Privacy Policy – TrackerSonar
TrackerSonar helps you find Bluetooth trackers (such as AirTags and other Find My accessories, Tile, Samsung SmartTag, Chipolo, Pebblebee and Google Find My Device tags) near you. This policy explains what data the app uses, where it stays, which service providers receive data and the choices you have. In short: everything the app learns about nearby devices and the places where they were seen stays on your device. The app has no user accounts and we run no server of our own.
1. Data that stays on your device
The following data is created and stored only on your iPhone or iPad. It is not uploaded to us or to any service provider:
- Scan results: the Bluetooth devices found during a scan (type, name as broadcast by the device, a device identifier, signal strength, connection and battery state). Bluetooth scanning only listens to signals that nearby devices broadcast publicly.
- Sightings: when location access is allowed, the place (latitude and longitude) and time where a device was found, so the app can show whether a tracker appears at several places (“following you”), the sightings map and the timeline.
- Favorites, known devices, scan history and a per-day scan counter.
- Background alerts: when you turn on background scanning, the list of devices that triggered an alert. Alerts are local notifications created on the device.
- Settings (appearance, scan settings, alert setting), your free-scan allowance and app state such as whether onboarding was completed.
- Widget and Live Activity: the protection status (on/off, last alert time, number of unseen alerts) is shared with the app’s own widget through an on-device App Group.
2. Permissions
| Permission | Why | If you say no |
|---|---|---|
| Bluetooth | To scan for nearby trackers, measure their signal (Live Locate) and play a sound on supported tags. | Scanning is not possible. |
| Location (While Using) | To record where a device was seen during a scan. Locations are stored only on your device. | Scans still work; no sightings are recorded. |
| Location (Always) | Optional, only for background alerts: lets iOS restart background scanning when you move. | Background alerts still run, with fewer restarts. |
| Notifications | To alert you when background scanning finds a tracker. | No background alerts. |
| Tracking (App Tracking Transparency) | Only in the free version, to allow personalized ads (see section 5). | Ads are not personalized; everything else works the same. |
3. Subscriptions and purchases
Premium is an auto-renewing subscription sold by Apple through the App Store. Payment is handled entirely by Apple; we never see your payment details or Apple ID.
We use RevenueCat (RevenueCat, Inc., USA) to manage subscriptions. RevenueCat receives a random, anonymous app user ID created on your device, your purchase and subscription history (product, price, currency, dates, App Store receipt/transaction data), the app version, device type, country/storefront and your IP address. This is used to confirm whether Premium is active and to restore purchases. It is not linked to your name or email. RevenueCat Privacy Policy.
Apple Ads attribution: through RevenueCat the app sends Apple’s AdServices attribution token to learn whether the app was installed from an Apple Search Ads campaign. Apple’s standard attribution does not use your advertising identifier and does not track you across apps. Apple Search Ads & Privacy.
4. Advertising (free version)
The free version shows ads from Google AdMob (Google LLC / Google Ireland Ltd.): occasional full-screen ads (interstitials) when you return from a device’s details to the scan results. No ad ever unlocks a feature or a scan. Ads are never shown during a scan, during Live Locate, over the subscription screen, or to Premium subscribers. Premium removes all ads.
When ads are shown, the Google Mobile Ads SDK may collect your device’s advertising identifier (IDFA — only if you allow tracking), IP address and coarse location derived from it, device and app information, ad interactions (views, taps), and diagnostic and performance data. Google uses this to deliver, measure and — with your permission — personalize ads, and to prevent fraud. How Google uses information from sites or apps that use its services · Google Privacy Policy.
Users in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland see Google’s consent form (User Messaging Platform) before any ad is requested. You can change your choice at any time in the app: Settings → Ad Privacy Choices.
5. Tracking and your choices
Only the free version asks “Allow ‘TrackerSonar’ to track your activity across other companies’ apps and websites?” (Apple’s App Tracking Transparency). If you allow it, Google may use your advertising identifier to show more relevant ads. If you ask the app not to track, the identifier is not available and ads are not personalized. The app works exactly the same either way; nothing is locked or unlocked by your answer. You can change it anytime in iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking. Premium subscribers see no ads and are not tracked.
6. Analytics and crash reports
We use Google Firebase Analytics and Firebase Crashlytics (Google LLC) to understand how the app is used and to fix crashes. Analytics receives a random app-instance ID, Apple’s identifier for vendor (IDFV), device and app information, an approximate location derived from your IP address and usage events such as “app opened”, “scan started” (including whether you are a Premium user), the type of tracker found (for example “airtag” — never its name, identifier or location), onboarding steps, subscription screen views and purchases (product, period, price). Crashlytics receives crash reports with device model, iOS version, app version and the technical state at the time of the crash. Analytics never receives your advertising identifier (IDFA) and is not used for tracking or advertising. We do not send device names, device identifiers of found trackers or locations to Firebase. Firebase privacy information.
7. Apple services
The sightings map uses Apple MapKit; map tiles for the shown area are loaded from Apple. For Premium users the timeline shows place names, which are looked up with Apple’s geocoding service for the coordinates of up to eight recent sightings. Apple handles these requests under the Apple Privacy Policy; they are not linked to your Apple ID. If you write to us from the app, your message is sent by your own Mail app.
8. What we do not collect
- No account, name, email address, phone number or contacts (unless you email us).
- No upload of your scan results, sightings, locations, favorites or known devices.
- No sale of personal data. We do not use data from other companies’ apps or websites ourselves.
9. Retention and deletion
- Sightings are kept on your device until you clear them in Settings → Clear Sighting History; they are never deleted automatically.
- Favorites and known devices are kept until you remove them; scan history rows are kept on the device; the per-day scan counter is cleaned up after three days.
- Deleting the app removes all data stored by the app on your device.
- RevenueCat keeps subscription records as long as needed to provide purchases and as required by law; Google keeps advertising and analytics data according to its own retention settings.
Because we hold no data that identifies you, we usually cannot find “your” records at the providers. To ask RevenueCat or Google to delete data linked to the anonymous IDs, contact us with the request and we will help, or use the providers’ own tools (for example resetting your advertising identifier, or Google’s My Ad Center).
10. Your rights (GDPR, UK GDPR, CCPA)
Depending on where you live you have the right to access, correct, delete, restrict or object to the processing of your personal data, to data portability, and to withdraw consent at any time (ads consent: Settings → Ad Privacy Choices; tracking: iOS Settings). Legal bases: performance of the subscription contract (purchases), your consent (personalized ads and tracking), and our legitimate interest in a stable, secure app (crash reports, analytics, fraud prevention). You may complain to your data-protection authority. California residents: we do not sell or share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising beyond what you allow through the tracking and consent choices described above, and you will not be treated differently for exercising your rights.
11. International transfers
RevenueCat and Google may process data in the United States and other countries. These transfers are protected by the providers’ safeguards, such as the EU Standard Contractual Clauses and, where applicable, the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework.
12. Security
Data on your device is protected by iOS data protection and app sandboxing. Connections to service providers are encrypted (HTTPS). Purchases are processed by Apple.
13. Children
TrackerSonar is not directed at children under 13 (or under 16 in the EEA) and we do not knowingly collect their personal data.
14. Changes to this policy
We will update this page when the app or the services it uses change, and change the effective date above. Significant changes will be announced in the app’s release notes.
15. Contact
Metko Labs · info@metkolabs.com · https://www.metkolabs.com