The short version. The app collects nothing and sends nothing. There is no account, no analytics, no advertising, no third-party code, and no server on my end. Your photos, your location and your alignment work stay on your phone.
The website is a different story only because other companies run parts of it. GitHub hosts the pages, Kit runs the email list, Notion holds the feedback form, and Reddit hosts the community. What I end up with is an email address if you give me one, and whatever you type into the form. That's the whole list.
1.The app
Vantage Point is an iPhone app that takes you back to where a photo was taken so you can take it again, then lines the two up. It is built to work entirely on your device.
The app has no network features. It doesn't contact my servers, because there aren't any, and it doesn't contact anyone else's. The only things it hands off to are parts of iOS: the Settings app when a permission is off, your photo library when you save, and the share sheet when you share.
Permissions, and what each one is for
- Camera
- The live viewfinder and the new photo. Frames are processed on the phone as they come in. They are not kept and not sent anywhere.
- Photo library
- Two jobs: picking an existing photo as the reference for a spot, and saving a finished photo back to your library. If you open Photos near me, the app reads the location tags on the photos in your library, on the phone, to list the ones taken close to where you're standing. It reads the tags to build the list and keeps nothing from it. Otherwise it touches only the photos you pick or save.
- Location and compass (While Using the App)
- When you save a photo, the app records where it was taken and which way the camera faced, so it can guide you back to the same spot later. That stays in the app's own data on your phone. The app never asks for background (“Always”) location.
- Motion sensors
- Used live to match your phone's tilt and rotation to the original photo. Read as you go, not stored.
You can say no to any of these, or turn them off later in iOS Settings. The feature that needs the permission stops working and the rest of the app carries on.
What the app keeps on your phone
- A copy of each reference photo you import, and each new photo you take in the app.
- For each shot: where it was taken, the compass heading, how the phone was held, and the alignment work you did.
- Your settings.
All of it lives in the app's own storage. Deleting a series in the app removes its photos, unless you made a second series from the same photos and that one is still there. Deleting the app removes everything.
Backups
If you back your phone up with iCloud Backup or to a computer, the app's data goes along with it, the same as every other app on the phone. That backup is Apple's, under Apple's terms, and I can't see it.
Saving and sharing
Save writes the photo to your library with the usual photo metadata, including location, just like a photo from the built-in Camera app. Share hands it to the iOS share sheet, and from there whichever app you choose is in charge of it. Nothing gets saved or sent on its own.
Diagnostics
The app can write a log of a session to a file if you turn that on in its settings and tap export. It only goes where you send it. If you send one to me with a bug report, I use it to look at the bug and then delete it.
The App Store privacy label
The app's listing says Data Not Collected. That's true because there is genuinely no network path in the app. If a future version ever adds one, this page and that label change before it ships.
2.This website
This site is a set of static pages served by GitHub Pages. GitHub may log the IP address of visitors for security purposes; that's their logging, described in GitHub's note on Pages data collection. I don't run analytics, ad pixels, or cookies of my own on this site. The one third-party script on the landing page is Kit's, which makes the signup forms work. More on that next.
3.The email list
The signup forms are run by Kit (formerly ConvertKit). When you sign up, Kit stores your email address, the time, and which list you picked (beta or launch), and I can see all three. Kit also tells me whether an email got opened. That's all I see.
Kit's script loads on the landing page so the form can talk to Kit; it's their code, under Kit's privacy policy. Kit sends a confirmation email first, and you're not on the list until you click it.
I use the list for what it says on the tin: beta invites and build notes for the beta list, launch day and the occasional update for the launch list. Probably a few emails a year, not a few a month. I'm not going to sell your address or hand it to anybody. Every email has an unsubscribe link, and one line to me gets you deleted from Kit entirely, not just unsubscribed.
4.The feedback form and the community
The feedback form at getvantagepoint.app/feedback is a Notion form. Whatever you type into it, including your email if you give one, is stored in my Notion workspace under Notion's privacy policy. I read it, I may reply, and I use it to fix and improve the app. I don't share it beyond that. If I ever want to quote a piece of feedback publicly, I'll ask you first.
The community is r/VantagePointApp on Reddit. Reddit's terms and privacy policy apply there, and anything you post is public. Photos you post there are yours; posting them doesn't give me any rights to them beyond seeing them like everyone else.
Email. If you write to me, your message sits in my mailbox and I use it to reply.
5.Beta versions (TestFlight)
If you use a beta version of Vantage Point through Apple's TestFlight, Apple may collect crash logs, usage statistics, and any feedback you choose to submit through TestFlight, as described in Apple's TestFlight terms and controlled by your device's sharing settings. I receive only what Apple passes along, such as anonymized crash reports and the feedback you send. The app itself contains no crash-reporting or analytics code.
6.Your choices
- Permissions. Change any of them in iOS Settings, under the app's name.
- Your data on the phone. Delete a series in the app, or delete the app. There's nothing on my side to delete.
- The email list. The unsubscribe link in any email, or write to me to be removed from Kit altogether.
- Feedback you sent. Write to me and I'll delete it.
- Your rights under privacy law. If you live somewhere with a privacy law that gives you the right to see, correct, or delete what someone holds about you (the EU and UK, California, and a growing list of others), the same email does it. I'll answer within a month, and honestly it will be faster.
I don't sell personal information, and I don't share it for advertising.
7.Children
The app is rated 4+ and there's nothing in it that isn't suitable for anyone, but it isn't directed at children, and since it collects nothing it doesn't knowingly collect anything from anyone, children included. The email list and the community are for people 13 and older.
8.Changes to this policy
If the app or the site ever changes in a way that affects your privacy, this page changes first, with a new effective date at the top. Every earlier version is in the site's public history.
9.Contact
Questions about this policy or the app: Rob Killian, robkillian@gmail.com.