Privacy Policy for Peregrine Planner

Last Updated: September 3, 2026

The short version

Peregrine Planner is a hobby project by an individual developer. There are no user accounts, no login, and no server run by the developer. Everything you create in the app — trips, sightings, photos, notes, behavior and migration logs, stories, hotspot notes, challenge progress, and settings — is stored only on your device. None of it is transmitted to the developer or to any analytics service. The app has no ads, no trackers, and no third-party analytics SDKs.

The app does talk to a few outside services to do its job (mainly eBird for bird observation data). Those, and the device permissions the app asks for, are described below.

What the app stores, and where

All of your content lives in the app's own local storage on your device:

Birding data: trips and itineraries, logged sightings, photos you attach, notes and counts, behavior and migration logs, "Tell Your Story" journals, hotspot notes, and Life List / Big Month / State Birds progress.
Preferences: your display name (used only as "exported by" in trip files you choose to share), home state, and the app's setting toggles.
Caches: bird thumbnail images downloaded from iNaturalist are cached locally for offline viewing and can be cleared in Settings.

There is no cloud sync and no automatic backup. Moving data to a new phone is a manual action you take: Settings > Advanced > Data Backup & Migration exports a single file that you transfer yourself (AirDrop, Files, iCloud Drive, or email). The developer never receives that file.

Outside services the app contacts

To function, the app makes network requests to the following services. These requests are made directly from your device over HTTPS; the developer does not sit in the middle and does not log them.

eBird API (Cornell Lab of Ornithology, api.ebird.org): the app sends a location (coordinates or a region/state code) and time window to retrieve recent bird observations, hotspots, and official state-bird lists. This is the core data source for the Plan tab, Species Map, Hotspot Browser, State Birds, and Learn About Birds. Your use of eBird data is subject to eBird's own terms and the Cornell Lab privacy statement, linked at the end of this policy.
iNaturalist API (api.inaturalist.org): the app sends a species name to fetch a thumbnail photo and attribution. You can turn this off entirely with the "Bird Image Thumbnails" setting, in which case no requests are made to iNaturalist and letter placeholders are shown instead.
Wikipedia REST API (en.wikipedia.org): the AI Bird ID Assistant may send a species name to fetch a short summary paragraph to include in an answer. Only species names are sent; your questions and trip data are not.
Apple: optional in-app tips are processed by Apple's App Store (StoreKit). Apple handles the payment; the developer receives only anonymized aggregate sales figures from Apple and never sees your name, card, or contact details. On devices that support Apple Intelligence, the assistant's on-device model may be used to phrase answers — that processing happens on your device and nothing is sent to Apple for it.
Maps: map views and "open in Maps" links use Apple Maps, subject to Apple's Maps privacy practices.

The app does not send your sightings, photos, logs, notes, or location history to any of these services. It only sends the minimum needed for a given lookup (typically a coordinate or a species name).

Device permissions

iOS will ask your permission before the app can use any of these. Each is used only for the feature named, and the data stays on your device:

Location: to center "nearby" bird observations on where you are and to plan trip routes from your current location. Coordinates are sent to the eBird API as described above; location history is not stored or uploaded.
Microphone: for real-time bird sound identification. Audio is analyzed on your device by an on-device model (BirdNET) and is not recorded to a file or uploaded.
Camera: for photo and AR bird identification. Image analysis runs on your device.
Photo Library: to let you pick existing photos for identification and to save bird photos you capture.
Local Network & Bluetooth: only used if you build and pair the optional DIY directional microphone array accessory. The app talks to that accessory over your local Wi-Fi and Bluetooth; the accessory has no internet connection and sends nothing offsite.
Calendars: only if you use "Add to Calendar" on a trip, which writes trip days into a calendar you choose.

Contributing your sightings to eBird

The app displays eBird data but does not upload anything to eBird on your behalf. If you want your observations to become part of eBird, you enter them at eBird.org yourself. Once data is in eBird it is governed by eBird's policies:

eBird data are provided for non-commercial research and education.
The Cornell Lab does not use or share your personal information for commercial purposes; your contact information is available only to Cornell Lab staff and volunteer regional reviewers.
Observation locations (latitude/longitude) and your name may be displayed on eBird checklists; name display can be turned off in your eBird account.

The support website

This website is a set of static pages hosted on GitHub Pages. It sets no cookies and includes no analytics or tracking scripts. GitHub may log basic request information (such as IP address) as described in the GitHub Privacy Statement. The "Contact" form does not submit anywhere — it assembles a message and opens your own email app so you can send it to peregrineplanner@gmail.com. If you email for support, that email is retained in the developer's ordinary mailbox for as long as needed to respond.

Data retention and deletion

Because your data is only on your device, you are in control of it:

Delete individual trips, sightings, logs, and photos within the app.
Settings > Advanced > Clear All Data wipes the app's stored content.
Deleting the app removes all of its local data and caches.

There is no account to close and no data held by the developer to request or delete. A support email you send can be deleted on request.

Children's privacy

The app is not directed to children under 13 and does not knowingly collect personal information from anyone. It collects nothing centrally in any case.

Security

Local data is protected by iOS app sandboxing and device encryption. Network requests to the services listed above are made over HTTPS. No method of storage or transmission is perfectly secure.

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes, the "Last Updated" date above will change. Material changes will be noted in the app's release notes or here.

Contact

Questions about this policy: peregrineplanner@gmail.com