Avicantus

Privacy policy

Last updated: 29 October 2026
In short: Avicantus has no accounts. Your sightings, photos, recordings and location stay on your phone: birds are recognised on the device itself. Only three things leave it: anonymous crash reports, the problems you choose to report on a species card, and the data Google AdMob may collect to show ads, depending on your choices on the consent screen.

Who is responsible

Avicantus is developed and published by Alessandro Rinchi, an individual based in Italy, who is the data controller under Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR). For any question: support@alessandrorinchi.com.

Data that stays on your phone

Avicantus recognises birds on the device, without sending photos or sounds anywhere. On your phone, and only there, it keeps:

  • your sightings, Codex, journal, points and badges;
  • the photos you analyse and the notes you write (the photos stay in your gallery; the app reads the date and place stored in them to suggest likely species);
  • the sound picked up by the microphone while you listen, analysed in a few seconds and never saved or sent;
  • your location or the country you choose, used only to show the species likely around you;
  • your settings and preferences.

This data is not sent to me or to anyone else, and it is deleted when you uninstall the app. The app works offline: without internet it simply shows no ads and sends nothing.

Crash reports and species reports (Google Firebase)

To fix errors and improve the species cards, the app uses two services of Google Firebase (Google Ireland Limited):

  • Crashlytics: if the app crashes, it sends a technical report with the error, the app version, the phone model and operating system, the time, and a random identifier of the installation (not linked to you or to the advertising ID). Reports are kept for 90 days.
  • Cloud Firestore: when you use “Report a problem” on a species card, the app sends the species, the section, the text you write, the date and the platform (Android or iOS). No identifier is attached. Please don't write personal data in the report. Reports are stored on Google servers in Milan (Italy) and deleted once the card is corrected.

Google processes this data on my behalf under the Firebase terms.

Advertising (Google AdMob)

Avicantus is free thanks to ads from Google AdMob (Google Ireland Limited): from time to time a full-screen ad while a photo is analysed, and a small banner on the results and listening pages. To show and measure ads and to prevent fraud, Google may collect:

  • the device's advertising identifier (Android Advertising ID or, on iOS, the IDFA if you allow it);
  • the IP address, from which an approximate location is derived;
  • technical device data: model, operating system, language, carrier;
  • interactions with ads, such as views and taps.

I do not receive this data in a form that identifies you: I only see aggregate statistics. Google processes it under its own privacy policy; here it explains how it uses data from partner apps.

Consent and how to change it

In the European Union, the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, the app shows Google's consent screen after the welcome screens. You can accept or refuse personalised ads: if you refuse, you will see non-personalised or limited ads. You can change your choice at any time under Profile › Privacy.

On Android you can reset or delete the advertising ID in your phone settings; Google's ad preferences can also be managed at adssettings.google.com.

Legal basis

Personalised ads and access to the advertising identifier are based on your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR), which you can withdraw at any time. Non-personalised ads, measurement, fraud prevention and crash reports are based on the legitimate interest in offering a free and working app (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). Species reports are sent only when you choose to send them.

App permissions

Avicantus asks only for the permissions it needs, and only when you use the matching feature: microphone (to recognise songs), camera and photos (to recognise a bird in a picture), location (to show the species around you; you can choose the country by hand instead), plus internet access (ads, crash reports, species reports and the download of the birds of other parts of the world). It does not access your contacts.

Age

Avicantus is meant for people aged 13 and over and is not directed at children. I do not knowingly collect data from children under 13.

Your rights

You have the right to access, rectify, erase, restrict, object to and port your data, and to withdraw consent. Since I do not keep data that identifies you, for data collected by Google you can contact Google directly; write to me anyway and I will help. You can also lodge a complaint with the Italian data protection authority, the Garante per la protezione dei dati personali, or with the authority of your country.

Changes

If this policy changes, I will publish the new version here and update the date at the top.

Contact

Alessandro Rinchi — support@alessandrorinchi.com