TickGuard
Last updated: 25 August 2026 (version 1.4.2)
TickGuard ("the App") is a native iOS app for learning about ticks, tracking a bite, and identifying a tick with a custom on-device Core ML model. This policy describes what data the App processes and how. See the support page for an overview of the App.
TickGuard does not collect, transmit, sell, or share any of the following:
The App uses the camera to detect ticks in real time. The
NSCameraUsageDescription presented at first launch reads:
"TickGuard uses the camera to detect ticks in real time. Frames are processed
entirely on-device and never uploaded."
Frames stream from the camera, are analyzed on-device by a bundled Core ML model together with Apple's Vision and Metal frameworks, and are then discarded. Frames are never persisted, never written to disk, and never sent off the device.
The App can save a captured image to your Photos library, but only when you enable
"Save snaps" in Settings. This option is off by default. When enabled,
each capture is written through the standard iOS PHPhotoLibrary add-only
API directly to your library; the image is not uploaded anywhere.
The corresponding NSPhotoLibraryAddUsageDescription reads:
"TickGuard saves captured snaps to your Photos library when you enable that
option in Settings."
The community map shows areas where people have recently run into ticks. Looking at the map requires nothing from you: no account, no permission, and no report of your own.
Sending a report is optional, and the first time you try, the App shows a screen that lists exactly what is and is not sent. A report contains only:
A report carries no account, no name, no device identifier, no photo, and no free text. There is deliberately nothing in a report that could link it back to you or to your other reports.
That anonymity has a consequence worth stating plainly: because we cannot tell which report came from whom, a report cannot be edited or withdrawn once sent. Reports are shown on the map for up to 400 days and are then no longer returned. We may delete reports that look like spam or abuse.
Reports are stored on our own server infrastructure at Cloudflare (Workers and D1) in a database that holds only the three fields listed above.
Location is used for two things, and only while you are using the App: the community
map, and the "Automatic" option in the tick guide's region menu. The
NSLocationWhenInUseUsageDescription reads: "TickGuard uses your
approximate location only when you ask: switching the tick guide to Automatic,
opening the map, or reporting a sighting. It saves the matched region, never your
exact position."
The App asks for coarse accuracy and never stores a location history. Nothing about your location is requested when the App or a tab first opens; each use waits for you to act.
Community map. Your position centres the map and fills in a report you choose to send. If you decline the permission, the map still works and you can still report using the point the map is centred on.
Tick guide, "Automatic" region. Since version 1.4.1 the guide can show the tick season for the region you are physically in, rather than the region implied by your phone's language. When you tap "Automatic" in the region menu, the App takes a single coarse position, uses the system's reverse-geocoding service to turn it into a country, matches that country to one of the guide's regions, and then discards the position. Only the matched region code, for example "de" for the Germany, Austria and Switzerland guide, is kept, on your device, so the guide stays on that region across launches. The coordinate itself is never stored, and nothing is sent to our server. If you decline the permission, or your country has no dedicated guide yet, the App falls back to the language-based region and tells you so; you can always pick a region by hand from the same menu, with no location involved at all.
To stop the map being flooded with junk, the server limits how many reports can come from one source per hour. To count those without identifying anyone, the server stores a salted, truncated one-way hash of the network address rather than the address itself. The address is never written to storage, and the hash cannot be reversed back into an address.
The App stores the following exclusively on your device:
Your bite log never leaves your device. It is not uploaded, not synced to iCloud by us, and not accessible to us. Symptom-watch reminders are scheduled locally by iOS. Uninstalling the App removes all of it.
The guide, the disease reference, the bite log, the removal steps and camera identification all work with no connection at all. The App contacts our server only to load the community map, to send a report if you choose to, and to download offline map packs if you ask for them. Opening links to national health authorities from the resources screen opens your browser, and those sites have their own privacy policies.
One exception, which does not involve our server: when you tap "Automatic" in the tick guide's region menu, the App asks Apple's built-in reverse-geocoding service to turn a single coarse position into a country. That request goes to Apple, not to us, under Apple's own privacy terms, and it happens only at the moment you tap. Reading the guide, or picking a region by hand, needs no connection at all.
There is no remote configuration and no telemetry endpoint. As with any internet request, our server briefly processes your network address in order to answer, and only the salted hash described above is retained.
The App does not integrate any third-party SDKs for analytics, advertising, crash reporting, attribution, or backend services. Purchases (if ever introduced) would be handled exclusively by Apple through the App Store; the App itself transmits no payment or personal data to us or anyone else.
The App does not request access to contacts, microphone, calendar, health data, motion data, or any other system permission. Each permission is requested at the moment the matching feature is used, not at launch.
The App is not directed at children under 13 and does not knowingly collect any information from children.
TickGuard is not a medical device. It is a visual aid that suggests a likely tick genus with a confidence score and can be wrong. It does not confirm with certainty whether something is a tick, or diagnose any condition. If you suspect a tick bite, please consult a medical professional. For pet concerns, consult your veterinarian.
The App holds no personal data about you on our side. Map reports are anonymous by construction, so there is no account to export and no record we could connect to you in order to delete it individually. You remain in full control of everything on your device and can remove it at any time:
If you believe a specific report on the map should be removed, write to us with the approximate area and date and we will look into it.
We may update this privacy policy from time to time. Any changes will be published on this page along with a new "Last updated" date. Material changes affecting how data is processed will be highlighted at the top of the policy.
If you have any questions about this privacy policy, please get in touch: pawels.apps@gmail.com
← Back to support pageThis privacy policy is effective as of the date shown above.