Privacy Policy
BirdSeek · Last updated 9 August 2026
BirdSeek is operated by Daniel Kholodov ("we"), the data controller. Contact: support@kholodov.com. Full details in the Impressum. This policy covers the BirdSeek iOS app and this site; our other apps have their own.
1. What we process
There is no account. We never ask for your name, email address or phone number.
- A random identifier created on your device and kept in your iCloud Keychain, so a subscription survives a reinstall. Everything below is linked to it and to nothing else.
- Usage data: screens opened, birds viewed, searches, identification results, onboarding answers, and actions on the subscription screen.
- Device data: app and iOS version, device model, language, time zone, connection type, notification and subscription status, and your App Store country.
- Diagnostics: crash and error reports.
- An Apple App Attest token, confirming a request comes from a genuine copy of the app.
- Approximate location, if you allow it (section 3).
- A push token, if you enable notifications.
2. Microphone
Identification runs entirely on your device, using a model bundled in the app. Recordings are not uploaded, not stored by us, and are discarded once the identification finishes. You can revoke microphone access in iOS Settings at any time.
3. Location
If you allow it, your approximate location is used to show which birds are near you. This normally happens on your device. Where a feature needs data from our servers, such as recent sightings in your area, we send only a coarse area, never a precise position and never a record of your movements.
Turning coordinates into a place name, and searching for a city, is handled by Apple's mapping services under Apple's privacy policy. You can decline location and choose a region by hand instead.
4. Why we process it
| Purpose | Legal basis (GDPR Art. 6) |
|---|---|
| Running the app and providing your subscription | Performance of a contract |
| Understanding how the app is used, so we can improve it | Legitimate interest |
| Crash reports and diagnostics | Legitimate interest |
| Preventing abuse of our servers | Legitimate interest |
| Answering support requests | Legitimate interest |
| Microphone, location and notifications | Consent, via the iOS permission prompts |
| Tax and accounting records | Legal obligation |
Your right to object. Where we rely on legitimate interest you may object at any time, by emailing support@kholodov.com. You can switch off usage analytics yourself under Settings → Privacy in the app, and withdraw any permission in iOS Settings.
5. Who receives it
Processors acting on our behalf: Google (hosting, crash reporting, anti-abuse), Superwall (subscriptions), Apple (payments, push delivery, App Attest, maps), and Cloudflare (delivering photos and sounds). Payment is handled entirely by Apple; we never see your card details or billing address. If you request a refund, Apple may ask us to confirm how the app was used.
We do not sell personal data. There is no advertising, no advertising identifier and no attribution or advertising SDK in this app. We may disclose data where the law requires it.
6. Transfers
Our servers are in the European Union. Some processors are in the United States; those transfers rely on the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses and, where applicable, the EU–U.S. Data Privacy Framework.
7. Retention and security
We keep usage data for as long as we run BirdSeek, because its purpose is to show how the app is used over years. The criteria are how long the data remains useful for operating and improving the app, and any legal obligation to keep it. Crash reports follow our provider's retention, currently 90 days. If you ask us to delete your data, we delete every record tied to your identifier.
Data is transmitted over encrypted connections and stored encrypted at rest, and every endpoint is gated behind Apple's App Check.
8. Your rights
You may request access to your data, correction, deletion, restriction, portability, or object to processing, and withdraw consent at any time. Because your data is tied only to a random identifier, we need it to find your records: open Settings in the app, tap the User ID at the bottom to copy it, and include it in your email. We reply within one month. You may also complain to a data protection supervisory authority.
9. California
We collect the categories in section 1 for the purposes in section 4. We do not sell or share personal information for cross-context behavioural advertising, and we do not collect sensitive personal information. California residents may request access, deletion or correction at the address above, and we will not discriminate for doing so.
10. Children
BirdSeek is not directed at children under 16 and we do not knowingly collect their data.
11. Changes
We may update this policy. The date above shows the current version, and material changes are announced in the app.