Starlapse: privacy policy
Last updated November 2, 2026. Checked against the app's code on that date.
The short version
No account. Photos, location and heading stay on the phone unless you opt in to the sky dataset. The app sends a usage counter you can switch off, and purchases go through Apple.
- Account: none. The app has no sign-in and no account.
- What reaches us: Anonymous usage counts (see Analytics), which you can switch off.; Only if you opt in to the sky dataset: sky brightness and star measurements, camera settings, the iPhone model, a 2048-pixel JPEG of each saved stack, the capture time, your location rounded to about 10 km, the direction in whole degrees, meteor tracks the detector found, and a random contributor id. Sent to api.starlapse.app to build an open dataset of night-sky conditions.
- Selling or sharing data: never. No advertising, no ad identifiers, no data brokers.
What the app sends to us
- Anonymous usage counts (see Analytics), which you can switch off.
- Only if you opt in to the sky dataset: sky brightness and star measurements, camera settings, the iPhone model, a 2048-pixel JPEG of each saved stack, the capture time, your location rounded to about 10 km, the direction in whole degrees, meteor tracks the detector found, and a random contributor id. Sent to api.starlapse.app to build an open dataset of night-sky conditions.
What stays on your device
- Precise location and compass heading
- Raw motion sensor readings
- Full-resolution photos and time-lapses (saved to Photos only when you tap Save)
- Detector clips (temp folder until you keep or discard them)
- Crash reports from MetricKit (until you share one yourself)
- Shower alert schedule (local notifications)
Other services the app connects to
Each of these receives only what is listed, plus the IP address any network request carries. Services run by others handle it under their own privacy policies.
| Service | What it receives | When |
|---|---|---|
api.starlapse.app | POST /v1/observations (multipart: observation JSON + 2048-px JPEG); DELETE /v1/contributors/<id> to erase | Only after you opt in (asked once after the first saved photo; changeable in Settings > SKY DATASET), once per saved stack |
Apple App Store (StoreKit 2) | Product lookup, purchase and restore for co.superduperai.starlapse.pro | Opening the Pro page, buying, restoring |
Permissions
iOS asks you before the app can use any of these, and you can change your answer in Settings at any time. The app keeps working without them, minus the feature that needs it.
- Camera: Capture
- Location (when in use): Sky overlay and aiming; app works without it except the overlay
- Motion: Overlay alignment
- Photo library (add only): Saving; cannot read existing photos
- Notifications: Optional local reminders on good meteor nights
Analytics and crash reports
The app counts its own use with our self-hosted, open-source counter at analytics.superduperai.co (superduper-analytics). Each event carries its name, the app version, a timestamp and a random id created on first launch. That id lives only in the app, is deleted with it, and is not the advertising identifier or tied to any account. The server keeps the country Cloudflare reports for the request and does not store your IP address. No third-party analytics, no tracking across apps or websites. Starlapse sends: app launched, capture started (with the mode and stack type), capture saved (with the frame count, photo or video, and whether the credit line was added), Pro page shown, Pro bought. Switch it off any time in Settings: "Count launches and captures".
On-device only. MetricKit crash diagnostics are kept on the phone; after a crash the controls panel offers 'Send report', which opens the iOS share sheet. Nothing is sent automatically.
Purchases
StoreKit 2, one non-consumable 'Starlapse Pro' ($4.99), co.superduperai.starlapse.pro; restore via AppStore.sync()
Children
The app is for a general audience. It asks no one, children included, for a name, email, age or any other personal detail.
Deleting your data
Photos you save are in your Photos library and yours to keep or delete. Everything else the app keeps lives on the device and goes when you delete the app. If you contributed to the sky dataset, the app's "delete everything" option asks api.starlapse.app to erase what you sent; its contributor id is kept in the Keychain (not synced) precisely so that this still works after a reinstall. Anything else: write to us.
Who we are, and how to reach us
Starlapse is made by SuperDuperAI and published on the App Store under the developer account of its founder, Rustam Salavatov. The company behind the brand is SuperDuperAI, Corp., a Delaware public benefit corporation, 1207 Delaware Ave #4241, Wilmington, DE 19806, USA (details on about). Questions about this policy or about your data: [email protected]. Help with the app: Starlapse support.
If the app starts handling data differently, this page changes first and the date above moves. The policy for the website itself is here.