Privacy Policy

Who we are

It's Birds Mate is operated by Eddie Bye (“we”, “us”, “our”). We are the data controller for personal information collected through this app and website. Contact: hello@itsbirdsmate.com

What we collect and why

Account information

Email address, display name, and profile handle when you create an account.Legal basis: Contract — needed to operate your account.

Bird sighting photos and audio

Photos and audio recordings you submit to identify birds. These are processed by our AI identification service (Anthropic) to identify the species, then stored in your collection.Legal basis: Contract

Location data from photos (EXIF)

Important: photos taken on a smartphone typically contain embedded location data (EXIF GPS coordinates) recording where the photo was taken. When you upload a photo, this EXIF data may be included and processed alongside the image. We use it to record an approximate location for your sighting if you choose to log one. If you do not want to share your location, you can disable location embedding in your phone's camera settings, or strip EXIF data from the photo before uploading.Legal basis: Contract / Consent

Sighting metadata

The species identified, date and time of each sighting, and approximate location (if provided or extracted from EXIF, as above).Legal basis: Contract

Profile information

Display name, handle, avatar image, your “Birding in” home region, and any card nicknames you set.Legal basis: Contract

Game data

Your card collection, battle history, league standings, streaks, and in-game currencies.Legal basis: Contract

Purchase records

If you buy a Founders membership or top-up credits: the product purchased, amount, and date. We do not store your card number — payments are handled by Stripe (web).Legal basis: Contract + legal obligation

Push notification tokens

A device token to send you streak reminders, rare-bird alerts, and daily-bird notifications. Only if you grant notification permission.Legal basis: Consent

Usage analytics

Aggregate, anonymised usage patterns (pages visited, features used) to improve the app. No individual profiles are built from this data.Legal basis: Legitimate interest

Who we share your data with

We do not sell your data. We share it only with the following processors to operate the service:

• Supabase (EU / US) — Database, authentication, and file storage for your account, collection, and uploaded photos.
• Stripe (US) — Payment processing for web purchases (Founders membership, top-up credits, print orders).
• Anthropic (US) — AI photo identification and content moderation on submitted images. Your photos are sent to Anthropic's API for species identification.
• OneSignal (US) — Push notification delivery.
• Prodigi (UK) — Physical print fulfilment — your shipping address is shared only when you place a print order.
• Resend (US) — Transactional email (account verification, purchase receipts).
• Vercel (US) — App hosting and edge network.

Data transferred to US-based processors is covered by Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) or the EU–US Data Privacy Framework where applicable.

How long we keep your data

• Account and game data: for as long as your account is active, plus 30 days after deletion.
• Bird sighting photos and audio: retained to power your card collection. Deleted when you delete your account or the specific sighting.
• Purchase records: 7 years for legal/tax purposes.
• Push tokens: deleted when you disable notifications or delete your account.

Your rights (UK GDPR)

You have the right to:

• Access — request a copy of the data we hold about you.
• Correction — ask us to fix inaccurate data.
• Deletion — ask us to delete your account and personal data (“right to be forgotten”).
• Portability — receive your data in a machine-readable format.
• Objection — object to processing based on legitimate interest.
• Withdraw consent — for push notifications, turn them off in your device settings at any time.

To exercise any right, email hello@itsbirdsmate.com. We will respond within 30 days. You also have the right to complain to the ICO (ico.org.uk).

Children

This app is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, contact us and we will delete it promptly.

Local storage and cookies

The app stores your collection, streak, and game state locally on your device (localStorage) so it loads instantly and works without a connection. This data does not leave your device unless you're signed in, in which case it syncs to Supabase. See our Cookies Policy for details.

Changes to this policy

We'll notify you of material changes via in-app notification or email. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page always reflects the current version.

Contact

Questions about this policy or your data: hello@itsbirdsmate.com