Privacy Policy

StarHop Navigator works offline. Your data stays on your device — with two exceptions: the weather query via Apple WeatherKit and — if you enable it — iCloud sync (both below).

Device Sensors

The app uses the accelerometer, compass, and your location to calculate astronomical positions. This data is processed exclusively on your device.

Location

Your location is used for three purposes:

Sky calculations — Azimuth and altitude of stars and deep-sky objects depend on your location. This calculation happens locally on your device.
Weather data — When creating an observation session, your GPS coordinates are sent to Apple Weather (WeatherKit) to fetch current weather conditions (temperature, wind, cloud cover, humidity). This happens automatically when a session is created and can be repeated manually via the “Fetch Weather” button. Weather data is stored locally on your device. More information: weatherkit.apple.com/legal-attribution
Observation site — Your location is reverse-geocoded into a place name that is stored in the observation session. This query uses Apple services.

Local Storage

Settings, favorites, equipment data, lists, object notes, and observation notes are stored locally on your device. Your device always remains the primary copy of your data.

iCloud Sync

iCloud sync is off by default. You can turn it on in the app’s settings (or at the one-time prompt on first launch). When it is on, your observation log and sessions, your equipment (telescopes, eyepieces, Barlow lenses, filters), your lists, your object notes, and your favorites sync automatically across your Apple devices.

This data is stored in your own private iCloud (via Apple’s CloudKit), tied to your Apple ID. Apple acts as the data processor. We, the developer, have no access to this content and cannot view it. No account is created with us — sync uses only your iCloud sign-in.

Your app settings (e.g. mount and axis configuration and display options) are not synced; they stay local to each device.

You stay in control:

Enable or disable sync in the settings. When you disable it, both the local copy and the iCloud copy are kept unchanged.
“Delete my iCloud data” removes your synced data from iCloud after a confirmation prompt. The data on your device is kept.

For more information about Apple’s processing, see Apple’s Privacy Policy.

Contact

For privacy questions: support@starhopnavigator.com