Found Specimen Box for iOS
LightShift Co., Ltd. (“we”) respects the privacy of everyone who uses Found Specimen Box (“the App”), an iOS app for photographing what you find on a walk and building your own private field guide. This policy explains what data the App handles and why, where that data is stored, and which third parties are involved.
Everything you create in the App is stored on your device. Specifically:
None of this is sent to our servers. We cannot see any of it.
The App cuts the subject out of your photo and reads classification labels, text, and barcodes from it. It then suggests possible names based on those results.
This work is done with Apple’s Vision and Foundation Models and runs entirely on your device. Neither your photos nor the analysis results are ever sent to an external generative AI service or to our servers.
Only while the “Save where you found it” setting is on, the App records a location in one of the following ways:
Recorded locations are used only to show your own map on the device. They are never sent to our servers, and they are never published or shared. You can turn this setting off at any time; doing so never deletes specimens you have already saved.
That said, actions you take yourself can move a location off the device: see section 4 if you use iCloud sync, and section 9 if you use the export feature.
Images the App exports for sharing never contain location data.
If you turn on iCloud sync in Settings, your specimens, sticker book, and images are stored in Apple’s iCloud (private database) and synced across devices signed in to the same Apple Account.
That storage belongs to you; we have no access to its contents. Sync is off by default, and turning it off never deletes the records stored on your device.
To improve the App, we measure how it is used with Google Firebase Analytics. Only the fact that an action occurred is sent, such as:
Specimen names, notes, tags, search terms, and location data (coordinates and place names) are never sent. The App does not collect the advertising identifier (IDFA) for analytics, and it does not present a tracking permission (ATT) prompt for analytics purposes.
Beyond Google Analytics, this measurement data is also stored in Google Cloud (BigQuery), which we use for aggregation and analysis. Nothing outside the scope listed above is sent to either.
The App offers rewarded ads (Google AdMob) as a way for people on the free plan to temporarily increase their specimen slots or unlock covers. Ads appear only when you choose to watch one.
To deliver and measure those ads, Google and its partners may collect the advertising identifier (IDFA), device information, and information about ad impressions and interactions. The first time you play an ad, iOS will ask for your tracking permission (ATT).
If you decline, ads still appear and the reward you receive is unchanged; the ads simply become non-personalized.
Google’s privacy policy is available at policies.google.com/privacy.
Pro features are purchased through Apple’s App Store. Payment details such as card numbers are handled by Apple and never reach us.
We use RevenueCat, Inc. to manage purchase status. Whether a purchase exists, which plan it is, and an anonymous user identifier are sent to RevenueCat.
We also collect the AdServices attribution token provided by Apple to measure the effectiveness of Apple Search Ads, and send it to RevenueCat. This token is not the advertising identifier (IDFA) and contains no personally identifying information.
RevenueCat’s privacy policy is available at revenuecat.com/privacy.
You can change any of these permissions at any time in iOS Settings.
The App can export everything you have recorded as a ZIP of JSON and images. This feature is available on the free plan. Pro also lets you lay your specimens out as a PDF. You choose where the exported file goes; we are not involved.
The JSON inside that ZIP contains specimen names, notes, and tags, plus — if you recorded them — coordinates and place names, along with any text and barcode values read from your photos. Please keep this in mind before handing the file to someone else. Images and PDFs exported for sharing contain no location data.
Specimens, boxes, and sticker book pages can be deleted in the App at any time. Deleting the App removes the data stored on your device. If you use iCloud sync, you can delete the data held in iCloud from iOS Settings.
The App is not designed for a specific age group, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.
We may revise this policy as laws change or as the App’s features change. When a change is significant, we will update the “Last updated” date on this page and notify you within the App.
For questions about this policy or about how we handle personal information, please contact us: