Argus

Privacy Policy

Effective date: September 1, 2026

In short: Argus – Hidden Camera Detector has no user account and no Argus server. Camera frames, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth results and magnetometer readings are processed on your iPhone and are never uploaded. Camera frames and magnetometer readings are analysed as they arrive and are never recorded or saved; only Wi-Fi and Bluetooth scans are written to the app’s local storage, where you can delete them. Argus shows no ads, does not use the advertising identifier (IDFA) and does not track you across apps or websites.

Three things do leave your phone: your App Store receipt, to validate the subscription; crash and error reports, which the App sends for handled errors too, not only when it crashes; and usage counts such as “a scan was completed”. None of them contains a device name, an address or a sensor reading — analytics receives at most the number of devices a scan listed — and each carries a random per-installation identifier rather than your name or email. The sections below say exactly what each one receives, and a plain-language version of this page is here.

This Privacy Policy explains how Argus – Hidden Camera Detector (“Argus”, “the App”, “we”, “us”) handles information when you use it. In short: the App is built to keep your data on your device. We do not run advertising or cross-app tracking, and the only information that leaves your device is what is required to process your subscription, crash and error diagnostics that help us fix problems — sent for handled errors too, not only when the App crashes — and usage statistics that carry no name or email and help us improve the App. Your scan results never leave your device.

1. Summary

  • On-device by design. All scanning and detection (camera, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi/network, magnetometer) runs locally on your phone.
  • No ads or cross-app tracking. We do not use advertising SDKs, do not use the advertising identifier (IDFA), and do not track you across other apps or websites.
  • The only data sent off your device relates to purchases and subscriptions, handled by our payment infrastructure providers (see Section 3), crash and error diagnostics (see Section 4), and in-app usage statistics that carry no name or email (see Section 5). Scan contents are never included in any of it.

2. Information processed on your device (not collected by us)

The following is processed locally to make the App work. It is shown to you in the App and, for scans, may be saved to a local scan history on your device. None of it is uploaded to us or to any server:

  • Camera frames: when you use the camera detector, live video frames are analyzed on-device to spot reflective/infrared glints. Frames are not recorded, saved, or transmitted.
  • Bluetooth scan data: identifiers, names, and signal strength of nearby Bluetooth devices, used to list devices that may be cameras or sensors.
  • Wi-Fi & network data: your device’s local IP address, the current Wi-Fi network name (SSID), and the local IP addresses of other devices on the same network, used to list devices on your network.
  • Magnetometer/sensor readings: magnetic-field measurements used to help locate electronics.
  • Scan history: if the App saves your past scans, it is stored only in the App’s local storage on your device. You can clear it in the App or by uninstalling the App. It is never uploaded.

3. Information handled by third parties (subscriptions & purchases)

Premium features are offered through an auto-renewable subscription. When you start, purchase, or restore a subscription, the following partners process purchase information on our behalf:

  • RevenueCat, Inc. — our subscription management provider. It processes your transaction/receipt information and an anonymous app-user identifier (generated by the App; not your name or email) to validate purchases and manage your subscription entitlement. See the RevenueCat Privacy Policy.
  • Apple App Store / Google Play — process the actual payment. Your name and payment details are handled by Apple or Google under their own privacy policies; we never receive your payment card information.

4. Crash and error diagnostics

If the App crashes or encounters an internal error, a diagnostic report is sent to Sentry (Functional Software, Inc.) so we can find and fix the problem. These reports are stored in the European Union and contain technical information only: the error and stack trace, App version, device model, and operating-system version. They are not linked to your identity and are not used for tracking, advertising, or behavioral analytics. Specifically:

  • No scan data ever leaves your device: camera frames, Bluetooth/Wi-Fi scan results, network addresses, and sensor readings are never included in crash reports.
  • No personal identifiers: reports contain no name, email, account, or advertising identifier. They do include a random per-installation identifier that lets us see whether several crashes come from the same installation of the App; it says nothing about who you are and is reset when you reinstall the App.
  • No IP address storage: IP addresses are discarded on receipt and are not stored with reports.

See the Sentry Privacy Policy.

5. Product analytics (usage statistics)

To understand which features are used and where the App can be improved, we use Google Analytics for Firebase (Google LLC). It receives anonymous in-app usage events — for example, which screens are opened, when a scan is started or completed and how many devices it listed (a count only), and steps of the subscription flow (e.g. that the paywall was viewed or a purchase was completed). Along with events, the SDK collects a random app-scoped instance identifier (reset when you reinstall the App), device model, operating-system version, App version, and a coarse country/region derived from the IP address at receipt. Specifically:

  • No scan contents: camera frames, device names or identifiers found by a scan, network addresses, Wi-Fi network names, and sensor readings are never sent to analytics — only anonymous counts and feature-usage events.
  • No personal identifiers: no name, email, account, precise location, or advertising identifier (IDFA) is collected. The App ships without ad-identifier support, and analytics data is not used for advertising or shared for advertising purposes.
  • Subscription lifecycle events (e.g. that a trial started or a subscription renewed) are also forwarded to the same analytics property by our subscription provider (RevenueCat, see Section 3), keyed to the same random instance identifier — never to your identity.

See Firebase Privacy and Security.

6. Permissions and why we request them

  • Camera — to analyze the live image for reflections/IR glints from hidden camera lenses. No photos or video are stored.
  • Bluetooth — to discover nearby Bluetooth devices that could be hidden electronics.
  • Location — required by the operating system before the App can read the name of the Wi-Fi network you are joined to. On Android 11 and older the system also requires it for Bluetooth scanning; on iOS and on Android 12 and newer it is not used for Bluetooth. We do not use GPS to track you — the App makes no call to any positioning API — and we do not store or transmit your location.
  • Local network — to list other devices on your Wi-Fi network, the App checks addresses on your local network. On iOS this prompts for “Local Network” access. This information stays on your device and is not transmitted to us.
  • Notifications — to send optional local reminders (e.g., to run a scan). These are generated on your device; no data is sent to a server, and you can disable them in your system settings.

7. Data sharing and sale

We do not sell your data and do not share it for advertising. The only sharing is with the purchase providers named in Section 3 (solely to process and maintain your subscription), the crash-diagnostics provider named in Section 4 (solely to fix defects in the App), and the analytics provider named in Section 5 (solely to measure anonymous feature usage).

8. Data retention

On-device information (scan history, settings) remains on your device until you delete it or uninstall the App. Purchase records held by RevenueCat and the app stores, and crash reports held by Sentry, are retained according to their respective policies. Analytics event data held by Google Analytics for Firebase is retained for a limited period configured by us (at most 14 months), after which it is deleted or aggregated.

9. Children’s privacy

The App is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

10. Your choices and rights

You can clear on-device data at any time by clearing the App’s history or uninstalling it. You can manage or cancel your subscription in your App Store or Google Play account settings. For questions about purchase, crash-diagnostic, or analytics data held by our providers, contact us using the details below.

11. Security

On-device data is stored within the App’s private storage area, which is protected by your device’s operating system sandbox.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be posted on this page with an updated effective date.

13. Contact

If you have questions or concerns about this policy, contact us at: argus.detector@proton.me