Minus Tide does not collect, transmit, or share any personal data. The app works entirely offline. Everything it stores lives only on your own device.
What the app stores, and where
Minus Tide keeps a small SQLite database inside the app's own sandboxed storage on your device. It never leaves the device and is never transmitted anywhere. It holds:
- Your field journal: which tide-pool species you've identified, and the beaches and dates you found them at.
- Tide scores and stars earned for each reef you've played.
- An optional explorer name you type in during onboarding or Settings (used only to personalize the journal on screen).
- Your chosen boot colour and your sound, music, and vibration preferences.
You can erase all of this at any time from Settings → "Erase pages and tides." Deleting the app also deletes it, since it is never backed up anywhere outside the device (other than your own personal iCloud/device backups, which Apple — not us — manages).
What we do not collect
- No name, email address, phone number, or other contact information.
- No location data of any kind — the beaches in the app are fixed, illustrated locations, not your real position.
- No photos, camera, or microphone access — the app never requests these permissions.
- No advertising identifiers, analytics identifiers, or device fingerprinting.
- No usage analytics, crash reports, or diagnostic data sent to us or to any third party.
Network activity
Minus Tide makes no network requests at all. It does not talk to any server, ours or anyone else's, while you play. There is nothing to intercept, because nothing is ever sent.
Third parties and advertising
There are no third-party SDKs, no advertising networks, and no analytics libraries bundled in Minus Tide. We do not sell, rent, or share any data, because none is ever collected in the first place.
Children's privacy
Minus Tide is designed for children exploring tide pools with a parent or guardian. Because the app collects no personal data from anyone, of any age, it does not knowingly collect personal information from children, in keeping with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and comparable regulations elsewhere.
Changes to this policy
If this policy ever changes — for example, if a future version of the app adds a new feature — we will update this page and the "Last updated" date above, and the change will also be reflected in the app's own in-app privacy notice, found in Settings → "For grown-ups."
Contact
Questions about this policy or the app can be sent through our support page.