Privacy Policy
Stargazing Map > Privacy Policy > Last Updated: 3 August 2026

Privacy Policy

Stargazing Map: Star Finder

Last Updated: 3 August 2026

Introduction

Binaryscript Private Limited ("we", "our", or "us") operates the Stargazing Map mobile application (the "App"). This Privacy Policy explains what information the App collects, why it is collected, and what control you have over it.

By using the App, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the App.

The App is a self-contained star map. It has no account system and no sign-in. It does not ask for your name, your email address or anything else about you, and there is no way to give it that information even if you wanted to.

The one piece of information the App genuinely needs is a rough idea of where you are standing, because the stars visible from Delhi are not the stars visible from London. Section 1.2 explains exactly what happens to that, and the short version is: it stays on your phone.

1. Information We Collect
1.1 Information You Provide

Almost none. The App has no login, no registration, no profile, no messaging and no comments. There are exactly two places you can type: the search box, and the latitude and longitude fields on the location screen. Neither is transmitted. What you search for is used to filter the star catalogue already on your device and is never sent to us; the analytics described in Section 1.4 record only how many results came back, never the words you typed.

1.2 Your Location — Read On Your Device, Never Sent

This is the section worth reading carefully.

The App asks for approximate location permission (ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION on Android). It deliberately does not ask for precise location. Moving a few kilometres shifts a star's apparent position by hundredths of a degree, which is far below what any phone compass can resolve — so precise location would be exactly as accurate as approximate location for this purpose, while revealing a great deal more about you.

What happens to it:

  • It is used on your device to convert star coordinates into what is above your horizon right now.
  • It is stored on your device, in the App's own preferences, so the sky is correct the moment you next open the App instead of after a delay.
  • It is never transmitted. Not to us, not to Google, not to anyone. It appears in no analytics event, no crash report and no log.

That last point is enforced in the code rather than merely promised: the App maintains a list of forbidden analytics parameter names, including every form of latitude, longitude, city and country. Attempting to attach one to an event fails an assertion during development, and an automated test scans every source file in the project to confirm none exists.

You can decline the location permission entirely and the App still works. Pick a city from the built-in list, or type coordinates, and everything behaves identically. If you decline, the App falls back to Greenwich and says so on screen rather than pretending to know where you are.

One caveat, for completeness: as with any app that connects to the internet, Google's analytics service derives a coarse, typically country-level location from the IP address of the connection itself. That is Google's processing of the network connection rather than anything the App sends, and it happens whether or not you grant the location permission. See Section 1.4(a).

1.3 Information Stored On Your Device

The App stores the following locally, using your device's own app-preferences storage:

  • Your observing location — latitude and longitude in degrees, an optional city name, and whether you set it by hand
  • Whether the first-run explanation has been shown
  • How many objects you have identified in total, used to decide when to offer the store's rate-this-app prompt, and when that prompt was last shown
  • Which version the App last suggested you update to
  • Any purchase entitlements, if paid features are added in a future version

This data never leaves your device. We cannot read it, there is no cloud backup of it, and there is no way to restore it. Clearing the App's data or uninstalling the App deletes it permanently.

1.4 Information Collected Automatically

The App uses three Google services that collect limited technical information:

a) Google Analytics for Firebase
Used to understand which parts of the App people actually use. It collects:

  • Anonymous usage events generated by the App. The complete list is: the sky view appeared; an object was identified (recorded as a kind — star, planet, moon, sun or deep sky — never which object); a search was run (recorded as how many results came back and whether any did, never the query); guidance to a target was started; time scrubbing was used; a display layer was toggled; the compass calibration prompt appeared; how the observing location was resolved (device, saved, manual or default — never the place); sensor mode was switched; onboarding was completed; an update prompt was shown or skipped; a review prompt was requested or skipped.
  • Screen views within the App
  • Device information: device model, operating system version, App version, screen and language settings
  • Session information: when the App was opened and how long it was used
  • Identifiers: a Firebase installation/app instance identifier and, on Android, the device advertising ID, which Google Analytics for Firebase collects by default
  • An approximate, coarse location (typically country or region) that Google derives from the IP address of the connection, as described in Section 1.2
  • Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy

b) Firebase Crashlytics
Used to find and fix crashes and errors. It collects:

  • Crash and error reports, including the stack trace and the state of the App at the time
  • Device model, operating system version and App version
  • A Crashlytics installation identifier
  • Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy

Crash reporting is disabled in development builds of the App.

c) Firebase Remote Config
Used only to tell the App the current published version number, so it can suggest an update when a newer release is available. It fetches a small set of integers and sends no information about you. Because the entire star catalogue is built into the App, a new release is the only way a corrected coordinate or a fixed calculation can reach anyone — which is why this mechanism exists.

1.5 What We Do Not Collect

We do not collect: your name, email address, phone number or postal address; your contacts; your photos, camera or microphone; your files; your precise location; your approximate location; the text you type; the objects you look at by name; your messages; health, fitness or financial information; or any content you create.

The App requests two permissions on Android:

  • ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION — approximate location, handled entirely on your device as described in Section 1.2. This is the only runtime permission the App asks for, and it is optional.
  • INTERNET — needed for the analytics, crash reporting and version check described above. That is the only traffic that leaves your device. No star data, constellation figure or image is ever downloaded; all 8,922 stars, 88 constellations and 109 deep-sky objects ship inside the App.

The App also uses your device's compass and motion sensors to work out which way it is pointing. On Android these require no permission, the readings are used only in the moment to draw the sky, and nothing derived from them is stored or transmitted.

2. How We Use Information

We use the information described in Section 1.4 only for:

  • Understanding the App: which features are used, whether people find what they search for, how often the compass needs calibrating
  • Fixing failures: diagnosing crashes and errors so the App works on more devices
  • Improving the App: deciding what to build next
  • Telling you when a newer version is available
  • Legal compliance where applicable

We do not use it to profile you, to advertise to you, or to identify you as an individual.

3. Advertising

The App contains no advertising. There is no advertising SDK in the App, no ad network receives data from it, and no ads are shown to you at any point.

If we introduce advertising in a future version, we will update this Privacy Policy before that version is released and describe exactly what is collected.

Note that Google Analytics for Firebase collects the Android advertising ID by default, as described in Section 1.4, even though the App shows no ads. You can reset that identifier or opt out of ads personalisation at any time:

4. In-App Purchases

The App is currently free and contains no in-app purchases or subscriptions.

If paid features are introduced in a future version, all payments will be processed by Google Play or the Apple App Store. We would never receive or store your card details, billing address or any other payment information — the store handles that entirely, under its own privacy policy. The App would record only which products you own, stored on your device and re-checked with the store. This Privacy Policy will be updated before any such version is released. See also our Refund Policy.

5. Data Sharing and Disclosure
5.1 We Do Not Sell Your Data

We do not sell, trade, rent or share your information with third parties for their own purposes.

5.2 Service Providers

The only third parties that receive any data from the App are Google Analytics for Firebase, Firebase Crashlytics and Firebase Remote Config, all operated by Google, and only for the purposes described above. See https://policies.google.com/privacy.

5.3 Legal Requirements

We may disclose information if required by law, court order or other legal process, or where necessary to protect our rights, safety or property, or to investigate fraud or abuse.

5.4 Business Transfers

If we are involved in a merger, acquisition or sale of assets, information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will update this policy if that happens.

6. Data Storage and Security
  • Your observing location and settings are stored only on your device. We operate no server that holds them and we have no copy.
  • Analytics and crash data is transmitted over encrypted connections (HTTPS) and stored on Google's infrastructure under Google's security practices.
  • We follow reasonable secure development practices and keep dependencies updated.

No method of electronic transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

7. Data Retention
  • On-device data: kept until you clear the App's data or uninstall the App
  • Crash reports: retained by Firebase Crashlytics for up to 90 days
  • Analytics data: retained according to our Firebase Analytics retention setting, and in any case for no longer than 14 months
8. Your Rights and Choices
8.1 Your Location

You control it completely. You can decline the permission and the App still works; you can change your location to a city or typed coordinates at any time from the location screen; and uninstalling the App removes the stored value. Since it is never transmitted, there is nothing on our side to delete.

8.2 Your On-Device Data

Uninstalling the App, or clearing its data in your device settings, removes everything it has stored.

8.3 Analytics and Crash Data

Because the App collects no identifying information, we generally cannot connect analytics or crash data to you as a person. If you want us to delete data associated with your device, write to [email protected] with your device model and the approximate dates you used the App, and we will do what we can to locate and delete it.

8.4 Advertising Identifier

You can reset your advertising ID or opt out of ads personalisation in your device settings, as described in Section 3.

8.5 Rights Under Applicable Law

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete or restrict the processing of your personal data, or to object to it. To exercise any of these, contact [email protected]. We will respond within 30 days.

9. Children's Privacy

The App is rated for everyone and contains nothing objectionable, but it is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.

Stargazing is something families do together and children may well use the App alongside a parent. It has no account, no chat, no user-generated content, no advertising and no purchases, so there is nothing in it for a child to disclose. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact [email protected] and we will delete it.

10. International Data Transfers

We operate from India. Analytics and crash data is processed by Google on infrastructure that may be located in the United States or elsewhere. By using the App you consent to your information being transferred to and processed in those countries, which may have different data protection laws than your own.

11. Third-Party Data Sources

The star, constellation and deep-sky data in the App comes from three open astronomical catalogues, all licensed CC BY-SA 4.0:

  • HYG Stellar Database v4.4 — David Nash (astronexus)
  • Stellarium modern sky culture — the Stellarium project, with IAU constellation boundary data by Pascal Barbier
  • OpenNGC — Mattia Verga

These are data sources, not services. Nothing is fetched from them at runtime, and they receive no information about you — the catalogues were compiled into the App before release and ship inside it. Attribution is provided in the App and in its documentation as the licence requires.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes will be posted here with an updated "Last Updated" date. Material changes — particularly any change to what leaves your device — will be described in the release notes of the version that introduces them.

13. Governing Law

This Privacy Policy is governed by the laws of India, including:

  • The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023
  • The Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011
14. Contact Us

Questions, concerns or requests about this Privacy Policy:

Binaryscript Private Limited
Email: [email protected]
Address: Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India

We will respond within 30 days.

Summary of Key Points
  • No account, no sign-in — the App never asks who you are
  • Your location is read on your phone and NEVER sent anywhere
  • Approximate location only — precise location is deliberately not requested
  • You can decline location entirely and pick a city instead; nothing breaks
  • What you search for is never transmitted
  • Which objects you look at are never transmitted by name — only their kind
  • Every star, constellation and deep-sky object ships inside the App; nothing is downloaded
  • Anonymous usage statistics and crash reports are the only data that leaves your device
  • No advertising, no ad SDK, no ad network
  • No in-app purchases, no payment information
  • No camera, microphone, contacts or file access
  • Uninstalling the App deletes everything it stored