Privacy Policy
Chalous: Awesome Space
This policy explains how this application handles information and how to contact us about privacy.
Information we process
Chalous stores your organiser name, astronomer names, specialisations, contact text, favourites, notes, equipment ownership and delivery assignments, observing places, manually entered addresses or requested coordinates, trips, checklists and imported photographs on your iPhone in a local SwiftData journal. It does not require an account. If you enable optional backup and tap Back Up Now, the app registers a random installation identifier and private authorisation secret, encrypts journal content and photographs on your device, and sends encrypted snapshots and photo objects to our backend. The backend stores the installation identifier, a hash of its authorisation secret, encrypted content, object identifiers, byte counts and upload metadata. Its hosting infrastructure receives network information such as IP address, request time, path and response status when you use backup or visit this policy. The server does not receive the content-encryption key. No advertising or analytics SDK is included.
How we use information
Local information organises astronomy club participants, places, equipment, preparation and outing photographs. Camera and selected-photo access add images that you choose; a one-time location request fills a place’s coordinates. Optional cloud processing provides a manually requested encrypted backup, restoration to a device that retains the installation keys, access control, storage limits, reliability and abuse prevention. It is not continuous synchronisation and is not a method of signing in on another device. Public website requests are processed to deliver the home page and privacy policy.
Service providers and sharing
Railway hosts the application backend and its persistent storage volume and processes the network information needed to serve requests. No separate analytics, advertising, email-delivery or social-login provider is used. We do not sell journal content. The app sends photographs to another app only when you choose the iOS share control, after which that recipient’s practices apply. Apple provides iOS, system photo selection, camera, location and Keychain facilities under its own policies. Infrastructure operators may access operational metadata; journal content in our backend is encrypted by the app. Information may be disclosed when legally required. We do not promise a specific infrastructure-log retention period because it has not been established for this service.
Data retention
Local records remain until you delete them or remove the app, subject to iOS device-backup and storage behaviour. Keychain keys may survive reinstallation but this is not guaranteed. The server keeps the latest encrypted journal snapshot until replaced or Delete Cloud Data is used. Uploaded encrypted photo objects, including objects no longer referenced by a later journal snapshot, remain until Delete Cloud Data; the service does not apply an automatic expiry period. An installation identifier and hashed authorisation credential remain after content deletion to authorise future use. We have not configured an application-managed backup schedule for the server volume. Hosting or device backups, if present, and infrastructure logs are subject to the relevant provider’s lifecycle; an immediate purge of those copies is not promised.
Deleting your information
Deleting a photo from Chalous removes its local journal copy without changing the original in your Photos library. Deleting an astronomer or outing removes its photo links while keeping the photographs in Gallery. Settings offers confirmed Delete All Local Data and separate Delete Cloud Data actions. Cloud deletion requires the installation secret and removes the installation’s stored snapshots and photo objects from active service storage; it does not clear the local journal or the installation’s hashed credential. Turning backup off prevents further uploads and does not delete existing cloud content. Previously uploaded photos can remain remotely until cloud deletion. Deletions cannot be undone in the app; a separately retained cloud backup can still be restored until deleted. If all installation keys are lost, we cannot decrypt or restore the backup, and cannot verify an installation solely from a person’s name or contact details.
Permissions and your choices
The system photo picker exposes only images you select; Chalous does not request unrestricted library access or delete library originals. Camera permission is requested only when you choose to take a photograph on a supported device. Location When In Use is requested only when you tap Use Current Coordinates, for a one-time fix; a location can always be entered manually. No map, background location or tracking permission is used. You can cancel the picker and withdraw camera or location access in iOS Settings. Existing saved copies and coordinates are not automatically removed by withdrawing permission; delete or edit them in the journal.
Your privacy rights
You can view, edit and delete your local records in the app, share an individual photograph through iOS, disable cloud backup and delete your installation’s cloud content. Depending on your location you may have rights concerning access, correction, deletion, objection or complaints to a data-protection authority. For privacy enquiries contact thelma.chatterton@icloud.com. This address is a public privacy contact, not an account or in-app messaging service. Do not send your installation secret or encryption key. We may need information sufficient to verify a request and cannot identify encrypted journal contents from your name alone.
Security
HTTPS protects communication with the deployed backend. A server-issued random secret authorises only its matching installation, and the server stores a SHA-256 hash rather than the secret itself. A separate random AES-GCM content key remains in this device’s ThisDeviceOnly Keychain. Snapshots and photo content are authenticated and encrypted before upload; restoration verifies photo integrity before replacing the local journal. The backend validates identifiers, restricts payload and storage sizes, applies rate limits and writes content atomically on persistent storage. The local journal uses iOS application storage protections. No method of storage or transmission is absolutely secure, and recovery is unavailable when the required private keys are lost.
Children’s privacy
Chalous is intended for adult organisers of astronomy clubs and observing groups. It is not directed to children under 13. An organiser should include other people’s names, contact details, photographs or location information only with appropriate permission and should avoid unnecessary information about children. Contact the privacy address if you believe children’s personal information has been processed inappropriately.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy when the application or its processing practices change. The current policy and its effective date are published at this address and accessible from the app’s Settings. Review this page before enabling backup after an update. Material changes will be described in the updated policy; this policy does not promise an email notification system.