This policy explains how BirdfolioSA (“the app”, “we”) handles personal information, in line with South Africa's Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). The short version: your photos and progress stay on your own device, and we do not collect or store them.
BirdfolioSA is designed for birders across Southern Africa — South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho and Eswatini. This policy is written with reference to South African law, since that is where the app is operated from; if you are in one of the other countries listed, your own country's data protection laws may also apply to you, alongside the practical protections described below, which apply to every user regardless of location.
1. Who is responsible
BirdfolioSA is operated by Francois Ubbink, trading as BirdfolioSA, South Africa. Contact: support@birdfoliosa.com.
2. Information the app works with
All of the following is stored only on your device:
- Your checklist progress and the photos you attach to species.
- The capture date and location you confirm or type for each photo. Where a photo contains its own capture date, the app reads it on your device to fill in the date for you.
- Any field notes, trip names, or descriptive tags (such as age or sex) you choose to add to a photo.
- Any custom lists you create to group photos together.
- Your language and display preferences.
- If you connect Adobe Lightroom, your Adobe login tokens, held in your device's secure storage.
The app has no user accounts. We do not use analytics, advertising or tracking tools, and we do not receive your photos, location entries or progress.
3. Why the information is used
Only to run the features you ask for: keeping your checklist, showing your photos, filling in capture dates, importing photos you choose, and creating backups you request.
4. Adobe Lightroom import (optional)
If you choose Import from Lightroom, you sign in on Adobe's own login page. The app then contacts Adobe directly to list your synced collections and photos, show thumbnails, and download a copy of a photo you select. It never edits, uploads or deletes anything in your Lightroom library.
Adobe requires a secret key to complete login and to renew it. That key is kept on a small login service we run on Cloudflare (oauth.birdfoliosa.com), so it is not inside the app. The service only passes login codes and tokens between Adobe and your device. It does not store them, and your photos never pass through it. Cloudflare, as our hosting provider, and Adobe act as operators or independent parties for these steps; Adobe's handling of your account is covered by Adobe's privacy policy.
You can disconnect at any time from the app menu (Adobe Lightroom → Disconnect), which deletes the stored login from your device. You can also remove BirdfolioSA's access in your Adobe account settings.
5. Permissions the app asks for
- Photo library and files: so you can choose photos to attach to species. The app reads only the photos you pick.
- Internet: used only for Adobe Lightroom import.
6. Backups and cloud storage you choose
The Back Up feature creates a file of your photos and progress and saves it wherever you choose, such as Google Drive or your computer. What happens to that file afterwards is governed by that service's own terms. When you pick a photo from Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, iCloud or another provider, your device's own file picker handles access and the app only receives the file you select.
7. Sharing your information
We do not sell, rent or share your personal information. The only outside parties involved are those you choose to use: Adobe (for Lightroom import), any storage service you pick photos from or back up to, and Apple or Google, who process your one-time purchase of the app under their own privacy policies. We do not receive your payment details.
8. Security
Your data stays on your device, protected by your device's own security. Login tokens are kept in secure storage, and the Lightroom key is held only on our login service and not in the app. No system is perfectly secure, so keep your device locked and up to date.
9. How long information is kept
For as long as it is on your device. Because we hold nothing on our servers, you control retention: remove photos in the app, disconnect Adobe, or uninstall the app to delete your data.
10. Your rights
Under POPIA you may ask what information we hold about you, and ask us to correct or delete it. Since we do not hold your photos or progress, there is generally nothing to retrieve, but you are welcome to ask at support@birdfoliosa.com. If you are unhappy with how your information is handled, you may lodge a complaint with South Africa's Information Regulator.
11. Children
BirdfolioSA is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect information from anyone.
12. Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, we will update the date at the top of this page. Continued use of the app after a change means you accept the updated policy.
13. Contact
Questions about privacy: support@birdfoliosa.com.