Image ASCII Privacy Policy
Image ASCII is an app that turns photos, video and live camera frames into ASCII art. It is made by Hookshot Ltd, a company based in the United Kingdom ("we", "us"). This policy explains what data the Image ASCII app on iPhone, iPad and Mac handles, where it goes and why.
In short
- There is no account. We never ask for your name, email address or any other personal details.
- Your photos, videos and camera frames are converted on your device. They are never uploaded to us.
- We use Google Firebase for crash reports on iPhone, iPad and Mac, and for anonymous usage analytics on iPhone and iPad. None of it is linked to you, and none of it is used for advertising or tracking. The Mac app sends no usage analytics.
- There are no ads, and we never sell your data.
Data that stays with you
Photos, video and camera
When you pick a photo or video, take a picture or use the live camera, the image is read and converted to ASCII on your device. Neither the original nor the result is sent to us or to any third party by the app. The camera is used only to show a live preview and capture stills. Image ASCII asks for permission to add to your photo library only to save the images and videos you create. It does not read your wider photo library: you choose the items to convert through the system photo picker.
If you use the share sheet, copy text or save a result, your device sends it where you choose. That is under your control and outside this policy.
Settings
Your style, font, character set and other settings are stored on your device.
Your daily allowance
The free plan limits how many new images you can convert each day. The count and the time it resets are kept in your device's Keychain so the limit cannot be reset by relaunching the app. It can survive deleting and reinstalling the app. It is not sent to us.
Shortcuts and Siri
If you use the Image ASCII actions in Shortcuts or Siri, the image you pass in is converted on your device in the same way.
Purchases
Image ASCII Pro is bought through the App Store. Apple processes the payment, and we never receive your payment details or Apple Account information. The app checks what you have bought using Apple's StoreKit on your device.
Data we collect
Image ASCII sends two kinds of data to Google Firebase: usage analytics on iPhone and iPad, and crash reports on iPhone, iPad and Mac. Firebase is a service run by Google that we use to understand how the app is used and to fix bugs. Neither is linked to your identity: there is no account, and we never attach a name, email address or other identifier of our own. Firebase uses random identifiers that are created when the app is installed and reset if you delete it. We turn off Google's advertising-related storage, advertising data sharing and ad personalisation for this data.
Usage analytics (Firebase Analytics)
- How you use the app: for example, that an image was selected and from where (photo library, camera or other source), that you changed the output style, copied text or shared an image, that you opened settings, and your selected output style.
- Video and camera: when a video conversion starts, finishes or is cancelled, with the source, output format, resolution, how long it ran and a reason for cancelling, and when a still is captured, with its resolution. The video and photos themselves are never sent.
- Limits and the paywall: when you hit the daily limit, when the paywall is shown and what prompted it, and whether you have Pro.
- Purchases: that a purchase or restore happened and which product (annual, monthly or lifetime) was bought. We never receive prices, transaction details or payment information.
- Approximate location: Google estimates your country, region and city from your IP address. Image ASCII never asks for your location.
- Device information: device model, operating system version, app version and language, and general app events such as first open and sessions that Firebase records automatically.
We never send the contents of your images, your custom character sets or any text produced from your images.
Crash reports (Firebase Crashlytics)
If Image ASCII crashes, it sends a crash report with technical details: what went wrong, the device model, operating system version and app version, and the state of the app at the time of the crash.
Remote settings (Firebase Remote Config)
The app fetches a small number of settings from Firebase, such as how many free conversions you get each day, so we can adjust them without releasing an update. This request, which also happens on the Mac, reaches Google's servers and includes your IP address and a random installation identifier, as any network request would.
Why we collect it
We use this data only to understand which features people use, to decide what to improve and to find and fix bugs. Under UK data protection law, our lawful basis is our legitimate interest in running and improving the app. We do not use it for advertising, we do not combine it with data from other companies, and we do not sell it or use it to track you across other apps and websites.
Google processes this data on our behalf and may process it outside the United Kingdom, under the safeguards set out in Google's data processing terms. You can read Google's privacy policy and how Firebase handles data.
How long it is kept
TODO: confirm against the Firebase console settings. Crash reports are kept for 90 days. Analytics data is kept for no longer than 14 months, then deleted automatically.
Contacting support
If you choose Help & feedback in Settings, Image ASCII opens an email in your own mail app, addressed to support@hookshotltd.co. We receive your email address and anything you write, and use them only to answer you. We keep support emails for as long as we need them to help you, then delete them.
Your choices and rights
- You can stop all data collection by deleting the app. This also resets the random identifiers Firebase uses.
- You can deny camera and photo access at any time in your device's Settings. The features that need them will stop working.
- Image ASCII does not currently have a setting to turn analytics off inside the app.
- Under UK data protection law, you have the right to access, correct or delete personal data about you, and to object to how we process it. Because nothing we collect is linked to your identity, we usually cannot find data that belongs to you. Email us and we will do what we can.
- If you are unhappy with how we handle your data, you can complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk.
Children
Image ASCII is not aimed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 13.
Changes to this policy
If we change how Image ASCII handles data, we will update this page and the date at the top.
Contact
Hookshot Ltd is responsible for your data. For questions about privacy or this policy, email support@hookshotltd.co.