Last updated: June 2026
Bird Song NZ ("we", "us", "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This policy explains what data we collect, why we collect it, and how it is stored and used.
Bird Song NZ accesses your device's microphone to record short audio clips when you tap Listen. These clips (approximately 3 seconds) are sent to our server for bird identification and are immediately deleted after analysis. We do not store, retain, share, or listen to your audio recordings beyond the identification process.
Your approximate GPS location is used to:
For research purposes, coordinates are rounded to one decimal place (approximately 11 km precision) before storage. Your precise location is never recorded in our research database.
If you choose to sign in, we store your email address and logbook entries in our secure database to enable sync across devices. Sign-in is optional — the app works fully without an account.
Each time a bird is identified, a brief anonymous record is contributed to our research database containing: species name, confidence score, approximate location (11 km precision), region name, and species category (e.g. native, migrant). No personal information, user ID, or account data is attached to these records. This data helps build the population observations that conservation decisions depend on.
| Data | Purpose | Stored? |
|---|---|---|
| Audio clips | Bird identification | No — deleted immediately after analysis |
| Location (precise) | Logbook tagging + eBird nearby | Only in your personal logbook entries |
| Location (rounded ~11 km) | Anonymous research analytics | Yes — no personal link |
| Account login via OTP | Yes — encrypted at rest | |
| Logbook entries | Sync across devices | Yes — encrypted at rest |
| Detection records | Conservation research | Yes — fully anonymous |
All personal data is stored in Cloudflare's APAC region and encrypted at rest. Login codes expire after 10 minutes, are hashed before storage, and are rate-limited to prevent brute force. Authentication tokens are stored in your device's secure keychain (iOS Keychain / Android Keystore) — never in plain storage.
You can delete your account and all associated personal data at any time directly within the app: go to Profile → Delete Account. You may also request deletion via our account deletion page or by emailing support@bird-song.co.nz. We will process email requests within 30 days.
Anonymous research contribution records contain no personal identifiers and cannot be attributed to you — they are therefore outside the scope of individual deletion requests.
Bird Song NZ is rated 4+ and suitable for all ages. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 13 without parental consent.