Privacy policy

Lep Log (the Moth & Butterfly Log app and website) helps you identify critters from photos and keep a life list. It has no ads, analytics or tracking, and never sells or shares your information.

No account details

There's no email, phone number or name required. Your log is identified only by a random code (like MOTH-7X2Q4A) that the app makes for you. An optional password protects that code on new devices; it's stored hashed.

What we store

• Sightings: the photos you log, the species, and when and where you saw it (from the photo or your phone's location at the time, plus a place name like “Austin, Texas”). Location data inside uploaded photos is removed before they're stored.
• Profile (optional): a display name, nickname and profile photo, shown to people you're friends with.
• Friends and messages: who you follow, who follows you, messages you send to mutual friends, and anyone you've blocked.
• Reports you make about other people, so we can review them.
• Notifications: a device token for message notifications, if you turn them on.
• iNaturalist (optional): if you connect your account, an encrypted access token and your iNaturalist username, so sightings can be posted there when you ask.

Who can see it

Anyone with your log code can open your log, so keep it private. People who follow you (you share a separate friend code with them) can see your log read-only. By default they see where you saw things only to the nearest town or county (about 11 km); you can choose to share exact spots in your profile. Nothing is public unless you post it to iNaturalist, where locations are obscured too unless you share exact spots.

Who processes it

• Vercel hosts the app and your photos; the database runs on Neon.
• Identification: your photo is sent to our image-recognition service (BioCLIP, run on Modal) and isn't kept there. A rough location and date are checked against public iNaturalist records to rank likely species.
• Place names come from BigDataCloud's free reverse-geocoding service, which receives only the coordinates.
• Message notifications go through Apple Push Notification service.

On your phone

The app keeps your log code in the iPhone Keychain and a copy of your log, friends and the checklist so it opens quickly and works offline.

Deleting your data

In the app, go to Profile → Delete my log. That permanently removes your log, every sighting and photo, your profile, friends, messages and notification registrations. You can also ask the Lep Log team to do it.

Children

Lep Log isn't directed at children under 13.

Questions

Contact the Lep Log team.