Obscura Privacy Policy

This policy is published by Ben McCarthy, the developer of Obscura, and explains what the app does with your data.

I believe that using great software shouldn’t come at the expense of your privacy. That’s why none of the apps I’ve built relies on advertising as its business model. The online advertising industry is predicated on extracting as much personal data about you as possible so that you can be shown the most accurately targeted ads. I find the whole situation deeply unpleasant.

I believe my apps are worth paying for and hopefully you feel the same. By charging a fair price for my work, I can keep our interests aligned, and your privacy respected.

On your device

Obscura needs access to the camera to take photos and to your photo library to save and browse them. Photos stay in your library; the app does not upload them anywhere.

If you allow location access, Obscura can record where each photo was taken in the photo’s own metadata, the way the built-in Camera app does. This is optional, it stays in the photo file on your device, and it is never sent to me. You can turn it off in the app, or revoke location access in the Settings app.

Your preferences and edits are stored in your own iCloud account so they stay in sync across your devices. That data lives in your Apple account under Apple’s terms; I have no access to it. You can turn iCloud syncing off for Obscura in the Settings app, under your name, then iCloud.

Analytics

Obscura uses TelemetryDeck, an analytics service based in Germany, to collect lightweight, anonymised usage data: things like how many users complete onboarding and which features are most used. I’m only interested in the data in aggregate, and no personal data is collected.

What’s Collected:

• what features are most used
• certain errors and crashes
• app usage, such as whether onboarding was completed or abandoned, and whether certain views are shown

What’s Not Collected:

• Personal information (name, email, phone number, address)
• User account data or login credentials
• Location data or GPS coordinates
• Photos, contacts, or other personal files
• Unique device identifiers that could identify you personally
• Browsing history or data from other apps

You can read TelemetryDeck’s privacy policy for details of how it handles this data.

Support Email

If you email me for support, those emails will be stored, as they may be relevant for solving future issues. Emails are not shared with any third parties. If you request the deletion of a support email, I’m happy to do so.

If you email me from within Obscura, some basic information will be attached to the email, such as your device model and operating system version.

Contact

Questions about this policy, or a request to see or delete anything I hold about you, can go to support@obscura.studio.