APPLICATION PRIVACY POLICY

We respect your privacy

WINGMATE BIRD INTERACTIVE PTY LTD respects your right to privacy and is committed to safeguarding the privacy of our customers and software application users. We adhere to the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) established by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

Types of Information We Collect

• Identity Data: Name, username, profile picture.
• Contact Data: Email address.
• User Content: Photos, audio recordings, field notes, and bird sightings.
• Location Data: Precise GPS coordinates associated with bird sightings.
• Subscription Data: Premium subscription status, subscription tier (Silver, Gold, Plus), transaction IDs, purchase dates, renewal dates, expiry dates, auto-renewal status, trial information, price and currency, purchase verification tokens, and renewal history from Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Purchase records are retained for 7 years for legal compliance.
• Preferences: App configuration, display themes, and notification settings.
• Technical & Analytics Data: IP address, device ID, screen views, button clicks, crash logs, and subscription events.
• Offline Package Data: Download history of offline map/species packages.

Public Visibility and Friend Interactions

Wingmate is designed as a social platform. Please be aware of how your data is shared:

• Public Website Display: Your sightings, photos, and lists may be displayed on wingmate.au. By default, these are attributed to your Name and Profile Picture.
• Leaderboards: Your First Name, Profile Picture, and Sighting Counts (Day/Month) may appear on public leaderboards.
• Shared Lists: If you share a list with a friend, they can see all photos and details within that list.

Privacy Controls (Opt-Out)

You can toggle your profile to "Private" in settings. If you do this:

• Your records and photos may still be publicly visible (to support the community database).
• Your content will be displayed as "Anonymous" instead of your Name.
• Attribution for your images will be hidden.
• Note: Accepted Friends will still be able to see your identity and locations. You must unfriend users to revoke their access.

Analytics and Performance Monitoring

We use third-party analytics services, including Google Firebase Analytics and Mixpanel, to understand how you use the Application.

• What we track: Screen views, button clicks, time spent on features, search queries, and app crashes.
• Purpose: This data allows us to identify bugs, improve app performance, and understand which features are most popular.
• Opt-Out: Analytics collection is essential for the stability of the Service and cannot be disabled at this time.

Offline Data Packages

Premium users may download large offline data packages (maps, images, audio). These files are stored locally on your device. We track download history to manage bandwidth and license restrictions. Records created while offline will automatically sync to our servers (and become visible to friends) once you reconnect to the internet.

Subscriptions and Payments

Payment Processing

Wingmate Plus subscriptions are processed through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, depending on your device. We do not directly collect, store, or have access to your credit card, debit card, or other payment information. All payment data is handled by Apple or Google in accordance with their respective privacy policies and security standards.

Subscription Data Collection

When you subscribe to Wingmate Plus, we collect and store the following information to manage your subscription, verify your status with Apple/Google, prevent fraudulent transactions, and comply with app store requirements:

• Transaction Identifiers: Unique transaction IDs from Apple App Store or Google Play Store, including original transaction IDs for tracking renewals.
• Purchase Verification Data: Store verification tokens (purchaseToken for Android, receiptData for iOS), verification status and timestamps, environment (production/sandbox), and acknowledgment state.
• Subscription Status: Whether you have an active premium subscription, your subscription tier (Silver, Gold, or Plus), and current auto-renewal status.
• Purchase Records: Subscription purchase dates, renewal dates, expiry dates, price and currency information, and complete purchase history for your account.
• Trial Information: Whether you are currently in a trial period, trial duration, trial end date, and when trial converted to paid (if applicable).
• Renewal History: Complete tracking of all renewal events and payment state changes throughout your subscription lifecycle.
• Account Association: The link between your subscription and your Wingmate user account (Firebase User ID).
• Technical Data: Payment platform (iOS or Android), app version and build number at time of purchase.
• Premium Feature Usage: Your use of premium features, including photo storage usage (free: 200 photos, Plus: 10,000 photos), GPS location data, offline data downloads, and timeline access.

Important: We do NOT collect or store your credit card information, payment card numbers, or banking details. All payment processing is handled directly by Apple or Google.

Data Retention: Purchase records and transaction history are retained for 7 years for accounting, tax compliance, legal requirements, and fraud prevention purposes, even after subscription cancellation or account deletion.

Third-Party Integration

We may use Buy Me a Coffee for certain subscription services and supporter programs. If you subscribe through Buy Me a Coffee, we collect your email address for the purpose of linking your subscription to your Wingmate account. This requires manual email verification to ensure account security. Buy Me a Coffee may collect additional information according to their own privacy policy.

Subscription Analytics

We track subscription-related events for analytics and app improvement purposes, including subscription purchases, renewals, cancellations, restoration attempts, and premium feature usage. This data helps us understand which features provide the most value to our community and improve the subscription experience.

Auto-Renewal and Cancellation

Wingmate Plus subscriptions automatically renew on an annual basis unless you cancel before the renewal date. You can cancel your subscription at any time through:

• Apple Users: Settings → [Your Name] → Subscriptions → Wingmate
• Android Users: Google Play Store → Account → Subscriptions → Wingmate

Upon cancellation, you will retain access to premium features until the end of your current billing period. After your subscription expires, your account will automatically revert to the free tier with its associated limitations.

Data Retention After Subscription Ends

If your subscription expires or is cancelled, we retain your subscription history (purchase dates, transaction records) for accounting, tax compliance, and fraud prevention purposes. Your premium content (photos, locations, sightings) created during your subscription period will be retained according to our standard Data Retention policy (see above). However, if the number of photos you've uploaded exceeds the free tier limit (200 photos), you will not be able to upload additional photos until you either delete existing photos or resubscribe to Wingmate Plus.

Subscription Support

If you experience any problems with your subscription, please contact us:

Email: contact@wingmate.au

Response Time: We aim to respond to all subscription inquiries within 48 hours.

Email Communications

• Transactional Emails: We may send you essential notifications (password resets, security alerts, Terms updates). You cannot opt out of these.
• Marketing Emails: We may send updates about new features or offers. You may unsubscribe from these at any time via the link in the email or your account settings.

Device Permissions

To provide full functionality, our Service requests access to:

• Location: Required to log sighting coordinates. We do not track your location in the background when the app is closed.
• Camera/Storage: Required to capture and upload bird photos.
• Microphone: Required for audio recording features.

Data Access and Portability

Access: You may request details of personal information that we hold about you.
Export: You may export your sighting data (CSV/Spreadsheet format) at any time. Your Life List belongs to you.

Data Retention

Active Accounts: We retain your personal data while your account is active.
Deleted Accounts: If you delete your account, your personal identifiers (Name, Email, Profile Pic) are permanently removed. However, your bird sighting data (species, location, date) will be retained indefinitely in an anonymized format for scientific research and historical consistency.

Artificial Intelligence and Image Rights

By uploading images to our Service, you grant Wingmate a license to use them for AI training, platform display, and marketing directly related to the Service. We will NOT sell your images to third-party stock agencies.

Children's Privacy

The Service is not directed to children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you are a parent or guardian and believe that your child has provided us with personal information without your consent, please contact us at contact@wingmate.au. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 13 without verified parental consent, we will take steps to delete that information promptly.

If you are between 13 and 18 years old (or the age of majority in your jurisdiction), you should review these Terms with your parent or legal guardian to ensure you both understand your privacy rights.