Wild Lens

Privacy Policy

Effective October 28, 2026

Wild Lens is an iPhone app that shows wildlife recorded around you, in the direction your camera is pointing. This policy explains what information the app uses, why, and who it is shared with. Wild Lens is made by Luca Lupo (“we”, “us”). If you have a question, write to lucalupo@icloud.com.

The short version

• There is no account. We don’t ask for your name, email or phone number.
• Your location is used to look up nearby wildlife records. We don’t keep a history of where you’ve been.
• The camera feed is processed on your phone and never uploaded.
• Your life list, notes and sighting photos stay on your phone.
• We use Firebase Analytics to understand how the app is used, RevenueCat to manage subscriptions, and the Meta SDK to measure our ads. Ad tracking across other companies’ apps only happens if you allow it in the iOS prompt.
• We don’t sell your personal information.

Information the app uses

Location and compass heading

With your permission (“While Using the App”), Wild Lens reads your precise location and compass heading. The app sends your coordinates and the search radius you chose to the iNaturalist API (api.inaturalist.org) to fetch wildlife observations near you. iNaturalist receives that request like any website receives a visit, including your IP address; its handling is described in the iNaturalist Privacy Policy. Your heading is used only on your phone. When you log a sighting, the place where you logged it is saved with the entry on your phone. We don’t store your location on our own servers.

Camera

The live camera is shown so labels can be placed over the landscape. To decide whether you’re looking at open landscape, the app analyses a few frames per second on your device with Apple’s on-device frameworks. Frames are not saved or sent anywhere. When you take a postcard or a sighting photo, the image is kept on your phone, and saved to your photo library only when you choose to.

Photos you add

If you attach a photo to a sighting, Wild Lens stores a copy inside the app on your phone. Wild Lens asks for permission to add to your photo library only to save postcards you make.

Life list and offline areas

Your life list (species, dates, places, notes and photos) and any offline areas you download are stored on your phone. Offline areas are excluded from iCloud backups. Deleting the app deletes this data.

Usage analytics (Firebase Analytics)

We use Google’s Firebase Analytics to learn which features people use and where the app can be better. It collects events such as opening the onboarding, viewing the Pro screen, starting or completing a purchase, opening a species page, logging a sighting, creating a postcard or switching between camera and map. Each event can include details like the species ID or the plan chosen. Firebase also collects an app instance identifier, device model, iOS version, app version, language and an approximate region derived from your IP address. Firebase does not receive your GPS coordinates from us. See Privacy and Security in Firebase.

Purchases (Apple and RevenueCat)

Payments are processed by Apple. We never see your payment details. We use RevenueCat to check whether you have Wild Lens Pro and to keep subscriptions in sync. RevenueCat receives an anonymous app user ID, your purchase and renewal history from Apple, your device type and country, and the Firebase app instance ID so we can tell which features lead to subscriptions. See the RevenueCat Privacy Policy.

Advertising measurement (Meta SDK and App Tracking Transparency)

We advertise Wild Lens on Facebook and Instagram. The Meta (Facebook) SDK in the app tells Meta when the app is installed, opened, or a purchase is made, so we can see which ads work. iOS asks whether Wild Lens may track you. If you tap “Allow”, the SDK may also send your device’s advertising identifier (IDFA) to Meta. If you tap “Ask App Not to Track”, it doesn’t, and Meta uses Apple’s privacy-preserving SKAdNetwork attribution instead. You can change this anytime in Settings, Privacy & Security, Tracking. Your location, camera images and life list are never shared with Meta or other advertisers. See the Meta Privacy Policy.

Email

If you email us, we receive your email address and whatever you write, and use it only to reply.

How we use information

• To show wildlife recorded near you and in the direction you’re facing.
• To provide Wild Lens Pro and restore purchases.
• To understand how the app is used, fix problems and improve it.
• To measure how well our advertising works.
• To answer your messages.

Where the GDPR applies, we rely on your consent for location, camera and ad tracking, on performance of our contract with you for purchases, and on our legitimate interest in understanding and improving the app for analytics.

Sharing

We share information only with the services described above (iNaturalist, Google Firebase, RevenueCat, Meta and Apple), which act on our behalf or provide the data the app shows, and when the law requires it. We don’t sell personal information and we don’t share it for cross-context behavioural advertising unless you allow tracking in iOS.

Retention

Data on your phone stays until you delete it or the app. Firebase Analytics keeps event data for up to 14 months. RevenueCat keeps purchase records for as long as needed to provide subscriptions and meet accounting obligations. We keep support emails for as long as needed to help you.

Your choices and rights

• Turn off location, camera, photos or tracking anytime in iOS Settings, Wild Lens.
• Delete your life list by deleting the app.
• Depending on where you live (for example the EU, UK or California), you can ask to access, correct or delete personal information we hold, or object to its use. Email lucalupo@icloud.com and we’ll answer within 30 days. Because there’s no account, we may ask for your RevenueCat or Firebase identifier, shown on request, to find your data.
• You can complain to your local data protection authority.

Children

Wild Lens is not directed at children under 13, and we don’t knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, contact us and we’ll delete it.

International transfers

The services we use may process information in the United States and other countries. Where required, they rely on safeguards such as the EU Standard Contractual Clauses.

Changes

If we change this policy, we’ll update the date above and, for significant changes, mention it in the app’s release notes.

Contact

Luca Lupo, developer of Wild Lens
lucalupo@icloud.com