Privacy Policy

This policy explains what ISS Finder (“the app”) does with information about you. It is written from how the app is built. koykstudio publishes the app; “we” and “us” below means koykstudio.

The short version

• We don’t receive personal information from the app. What you create in it stays on your device unless you choose to share it.
• You don’t need an account to use the app.
• The app shows no ads.
• The app does not track you across other companies’ apps or websites.
• We don’t sell your personal information.

Who we are

ISS Finder is made and published by koykstudio, an independent app studio. You can reach us at support@koykstudio.com.

What stays on your device

Saved places, sightings and settings are stored on the iPhone. A pass added to the calendar goes through Apple's event editor, and a pass shared as text leaves only through the share sheet, both when the user chooses.

• Orbit propagation (an SGP4 port in OrbitKit), the Sun and Earth's shadow, pass search, brightness and the pass quality rating are all calculated on the iPhone.
• Pass alerts are planned on the iPhone and scheduled as local notifications (at most 62 pending), re-planned when the app opens and in a background task.
• The pointer uses the compass heading and device motion on the iPhone. The camera view is a live preview only; nothing is recorded or saved.
• The last known position, saved places, sightings and settings are stored in UserDefaults on the iPhone; upcoming passes and the place name are shared with the widget through the App Group.
• The Siri / Shortcuts intent answers from passes already calculated on the iPhone.

Permissions the app asks for

iOS asks for your permission before the app can use these. You can change your answer at any time in the Settings app.

Permission	What it’s used for	Needed?
Location (while using the app)	Works out when the station passes over the user. Asked only when the user taps Show passes over me; a saved place can be used instead.	Optional
Notifications	Local pass alerts and the “Look now” alert. Asked only when the user taps Turn on.	Optional
Time Sensitive notifications (entitlement)	Lets pass alerts break through Focus, because a pass lasts only a few minutes.	Optional
Camera	The camera view in Find it shows where the station is in the sky. Preview only, nothing is recorded.	Optional
Motion	Points the arrow at the station using the phone's attitude (device motion).	Optional
Calendar (add events only)	Declared for adding a chosen pass to the calendar. The app uses Apple's event editor, which needs no calendar permission on iOS 17; the app never reads the calendar.	Optional
WeatherKit (entitlement)	Cloud-cover forecast for the Skip cloudy passes setting.	Optional
App Group (entitlement)	Shares upcoming passes with the Home Screen and Lock Screen widget.	Optional
Live Activities	Countdown to a pass on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island, started on the phone.	Optional
Background refresh	Re-plans alerts in the background when orbit data changes.	Optional

Information that leaves your device

The app does not send personal information to us. It doesn’t use analytics, advertising or crash-reporting services from other companies.

Services the app connects to

To work, the app requests information from these services. Like any internet request, each one reveals your device’s IP address to the service it contacts.

• CelesTrak (celestrak.org): Downloads public orbital elements (TLE) for space stations at most every 6 hours; when Starlink trains are on, also the last-30-days GP and SATCAT lists. Standard request data only (IP address); no location or identifiers.
• The Space Devs API (ll.thespacedevs.com): Downloads the list of astronauts currently in space, about once a day. Standard request data only.
• Apple WeatherKit: Only when Pro is active and Skip cloudy passes is on: the observer's latitude and longitude, to fetch the hourly cloud-cover forecast for the next 10 days (at most every 3 hours per place).
• Apple Maps (MapKit) and Apple geocoding (CLGeocoder): Map tiles for the live map; place names the user types when adding a place are sent to Apple's geocoder to find coordinates.
• Apple App Store (StoreKit 2): Product list, purchases, restores and entitlements for Pro (yearly, monthly or lifetime). No server of ours is involved.

Location

While-in-use location, requested at kilometre accuracy, is used on the iPhone to calculate passes, and the last position is saved locally. It leaves the device only when Pro's Skip cloudy passes is on: the coordinates go to Apple WeatherKit for the cloud forecast. The user can choose a named place instead of sharing location.

Location information leaves your device only as described in this policy.

Purchases

Purchases are made through Apple’s App Store. Apple processes the payment; we never see your payment card or Apple Account details. The app checks with Apple which purchases you made so it can unlock them.

Crash reports and statistics from Apple

If you agreed to share analytics with app developers in your device’s settings, Apple gives us crash reports and statistics that don’t identify you. You can change this in Settings → Privacy & Security → Analytics & Improvements. Apple’s handling of this data is covered by Apple’s privacy policy.

Tracking and advertising

The app does not track you, as Apple defines tracking: it does not link information from the app with information from other companies’ apps, websites or data brokers. It shows no advertising.

Children

The app is not directed to children under 13, and we don’t knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

How long information is kept

Everything stays on the iPhone until the app is deleted. Orbit and crew data are cached and replaced on refresh. Nothing is kept by koykstudio.

Your choices and rights

• Deleting the app deletes the information it stores on your device.
• Depending on where you live (for example California and other US states), you may have the right to know what personal information we hold about you, to get a copy, to correct it, to delete it, and to opt out of its sale or sharing. We don’t sell personal information or share it for cross-context behavioral advertising.
• We will answer requests within the time the law requires and won’t treat you differently for asking.

Make a request on our data request page, or email support@koykstudio.com.

Security

We keep what the app handles to the minimum it needs and rely on the security built into iOS. No method is perfectly secure, but we take care to protect your information.

Changes to this policy

If the app’s handling of information changes, we will update this page and the date at the top. If a change is significant, we will also tell you in the app.

Contact

Questions about this policy or your information: support@koykstudio.com.