Privacy Policy

Last updated: August 29, 2026

Termite Identifier ("the App") is published by Bulpara Inc ("we", "us", "our"). This policy describes how we collect, use, and protect information when you use the App.

1. The Photos You Submit

• Photos are uploaded to identify them. Identifying an insect from a photo requires AI models far larger than a phone can run, so when you ask for an identification the App uploads that one photo over an encrypted (HTTPS) connection to our processing service.
• The photo is deleted the moment the check finishes — whether it succeeded, failed, or was cancelled. It is not kept for a day, and it is not kept for an hour. Only the verdict (termite / flying ant / not sure, plus the reasoning text) is retained server-side.
• Your copy stays on your phone. The photo you took remains in the App's sandbox on your device, alongside the result, and is removed when you delete that scan or delete the App.
• We never train AI models on your photos, and we do not review, sell, or share them for any purpose other than producing your result.
• No account, ever. Identifications are associated with a per-install device identifier (or your Apple subscription identifier) solely to count free identifications and to enforce a fair-use ceiling — never with your name, email, or Apple ID.
• What is in these photos is an insect or a pile of shed wings on a windowsill. We ask you not to submit photos of people, documents, or anything else you would not want processed by the services named in Section 4.

2. Data We Store Locally

The following stays on your device and is never uploaded:

• Scan history: The photo, capture mode (insect or wings), verdict, confidence, and timestamp for each identification. Stored locally via SwiftData.
• Inspection checklist: Which of the five signs you ticked and any notes you wrote about where you saw them.
• ZIP code for the swarm calendar: Entered by you, kept on-device, and used offline to look up the swarm windows for your region. The App does not request location permission and does not send your ZIP anywhere.
• Preferences: Swarm-alert opt-in and free-identification count.
• Purchase status: Managed by Apple's StoreKit and cached locally for feature gating.

3. Permissions We Request

• Camera: Only when you take a photo of the insect or the shed wings. The App does not use the camera in the background.
• Photo Library (read-only): Only when you choose a photo you already took. We access only the photo you select in the iOS picker — we do not enumerate your library.
• Notifications (optional): Only if you turn on swarm alerts, to warn you roughly a week before your local species is due to fly. You can disable this in iOS Settings at any time.

4. Third-Party Services

The App uses the following third-party services:

• Replicate: Runs the two AI vision models that read your photo — lucataco/qwen3-vl-8b-instruct and an OpenAI vision model, each called independently on the same image. Your photo is passed to Replicate solely to produce your result. See Replicate's Privacy Policy.
• Cloudflare R2: Temporary storage for the uploaded photo while the models read it, in a private bucket that is not publicly listable. The object is deleted when the job completes.
• Our processing service: Operated by us on cloud infrastructure. This is where the two results are combined and where the deletion described in Section 1 happens.
• Apple App Store / StoreKit and the App Store Server API: Manage and validate subscriptions. Governed by Apple's privacy policy.

There are no advertising or analytics SDKs in this App — no ad network, no tracker, no third-party analytics, on either the free or the paid tier.

5. Identifiers We Use

• A per-install device identifier (Apple's identifierForVendor, which is specific to our apps and resets if you delete the App) is sent with a free identification so the server can count your three free checks. It is not shared with anyone and cannot be used to track you across other companies' apps or websites.
• Your Apple subscription identifier is sent instead once you subscribe, so the server can confirm the subscription is active and meter a fair-use ceiling. It is issued by Apple, is specific to this App, and contains no personal information.

6. Data Storage and Security

• Photos in transit are encrypted with HTTPS/TLS.
• Photos at rest during processing sit in a private bucket for the seconds the check takes, and are deleted on completion.
• Your history, checklists, notes, ZIP code, and every photo you took stay on your device.
• Purchase verification uses Apple's StoreKit framework and Apple's App Store Server API.
• Identification requires an internet connection. The swarm calendar and your saved scans and checklists work offline.

7. Data Sharing

We do not sell your personal data. We share your photo only with the processing providers named in Section 4, and only to produce your result — never for advertising, training, or resale.

8. Your Rights

You can:

• Delete individual scans, photos, and checklists from the History tab inside the App
• Delete the App to remove every photo, result, note, and preference it holds
• Clear the ZIP code you entered for the swarm calendar at any time
• Disable Notifications and Camera permission from iOS Settings at any time
• Request information about data handling by contacting us at privacy@bulpara.com

Because uploaded photos are deleted as each check completes, there is no server-side archive of your images to request or erase.

9. Children's Privacy

The App is rated 4+ and is not intended to collect data from children under 13. Because the App does not collect personal data, this is enforced by design.

10. Not a Health or Diagnostic Service

The App identifies insects and points you at the signs a professional inspector looks for. It does not provide pest-control, medical, or veterinary advice, does not diagnose infestations, and never assesses insect bites or health effects.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Last updated" date.

12. Contact Us

If you have questions about this privacy policy, contact us at:

privacy@bulpara.com