Echoes Privacy Policy

Last Updated: April 7, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how Ziyad Alsuhaymi ("we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, and discloses your information when you use the Echoes: Echoes of the City mobile application (the "App"). We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal data.

1. Information We Collect

We prioritize your privacy. All of the core data generated by Echoes is stored locally on your device and is never uploaded to our servers.

A. Data Stored Locally on Your Device

Photos: Images captured through the app are saved to the app's local storage on your device. They are not uploaded to any server.
Audio Recordings: 5-second ambient audio clips are recorded and stored locally. They never leave your device.
Location Data: Your GPS coordinates, city name, and altitude are captured at the time of an echo and stored locally. This data is used to display your memories on the in-app map.
Environmental Data: Temperature, weather conditions, and moon phase are fetched at capture time and stored locally with each echo.
Notes & Tags: Any personal notes or tags you add to echoes are stored locally on your device.

B. Data Used to Track You

The following data may be used to track you across apps and websites owned by other companies:

Device ID: Your device's advertising identifier (IDFA) is collected by our advertising partner to serve relevant ads (free users only).
Advertising Data: Information about ads you have viewed or interacted with.

C. Data Not Linked to You

Usage Data: Anonymous information about how you use the app to help us improve the experience.
Diagnostics: Crash logs and performance data to help us fix bugs and improve stability.

2. On-Device Processing

Echoes uses on-device machine learning for the following features. No data is sent to external servers for these analyses:

Sound Classification: Apple's Sound Analysis framework identifies ambient sounds (birds, traffic, rain, etc.) entirely on your device.
Vision Analysis: Apple's Vision framework analyzes photo contents for searchability, entirely on your device.
Image Processing: Blur thumbnails and dominant color extraction are performed locally.

3. Third-Party Services

We use trusted third-party services to help us operate the App:

Apple WeatherKit: Used to fetch current weather conditions at your location. Your coordinates are sent to Apple's weather service. Read Apple's Privacy Policy.
Google AdMob: We use AdMob to display advertisements to free users. AdMob may collect device identifiers, ad interaction data, and usage data. You can opt out of personalized ads in your device settings. Read Google's Privacy Policy.
Apple StoreKit: Used to process in-app purchases (Pro subscription). All transactions are handled securely by Apple.
Apple MapKit: Used to display your memory map. Map interactions are handled by Apple.

4. In-App Purchases

The App offers an optional Pro subscription that removes ads, increases capture limits, enables higher quality photos, and unlocks premium features. All purchases are processed securely through Apple's App Store. You can manage or cancel subscriptions through your Apple ID settings.

5. Your Choices

Opt out of personalized ads: Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking on your iOS device.
Remove ads entirely: Subscribe to Echoes Pro within the app.
Delete your data: You can delete individual echoes or all data from the app's Settings screen. Since data is stored locally, deletion is immediate and permanent.
Location permission: You can revoke location access at any time in iOS Settings. The app will still function but cannot capture location data for new echoes.
Microphone permission: You can revoke microphone access at any time. The app will still capture photos but cannot record ambient audio.
Request data deletion: Contact us at the email below for any additional data deletion requests.

6. Data Security

Local Storage: All echoes, photos, and audio are stored in the app's sandboxed container on your device using standard iOS file protection.
No Account Required: The app does not require you to create an account or provide personal information.
Biometric Lock: You can optionally enable Face ID or Touch ID to protect access to your echoes.

7. Children's Privacy

Echoes is rated 4+ and is not intended to knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13. The ads displayed are configured for a general audience.

8. Changes to This Policy

We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page with an updated date.

9. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at:

Email: alsuhaymiziyad@gmail.com