This Privacy Policy explains how Faunatic ("Faunatic", "we", "us", or "our") handles information when you use the Faunatic iOS application and related identification service.

Policy owner: Max Maximovich
Contact email: hello@hromers.com
Effective date: July 24, 2026

Faunatic is a playful field guide for real animals. You can photograph a live animal, receive a species identification, and add the creature to a fixed index of 1,000 animals. Faunatic is designed to keep your collection private and on your devices.

Faunatic does not ask you to create an account and does not collect an email address or password for sign-in.

The app generates an anonymous device identifier and stores it in your iCloud Keychain. This identifier is the only identity Faunatic uses. It is also used as your RevenueCat app user ID so the app can check and restore subscription access. The identifier does not directly reveal your name, email address, or Apple ID to us.

Your catches, original photos, sticker cutouts, field notes, optional locations, and collection progress are stored locally on your device using SwiftData.

If iCloud is available for Faunatic, your collection syncs between your Apple devices through your iCloud account using the CloudKit private database. Apple controls this private database. The developer cannot access or read the catches and field notes stored there.

The first time you press the camera shutter, before a photo is captured or any image data leaves your device, Faunatic asks for your explicit permission to use AI processing. The consent dialog explains that your photo will be sent to Faunatic servers, Vercel AI Gateway, and Google Gemini to identify the creature. If you choose "Don't Allow," the capture is canceled and no photo or image data is sent for identification. If you choose "Allow," your choice is stored on your device and identification proceeds. You can withdraw this permission at any time under Settings > Revoke AI Processing Consent. Faunatic will ask for permission again before sending another image for identification.

After you allow AI processing, Faunatic captures the photo and extracts the animal subject on your device. Only the resulting animal cutout, not the original full photo, is sent to our identification service. Our backend routes the cutout through Vercel AI Gateway to Google Gemini, a third-party AI service, solely to return a likely species match for that request.

We do not store the original photo or animal cutout on our backend. Vercel AI Gateway and Google Gemini process the cutout while handling the request. Identification can be wrong, particularly when a subject is distant, partly hidden, or unusually committed to looking like a leaf.

Location is optional. Faunatic requests location only after a successful identification. If you grant permission, the approximate location is attached to the catch so it can appear on your map.

The location attached to a catch is stored with that catch locally on your device and, when iCloud sync is enabled, in your CloudKit private database. We do not store catch locations on our backend.

You can deny or revoke location permission at any time in iOS Settings. The rest of the app remains usable without it.

Faunatic+ is an optional subscription that unlocks unlimited catches, the catch map, and full field notes. Apple processes App Store purchases and payment details. RevenueCat helps us manage subscription status, entitlements, and purchase restoration.

RevenueCat may process the anonymous app user ID, product and entitlement information, purchase status, renewal status, and expiration status. We receive subscription status needed to unlock features. We do not receive your payment card number or other payment details.

We use PostHog for product analytics. PostHog may process limited information about how the app is used, such as app events, feature interactions, app version, device or operating-system information, and the anonymous identifier. If you use "Send Feedback" in Settings, PostHog also processes the feedback text you choose to submit. We use this information to understand whether features work, respond to feedback, and improve Faunatic.

We use Sentry for crash and error monitoring. Sentry may process diagnostic information such as crash reports, error details, app version, device model, operating-system version, timestamps, and technical context needed to diagnose a problem.

We do not send your animal photos, catches, field notes, or catch locations to PostHog or Sentry as analytics content.

Our backend stores only:

• An anonymous user record associated with the anonymous identifier
• Identification and feature usage counts used to enforce limits and prevent abuse
• Subscription status needed to provide Faunatic+ features
• Limited request and technical logs needed to secure and operate the service

Our backend never stores your animal photos, catches, field notes, collection, or catch locations.

We use the limited information described in this policy to:

• Identify an animal from a submitted photo
• Provide, verify, and restore subscription access
• Enforce free usage limits and prevent abuse
• Operate, secure, troubleshoot, and improve Faunatic
• Monitor crashes and service reliability
• Respond to support and privacy requests
• Comply with applicable law

We do not sell personal information. We do not use your information for third-party advertising or share it for cross-context behavioral advertising.

Faunatic relies on service providers that process limited information on our behalf:

• Apple provides App Store distribution, payment processing, iCloud Keychain, iCloud, and CloudKit
• RevenueCat manages subscription status, entitlements, and purchase restoration
• Vercel AI Gateway processes and routes animal identification requests
• Google Gemini provides automated image analysis for animal identification
• PostHog provides product analytics
• Sentry provides crash and error monitoring

These providers handle information on our behalf under their own privacy terms and applicable contractual safeguards. We require them to protect the information consistently with this policy and applicable requirements. Information may be processed in countries other than the one where you live.

We may share limited information:

• With the service providers listed above when needed to operate Faunatic
• If required by law, court order, or valid legal process
• To protect the rights, safety, integrity, or security of Faunatic, our users, or others
• In connection with a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, or sale of assets, subject to appropriate safeguards

Your catches, field notes, collection, and optional locations remain on your device and, if enabled, in your CloudKit private database until you delete them or remove them through Apple services. Because the developer cannot access your CloudKit private database, we cannot delete that private iCloud data for you.

The original photo and animal cutout are not retained on our backend after the identification request is completed. Vercel AI Gateway may retain operational request metadata under its service settings. Google may retain Gemini API prompts, contextual information such as the submitted cutout, and responses for up to 55 days solely to detect and prevent abuse and meet legal or regulatory obligations. Google states that this data is not used to train or fine-tune AI models other than systems used for policy enforcement.

We keep the anonymous backend user record, usage counts, subscription status, and necessary technical logs only for as long as reasonably required to operate and secure Faunatic, prevent abuse, meet legal obligations, and resolve disputes. We may retain aggregated or de-identified statistics that no longer identify a device.

Support emails are retained for as long as reasonably necessary to respond to the request and maintain an appropriate support record.

You can:

• Choose whether to grant camera and location permissions
• Choose whether to allow AI processing and withdraw that permission under Settings > Revoke AI Processing Consent
• Remove location from a catch or delete the catch in the app
• Manage iCloud access in your Apple device settings
• Manage or cancel a subscription through your Apple account settings
• Delete the anonymous backend record and local catches through Settings > Delete Account
• Delete local app data by deleting catches or the app, subject to data that may remain in iCloud or iCloud Keychain

Depending on where you live, you may also have rights to request access to, correction of, deletion of, or a copy of personal information we control, or to object to or restrict certain processing.

To make a privacy request, email hello@hromers.com. Include enough information for us to understand the request, but do not send sensitive documents unless we ask for them. Because Faunatic has no account and uses only an anonymous identifier, we may be unable to connect a record to you without additional information.

Deleting Faunatic does not automatically cancel an App Store subscription. You must manage or cancel subscriptions through your Apple account settings.

Faunatic is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided personal information through Faunatic, contact us at hello@hromers.com and we will take appropriate steps to investigate and delete information we control.

Parents and guardians should supervise a child's use of the camera, location features, and outdoor identification activities.

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards to protect information we control. Your private iCloud data is protected by Apple's systems and your Apple account. No method of electronic transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.

We may update this Privacy Policy as Faunatic or applicable requirements change. If we make material changes, we will update the effective date and provide notice in the app or through another appropriate method when required by law.

For questions, support, or privacy requests, contact:

Max Maximovich
hello@hromers.com