, they will be processed by Apple or Google, and we will never receive your payment card details.

10. How we share information

• Map, address and weather services receive coordinates and search text as described in Section 3.
• Service providers that provide analytics, crash reporting, remote configuration, notifications and consent management, on our behalf.
• Advertising partners that serve and measure ads. Some act as independent controllers under their own privacy policies.
• Apple and Google, for app distribution and platform features.
• People and apps you choose when you share a photo or video (including the location metadata it contains) or send us an email.
• Legal and safety reasons: when we believe in good faith that it is required by law or legal process, or needed to protect the rights, property or safety of our users, the public or us.
• Business transfers: if we are involved in a merger, acquisition or sale of assets, information may be transferred as part of that transaction and will remain subject to this policy or one at least as protective.

We work only with third parties that commit to protecting personal data with the same or equal protection as described in this Privacy Policy and as required by applicable law, the Apple App Store Review Guidelines and Google Play policies, and we require them to use the data only for the purposes for which it was shared.

11. Third-party services we use

Unless marked, a provider is used on both iOS and Android.

12. Data retention and deletion

The App has no user accounts, so there is no account to delete. Uninstalling the App removes the data it stored in its own storage; photos and videos you saved to Photos or to the shared Pictures folder remain until you delete them.

13. Your choices and controls

• Location: allow, limit or turn off location in your device settings. On iOS you can turn off “Precise Location”; the stamp will then be less exact. Without location the App cannot stamp your position.
• Location in shared photos: before sharing, you can remove location using your device’s share options or photo app (for example “Options › Location” on iOS), or share an edited copy, which does not contain GPS metadata.
• Other permissions: camera, microphone, photos and notifications can be changed in your device settings.
• Tracking and ad consent: see Section 8.
• Local data: delete captures in the App or in your photo library; uninstall the App to remove its storage.

14. Your privacy rights

Depending on where you live, including under the GDPR, the UK GDPR, Vietnam’s personal data protection laws and U.S. state privacy laws, you may have the right to access, correct, delete or export your personal data, to restrict or object to certain processing, to withdraw consent at any time, and to complain to your local data protection authority.

How to make a request. Email elflyhight@gmail.com with the subject “Privacy Request”, the App name and whether you use iOS or Android. The App has no user accounts and we do not receive your location or photos, so most data described here is either on your device or held by our partners under device identifiers that we cannot link to you. We will respond within one month, or within the time required by the law that applies to you, and where needed we will explain how to contact the relevant partner.

15. U.S. state privacy notice

• Categories collected: identifiers (advertising and device IDs); internet or other electronic network activity (App usage and ad interactions); approximate geolocation (from IP, by ad partners); precise geolocation, which is processed on your device and sent only to the map and weather services in Section 3 to provide the feature you use, not to us; and inferences that advertising partners may draw about your interests.
• “Sale” and “sharing”: we do not sell personal information for money. Allowing ad partners to collect identifiers and usage data for personalised advertising may count as a “sale” or “sharing” under some state laws. To opt out, decline personalised ads in the consent message where shown, choose “Ask App Not to Track” on iOS, delete your Advertising ID on Android, or email us with the subject “Do Not Sell or Share”.
• Sensitive information: precise geolocation is used only to provide the location features you request, and not to infer characteristics about you.
• Your rights: you may request to know, access, correct and delete your personal information, and to opt out as described above. We will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights.

16. Children

The App is not directed to children under 13, or under the minimum age required in your country to consent to data processing (for example, 16 in some EEA countries). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.

17. Security

Data the App stores in its own storage is protected by the operating system’s app sandbox; files saved to Photos or the shared Pictures folder are protected by your device’s own security. Network requests use encrypted connections (HTTPS). No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.

18. International transfers

We and our service providers may process information in countries other than the one where you live, including the United States. Where the law requires it, these transfers rely on appropriate safeguards such as the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses or equivalent mechanisms.

19. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time, for example when we add features or partners. We will change the “Last updated” date above and, when changes are significant, give notice in the App or in the store release notes. If you keep using the App after an update, the updated policy applies.

20. Contact us

If you are in the EEA or UK and believe we have not handled your data properly, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.