Legal

Privacy Policy

Last updated: 15 May 2026

Remnants is built around real-world locations. To make that work we have to handle some sensitive data. your location, the contents of the whispers you drop, and the email you sign in with. This page explains exactly what we collect, why, and what you control.

Remnants is operated by Nader Hosny (the "Operator"). If you have a question about anything below, write to hello@naderhosny.com.

1. What we collect

1.1 Account

• Email address. used to sign you in via a one-tap magic link. Never shared, never sold.
• Display name. shown beside whispers you drop, unless you mark a whisper as anonymous.
• Apple user identifier. only stored if you sign in with Apple. Lets us recognise you on future sign-ins without re-sending an email link.
• Profile picture. optional. Stored only after you tap "Add a picture" and pick one. Re-uploading replaces the previous one.

1.2 Location

• Live coordinates while the app is open or in the background, so we can show you nearby whispers and trigger a notification when you walk into the radius of one. Smoothed and reported no more than once every five seconds.
• The drop coordinate for any whisper, echo, or time capsule you create. This is the entire point of the app. your remnant is anchored to that spot.
• The listener coordinate at the moment you encounter someone else's whisper. Used to compute the "furthest km" stat on your profile.

1.3 Content

• The text, voice clip, or photo of any whisper, echo, or capsule you create.
• For time capsules: the unlock date and the optional linked echo.

1.4 Device

• Push notification token (APNs / FCM). only used to deliver Remnants notifications: a nearby whisper, a capsule that's ready to unlock, an empty-area nudge.
• iOS version + device model. derived from the request headers, never persisted alongside your account.

2. What we do not collect

• We do not run any third-party analytics SDKs (no Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Amplitude, Segment).
• We do not run any advertising SDKs and do not use the IDFA.
• We do not access your contacts, calendar, microphone (except while recording a voice whisper), or camera (except while shooting an Echo).
• We do not sell, rent, or trade your data with anyone.

3. Why we use each piece of data

• Email + Apple ID → authentication.
• Location → showing nearby remnants, triggering proximity notifications, computing distance stats.
• Content → rendering on the map, in the spot view, in the recipient's notification toast.
• Push token → delivering notifications you have explicitly enabled.

4. Who can see your remnants

Each whisper, echo, and capsule has a visibility setting that you choose at drop time:

• Public. visible to any user who walks within the radius of the drop point.
• Only me. visible only to you. Useful for capsules you want to write to your future self.
• Anonymous toggle. even on a public whisper you can hide your display name from recipients. The Operator still keeps the link for moderation purposes.

Time capsule contents are sealed until the unlock date passes, and are further gated by proximity to the drop spot.

5. Shadow mode

You can use Remnants without an account by tapping "Enter as Shadow" on the welcome screen. In Shadow mode no email is collected and no content can be created. you are read-only. You can leave Shadow mode at any time by signing in with an email.

6. Data storage and retention

• Data is stored on a server we operate in Frankfurt, Germany (Hetzner) and on Firebase Cloud Messaging (Google) for push delivery only.
• Whispers and capsules you create stay until you delete them or your account is deleted.
• Whispers can also be set as engraved at drop time, which keeps them permanent until you remove them.
• Server access logs are retained for thirty days for abuse and reliability purposes.

7. Your rights

You can, at any time, from inside the app:

• Edit your display name and profile picture. Settings → Edit name + picture.
• Disable notifications and location. Settings deep-links to your iOS Settings app.
• Delete an individual whisper or capsule. long-press on the row in Profile.
• Delete your entire account. Settings → Delete account. This:
  • Clears your email and Apple ID (no future sign-ins possible)
  • Replaces your display name with "(deleted)"
  • Removes your profile picture
  • Soft-deletes every whisper and capsule you authored
  • Revokes every refresh and push token

If you want a full export of the data we hold on you, email hello@naderhosny.com from the address attached to your account and we will reply with a JSON bundle within thirty days.

8. Children

Remnants is rated 12+ on the App Store. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 13. If you believe a child has signed up, write to hello@naderhosny.com.

9. Changes to this policy

If we change anything material. what we collect, why, or who else sees it. we will update the date at the top and notify signed-in users via an in-app banner on the next launch.

10. Contact

Questions, data requests, takedown requests, or anything else: hello@naderhosny.com.