If you don't read anything else, read this.
- No accounts. The app doesn't ask you to sign up or sign in.
- No tracking. No analytics SDKs, no advertising IDs, no third-party trackers.
- No network requests at all. The app has no server and never phones home.
- Recordings stay on your phone. Session audio and sensor traces live in the app's private storage on your device.
- Location is optional. A GPS tag is captured only when you tap the button, saved only in that session.
- Deleting is real. Delete a session, or the app, and the data is gone.
- Payments are Apple's. The Investigator subscription is handled entirely by the App Store.
Who we are
Night Vigil is an iOS field instrument for paranormal investigators. This privacy policy covers the iOS app and this website. Questions about this policy or how your data is handled: hello@dykewerk.app.
What the app stores on your device
Everything Night Vigil records is kept in the app's private container on your iPhone:
- Session audio recordings.
- Magnetometer, microphone-level and pressure sensor traces.
- Anomaly bookmarks, flags and findings you create during and after a session.
- Metadata you type — location name, investigators, notes.
- An optional GPS coordinate, captured only when you explicitly tap to tag a session.
- Your settings (spike threshold, motion rejection, haptics, theme).
- Your subscription state (whether Investigator is active — managed by the App Store, not by us).
None of this is transmitted anywhere. The app contains no networking code: it makes no network requests, to us or to anyone else.
What we do not collect
- We do not require an account, email address, name or password.
- We do not operate a server — there is no server-side copy of your data.
- We do not use analytics, advertising or tracking SDKs.
- We do not collect device identifiers or IP addresses.
- We do not sell, rent or share any data with third parties.
Permissions, and why the app asks
Each permission is used for exactly what its prompt says, nothing more. Decline any of them and the rest of the instrument keeps working where it can.
Exports
Data leaves your device only when you choose to export a session — a ZIP bundle of audio, CSVs and finding clips — and share it yourself through the iOS share sheet. Where it goes from there is entirely up to you.
Subscriptions and payments
The Investigator subscription is processed by Apple through the App Store using your Apple ID. We never see your card details, billing address or full Apple ID — only that the subscription is active, so the app can unlock the corresponding features. Apple's own privacy policy applies to the transaction: apple.com/legal/privacy.
This website
This site is self-hosted. The web server keeps standard access logs (IP address, user-agent) for security and abuse prevention. There are no cookies, no analytics and no advertising on this site, and no way for us to associate a visitor with an app user.
How long we keep things
Because everything lives on your device, retention is entirely up to you. Deleting a session inside the app removes its recording, traces and records. Deleting the app removes everything.
Your rights
Under UK GDPR you have the right to access, correct or erase personal data held about you. Because we don't operate accounts or store anything server-side, in practice this means controlling the data on your own device. If you believe your data has been handled improperly, contact us, or lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).
Children
The app is not directed at children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect data from them.
Changes to this policy
If we make material changes, we'll update the date at the top of this page. Continued use of the app after changes constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.
Contact
Questions, requests, polite scepticism: