Privacy Policy

Effective Date: November 7, 2025

SunSpot ("we", "us", or "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our mobile application SunSpot, including its sunlight tracking and community features.

1. Information We Collect

• Location Data: We collect your precise GPS coordinates while the app is in use to calculate sunlight exposure.
• Motion & Activity Data: With your permission, we access motion sensors to detect when you are outdoors.
• Weather Data: We fetch current weather and UV index data from Apple's WeatherKit. This data is not stored on our servers.
• Usage Analytics: We collect anonymous analytics about app performance, feature usage, and community interactions to improve our service.
• User-Generated Content (UGC): When you share photos and posts (up to 140 characters), or comments in the community, we collect and store this content. You control which photos from your device library SunSpot accesses by selecting them during upload. UGC may include metadata like timestamps or location tags if you enable them.
• Account Information: If you create a community profile, we collect basic details like a username or display name.

2. How We Use Your Information

• To provide and personalize sunlight tracking and community features.
• To calculate sunlight exposure and suggest optimal sun times based on conditions.
• To enable photo uploads, posts, and comments within the SunSpot community.
• To send optional notifications for solar events (e.g., sunrise, sunset).
• To improve functionality, stability, and user experience through aggregated analytics.
• To respond to user reports, enforce our Community Guidelines and prevent misuse or abusive behaviour.

3. Data Storage & Security

Personal data like location, motion, and analytics is stored locally on your device. If you enable iCloud backup, data is encrypted and stored in your iCloud account. UGC (photos and comments) is stored on Firebase, a secure third-party cloud service, with encryption in transit (via HTTPS) and at rest. We implement access controls, regular security audits, and iOS data protection features to safeguard all information. We retain UGC only as long as necessary for community functionality or legal requirements, and it is deleted upon account removal.

4. Sharing Your Information

We do not sell or rent your personal data. We may share anonymized analytics with service providers for app improvement. UGC is shared within the app's community for viewing by other users (unless you block users). To store and serve UGC, we share it with Firebase (a Google service) under strict data processing agreements that prohibit unrelated use. Your location and motion data are never shared. In rare cases (e.g., legal requests), we may disclose data as required by law.

5. Your Choices

• Location & Motion Permissions: Control these in your device Settings → Privacy.
• Photo Access: Select specific photos during upload; revoke library access anytime in device Settings → Privacy → Photos.
• Analytics Opt-Out: Toggle "Share Analytics" in SunSpot Settings.
• Community Controls: Edit or delete your UGC/posts anytime; block users to prevent interactions; opt out of community features entirely.
• Data Deletion: Use Settings → Reset Data in-app (deletes local data and UGC) or uninstall SunSpot (removes local data). For full account deletion, contact us — we'll remove your UGC from Firebase within 30 days.

6. Children's Privacy

SunSpot is not intended for children under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from children under 13. If you believe we have, please contact us immediately.

7. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically. Changes will be posted here with a new Effective Date, and we'll notify you in-app for material updates.

8. Contact Us

If you have questions or concerns, please email us at support@getsunspot.app.