Privacy Policy

Kinami ("we", "us", "our") operates the DroneReporter mobile application (the "App"). This policy describes what data we collect, why, and how we handle it.

1. Data We Collect

Account information

When you sign in with Apple or Google, we receive your email address and name (if you choose to share it). We use this solely to create and manage your account.

Reporting without an account

You do not need an account to report a sighting. The first time the app has something to send, it asks our servers for an anonymous reporter principal: a random identifier with no name, email address or sign-in behind it. Reports you file without an account are stored against that identifier.

We use it for three things: to limit how often a single device can submit, to avoid storing the same report twice, and to let you edit or delete a report you filed. It is used only by Drone Reporter. It is not an advertising identifier and it does not follow you into other apps.

The identifier is held in your device's secure store, next to a marker file that the operating system deletes when you remove the app. On a fresh install the app finds no marker, discards the old identifier and mints a new one, which cannot reach the reports filed under the old one. That is how we stop the identifier becoming a permanent handle on your device. The check runs on your device, so we describe it as what the app does, not as a guarantee.

If you later sign in, reports you file after that are stored against your account. Reports you already filed without an account stay under the device identifier. Signing in does not move them, and deleting your account does not reach them, because they were never linked to it. To break that link yourself, delete those reports in the app. That clears the device identifier from the sighting and leaves the sighting on the shared map, exactly as section 5 describes for a report filed with an account.

Drone observations

When you submit an observation, we collect:

• GPS coordinates (latitude, longitude, altitude) of your location at the time of the report
• Photo taken with your device camera
• Device sensor data: compass bearing, pitch, roll, and estimated field of view
• Device make and model (e.g., "Apple iPhone 14 Pro")
• Timestamp of the observation
• Any optional text you provide (description, drone type, behaviour)

Live tracking

Live tracking is a separate mode that you start and stop yourself. While a session is open, the app sends a sample to our servers about once a second. Each sample holds:

• Your position: latitude, longitude, altitude, and the accuracy of the GPS fix
• Where your phone is pointing: compass bearing, pitch, roll, and estimated field of view
• The time the sample was captured

A session therefore records where you stood and where you looked, second by second, for as long as it runs. We record no video and no audio. The line of sight is what the app needs to triangulate a drone from two or more phones.

Beta feedback

The app has a feedback form. When you send feedback we receive the category you pick (bug, idea, or other) and the text you write. The app also attaches context that you do not type: app version, build number, operating system name and version, device model, device locale, and the name of the screen you were on when you opened the form.

A feedback record carries no link to your account. We store no user ID with it. That also means we cannot find your past submissions and delete them on request.

Drone alerts

Drone alerts stay off unless you turn them on. Turning them on registers this installation of the app with our servers. The record holds an identifier that the app generates on your device for this install, the platform (iOS or Android), and your position at the time. While alerts are on, the app refreshes that position each time you open it, so we can work out which devices are near a confirmed sighting. The identifier is used only by Drone Reporter. It is not an advertising identifier and it does not follow you into other apps.

Technical data

• Authentication tokens stored on your device to keep you signed in
• IP address logged by our servers and third-party services as part of normal HTTPS connections

Data we do NOT collect

• We do not use advertising identifiers (IDFA)
• We do not collect contacts, calendar, health, or financial data
• We do not use analytics, crash reporting, or advertising SDKs
• We do not track your activity across other apps or websites

2. How We Use Your Data

• Provide the service: Display drone observations on the map, manage your account, and let you review or delete your reports.
• Improve the service: Aggregated observation data may be used to identify drone activity patterns.
• Send drone alerts: If you turn alerts on, we use the last position your device reported to decide whether a confirmed sighting is near you.
• Fix problems: We read feedback and the context attached to it to reproduce bugs and decide what to build next.
• Communicate with you: We may email you about important changes to your account or this policy. We do not send marketing emails.

3. Third-Party Services

Who else sees your reports

Your reports appear on the shared map inside the app. Other signed-in users see the location, the time and the direction you were facing. The map does not show your name, your email address or your photo.

Drone Reporter is built to make reports available to the public authorities responsible for the airspace. A separate console exists for that purpose. It can show an authority the location, the time, the photo and the estimated drone position of a report. No authority account is enabled today, so no report has reached an authority through it. We will update this policy before we enable the first account.

We do not sell your personal data. We do not share it with advertisers or data brokers.

4. Data Storage and Security

• All backend data is stored on Google Cloud Platform in europe-west4 (Netherlands).
• API communication uses HTTPS with TLS encryption.
• Authentication tokens on your device are stored in the platform's own secure store: the iOS Keychain on iPhone, and encrypted shared preferences backed by the Android Keystore on Android.
• Photos are stored in a private Google Cloud Storage bucket accessible only to our backend service.

5. Data Retention

The rule for anything you submitted. Deleting removes the link between you and the data. It does not remove the data. That applies to reports, to live-tracking trails and to photos alike, and it is deliberate: a sighting is a measurement, and the measurements are what the map is for. Two things below work differently and are called out where they appear: an administrator can delete tracking samples outright, and server logs expire on their own.

• Account data is retained as long as your account is active.
• Observations. Deleting an observation, or your account, destroys the link between you and the sighting. Account deletion covers the reports you filed while signed in. Section 1 explains what happens to reports you filed without an account. The sighting itself is kept and stays on the shared map without you attached to it. What remains is the location, the time, the direction the camera was pointed, the drone type, any description you wrote and the photo. We keep the photo. Deletion removes who took it, not what was recorded. The photo stays in the private bucket described in section 4, reachable only through our backend. The database link to your account is removed. Anything identifying inside the picture itself stays in the picture, a face, a house, a number plate. We cannot edit the content of a photo, and deleting the report does not remove the photo either. If that matters to you, email us at tomo@dronereporter.io before deleting your account to request removal of the sighting and its photo. Do not attach a photo you would not want kept.
• Live-tracking trails. A tracking session records where you stood and where you pointed your phone, about once a second. We keep the link between you and a trail until that session has been inactive for 90 days. After that the link is permanently removed and the measurements are kept without you attached to them. Deleting your account removes the link immediately, for every trail, however recent.
• What "removing the link" does and does not mean. It destroys the identifier that ties the data to your account, and it cannot be undone. We do not call the result anonymous, because removing an identifier is not the same as making data impossible to trace back to a person. A detailed record of one person's movements can sometimes be recognised from the movements alone, whoever it is stored under. A single report is far less revealing than a trail, but it still records a place and a time where somebody stood. If that concerns you, delete your account, which removes the link straight away, or avoid live tracking.
• An administrator can delete tracking samples outright when there is a reason to, such as a takedown request or a report of misuse. This is a manual operation, not a schedule.
• Feedback submissions are kept with the text and the context you sent. They carry no link to your account, so deleting your account does not remove them and we cannot tell which ones are yours.
• Server logs (IP addresses, request metadata) are retained for up to 30 days.

6. Your Rights

You may at any time:

• View your observations in the "My Observations" screen.
• Delete individual observations by swiping to delete.
• Delete your account in the app, under Settings, then Account, then Delete account. You can also email us at tomo@dronereporter.io, or follow the steps on our account deletion page.
• Request a copy of your data by contacting us at the same address.

Deleting your account deletes the account record, your email address and name, the sign-in identifier that links your Apple or Google account to Drone Reporter, and your registered devices. Your photos are kept, like your reports and your trails, with the database link to your account destroyed. As section 5 says, that is not the same as the picture being anonymous.

Your reports and your live-tracking trails are kept, with every link to you destroyed. Your reports stay on the shared map with nothing connecting them to you: the location, time, camera direction, drone type and any description you wrote remain. They are removed from the agency view and from alerts. Your tracking trails are kept the same way, with you detached from them. Section 5 explains what removing the link does and does not mean, and it applies here too.

None of this can be undone. If you want a sighting itself gone rather than detached from you, email us at tomo@dronereporter.io before deleting your account.

If you are in the EU/EEA, you have additional rights under the GDPR, including the right to access, rectify, port, and restrict processing of your data. To exercise these rights, contact us at tomo@dronereporter.io.

7. Children's Privacy

The App is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, contact us and we will delete it.

8. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by updating the "Last updated" date at the foot of this page. Continued use of the App after changes constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

9. Contact

For privacy questions or requests:

Kinami
Email: tomo@dronereporter.io