Privacy Policy

Effective date: October 17, 2026

This policy explains what information the Whereabuds app (“Whereabuds”, “the app”) and this website use, why, and the choices you have. Whereabuds is made by Quang Trung Nguyen, an individual developer based in Australia (“I”, “me”).

The short version

• There is no account and no sign-in. I don’t ask for your name, email or phone number.
• Bluetooth readings and places stay on your iPhone. They are never uploaded to me or anyone else.
• The free version shows ads from Google AdMob. Google uses your device’s advertising ID only if you allow tracking when iOS asks.
• The app may send anonymous usage events so I can improve it. They are not linked to you.
• I don’t sell your personal information.

1. Bluetooth

To find your device, Whereabuds listens for the small Bluetooth Low Energy signals that headphones, rings, watches and other devices send out. For each device it hears, it reads what the device itself broadcasts: its signal strength, and, if present, its name and the maker’s code. This includes devices that belong to other people nearby.

• This happens only while the app is open on screen. Whereabuds doesn’t listen in the background.
• Devices you haven’t saved drop off the list when they go quiet (after about two minutes) and are forgotten when you close the app.
• Devices you favourite, rename, mark as lost or hide (“Not mine”) are saved on your iPhone with the time they were last heard.
• None of this leaves your iPhone.

2. Location (optional)

Location is off until you turn on Settings → Location & Last Seen → Save places. Then, while the app is open, Whereabuds saves where you were when it heard or connected to one of your devices, so you can see the spot on a map later. If you set up the optional Shortcuts automation, it saves the time (and the place, if allowed) when your headphones disconnect.

• Whereabuds asks only for “While Using the App” location, never “Always”.
• Places are stored on your iPhone and are never uploaded.
• If you prefer, you can drop a pin by hand instead.

3. Information stored on your device

Whereabuds keeps these on your iPhone or iPad: saved devices and the names you give them, hidden devices, search history and where you found things, saved places, your answers to “What did you lose?”, and your settings. Crash and hang reports from iOS (MetricKit) are also kept on the device; they are attached to an email only if you choose to contact support. If you use iCloud or computer backups, your device backup may include this data, as it does for other apps.

You can delete it at any time in Settings → Data, or by deleting the app.

4. Advertising (Google AdMob)

The free version is supported by ads from Google AdMob, run by Google LLC. Ads never cover the dial, and none appear in widgets, in Siri answers or in Practice mode. When the app requests and shows an ad, Google’s software may collect:

• your device’s advertising identifier (IDFA), only if you allow tracking (see below),
• device and app information, such as device model, iOS version, language and app version,
• your IP address and the approximate location derived from it (city or region, not GPS),
• information about the ads you see and tap, and diagnostic information about ad performance.

Tracking permission. After your first search ends, iOS may ask whether Whereabuds can track your activity across other companies’ apps and websites. The app works the same whatever you choose. If you choose Allow, Google can use your advertising ID to show ads based on your interests. If you choose Ask App Not to Track, it isn’t shared and Google shows non-personalised ads. You can change this in iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking.

Depending on where you live, Google may show a privacy message with your ad choices; you can reopen it in Settings → Privacy choices. Google uses this information under its own policies: How Google uses information from apps that use its services and the Google Privacy Policy. Ads are limited to content rated for general audiences.

Whereabuds Pro, a one-time purchase, removes all ads.

5. Usage events

The app may send anonymous usage events to PostHog, a product analytics service, so I can see which features help and what to fix. Examples: “search started” (from the app, a widget or Siri), “found” with how long it took, which zone was reached, whether triage was used. Events never include Bluetooth names, places, or anything you type.

• They are tied to a random identifier the app creates, not to your name, Apple account or advertising ID, and are not used for advertising.
• Basic device information is included (iOS version, device type, language, app version).
• Your IP address is received as part of any internet connection; PostHog is set up not to store it.

6. Settings file

Now and then the app downloads a small settings file from this website (for example, to switch an ad type off). The request carries no information about you; like any web request, it reaches Cloudflare, which hosts this site, with your IP address.

7. Purchases

Whereabuds Pro is bought through Apple. Apple handles the payment; I never see your payment details. The app checks with Apple whether you own Pro.

8. Children and age range

Whereabuds is for a general audience. Where the law requires it, the app asks iOS for an age range (Apple’s Declared Age Range) without learning your birthday. For users under 13, the ad software is not started at all, so no ads are shown and nothing is sent to Google. For teenagers, ads are requested as non-personalised.

9. Contacting support

If you email me, I receive your email address and whatever you write, plus the app version, iOS version and device model the app adds to the draft (you can delete them before sending). I use this only to answer you, and delete support emails within 12 months.

10. Your choices and rights

• Delete everything Whereabuds saved: Settings → Data → Delete everything.
• Turn location off: Settings → Location & Last Seen, or iOS Settings → Whereabuds.
• Tracking and ad choices: see section 4.
• You can ask me what I hold about you or to delete it: write to the address below. Because the app keeps your data on your device, I usually hold nothing beyond support emails.

11. Changes

If this policy changes, I’ll update the date above and, for significant changes, mention it in the app’s release notes.

12. Contact

Email trungpro5398@gmail.com.