Legal

Privacy Policy

Effective date: April 13, 2026 · Last updated: April 13, 2026

At a Glance

📱Your catches & notes stay on your device

🚫No ads, no ad networks

🔒No analytics or tracking SDKs

🐟Photos deleted from server immediately after ID

🗑Delete your data anytime — it's gone for good

🤝No data sold to third parties

Introduction

Catches ("we", "our", or "the app") is a personal fishing journal for iOS. We built Catches with a privacy-first approach: your catches, notes, and personal data stay on your device. This policy explains what information the app processes, how it is stored, and what controls you have.

Data We Collect

Catches does not collect personal information such as your name, email, or phone number. All catch records you create are stored locally on your device using Apple's SwiftData framework.

Data	Source	Storage	Transmitted?
Photos	Camera or photo library	Device only	AI server*
Species ID	AI identification	Device only	AI server*
Notes & measurements	User input	Device only	No
Location name	Photo EXIF GPS → Apple geocoder	Device only	Apple**
Nickname	Auto-generated (anonymous)	Device only	No

* Fish photos may be sent to our AI identification server via encrypted connection (HTTPS) for species recognition. The images are processed in real time and immediately deleted from our servers once identification is complete. We do not use your photos for AI training or any other purpose.

** GPS coordinates from your photo's EXIF metadata are sent to Apple's reverse geocoding service to convert them into a human-readable place name (e.g., "Qingpu, Shanghai"). This is handled by Apple's CLGeocoder API under Apple's own privacy policy.

Device Permissions

Catches requests only the minimum permissions needed to function:

Permission	Purpose	Required?
Camera	Photograph your catch and run real-time species detection	Yes, for capture
Photo Library (write)	Save exported share cards to your camera roll	Only for export

We do not request access to: location services, microphone, contacts, calendar, Bluetooth, health data, or any background capabilities.

AI & Data Processing

Catches uses AI to identify fish species. Depending on the complexity of identification, processing may happen in different ways:

On-device processing — basic detection (e.g., whether a fish is present) uses Apple's Vision framework locally on your device.
Server-side identification — for accurate species classification, your fish photo may be sent to our AI server via an encrypted HTTPS connection. The image is analyzed in real time and immediately discarded after processing — we do not store, log, or retain your photos on our servers.
Background removal uses Apple's Vision framework locally. No images leave your device for this feature.
EXIF extraction reads timestamp and GPS data embedded in your photos to auto-fill catch date and location. This happens entirely on-device.

🛡

When photos are sent to our AI server for identification, they are transmitted over an encrypted connection and immediately discarded after processing. We never store your photos on our servers, never use them for model training, and never share them with third parties.

Data Sharing & Third Parties

Catches does not share your data with anyone:

No analytics — we do not use Firebase, Amplitude, Segment, Mixpanel, or any analytics SDK.
No advertising — there are no ads, no ad networks, and no ad tracking identifiers.
No third-party tracking SDKs — we do not embed any third-party analytics or tracking frameworks.
No cloud sync of personal data — your catch records, notes, and collections are not uploaded to any cloud service.

When you use the share feature to export a catch card, the generated image is passed to the iOS share sheet. Where it goes from there (Messages, AirDrop, social media) is entirely your choice and governed by those platforms' privacy policies.

Data Retention & Deletion

Since all data is stored locally on your device:

You control retention. Data exists as long as you keep the app installed.
Delete individual catches at any time from within the app. Deletion is immediate and permanent.
Uninstall the app to remove all data completely. There is no backup, no residual data, and no way for us to recover it.

Children's Privacy

Catches does not knowingly collect information from children under 13. Since the app does not knowingly collect personal information from children, there is no age-gated data to protect. The app is safe for use by people of all ages.

Security

Your data is protected by the security measures built into iOS:

All app data is stored in the app's sandboxed container, inaccessible to other apps.
If you use a passcode, Face ID, or Touch ID, your data is encrypted at rest by iOS.
Network transmissions (AI identification and geocoding) are encrypted via HTTPS. Photos sent for AI processing are immediately discarded after identification.

Changes to This Policy

If we update this privacy policy, we will post the revised version on this page with an updated effective date. If we ever introduce features that change our data practices (such as cloud sync or accounts), we will notify you through the app before those features are enabled.

Contact

If you have questions about this privacy policy or the app's data practices, please reach out:

Catches Team

soaringcyxu@gmail.com