Privacy policy
Effective date: August 31, 2026
1. Scope
This policy applies to the SCARI iOS application (“the App”). It describes the information the App stores, the circumstances in which information leaves the device, and the permissions the App requests.
2. Responsible party
The App is developed and published by Gerald Burkett, an individual developer. Inquiries regarding this policy may be directed to [email protected].
3. Information collected by the developer
The developer does not collect, receive, store, or sell personal information. The App contains no analytics, advertising, attribution, or crash-reporting components, and no third-party software development kits. The App does not require an account and does not transmit data to a server operated by the developer.
The App does not request permission to track under Apple’s App Tracking Transparency framework and does not access the device advertising identifier.
4. Information stored on the device
Information created in the App is written to storage on the device. This includes:
- Audio recordings made or imported by the user.
- Field notes, including text, attached photographs, and geographic coordinates.
- Analysis output, including spectrograms, measurement results, annotations, and classification models trained by the user.
- Application settings, including unit preferences, display name, and profile selection.
Some of these files are stored in a location that iOS exposes through the Files application, and are therefore accessible to the device user. This permits export of research data without an intermediary service.
5. Optional iCloud synchronization
Synchronization is disabled by default. If the user enables it in Settings, field notes, annotations, and related records are transmitted to the user’s private iCloud account through Apple’s CloudKit service. Records synchronized in this manner are held in the user’s own iCloud storage, are subject to Apple’s security and privacy practices, and are not accessible to the developer. Synchronization may be disabled at any time.
6. Device-to-device synchronization
The App provides an optional feature that exchanges records directly between nearby devices using Apple’s Multipeer Connectivity framework over Bluetooth and the local network. Data exchanged in this manner passes between the participating devices and does not traverse a server operated by the developer or by a third party.
7. Permissions requested
The App requests the permissions below. Each may be declined or revoked at any time in iOS Settings; the App remains functional with reduced capability.
| Permission | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Microphone | Recording audio for acoustic analysis and classification. |
| Location (while in use) | Recording geographic coordinates on field notes and recordings, and logging track lines. |
| Location (always) | Continuing an active track log while the App is not in the foreground. |
| Camera | Capturing photographs for attachment to field notes. |
| Photo library | Attaching existing photographs to field notes, and importing audio from video files. |
| Bluetooth | Discovering nearby devices for device-to-device synchronization. |
| Local network | Discovering nearby devices for device-to-device synchronization. |
The App declares the background execution modes audio, location, and processing,
which permit recording, track logging, and deferred analysis to continue while the App
is not in the foreground.
8. Apple services
The App uses the following services provided by Apple as part of iOS. Information handled by these services is subject to Apple’s privacy policy.
- WeatherKit, used to populate weather conditions on a field note at the user’s request. A geographic coordinate is transmitted to Apple in order to return conditions for that location.
- StoreKit, used to offer and restore in-app purchases. Payment processing is performed by Apple. The developer does not receive payment card details.
- CloudKit, used only where the user has enabled iCloud synchronization under section 5.
Acoustic processing, including analysis, spectrogram generation, and machine learning classification and training, is performed on the device.
9. Retention and deletion
Information stored on the device is retained until the user deletes it or removes the App. Removing the App deletes information held in its storage. Information previously synchronized to iCloud is retained in the user’s iCloud account and may be removed by disabling synchronization before removing the App, or by deleting the App’s data in iOS Settings under Apple Account, iCloud, Manage Storage.
10. Children
The App is intended for research and professional use. It is not directed to children under 13, and the developer does not knowingly collect information from children.
11. Rights of users
The developer does not collect or hold personal information, so requests to access, correct, export, or delete such information cannot be fulfilled by the developer. Information stored on the device or in the user’s iCloud account remains under the user’s control and may be exported or deleted using the App and iOS Settings, as described in sections 4 and 9.
12. Changes to this policy
This policy may be revised. Revisions are published on this page with an updated effective date.
13. Contact
Questions regarding this policy may be directed to [email protected].