SpectraTracePrivacy policy
Last updated 17 September 2026
SpectraTrace is an iPhone app that reads the phone's own sensors (magnetometer, microphone, camera, touch screen, GPS) and, optionally, a nearby Bluetooth LE thermometer, to run a set of measurement instruments.
Data we collect
None. SpectraTrace has no account system, no analytics, no advertising and no servers of its own. Nothing you do in the app is sent to the developer. This website loads no third-party scripts or trackers either.
Data that stays on your device
| Sensor readings | Magnetic field, temperature, sound levels and touch events are processed live. M1 and Frequencies can export them as CSV files, which leave the phone only when you share them. |
|---|---|
| REM sessions | The random words shown, with their time and trigger, in the app's local database. |
| Audio and video | Recordings you make are stored inside the app. Videos can also be saved to your Photos library when you allow it. |
| Settings | Language, sensitivity, thresholds, voice and theory weights, in the app's preferences. |
| Map areas | Features fetched by the Hotspot Map around the places you scanned are cached on the phone for offline use. You can delete them in Settings. |
Deleting the app deletes all of the above, except videos you chose to save to Photos.
Permissions and Apple services
| Microphone | Live sound analysis in Frequencies, the optional Microphone input, and audio/video recording. |
|---|---|
| Camera | Spectra Cam recording and the SLS body-pose overlay. Pose detection runs on the device. |
| Photos (add only) | Saving the videos you record. The app cannot read your existing photos. |
| Bluetooth | Reading nearby Bluetooth LE thermometers. The app only listens for temperature broadcasts and standard temperature services. |
| Speech recognition | When you turn on Speech to Text in Frequencies, microphone audio is sent to Apple's speech recognition service to produce the live transcript, under Apple's privacy policy. Turn the switch off to stop it; no audio is sent otherwise. |
| Location (while using the app) | The Hotspot Map uses your position only while that screen is open, to place the map and to score the features around you. The app has no background location mode. Apple Maps draws the base map under Apple's privacy policy. |
Third parties
SpectraTrace contains no third-party SDKs. The instrument guides link to external scientific sources that open in your browser.
The Hotspot Map fetches public map data from two free services. To do so it sends the centre of a grid square of about one kilometre containing your position — rounded, never your exact coordinates — together with a fixed query:
| OpenStreetMap | Through public Overpass API servers (overpass-api.de, overpass.openstreetmap.fr, overpass.kumi.systems, maps.mail.ru) — mapped features such as power lines, historic sites, cemeteries, rivers and geological sites. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. See the OSM Foundation's privacy policy and the operators' own policies. |
|---|---|
| USGS | The U.S. Geological Survey earthquake catalogue (earthquake.usgs.gov) — recorded earthquakes within 60 km. See the USGS privacy policy. |
Requests carry a generic app identifier as User-Agent and no account, device identifier or other personal data. Each fetched square is kept on the phone for two weeks so it can be reused without a new request. This is declared in the App Store privacy label as Coarse Location — App Functionality — not linked to you.
Children
SpectraTrace is not directed at children and collects no data from anyone.
Changes
If this policy changes, the new version will be published at this address with a new date.