GBIF Nearby

Discover the biodiversity around you.

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Project maintained by mdoering Hosted on GitHub Pages — Theme by mattgraham

Privacy Policy — GBIF Nearby

Last updated: 2026-05-12

GBIF Nearby is designed to respect your privacy. The app does not have user accounts, does not use analytics or advertising SDKs, does not track you across apps or websites, and does not share your personal information with anyone.

What the app uses your location for

GBIF Nearby asks for permission to use your location while the app is in use. Your location is used for one purpose only: to query the public GBIF API for biodiversity records near you. Each query sends a bounding box derived from your current location and your chosen radius to api.gbif.org.

Your location is not stored on any server, is not associated with an identifier, is not used for analytics, and is not shared with any third party other than as part of the GBIF API request itself.

If you deny location access, the app falls back to a default location (Berlin) and continues to work; only the “nearby” aspect is affected.

What the app stores on your device

The app stores a small set of preferences locally on your device using the standard iOS settings mechanism (UserDefaults):

• Search radius
• Selected kingdom filter (All / Animals / Plants / Fungi)
• Distance unit (metric or imperial)
• Preferred language for common names
• Per-dataset opt-out selections

These preferences never leave your device.

The app may cache GBIF API responses and images on disk so it works smoothly and uses less network bandwidth. Cached data is stored only on your device and is cleared by iOS like any other app cache.

Network requests the app makes

GBIF Nearby talks to the public GBIF API at api.gbif.org and loads images from URLs published by GBIF data providers. No requests are sent to any analytics, advertising, or tracking service.

What the app does not do

• It does not collect names, email addresses, or any account information.
• It does not track you across apps or websites.
• It does not contain advertising or third-party tracking SDKs.
• It does not upload your photos, contacts, or any other personal data.
• It does not run in the background or use your location when closed.

Children

The app contains general-audience educational content about biodiversity and is suitable for all ages. It collects no personal information from any user, including children.

Changes to this policy

If the privacy posture of the app ever changes, this document will be updated and the change will be noted in the app’s release notes.

Contact

For privacy questions, please contact apps@mdoering.eu.