Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how Chronicle Compass collects, uses, stores, and discloses information when you use the Chronicle Compass mobile application.
1. Scope
This Privacy Policy applies to the Chronicle Compass iOS application and related services made available by the app. It does not apply to third-party websites, services, or content that may be accessed from links inside the app, including Wikipedia.
2. Information We Collect
Chronicle Compass is designed to minimize data collection. Based on the current app implementation, the app may process the following categories of information:
- Precise location information: The app requests access to your device location to discover nearby historical places, show your position on the map, calculate your distance from sites, and support optional geofence-based notifications.
- User-selected photos: If you choose to attach a photo to a historical site, the app reads the image you select from your photo library and stores a compressed copy locally on your device.
- Visit history and progress data: When you record a visit, the app stores information such as the site identifier, site name, visit date, points awarded, and optional visit distance.
- App settings: The app stores preferences such as discovery radius, visitation radius, and whether notifications are enabled.
- Locally cached discovery data: The app caches nearby-site search results and a limited set of geofence metadata on your device to improve performance and support notifications.
- Diagnostic information you choose to provide: If you contact support, you may provide your name, email address, and any information you include in your message.
Chronicle Compass does not currently require account creation. The app does not currently include advertising SDKs, third-party analytics SDKs, or in-app purchase processing in the reviewed codebase.
3. How We Use Information
The app uses information only for the app features you request. Specifically, Chronicle Compass uses information to:
- find and display nearby historical places;
- show historical place details and summaries;
- calculate your proximity to a site and determine whether a visit can be recorded;
- monitor a limited number of nearby historical-site geofences and send local notifications if you enable notifications;
- save your visit history, progress, and selected photos locally on your device;
- cache recent nearby-place results to reduce unnecessary network requests; and
- respond to support inquiries if you contact us.
4. Location Information
Location access is central to Chronicle Compass. The app requests when-in-use location permission and, if you enable notification-based geofencing, may also request always-on location access to support region monitoring and local alerts.
The app uses your device location to:
- display your location on the map;
- search for nearby places using your coordinates;
- calculate distance and direction to sites; and
- monitor up to the closest twenty historical-site geofences for optional local notifications.
Nearby-place search requests use your coordinates to query the Wikipedia API. That means your location coordinates, or an approximation of them as transmitted by your device, are sent to Wikipedia when the app fetches nearby places.
The app also stores a short-lived local cache of nearby-site results and a local record of monitored geofence metadata on your device. According to the current implementation, the cache is intended to expire after about one hour unless cleared earlier.
5. Photos and Media
If you choose to attach a photo to a site, Chronicle Compass accesses only the image you select through the iOS photo picker. The selected image is processed and stored locally on your device as part of the app's local data store.
Based on the current implementation reviewed for this policy, user-selected photos are not uploaded by the app to the developer's servers.
6. Third-Party Services
Chronicle Compass uses third-party content and platform services as described below:
- Wikipedia: The app uses the public Wikipedia API to search for nearby places and retrieve summary content. Requests to Wikipedia may include your location coordinates so relevant nearby places can be returned. Wikipedia's handling of information is governed by its own policies, available at foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Policy:Privacy_policy.
- Apple platform services: The app relies on iOS frameworks such as Core Location, MapKit, UserNotifications, SwiftData, and PhotosUI. These system services may process information in accordance with Apple's terms and privacy disclosures.
- External links: If the app opens a Wikipedia page or other external link, your interaction with that external site is governed by the third party's own privacy policy.
8. Data Storage and Retention
Chronicle Compass stores most app data locally on your device. This local data may include visit history, settings, selected photos, cached nearby-site results, and geofence metadata.
Local data remains on your device until you delete it through app controls, remove the app, or clear the applicable data using iOS device-management features. Some cached discovery data is designed to expire automatically after a short period.
If you contact support, we may retain your message and contact details for as long as reasonably necessary to respond, document the issue, and meet legal obligations.
9. Your Choices
You can control your information in several ways:
- disable or limit location access in iOS Settings;
- disable notifications in the app or in iOS Settings;
- decline to select photos from your photo library;
- clear visited locations from the app's Settings screen;
- clear the app's cached nearby-location data from the app's Settings screen; and
- delete the app to remove its locally stored data from your device, subject to any iOS backup behavior outside the app's control.
10. Children's Privacy
Chronicle Compass is not directed to children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided personal information through the app or support channels, please contact us so we can review and address the issue.
11. International Transfers
Your information may be processed in the country where you use the app and, when you request content from Wikipedia or other third-party services, in other countries where those service providers operate their infrastructure.
12. Security
We use reasonable measures appropriate to the nature of the app to help protect information processed by Chronicle Compass. However, no method of electronic storage or transmission is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
13. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the app, legal requirements, or operational practices. When we do, we will update the effective date at the top of this page. Your continued use of Chronicle Compass after an updated Privacy Policy becomes effective means the updated policy will apply going forward.
14. Contact
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or Chronicle Compass, contact:
Molineux Studios
Email: doug.molineux@gmail.com
Website: https://dougmolineux.github.io/
If you publish this page on your website, consider using the same support email and website address that you present in the app's About screen and App Store listing.