Privacy Policy

The short version

• Photos you submit for identification are sent to our identification provider (Kindwise) and not stored on our servers.
• Your foraging journal — finds, photos, GPS coordinates, notes — is stored locally on your device.
• We don’t sell your data, run advertising, or share your foraging spots.
• You can use Spore anonymously, with no account required.
• Subscriptions are processed by Apple and verified by RevenueCat. We never see your payment details.

Who we are

Spore is the iOS app that helps you identify wild mushrooms. “We”, “us”, and “our” refer to the operators of sporeapp.co. You can reach us at hello@sporeapp.co.

What we collect, and why

1. Photos you take in the app

When you tap the shutter to identify a mushroom, the photo is sent over HTTPS to Kindwise (mushroom.id), our identification provider. Kindwise returns a list of candidate species, which we match against our local database. We don’t keep a copy of the photo on our servers. Kindwise’s use of the photo is governed by their privacy policy.

Photos you choose to save to your journal stay on your device. They are never uploaded.

2. Location (optional)

When you save a find, Spore can record your GPS coordinates so the find appears on your foraging map. This uses iOS’s “While Using the App” permission and only fires while you’re actively saving an entry.

Your spots stay on your device. They are never uploaded or shared. In Settings you can switch to “Approximate” mode, which rounds saved coordinates to roughly the nearest kilometre.

3. Account information (optional)

Spore can be used anonymously. If you choose to sign in (Apple Sign In or email), we store an account ID and, for email accounts, your email address. Authentication is handled by Firebase Authentication.

Apple Sign In may use Apple’s “hide my email” feature, in which case we only ever see the relay address.

4. Subscription information

Spore Premium is sold through Apple’s App Store. Receipts are validated by RevenueCat so we know whether your account has Premium access. We never receive your Apple ID, payment method, or billing details. RevenueCat’s practices are governed by their privacy policy.

5. Anonymous improvement data

When the identifier returns species we don’t have in our reviewed database, we send the species’ scientific name to our server so we know what to add next. No personal information, no photo, no location is sent with this — only the species name.

6. Diagnostics and crash reports

If we enable Firebase Analytics or Crashlytics in a future build, anonymous usage stats (screens visited, crashes) may be collected to help us fix bugs. As of the effective date above, these are not enabled.

What we don’t do

• We don’t sell or rent your data to anyone.
• We don’t share your foraging spots. They never leave your device.
• We don’t run advertising and we don’t use ad tracking SDKs.
• We don’t use your photos to train AI models we own.
• We don’t track you across other apps or websites.

Where data lives

Most of your data lives on your device, in a local database. Photos you submit for identification are transmitted to Kindwise and not retained on our servers. If you sign in with an account, your account ID is stored on infrastructure operated by Firebase (Google Cloud) and our managed database (Neon Postgres, hosted in EU/US regions). Subscription state is stored at RevenueCat.

Your rights

You can:

• Delete your account and any server-side data at any time from Settings → Delete Account.
• Reset your local journal by reinstalling the app. Local data is removed when the app is uninstalled.
• Revoke camera or location permissions at any time from iOS’s system Settings.
• Email us at hello@sporeapp.co with any questions, deletion requests, or requests to access the data we hold for your account.

If you are in the EU, UK, or California, you have additional rights under GDPR or CCPA — including the right to access, correct, or port your data. Email us and we’ll respond within 30 days.

Children

Spore is not directed at children under 13 and we don’t knowingly collect data from them. If you believe a child has used the app, contact us and we’ll delete their data.

Changes to this policy

We’ll update this page if anything material changes. The “Effective” date at the top reflects the latest update. If a change affects how we handle existing data, we’ll notify you in the app before it takes effect.

Contact

Questions? Concerns? Email hello@sporeapp.co.