Stone Identifier Privacy Policy

Effective date: August 23, 2026

Last updated: August 23, 2026

Golden Boat ("Stone Identifier," "we," "us," or "our") operates the Stone Identifier mobile application, which appears on your device as Rock Identifier.

This Privacy Policy explains how Stone Identifier collects, uses, shares, and protects information when you use the app.

1. Information We Process

Photos you choose to identify

Stone Identifier uses your camera to let you photograph a rock, mineral, or gem, and can access your photo library when you choose to identify an existing photo.

Identification is performed by our online identification service. When you ask the app to identify a specimen, the photo you took or selected is uploaded to that service so it can be analyzed and a result returned.

Your photo is analyzed by a third-party artificial-intelligence model. Our service forwards the photo directly to Google's Gemini AI model, which examines the image and generates the identification, the confidence figure, and the descriptive text about the specimen you see in the app. Google therefore receives the photo you chose to identify. No other third party receives it. Google's handling of that data is governed by its own terms and privacy policy:

Google Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy

Google Gemini API terms: https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/terms

We send only the image and a technical instruction describing the task. We do not send your name, email address, contact details, location, or your app-generated device identifier to the AI provider.

We use Google's paid Gemini API tier. Under Google's terms for paid services, content submitted through the API is not used to train or improve Google's models. Google may still retain content for a limited period for abuse monitoring, security, and legal compliance, as described in its terms linked above.

Because the identification is produced by an AI model, it is a best-effort estimate and may be incomplete or wrong. Do not rely on it for valuation, purchase, safety, or any decision where a mistake would matter. Have valuable or hazardous specimens assessed by a qualified professional.

The app asks for your permission before it uploads anything. Before the first upload it shows a screen that names exactly what is sent, names the service that receives it and the AI model that analyzes it, and explains how to withdraw permission. No photo is uploaded before you grant that permission. You can withdraw it at any time in Settings, after which the app will not upload further photos.

Uploaded photos are processed to produce an identification result. We do not use them to identify you, we do not associate them with your name or contact details, and we do not sell them.

The app also saves your identification results and their photos on your device so you can revisit them in Snap History. That on-device copy stays on your device.

Device identifier

The app generates a random identifier for your installation the first time it is needed. It is sent with each identification request so we can apply usage quotas, prevent abuse, and keep the service available. It is created by the app, is not your Apple ID, is not the device serial number, and is reset if you delete and reinstall the app.

Advertising identifier and attribution

On first launch the app presents Apple's App Tracking Transparency prompt and asks your permission to track. You may allow or deny, and the app's features work identically either way.

If you allow tracking, Stone Identifier uses AppsFlyer to measure how the app is distributed and used. AppsFlyer may process your device's advertising identifier (IDFA), an AppsFlyer-generated device identifier, and technical information such as device model, operating system version, app version, language, country, and network type.

We use this information to understand which marketing campaigns bring people to the app, to measure the results of our advertising, to reach and re-engage users on other platforms and advertising networks, and to detect install fraud.

If you deny tracking, the advertising identifier is not used and iOS blocks AppsFlyer's attribution endpoints automatically.

We also use AppsFlyer's Purchase Connector to report subscription purchases and their value, so that a purchase can be attributed to the campaign that brought you to the app. Apple, not AppsFlyer, processes the payment itself.

AppsFlyer acts as our service provider and processes this information on our behalf. Its privacy policy is available at https://www.appsflyer.com/legal/services-privacy-policy/

You can change your tracking answer at any time in iOS Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking. You can also limit the use of your advertising identifier in iOS Settings > Privacy & Security > Apple Advertising.

Purchases

Stone Identifier offers an auto-renewable subscription. Purchases are processed by Apple. We receive confirmation from Apple that a subscription is active so the app can unlock paid features. We never receive or store your payment card details, billing address, or Apple ID password — Apple handles all of that.

Notifications

If you turn on the subscription reminder, the app schedules a local notification on your device one day before your subscription renews or your free trial ends. This reminder is generated on your device. We do not operate a push-notification service for this app and do not receive a notification token.

What we do not collect

Stone Identifier does not request your location, does not access your contacts, does not record audio, does not require an account, and does not ask for your name, email address, or phone number to function. The app itself displays no advertising.

2. How We Use Information

We use the information described above to:

• identify the rocks, minerals, and gems you photograph, including sending the photo to a third-party AI model for analysis;

• apply usage quotas and prevent abuse of the identification service;

• deliver and restore the features included in your subscription;

• measure the performance of our marketing, attribute installs and subscriptions to the campaign that produced them, and reach or re-engage users on other platforms and advertising networks, where you have allowed tracking;

• diagnose problems and keep the service running securely.

3. How Information Is Shared

We share information only as described here:

• Our identification service receives the photo you choose to identify and your app-generated device identifier, for the purpose of returning a result.

• Google receives the photo, as the provider of the Gemini AI model that performs the analysis, as described in section 1.

• AppsFlyer, our attribution provider, receives device and campaign information as described above, and subscription purchase events, when you have allowed tracking.

• Advertising and marketing platforms may receive measurement information derived from the above so we can evaluate our campaigns and reach users on those platforms. This is what the App Tracking Transparency prompt asks your permission for.

• Apple processes your subscription purchase and tells the app whether a subscription is active, under Apple's own privacy policy.

• Wikipedia — if you tap through to read more about an identified specimen, the app opens Wikipedia in a browser view. Wikimedia's privacy policy applies to what you do there.

We do not sell your personal information. We do not share your photos with advertisers or data brokers.

We may disclose information if required by law, or to protect the rights, safety, and security of our users or our service.

4. Data Retention

Identification results and their photos are kept on your device until you delete them or uninstall the app.

Our identification service does not store your photos. Each photo is held only for as long as it takes to process that single request and produce a result, and is discarded afterwards. We keep no archive of uploaded photos on our servers.

Photos passed to Google for AI analysis are handled by Google under its own terms, linked in section 1. Because we use the paid API tier, Google does not use them to train or improve its models.

5. Security

All communication between the app and our identification service uses encrypted HTTPS connections. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we take reasonable measures to protect the information we process.

6. Children's Privacy

Stone Identifier is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact us at the address below and we will delete it.

7. Your Choices and Rights

Photo upload: grant or withdraw permission at any time in the app's Settings.

Camera and photo library: manage in iOS Settings > Stone Identifier.

Tracking and advertising identifier: manage in iOS Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking, and in Settings > Privacy & Security > Apple Advertising.

Notifications: manage in iOS Settings > Notifications, or with the reminder switch in the app.

Subscription: manage or cancel in Settings > Apple Account > Subscriptions.

Deletion: deleting the app removes the identifications and photos stored on your device. To request deletion of data held by our identification service, contact us at the address below.

Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights to access, correct, or delete personal information, or to object to its processing. Contact us and we will respond as required by applicable law.

8. International Users

Our identification service may process your request on servers located outside your country of residence. By using the app, you understand that your information may be transferred to and processed in those locations.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the updated policy at this address and revise the "Last updated" date above. Material changes will be described in the app or on this page.

10. Terms of Use

Stone Identifier's subscription is governed by Apple's Standard End User License Agreement:

https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

11. Contact Us

Golden Boat

Email: contact@goldenboat.io

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or about how your information is handled, contact us at the address above.