SkyPin
Privacy policy
SkyPin computes your approximate position from satellite signals received by your phone. The short version: everything is computed and stored on your device, the app has no accounts and no analytics, and we never receive your location.
Data the app uses
| Data | Why | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|
| Raw satellite (GNSS) measurements and the phone's own location | To compute position, altitude, speed and heading, and to compare the two sources | Processed on the device. Stored on the device only when you record a trip |
| Motion and magnetic sensors | Compass heading at low speed | Processed on the device, not stored |
| Recorded trips: track points with time, position, altitude, speed, confidence; the chosen departure and destination airports | The history, track maps and GPX export you asked for | Stored in the app's private storage on the device until you delete the trip or uninstall the app |
| Settings: mode, units, language, map source, track colour, follow mode | To remember your preferences | Stored on the device |
Network connections
The app connects to the Internet only for the following, and sends no personal data in doing so. As with any Internet connection, the servers involved see your IP address.
- Satellite orbit data (broadcast ephemerides) is downloaded from our public mirror hosted on GitHub and, as a fallback, from the IGS data centre of the German Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (BKG). The request contains only the date of the file.
- Online maps. When the OpenStreetMap source is selected, map tiles are requested from OpenStreetMap servers; the requests contain the map area you are looking at. When the Google source is selected, the Google Maps SDK runs under Google's privacy policy. The bundled world map and downloaded regions work without any connection.
- Region downloads fetch map data for the area you choose.
The airport database is bundled with the app. The app contains no advertising, analytics or crash-reporting services.
Sharing
Data leaves the device only when you choose to share it: exporting a trip as a GPX file through the Android share sheet sends it to the app you pick. We do not receive it.
Background operation
While a trip is being recorded, or when you have enabled background data collection, the app runs as a foreground service with a persistent notification so that satellite measurements keep arriving while the screen is off. It stops when you stop recording. The app does not request background location permission.
Permissions
- Location (precise): to receive satellite measurements and the phone's own position.
- Notifications: the recording notification with the stop button and trip progress.
- Ignore battery optimisation (optional): so that recording is not killed on long trips.
Children
The app is not directed at children under 13 and does not knowingly collect any data from them; it collects no data from anyone.
Your choices
Delete a trip in History to remove it and its track. Uninstalling the app removes all stored data. Location permission can be revoked at any time in Android settings; the app then shows nothing until it is granted again.
Changes
If the app starts doing something new with data, this page is updated and the date above changes. The current version is always at skypinapp.com/privacy.