ShadeScout AR — Privacy Policy
ShadeScout AR is built by Glippin Toys, LLC. We respect your privacy. This page describes what ShadeScout AR collects, why, and how you can control it.
Summary
- No account, no email, no password. ShadeScout AR signs you in anonymously. We never ask for your name, email, phone, or social login.
- Location only while in use. ShadeScout AR uses your GPS location and compass heading to overlay shade boundaries. Your location is sent to the services listed under Third parties. It is sent to our servers and stored when you save a spot or tag a tree.
- Crowdsourced tree data. When you tag a tree, the tag is stored with its location and your anonymous account ID. A nightly job merges nearby tags into per-venue tree records that do not carry your account ID.
- No advertising. The app contains no advertising SDK. The third-party services it does use are listed under Third parties.
- Subscriptions processed by Apple, Google, RevenueCat. We never see payment details.
What we collect
| Data | Why | Retention |
|---|---|---|
| Anonymous user ID | Tie your saved spots, premium status, and contributions to one identifier | Until account deleted |
| GPS location (while app is open) | Calculate sun position and shadow boundaries | Sent to the services under Third parties; cached on your device with map and weather data; stored with a saved spot or tree tag |
| Compass heading and device pitch | Orient shadows on your camera feed | Not stored; used in-memory only |
| Saved spots (location, name) | Remember your favorite venues for future visits | Until you delete or delete your account |
| Tree tags (height, canopy, location) | Add the tree to the shared per-venue tree database | Stored with your anonymous account ID until you delete your account; the merged per-venue tree records stay |
| Push token | Registered with Firebase Cloud Messaging and saved on your account record. The current build sends no server push notifications; shade-arrival alerts are scheduled on your device | Until you delete your account |
| Crash reports (Firebase Crashlytics) | Diagnose bugs | Held by Google under Firebase Crashlytics’ own retention period |
When you use the Recommend tab, your GPS position is sent to our server to look up crowd-tagged trees nearby; it is not saved by that call.
What we do not ask for or use
- Names, emails, phone numbers, mailing addresses, government IDs: no screen asks for them (a saved spot’s name is whatever you type)
- Advertising SDKs: the app contains none
Crowdsourced shade database
Tree tags you submit are stored with the tag's location, tree height and canopy size and with your anonymous account ID. A nightly job merges nearby tags into per-venue tree records. Those merged records keep location, height and canopy size and do not carry your account ID. Other users near that location can see the merged records.
When you delete your account in the app, your saved spots are removed and the app asks our servers to delete the tree tags stored under your anonymous account ID. If the app cannot reach our servers at that moment, that request is skipped. The merged per-venue tree records built from earlier tags do not carry your account ID and are not removed.
AI explanations
Not active in the current build (noted 19 September 2026): no screen in the ShadeScout AR app you can install today can request an AI "where should I sit?" explanation, so nothing about you or your venue is sent to Anthropic. The backend has an explanation function built for this feature, but nothing in the shipped app calls it. If a future build adds the feature, this page will be updated before it goes live; the request would carry only the venue's shade forecast (trees, structures, weather, time window) — never your identity, location history, or any personal information.
Third parties
- Firebase — backend, crash reporting, push notifications, anonymous authentication
- Firebase App Check (Google Play Integrity / Apple App Attest or DeviceCheck) — confirms requests come from the real app.
- OpenStreetMap Overpass API (overpass-api.de, with overpass.kumi.systems as a fallback) — buildings and trees near your location (called while you use the app; results are cached on your device)
- OpenStreetMap tile server — map tiles for the area shown on the Map view (called while you use the app)
- Open-Meteo — hourly cloud cover forecast (free, cached locally)
- Anthropic (Claude) — planned for AI shade explanations; not used by the current build, so no data is sent to Anthropic today.
- RevenueCat — subscription processing
Your rights
- Delete your account: Settings → Delete account & all data. The app removes your saved spots, tagged trees, building heights, scheduled alerts and account from your device and our servers, and asks our servers to delete your tree tags. It cannot be undone. See "Crowdsourced shade database" above for what stays.
- Delete a saved spot: in Saved Spots, open the menu on the spot and choose Delete.
- Turn off shade alerts: Settings → Shade alerts (Premium), or your device settings.
- Request your data: email support@glippintoys.com
- Subscription records held by Apple, Google and RevenueCat, and crash reports held by Google, follow those companies' own retention and are not deleted by the app.
Permissions
ShadeScout AR requests these permissions:
- Location (While Using the App): Required for GPS shade calculation.
- Camera: Required for the AR overlay and tree tagging.
- Motion & Fitness (iOS) / Accelerometer (Android): Required for device pitch detection in tree-height estimation and AR overlay.
- Notifications (optional): For shade-arrival alerts you opt into.
Children
ShadeScout AR is not designed for or marketed to children under 13.
Contact
support@glippintoys.com
Glippin Toys, LLC