Privacy policy

What data TetherCam collects

None. TetherCam does not collect, transmit, store or share any personal data. There is no user account, no registration, no analytics, no crash reporting, no advertising and no third-party SDK of any kind in the iPhone app or in the Mac app. The only connection either app makes to the internet is the update check of TetherCam for Mac described below, and it sends no personal data.

How the camera is used

TetherCam accesses the camera in order to show a live preview on the phone and to encode the picture for transfer to a Mac connected by USB cable. The picture is encoded on the device and sent over the cable to the TetherCam plugin for OBS Studio running on that Mac. It is sent nowhere else. TetherCam operates no server of its own and has no cloud component; picture and sound never leave the cable. The video is not recorded to the photo library and is not written to disk by the app.

How the microphone is used

Since version 0.2.0 TetherCam can also access the microphone, in order to send the phone's sound to the Mac together with the picture. The audio is encoded on the device and travels only over the USB cable to the OBS plugin on that Mac. It is not recorded, not written to disk and not sent anywhere else. A mute switch in the app stops the audio at any time, and the app works without microphone access if you decline the permission.

Network

The iPhone app opens a TCP listener on port 7878 on the device so that the connected Mac can reach it through the USB connection. iOS classifies a listener of this kind as local network activity, which is why the app asks for local network permission. The iPhone app makes no outbound internet connections other than opening the links you tap, such as tethercam.app. The Mac app makes exactly one kind of outbound connection, the update check described in the next section, and nothing else.

Update check (TetherCam for Mac)

Since version 0.4.0 TetherCam for Mac checks whether a newer version has been released. At most once per day, at launch, it sends a single unauthenticated GET request to https://api.github.com/repos/Kanevry/tethercam/releases/latest with the user agent TetherCam/<version>. GitHub, as the operator of that server, therefore sees your IP address and the TetherCam version. Nothing else is sent: no identifier, no account, no usage data. No data is stored on any server operated by us, because we operate none. The check can be switched off in the menu under “Check for updates automatically”, and it does not run when the app runs headless. With the switch off, the app contacts GitHub only when you press “Check for updates…” yourself. This is the only outbound connection the Mac app makes; the iPhone app makes none at all.

Motion data

TetherCam reads device orientation from CoreMotion in order to keep the picture level with the horizon. This data is used in the moment, on the device, and is never stored or transmitted.

Data retention and deletion

Because no data is collected, there is nothing retained and nothing to delete. Deleting the app removes its local settings from the device. If you wish to withdraw camera, microphone or motion access, use Settings, Privacy and Security on the phone.

Third parties

No user data is shared with any third party, because none is collected. The apps contain no analytics or advertising networks and no third-party SDK. The one third-party server contacted at all is GitHub, by the update check of the Mac app described above, which reveals only your IP address and the app version and can be switched off.

Children

TetherCam contains no user-generated content, no messaging and no external content. It is suitable for all ages.

This website

tethercam.app is a static site. It loads no third-party scripts, no external fonts and no analytics, and it sets no cookies. The hosting provider keeps ordinary server access logs.

Changes

Changes to this policy will be published on this page with a new date at the top.