Your observing records stay on your device.

Summary

Infinite Scope has no account system, advertising SDK, analytics SDK, or developer-operated crash-reporting SDK. The app stores observing records and preferences locally. Foreground location is optional; when granted, precise coordinates are used to calculate the local sky and are sent over HTTPS to Open-Meteo for weather. Camera access is optional and off by default; when granted, camera frames are processed on the device for the AR sky overlay and never leave the device, and a single captured frame is sent to a third-party plate-solving service only when the user explicitly starts a "solve" action. The optional one-time Pro purchase is processed by Google Play; MetalTorque does not receive payment-card information.

Information kept on your device

Infinite Scope stores the following information in app-private storage:

• onboarding status and observing preferences;
• favorites, viewed objects, challenges, observations, and observing sessions;
• notification, sky-map, plan, and display settings;
• a local flag recording the last Google Play-verified Pro entitlement;
• an expiring Google Play review token when entered by an authorized reviewer;
• recent ASCOM Alpaca telescope addresses and connection preferences;
• cached astronomy catalogs, event calendars, weather, and ISS data;
• local recovery copies created when a malformed observing record is isolated; and
• identifiers for locally scheduled observing notifications.

Android cloud backup and device-to-device transfer are disabled for these app records. The app does not upload observations, favorites, sessions, profile preferences, or telescope history to MetalTorque.

The Log and recovery screens can open the Android share sheet with a JSON copy only after the user selects Export. The user chooses the destination, and that destination handles the exported copy under its own privacy terms.

Optional foreground location

Infinite Scope asks for Android foreground location permission only after the user finishes setup. It does not request background location.

If permission is granted, Infinite Scope uses precise latitude, longitude, and available altitude while the app is open to:

• calculate visible objects, rise and set times, sky coordinates, ISS passes, and observing plans on the device;
• request a local place label through the device platform's geocoding service;
• request local weather from Open-Meteo.

The Open-Meteo request includes latitude and longitude. Open-Meteo also receives ordinary network information such as an IP address, request time, and user-agent and processes it under its own policy:

• Open-Meteo Privacy Policy

Infinite Scope does not send coordinates to MetalTorque or to the ISS orbital data provider. ISS passes and light-pollution scoring are calculated on the device; the user supplies a local Bortle sky class in Settings. If location permission is denied or location is unavailable, the app uses a clearly labeled New York default and remains usable with less personalized results.

Optional camera

Infinite Scope asks for Android camera permission only when the user opens a feature that needs it. The app does not access the camera in the background or on any other screen.

• AR sky overlay. Live camera frames are processed on the device to draw the sky map over the camera view. Those frames are never recorded, stored, or sent anywhere, and Infinite Scope does not operate an image-upload server for this feature.
• Plate solving. When the user explicitly starts a "solve" action, the app captures a single still frame and sends it over HTTPS to a third-party plate-solving service, astrometry.net, so it can match the frame against star patterns and return a sky position. This upload happens only for that one user-initiated solve, not continuously and not for the AR overlay. Infinite Scope does not retain a copy of the uploaded frame after the solve completes, and astrometry.net processes the frame under its own terms. An offline, on-device solving option is also available and never uploads the frame anywhere.

• astrometry.net

Denying camera permission, or never opening the AR overlay or plate-solving screens, means the camera is never accessed.

Other network requests

Infinite Scope retrieves public astronomy information from services including:

• NASA Open APIs and Astronomy Picture of the Day;
• In-The-Sky.org event-calendar pages;
• The Space Devs astronaut information; and
• CelesTrak ISS orbital elements.

Those requests do not contain observations, favorites, settings, or precise device location. Like ordinary web requests, providers receive network metadata such as IP address, request time, and user-agent. Their own privacy policies govern their processing.

Google Play purchases

Infinite Scope offers an optional, non-consumable Infinite Scope Pro one-time purchase. The app uses Google Play Billing to display localized pricing, start the checkout, acknowledge a completed purchase, and restore the entitlement for the Google account used at checkout. Google receives and processes purchase and device/account information under its own terms. Infinite Scope receives a product identifier, purchase state, transaction identifier, and purchase token from Google Play while verifying or restoring access. The app sends those fields back only to Google Play for purchase processing and does not send them to MetalTorque or a developer-operated server. The app stores only the local entitlement flag described above.

An authorized Google Play reviewer can enter an expiring review token supplied through Play Console to inspect Pro features without making a purchase. The app validates that token locally against a one-way hash, stores it in app-private storage until it expires or is erased, and does not transmit it to MetalTorque.

Infinite Scope never receives a payment-card number or other payment credentials. See Google Payments Privacy Notice.

Telescope connections

ASCOM Alpaca discovery and control communicate directly between the device and a user-selected telescope server on the same private network. Infinite Scope restricts these connections to private IP addresses and local-network hostnames. Alpaca commonly uses unencrypted HTTP and UDP on the local network, so telescope status and commands are not protected by internet-grade transport encryption. MetalTorque does not receive telescope traffic.

Notifications

Infinite Scope can schedule local observing reminders after the user grants notification permission. Reminder content and schedule identifiers remain on the device. Infinite Scope does not operate a push-notification server.

Sharing, sale, and advertising

MetalTorque does not sell or rent personal data and does not use Infinite Scope data for behavioral advertising. The app contains no advertising identifier integration. Direct provider processing is described above and must be classified in Google Play's Data Safety form under Google's current definitions. User-initiated observing-log or recovery export is not sent to MetalTorque; it goes only to the destination selected in the device share sheet.

Retention and deletion

Local records remain until they expire from an app cache or the user deletes them. Clear Cached Data removes disposable provider/catalog/telescope discovery caches while preserving user records and settings. Erase Observing History removes observations, sessions, viewed-object markers, and related recovery copies while preserving preferences and caches. Erase All Local Data, Android Clear storage, and uninstall remove all app-private records. The in-app all-data action also cancels scheduled notifications and returns to setup.

Deleting local data does not erase records independently retained by a network provider under that provider's policy. Infinite Scope has no developer account or server-side user profile to delete.

Security

Internet provider and Google Play Billing requests use encrypted transport. App records use Android app-private storage and are excluded from Android backup. Local Alpaca traffic is the limited cleartext exception described above. No storage or transmission method can be guaranteed perfectly secure.

Children

Infinite Scope is a general-audience astronomy tool and is not directed to children under 13. It does not knowingly collect a child's personal information into a MetalTorque-operated service.

Changes

Material changes will be reflected in this policy and its effective date. Data flows and Play disclosures are reviewed again when providers, permissions, or features change.

Contact

Privacy or support questions: josephpangallo@gmail.com