Privacy Policy

App Name: Earth Lens

1. Introduction & Service Overview

This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, store, and protect user data when you access and use Earth Lens, a free mobile earth viewing and street exploration application designed for iOS devices.

Earth Lens provides global real-scene map browsing, famous city street view panoramas, and real-time live camera feeds. The application is available to all users without mandatory account creation, registration, or login verification. No personal identity information is required to access core app functions.

This policy complies with Apple App Store review standards, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for European users, the California Consumer Privacy Act/California Privacy Rights Act (CCPA/CPRA) for United States California residents, and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). By using Earth Lens, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to the data practices described in this policy.

2. Information We Collect & Functional Usage

Earth Lens limits data collection to only information necessary to deliver its core mapping and exploration features. We do not collect redundant personal data for unrelated commercial or operational purposes.

2.1 Device Location Information

Earth Lens requests location permission to implement accurate map positioning and nearby resource matching. Location access is only activated when the app is running in the foreground and will not run continuously in the background without your manual authorization.

We may obtain either precise GPS location or approximate regional location based on your iOS system permission settings. This location data is exclusively used for:

- Automatically calibrating and centering the global map based on your current geographic location.

- Displaying surrounding geographic landscapes, road layouts, and urban landmark information.

- Matching and filtering nearby real-time live camera resources for local scene viewing.

2.2 Third-Party Live Camera Data (Windy Integration)

The real-time live webcam and global scene monitoring functions of Earth Lens are fully powered by the third-party service Windy. All live video streams, camera location data, scene metadata, and public panoramic camera resources displayed in the app are sourced directly from Windy’s public service database.

When you browse live camera content, your device will send anonymized geographic area requests to Windy’s official server to load matching public camera feeds. These requests do not carry your exact personal GPS coordinates and cannot be used to identify individual users.

We do not host, store, record, edit, or retain any live camera video data obtained from Windy. All live scene content is independently operated and maintained by Windy, which governs data processing through its independent privacy policy. We have no control over Windy’s data storage, usage, and sharing rules.

2.3 Optional Advertising Identifier Data (IDFA)

Earth Lens may integrate advertisement display functions in subsequent version updates to support free app operation. For users who allow personalized advertising, the app may access your device’s advertising identifier (IDFA) under the official Apple App Tracking Transparency (ATT) mechanism.

Your tracking preferences are completely autonomous:

- Allow Tracking: We may use your IDFA to deliver customized, interest-matched advertisements.

- Ask App Not to Track: We will completely disable advertising identifier acquisition, and only non-personalized generic advertisements will be presented.

You can modify your global app tracking permissions at any time via iOS System Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking, and permission changes will not affect the normal use of core map and street view functions.

2.4 No Collection of Unnecessary Personal Data

We strictly confirm that Earth Lens never actively collects or stores the following user information under any circumstances:

- Personal identity data: username, nickname, real name, phone number, email address, residential address.

- Sensitive device data: fixed device identifiers, MAC addresses, device serial numbers for non-advertising tracking purposes.

- Private system permissions: camera, microphone, photo album, calendar, contacts, health data.

- Financial data: payment records, bank card information, in-app purchase and subscription data.

- User behavior data: independent analysis logs, user portrait data, cross-app tracking data unrelated to core functions.

3. Data Processing & Retention Rules

All data processing of Earth Lens follows the principles of minimal collection, local priority, and temporary use, to maximize user data security and privacy protection.

3.1 Location Data Processing & Retention

All real-time location calculations are completed locally on your iOS device. The app only generates temporary location cache data for map rendering and scene matching, which is stored in the app’s private sandbox directory. All local location cache will be automatically and completely cleared after you close the app.

When loading map resources, the device only sends anonymized geographic grid codes to the server, without any identifiable user information. Anonymous server access logs will be automatically cleaned up within 7 days without permanent archiving.

3.2 Live Camera Data Processing

The live camera stream loaded from Windy is only temporarily cached in the device memory during user viewing. After exiting the camera viewing page, all temporary stream data will be immediately released and cleared. We do not save any live scene content or camera access records on servers or local devices.

3.3 Advertising Data Processing

We will not associate advertising identifiers with your location data, map browsing records, or live camera viewing behavior to build user portraits. We do not permanently store IDFA data on our servers. Advertising related data is processed in accordance with Apple ATT specifications and third-party advertising platform privacy rules.

4. Third-Party Data Disclosure & Sharing

We will never sell, lease, or trade your personal location data and private usage data to any commercial institution or data broker. Only limited anonymous data transmission will be carried out in the following legitimate scenarios:

- Map Service Providers: Receive only anonymous geographic grid data for map tile rendering, without access to precise user location data, and are bound by strict data protection agreements.

- Windy Live Camera Service: Receives anonymous regional geographic information to match nearby public live camera resources. Windy is an independent data controller, and its data processing is subject to its own privacy policy.

- Advertising Service Partners: Obtain advertising identifiers only if you authorize tracking, for the sole purpose of delivering advertisement content, and comply with Apple and regional data protection laws.

- Legal Mandatory Requirements: We may disclose anonymous aggregated data when required by judicial orders, law enforcement investigations, or to protect the legitimate rights and interests of our platform and users.

Earth Lens does not integrate any third-party analytics, crash monitoring, social sharing, or user tracking SDKs beyond the above scope.

5. User Privacy Control Rights

You have full independent control over all data permissions of Earth Lens, and can adjust authorization status through iOS system settings at any time.

5.1 Location Permission Management

Path: iOS Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > Earth Lens

You can choose to enable foreground location access, disable location permissions, or turn off precise location to use only approximate regional positioning. Disabling location permissions will only turn off automatic positioning and nearby live camera matching functions, and will not affect basic global map browsing.

5.2 Advertisement Tracking Management

You can freely switch the app tracking authorization status. Turning off personalized tracking will only disable targeted ads, without limiting any core map exploration and live viewing functions of Earth Lens.

6. European User Rights (GDPR)

If you are a resident of the European Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom, or Switzerland, you enjoy the following data subject rights under GDPR regulations: right to access, right to erasure, right to restrict processing, right to object to processing, right to data portability, and right to lodge a complaint with a local data protection authority.

You may submit data rights applications via our official privacy email. We will respond and process your request free of charge within 30 working days.

Note: All rights requests we process only apply to data independently processed and stored by Earth Lens. You need to contact Windy officially separately for any data rights requests involving Windy live camera service data.

7. California User Rights (CCPA/CPRA)

In accordance with the California Consumer Privacy Act, we clarify that we do not sell your geographic location data. The anonymous regional data shared with Windy and the advertising identifiers shared with ad service providers (with your authorization) do not constitute personal data sales under CCPA definitions.

California users have the right to inquire about and request the deletion of data collected by the app, and will not receive discriminatory treatment for exercising privacy rights. We actively respond to and respect Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals.

8. Data Security Protection

We adopt industry-standard technical and organizational security measures to protect user data: rely on iOS sandbox mechanism to isolate local data, use HTTPS full encryption for all network transmissions, restrict server access permissions, and conduct regular security audits to prevent unauthorized access, leakage, and abuse of data.

Due to the limitations of network technology, we cannot guarantee absolute security of data transmission. Meanwhile, the security of Windy’s live camera service is independently responsible by the platform, and we do not bear related security responsibilities.

9. Children’s Privacy Protection (COPPA)

Earth Lens is a general public application, not targeted at users under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect any personal data and location information from minors. If you are a parent or guardian and find that your minor child has used the app to generate data records, please contact us in a timely manner, and we will take initiative to delete relevant data.

The live camera content and data practices of Windy are not under our supervision, and parents are advised to check Windy’s children’s privacy rules independently.

10. Policy Updates & Notification

We reserve the right to update this Privacy Policy irregularly to adapt to app function iterations (such as advertisement function optimization, live camera service adjustment) and legal rule updates. After the policy is revised, we will update the release date and publish the latest version on our official privacy page. Your continued use of the app after the update takes effect means that you accept the revised privacy terms.

11. Contact Information

For any privacy consultations, data rights applications, or service complaints, please contact us through the following methods:

Email: [email protected]