Privacy Policy
Last updated 10 September 2026
PlanetEar is privacy-first by architecture, not by policy promise: there is no backend to send data to.
The short version: PlanetEar has no account system and no server operated by the developer. Nothing you search, say or look at is collected, because there is nowhere for it to be sent.
What the app does not do
- No account, email, password, or cloud profile.
- No analytics or advertising SDKs, and no third-party tracking of any kind.
- No developer collection of map searches, voice transcripts, locations, or interest profiles — the developer operates no server that could receive them.
- No persistent identifiers are created or transmitted.
Data that leaves the device
To show live information, the app makes direct requests to the public data providers below. These requests are made only when the relevant feature is in use, always over HTTPS, and never carry a user identifier. Each provider receives only what it needs to answer the request.
| Recipient | What is sent | Why | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple (MapKit / Search / Geocoder / Look Around) | Map tiles, search queries, coordinates | Rendering the map, search, reverse geocoding, street-level imagery | While exploring the map |
| Apple (Speech) | Audio / recognition data — only if on-device recognition is unsupported for your locale or device | Converting speech to a command | Only while the mic button is held |
| adsb.lol | Viewport centre & radius | Fetching nearby aircraft | Aircraft layer on |
| CelesTrak | Satellite group name | Fetching orbital elements | Satellites / ISS layer on (≤ every 6 h) |
| USGS | Nothing beyond the feed request | Earthquake feed | Earthquakes layer on |
| Open-Meteo | Coordinates of the location you ask about | Weather | Weather requested |
All requests use HTTPS. None carry user identifiers.
On-device storage
- Preferences in
UserDefaults(units, layers, toggles, onboarding flag). - A small cache in the app's Caches directory (orbital elements, recent weather), each entry labelled with its age, and purgeable by iOS at any time.
Permissions
Each permission is requested only when a feature first needs it, and denying any of them leaves the entire app usable by touch and search.
- Microphone & Speech Recognition — only when you hold the mic button, solely to execute the command you speak. Transcripts are discarded.
- Location (When In Use) — only when you tap Locate Me or ask for things "near me". One-shot fixes; no continuous tracking, no storage.
- Camera — only in the "Point at the Sky" view, to show the live view behind the sky overlay. No photos or video are recorded, stored or sent.
- Motion sensors — only in the "Point at the Sky" view, to line the overlay up with where the phone is pointing. Stays on your device.
Children
PlanetEar collects no personal data from anyone, including children. It contains no accounts, chat, user-generated content or advertising.
Changes to this policy
If the app ever changes what it sends or stores, this page and the in-app privacy text will be updated together before that change ships.
Contact
Questions about privacy? Reach us through the app's App Store listing.