Privacy Policy
GoldenLight is built by one photographer for other photographers. This policy explains what data the app uses, where it goes, and what we do not do with it. In plain English.
GoldenLight does not collect personal information about you, does not show ads, does not use analytics or tracking SDKs, and does not sell any data. Your saved pins, plans, and profile stay on your device. When you ask for a weather or astronomy forecast, your coordinates are sent to public data providers (NOAA, Open‑Meteo, etc.) so they can return data for your location.
1. Who we are
GoldenLight ("the app," "we," "our") is published by Andrew Sambuceto Photography, a sole proprietorship based in Canby, Oregon, United States. You can reach us at andrew@andrewsambucetophotography.com.
2. What the app collects
2.1 Information you provide
If you fill out the Profile screen, the app stores what you enter — your name, title, city, gear, and shooting preferences — locally on your device. This data is not transmitted to us or to any third party. It exists only to personalize the app on your phone.
2.2 Location
GoldenLight uses your device location for its core features: estimating sunrise and sunset color quality, fetching weather and tide data, calculating Milky Way and moon positions, and showing nearby viewpoints. You control whether the app has access to location through iOS Settings. The app works in a limited mode without location, using only your manually selected pins.
Your location is used in two ways:
- On-device only: astronomical calculations (sun, moon, Milky Way positions), terrain horizon profiles, scout pin distances. These never leave your phone.
- Sent to data providers: when you request a weather, tide, or aurora forecast, the app sends your latitude and longitude to public APIs so they can return data for that location. See Section 4.
2.3 Camera
The AR Viewfinder feature uses your device camera to display the live scene with celestial overlays. The camera feed is processed in real time and is never recorded, stored, or transmitted.
2.4 Photo library
GoldenLight does not access your photo library.
2.5 Saved data
The app stores your saved pins, planned shoots, chip preferences, downloaded SRTM terrain tiles, and cached forecast data on your device. This data lives on your device and in your iCloud device backup if you have iCloud Backup enabled. We do not have access to it.
3. How the app uses what it collects
We use the information described above only to provide the features you see in the app:
- Calculating sunrise, sunset, and astronomical events for your location
- Fetching weather, marine, smoke, tide, and aurora forecasts from public data providers
- Building elevation horizon profiles from downloaded NASA SRTM terrain tiles
- Displaying live wildflower bloom observations near you
- Letting you save shoot locations, plan future sessions, and review past plans
- Personalizing your home screen and forecasts to your stated preferences
We do not use your information for marketing, profiling, advertising, or analytics.
4. Third‑party data providers
To return forecasts and observations for your location, the app makes network requests to publicly funded scientific data providers. These requests include your latitude and longitude (and your device's public IP address, as with any internet request). They do not include your name, account, profile, or any other personal identifier.
The providers are:
- NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center · aurora and geomagnetic data
- NOAA CO-OPS · tide predictions and water levels
- Open-Meteo · weather, cloud, and marine forecasts
- U.S. Naval Observatory · moonrise, moonset, twilight
- U.S. Geological Survey · river gauge data and elevation
- AirNow · smoke and air quality observations
- iNaturalist · wildflower bloom observations
- NASA / Earthdata · SRTM elevation tile downloads
- OpenStreetMap (Overpass API) · viewpoint and trail data
- NASA DONKI · coronal mass ejection alerts
Each provider has its own privacy practices. Most are public government or scientific agencies subject to applicable national privacy laws. We encourage you to consult their policies if you have questions about how they log requests.
Supabase backend
GoldenLight uses Supabase (operated by Supabase, Inc.) to host a curated database of viewpoint locations and reference datasets. When the app reads this database, the request includes your device's public IP address as part of any internet connection. We do not store user accounts in Supabase, and we do not write personal data to it. See Supabase's privacy policy.
5. Storage and retention
Your data lives on your device. We do not maintain user accounts or store personal information on any server.
- Profile, pins, plans: stored locally via Apple's SwiftData framework. Removed when you delete the app.
- Preferences: stored locally via UserDefaults. Removed when you delete the app.
- Cached forecasts: retained for 30 minutes for performance, then discarded.
- SRTM terrain tiles: retained on your device permanently so the app works offline. Removed when you delete the app.
- iCloud Device Backup: if enabled, includes the app's local data per Apple's standard backup process.
To delete all data the app has stored, delete the app from your device.
6. Analytics, advertising, and tracking
GoldenLight does not include any of the following:
- Third‑party analytics SDKs (no Firebase, Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Amplitude, or equivalent)
- Crash reporting services that transmit user data (we use Apple's built-in crash reporting only)
- Advertising networks or ad SDKs
- Advertising identifiers (the app does not request or use the IDFA)
- Cross-app or cross-site tracking
- Marketing cookies (the app is not a web app)
The Apple App Store privacy nutrition label for GoldenLight reflects this: Data Not Collected.
7. Children
GoldenLight is rated 4+ in the App Store and contains no objectionable content. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone, including children. If you believe a child has somehow provided personal information through the app, please contact us and we will respond as required by law.
8. Your rights
Because we do not collect or store personal information on a server, most data protection rights (access, deletion, portability) are exercised directly on your device by managing the app's data and permissions in iOS Settings, or by deleting the app.
If you are in the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, or California, you have additional rights under the GDPR, UK GDPR, or California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), respectively. To exercise any of these rights, contact us at the address below.
For California residents: we do not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined under the CCPA.
9. International users
The app is developed and operated in the United States. If you use GoldenLight from outside the U.S., your forecast requests will be processed by data providers that may be located in the U.S. or elsewhere. By using the app you consent to this processing.
10. Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Material changes will be reflected in an in-app notice. Continued use of the app after an update constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.
11. Contact
Questions, requests, or feedback about this Privacy Policy:
Andrew Sambuceto Photography
Canby, Oregon, United States
andrew@andrewsambucetophotography.com