BirdyGo Privacy Policy
Last updated: October 6, 2026
This policy applies to BirdyGo (the app, on Android and iOS, identifier fr.justcodeit.birdygo), an independent fork of BirdNET Live. The app is published by Benjamin Mondon (.justcodeit>) (we).
| App | BirdyGo |
| Developer | Benjamin Mondon (.justcodeit>) |
| Privacy contact | contact@birdygo.app |
In short
- Song analysis runs entirely on your device. No recording is uploaded.
- No account, no ads, no analytics, no tracking, no automatic crash reports.
- We run no server that receives your data.
- Some optional features (maps, place names, weather, large photos) contact third-party services. They are off by default and you turn them on one by one.
On-device processing
The microphone is used to identify birds with two locally run models: a BirdNET+ audio classifier and a geomodel that estimates which species are likely at your location and time of year. No audio data is sent to any server.
Data stored on your device
| Data | Purpose | Storage |
|---|---|---|
| Audio clips of detections | Replay, quiz, export | Local files |
| Results (species, score, date, time, review status) | Notebook, statistics, progress | Local session files and local index |
| GPS location | Tagging detections, maps, geomodel | Local session files |
| Weather (optional) | Session conditions | Local session files |
| Settings, game progress, chosen companion bird | App operation | Local preferences |
This data is stored in the app's private space, on Android and on iPhone alike. It does not leave the device except as described below.
What can leave your device
Optional network features (off by default)
Each is set in Settings > Privacy. Nothing is sent until you turn the feature on.
| Feature | Third-party service | What is sent |
|---|---|---|
| Map tiles | OpenStreetMap Foundation (tile.openstreetmap.org); French IGN Géoplateforme (data.geopf.fr) for IGN layers | Tile coordinates, IP address, app identifier |
| Place name | OpenStreetMap Nominatim | Session latitude and longitude, IP address |
| Weather | Open-Meteo (api.open-meteo.com) | Session latitude, longitude and end time, IP address |
| Large photos | iNaturalist (api.inaturalist.org) and its image servers | Species name, IP address; the photo is cached on the device |
These services have their own privacy policies and may process data outside your country. We do not receive these requests. Place names, weather and photos received are stored on your device.
What you decide to send or share
- Sending to Faune-France / LPO: the app prepares an observation (species, date, place, audio clip). You send it yourself, through the system share sheet or the NaturaList app. The data then reaches the recipient you chose, who applies its own policy.
- Exports (CSV, GPX, JSON, HTML report, audio clips): created on your device and shared through the system share sheet, only when you ask. They may contain GPS location. The HTML report, opened in a browser, may load species images (birdnet.cornell.edu) and the Leaflet map library (unpkg.com): those sites then see your IP address.
- External links (eBird, iNaturalist, Wikipedia, Faune-France, etc.): they open in your browser only when you tap them; the visited site applies its own policy.
The app makes no other network request.
Permissions
- Microphone: identify songs. During a listening session the app keeps running with the screen off: on Android through a foreground service with a permanent notification, on iPhone through the background audio mode (the system recording indicator is shown).
- Location (precise and approximate, "while using the app"; during a session tracking continues with the screen off thanks to the permanent notification on Android or the system indicator on iPhone): tag detections and filter plausible species. The app does not ask for "Allow all the time". You can refuse or revoke it at any time in system settings.
- Notifications: show the ongoing listening session (Android) and flag a new species. Optional.
- Internet: only for the optional features above.
Children
The app is intended for people aged 13 and over and is not directed to children under 13. It asks for no personal data, no account, no contact, and collects nothing on our side. The optional network features (off by default) may send an IP address to the services listed above.
Retention and deletion
Everything is stored on your device. If system backup is enabled (Android automatic backup to your Google account, or iOS iCloud / computer backup, which includes the app's Documents folder), the system may copy part of it (sessions, locations, audio clips) to your Google or Apple account; that is a system setting and we do not receive it. Caches (map tiles, large photos) are not meant to be backed up. You can delete a session from the notebook, or erase everything in Settings > Danger zone > Erase all data. Uninstalling the app also removes its local data (backup copies are managed in your Google or Apple settings). Since we receive no data, we hold nothing to delete.
Your rights
As we hold no personal data about you, there is nothing for us to give access to, correct or erase. For data processed by third-party services, contact them. You may lodge a complaint with your data protection authority.
Bundled data
Photos, descriptions, range maps (GBIF observations, Natural Earth boundaries) and models are bundled in the app: displaying them makes no network request.
Credits and licences
BirdyGo is a fork of BirdNET Live (Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Chemnitz University of Technology), under the MIT licence. The BirdNET+ models are under the Apache 2.0 licence. BirdyGo is not an official BirdNET app.
Changes
Any change to this policy will be published at this address with a new date.