Gamma ("the app") is built to let you and your friends share your location, drop persistent beacons, and send short voice clips to each other. This policy explains what data the app uses, where it goes, and what we never collect.
What we collect and why
Precise location
What: GPS coordinates and altitude from your device.
Why: Shown to friends you've connected with so they can see you on the radar and in friend-finder mode. Also used to attach beacons and voice drops to a real-world location.
Where it goes: Stored in your private Apple iCloud account and in the app's CloudKit public database, readable only by friends you've added. We do not send your location to any server other than Apple iCloud.
Control: You can toggle "Appear on friends' radar" off at any time in the Me tab. When off, your location is not uploaded.
Microphone
What: Short voice recordings (max 15 seconds), used for walkie-talkie clips and spatial voice drops.
Why: So you can send voice messages to friends or attach a voice clip to a beacon.
Where it goes: Stored as a CloudKit asset readable only by the friend(s) you send to. Voice clips are ephemeral — deleted from CloudKit once the recipient marks them as played.
Control: Microphone access is requested only when you first try to record. You can revoke permission in iOS Settings → Privacy → Microphone.
Contacts and your phone number
What: Names and phone numbers from your iPhone contacts (only when you tap "Find Friends"), and your own phone number if you choose to enter it in the Me tab.
Why: To identify which of your contacts are already on Gamma so you can add them, to let you invite the ones who aren't via SMS, and to let other people find you when their contacts include your number.
Where it goes:
Phone numbers from your contacts are SHA-256 hashed on your device. Only the hashes — never the raw numbers — are sent to CloudKit to look up matches. Your contact list itself is never uploaded.
Your own phone number is SHA-256 hashed locally; only the hash is stored in your CloudKit UserProfile record so other people's hashed-contact queries can find you. Your raw phone number does not leave your device.
Contact names from your address book stay on your device and are only shown to you, to label matches in the Find Friends list.
Raw phone numbers are used only locally to compose SMS invites that you choose to send.
Control: Contacts permission is requested only when you open the Find Friends screen. Revoke at any time in iOS Settings → Privacy → Contacts. You can clear your phone number from the Me tab to stop appearing in others' Find Friends results.
iCloud account identifier
What: A random identifier (UUID) generated on first launch, plus your iCloud user record ID.
Why: Used to identify you to friends and to associate your beacons, voice clips, and location with your account.
Where it goes: Stored in your private CloudKit database and shared in the public CloudKit database alongside your friend code.
Control: Sign out of iCloud or delete the app to remove the local identifier.
Optional profile data
What: A display name you optionally set.
Why: So friends see your name instead of your friend code.
Where it goes: CloudKit public database, visible to friends you've connected with.
Control: Edit or clear your name from the Me tab at any time.
Beacons and voice drops
What: Locations you choose to mark, plus optional labels, emojis, expiry times, and attached voice clips.
Why: So friends can see places you've pinned.
Where it goes: CloudKit public database, readable only by friends you've added. You can delete any beacon at any time. Beacons with an expiry time are automatically removed after expiry.
What we do NOT collect
We do not use any third-party analytics SDKs.
We do not show ads.
We do not use any third-party tracking, attribution, or advertising frameworks.
We do not sell, rent, or share your data with anyone.
We do not operate any servers of our own. All data lives in Apple iCloud.
We do not upload your contacts list — contact data is processed on-device only, and only hashed phone numbers leave the device for friend matching (see "Contacts and your phone number" above).
We do not collect browsing history, health data, financial data, or any data not listed above.
Sharing your data with friends
When you add a friend, your location, beacons, name, and voice clips become visible to that friend through CloudKit. You can hide yourself from individual friends or all friends at any time using the privacy toggles in the Friends and Me tabs. You can remove a friend at any time, which stops sharing immediately.
Data retention
Location: Updated continuously while the app is in use; previous coordinates are overwritten, not appended. The most recent location is retained until you toggle sharing off or delete the app.
Voice clips: Deleted from CloudKit when the recipient plays them. Unplayed clips remain until played or until you delete them.
Beacons: Retained until you delete them or until their expiry time elapses.
Account identifier: Removed when you delete the app or sign out of iCloud and reset.
To delete all of your data, sign out of iCloud and delete the app. You can also email us (see below) to request manual deletion of any CloudKit records associated with your account.
Children's privacy
Gamma is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 13. If you believe a child has used the app, contact us and we will remove the associated records.
Changes to this policy
If we change what data the app collects, we will update this page and update the effective date above. Material changes will be communicated through an in-app notice.