Privacy policy for WhatRock: Rock Identifier

Effective date: 24 September 2026

The short version

WhatRock has no accounts and no logins. Identifying a rock, mineral or fossil requires WhatRock Premium (a free trial where one is offered — see the Terms of Use); people who installed WhatRock before this version keep 3 free identifications a day. Photos of specimens you scan are sent to our server to identify them and are not kept afterward. Your collection and any notes you write stay on your phone. WhatRock shows no ads and includes no advertising SDK.

What we handle

Specimen photos. When you scan a rock, mineral or fossil, the app sends the photo to our server. The server passes it to Anthropic's Claude API, acting as our processor, which returns a best-guess identification — common name, class, and a confidence level (High, Medium or Low) — along with educational field notes from our own field guide. The photo itself is not retained after the request finishes. We cache the result — the identification and a hash (fingerprint) of the image — for up to 72 hours, so scanning the same specimen again is instant. The hash cannot be turned back into your photo.

A random per-install identifier. The app generates a random ID on first launch and sends it with each identification so we can apply the right usage allowance (Premium, or the legacy 3-a-day allowance described below) and stop abuse. It is not an advertising identifier, is not shared with anyone, and is not linked to you. Deleting the app discards it.

A subscription token. If you subscribe, the app attaches a random, anonymous token (appAccountToken) to your purchase. We send it with scans so the right usage allowance applies. It does not identify you and we cannot use it to contact you.

A local reminder before your trial ends. If you start a free trial, the app can schedule a notification on your device, about 48 hours before the trial ends, so a charge never surprises you. This reminder is scheduled and delivered entirely on-device through Apple's own notification system — nothing about it is sent to us or to anyone else. It is on by default; you can turn it off any time with the toggle shown when you start a trial, or in iOS Settings for WhatRock's notifications.

No location is collected. WhatRock does not read or send your device's location, and the app does not ask for location permission. If you type an optional "where found" note for a specimen, that text is written by you, is never geocoded or parsed by us, and stays on your device — see below.

Your collection, photos, thumbnails and notes — on-device only. Every specimen you save, its thumbnail, and any note or "where found" text you write are stored on your phone only. We never receive them. They are removed when you delete a saved specimen, clear your collection in Settings, or delete the app.

What we do not do

• We do not create accounts or ask for your name, email or address.
• We do not sell or share personal data.
• We do not collect your location, and we do not read or parse the optional "where found" note you type for a specimen.
• We do not run any third-party analytics SDK of our own. Diagnostic logging, if any, stays on the device.
• We do not keep your specimen photos.
• We do not show any advertising and we do not include any advertising SDK. Nothing in the app tracks you across other apps or websites, and the app never asks for tracking permission.

Who else is involved

• Anthropic, through its Claude API, receives the scanned photo, acting as our processor, to identify the specimen. It processes the photo to return a result and does not use it to train models.
• Apple handles all payments and delivers the on-device trial-reminder notification described above. We never see your payment details.

Children

WhatRock is not directed at children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect information from them. WhatRock is rated 4+ in the Education category. WhatRock shows no advertising to any user.

Your choices

Because we hold no account and no personal data tied to you, there is nothing for us to look up, export or delete on request. To remove everything the app holds, clear your collection in Settings or delete the app. You can revoke camera and photo library access at any time in iOS Settings; the app still works with photos you pick manually from your library. You can turn off the trial-ending reminder at any time, as described above.

Changes

If this policy changes materially we will update the date above and note it in the app's release notes.

Contact

support@whatrock.app