Orbit

Location

If you grant location permission, Orbit can access your approximate or precise foreground location to:

• calculate visible International Space Station passes;
• show the sky, planets, and viewing conditions above your location;
• prepare the local "Tonight's sky" summary and the Tonight widget; and
• schedule local ISS-pass and sky-summary notifications that you choose to enable.

Orbit does not request background location. On iPhone and iPad it asks only for access while you are using the app, and you can turn off Precise Location for Orbit in the device's Location Services settings. Recent foreground coordinates, location-confirmation timestamps and metadata used for alerts or widgets, and an optional place label may be stored locally on your device so these features can work without asking for a new fix every time. Orbit's own widgets on the same device read that saved location to show the sky above you.

Sky and satellite calculations are performed on your device. Orbit does not send your coordinates to Mad Max Labs or to Orbit's astronomy-data providers. When Orbit asks the device for a human-readable place name (Android's system geocoding service, or Apple's geocoding service on iPhone and iPad), that service may process the coordinates under the platform provider's own privacy terms.

Location permission is optional. Other parts of Orbit remain usable if you decline it.

Camera

If you enable the optional camera view in the live sky (Look Up on Android, the Sky tab's Live view on iPhone and iPad), Orbit uses the rear or front camera as a live background behind the sky overlay. Camera permission is optional.

If you deliberately use Take a selfie with the stars, Orbit captures a still image and combines it on your device with the visible sky overlay, a frame, and Orbit branding. Orbit does not perform face recognition, face analysis, or subject identification.

On Android, the raw camera image and temporary overlay files are held in Orbit's private app cache only while the image is being composed or reviewed, then removed when you retake, replace, or leave that capture flow. If Android terminates Orbit before cleanup can finish, Android may retain those private cache files temporarily until it reclaims cache space, you clear Orbit's Android app storage, or you uninstall Orbit.

On iPhone and iPad, the raw camera image is held in memory while the selfie is composed, and the finished image is written to Orbit's private temporary folder only while you review it. It is removed when you close the review, and a copy left behind by an interrupted session is removed the next time you open the live sky.

The finished image stays private to Orbit unless you choose Save or Share. On Android 11 / API 30 and later, Save writes that finished image to your device's Photos or media library. On Android 10 / API 29 and earlier, Orbit offers Share-only so a destination you choose can save a copy without Orbit requesting legacy broad storage access. On iPhone and iPad, Save asks only for permission to add photos, which lets Orbit add its image to Photos without seeing your library. Share opens the device's system share sheet and gives the finished image only to the app or service you select. Orbit does not automatically upload camera images, selfies, or video to Mad Max Labs or any Orbit server. A destination such as WhatsApp, Instagram, email, or cloud storage handles a shared copy under its own privacy terms.

Orbit does not browse or import your existing photo library. It uses the minimum system media capability needed to save an image that Orbit itself created and does not request broad read access to your existing photos or videos.

Motion and compass

To point the live sky where your device is aimed, Orbit reads the device's motion and compass sensors while the live sky is open. The readings are used on your device as they arrive; Orbit does not store them or send them anywhere.

Notifications

If you enable reminders, Orbit asks Android or iOS to schedule notifications for launches, visible ISS passes, or the nightly sky summary. These are local device notifications. Orbit does not register a push token or use a remote notification server.

Orbit keeps notification content and schedule metadata on your device so you can inspect or cancel scheduled alerts and so duplicate reminders are not created. This can include the visible title and body, alert type, source reference, notification identifier, scheduled time, and creation time. On iPhone and iPad this information is held with each alert in the system's own notification schedule rather than in a separate Orbit file, and it can include the pass or launch the alert announces, so that tapping the alert can show that event as a Live Activity.

Widgets and Live Activities

Orbit's widgets (Next Launch and Tonight) are drawn on your device. To stay current without opening the app, they can download public launch, satellite-orbit, and space-weather information themselves from the providers listed below, and the Tonight widget calculates the sky from the location Orbit last saved on your device. On iPhone and iPad, the app and its widgets share a storage area on the device that no other app can read.

On iPhone and iPad, a Live Activity shows a visible ISS pass or a launch on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island. Orbit starts one only when you choose Track or tap an Orbit alert, updates it from your device while Orbit is open, and does not use Apple's push service for it. It ends by itself shortly after the pass or launch, and you can end it sooner from Orbit's Settings or the Lock Screen.

Widgets and Live Activities on the Lock Screen can be read without unlocking the device, including your saved place name, pass times, and launch details. Remove the widget or end the activity if you do not want that information shown there.

Crash reports and diagnostics

On Android, after a supported JavaScript or React user-interface failure, Orbit may save one sanitized technical crash report in its private app storage. This report can contain the time of the failure; whether it was an uncaught JavaScript or React render failure; Orbit's version, build, and QA or production channel; device manufacturer, model, platform, Android version, and JavaScript engine; the current Orbit section and foreground or background state; up to 12 fixed-name recent app events; and the sanitized error message and JavaScript or React component stack.

Orbit deliberately excludes saved coordinates and place labels, settings values, notification text, network request or response bodies, search terms, camera images, photo or file addresses, user-entered payloads, contacts, and session or installation identifiers. It also attempts to redact coordinates, email addresses, URLs, secrets, tokens, IP addresses, and private file paths from error text and limits the report to 24 KB. Because error text can be created by many code paths, you should use Preview before sharing a report.

Nothing is sent automatically. You can preview, deliberately share, or clear the report from Orbit Settings or the report prompt shown after the next launch. Sharing opens the device's system share sheet; only the destination you select receives the report. Orbit has no Sentry, Crashlytics, analytics, telemetry, or developer-operated crash-report server. The local report covers supported JavaScript and React failures; it does not claim to capture native crashes, application-not-responding events, out-of-memory process termination, or every asynchronous failure.

Separately, if the AR Sky renderer cannot start on Android, Orbit may display a short sanitized renderer diagnostic and your Android version on the recovery screen. It is not saved as the local crash report or sent automatically. If you deliberately choose Share diagnostic, Android opens the system share sheet and gives that text only to the app or service you select.

On iPhone and iPad, Orbit does not create or keep its own crash reports and includes no crash-reporting or analytics service. If the live sky or the 3D solar system cannot start, Orbit shows a short message with a Retry button and keeps no diagnostic. If you have chosen to share analytics with app developers in your device's settings, Apple may provide Mad Max Labs with crash reports, diagnostic information, and aggregated usage statistics, which Apple shares in a form that does not personally identify you, under Apple's privacy policy.

Local data

Depending on the features you use, Orbit may store the following on your device:

• recent foreground location and alert or widget location-confirmation metadata, plus an optional place label;
• notification and viewing preferences, including the app language;
• visible notification content and schedule metadata for locally scheduled alerts;
• cached public astronomy, launch, satellite-orbit, and space-weather information, including the copies Orbit's widgets show;
• on Android, the most recent sanitized local crash report, if a supported failure was captured;
• temporary camera and composed-image files while you review a sky selfie; and
• app configuration needed for normal operation.

Orbit disables Android cloud backup for its app data. On iPhone and iPad, Orbit excludes its settings, saved location, and widget copies from iCloud and computer backups, and iOS does not back up Orbit's caches. Mad Max Labs does not receive a copy of this local data.

On Android, you can remove saved personal settings, the local crash report, and scheduled Orbit notifications from Explore > Settings > Clear local data. On iPhone and iPad, Clear local data in Orbit's Settings (the gear on Now, Sky, or Explore) removes your settings and saved location, Orbit's caches and widget copies, every scheduled Orbit notification, and any running Orbit Live Activity. Temporary selfie files are removed when you retake or leave the capture flow; clearing Orbit's app storage in Android Settings or uninstalling Orbit removes any private cache files that remain after an interrupted session. Public network caches may also be removed automatically by the operating system. Clearing Orbit's data does not delete a finished selfie that you already saved to your device's Photos or media library; delete that exported copy from your gallery or Photos app.

Network requests and third-party information services

Orbit downloads public space and astronomy information over encrypted HTTPS connections. Depending on the screen or widget you use, requests may be made directly from your device to:

• NASA Open APIs and NASA/JPL Solar System Dynamics / Small-Body Database;
• NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center;
• CelesTrak;
• Launch Library 2 / The Space Devs;
• the public Corquaid People in Space dataset maintained on GitHub Pages; and
• external webcast links that you choose to open.

Orbit does not include your saved coordinates in requests to these astronomy and spaceflight services. Like any internet service, a provider can receive ordinary connection information such as your IP address, request time, and basic network headers. Mad Max Labs does not receive or combine that connection information. Each provider handles it under its own terms and privacy practices.

If you choose to open Orbit documentation, a privacy page, support email, a webcast, or the system share sheet for a crash report, renderer diagnostic, or sky selfie, your device may open an external browser, email app, messaging app, social app, or website. Your interaction with that external service is governed by its provider.

What Orbit does not do

Orbit does not:

• require or provide a user account;
• sell personal information;
• use advertising or an advertising identifier;
• track you across other companies' apps and websites, or ask for App Tracking Transparency permission on iPhone and iPad;
• include a behavioral analytics or tracking SDK;
• automatically upload your location, camera feed, sky selfies, crash reports, renderer diagnostics, notification content, contacts, microphone audio, or files to Mad Max Labs;
• read your existing photo library;
• use background location; or
• send remote push notifications.

Retention and deletion

Personal settings remain on your device until you clear them, clear Orbit's Android storage, or uninstall the app; deleting Orbit from an iPhone or iPad removes its data from that device, including the storage it shares with its widgets. Scheduled-notification content and schedule records are removed when you cancel them, when they are reconciled after firing, or when you clear local data; on iPhone and iPad a delivered alert stays in Notification Center until you clear it. Orbit keeps only the most recent local crash report on Android; it remains until you clear it, clear local data or Android app storage, uninstall Orbit, or a newer report replaces it. The AR renderer diagnostic is displayed for recovery and is not kept as a separate saved report. Temporary raw and composed selfie files are removed on retake, replacement, or ordinary exit from the capture flow; Android app-storage clearing or uninstall removes any private cache remnants after an interrupted session, and on iPhone and iPad a leftover copy is removed the next time you open the live sky or when you delete Orbit. A finished selfie saved to your device's Photos or media library remains there until you delete it. Copies deliberately shared to another app are retained under that app's policies. A Live Activity ends shortly after the pass or launch it follows, or when you end it. Public data caches are refreshed or removed automatically over time.

Because Orbit has no account or developer-operated user database, Mad Max Labs normally has no user record to retrieve or delete. If you contact support by email, we will receive the information you choose to include and use it only to respond and maintain reasonable support records. You may ask us to delete that correspondence unless we must retain it for legal, security, or record-keeping reasons.

Security

Orbit limits sensitive permissions to features that need them and uses HTTPS for its data services. On Android it stores app preferences within Android's app-specific storage and excludes Orbit app data from Android cloud backup and device transfer. On iPhone and iPad it keeps its data in storage private to Orbit and its widgets, excluded from iCloud and computer backups. No method of software storage or transmission is completely risk-free, but we work to keep access and retention limited.

Children

Orbit is a general-audience educational tool and is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. A parent or guardian who believes a child has sent personal information to us through support may contact us to request deletion.

Orbit for Mac

Orbit for Mac (Orbit: Live Sky Desktop on the Mac App Store) draws the sky on your desktop and shows tonight's briefing in the menu bar. It has no account, advertising, or analytics. Where the sections above describe a phone feature, such as the camera, the motion sensors, sky selfies, widgets, or Live Activities, they do not apply to the Mac: Orbit for Mac has none of them.

• Location. If you choose Use My Location, Orbit asks macOS for one location fix while you are using it and keeps those coordinates on your Mac to compute the sky and the station's passes. It does not request background location and does not ask Apple's geocoding service for a place name; a located place is shown without one. Otherwise the sky is drawn for the city you pick from Orbit's list, or for the city nearest your Mac's time zone until you pick one.
• Network requests. Orbit for Mac fetches public data only, over HTTPS, with no information about you or your Mac: the station's orbit from CelesTrak, the launch schedule from Launch Library 2 / The Space Devs, and the Kp index from NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center. It caches that data in Orbit's own sandbox container on your Mac. As with any internet service, a provider can receive ordinary connection information such as your IP address; Mad Max Labs does not receive it.
• Alerts. Alerts for ISS passes, launches, and aurora nights are local notifications scheduled on your Mac through macOS, each behind its own switch and off until you turn it on. Orbit keeps a record on your Mac of what it has scheduled so that nothing is announced twice. Nothing is sent to a server.
• Local data. Your settings (the place, the facing direction, the display and alert switches), that alert record, and the public data cache are kept in Orbit's sandbox container on your Mac. Deleting the app removes them.
• Opening at login. Off until you say yes to Orbit's one question at its first launch. It can be changed in Orbit's menu or in System Settings.
• Crash reports. Orbit for Mac keeps no crash reports and includes no crash-reporting or analytics service. If you have chosen to share analytics with app developers in macOS, Apple may provide Mad Max Labs with crash reports in a form that does not personally identify you, under Apple's privacy policy.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy if Orbit's features, providers, or legal obligations change. The effective date at the top will be updated when changes are published. Material changes will be communicated through the app or its documentation when appropriate.

Contact

For privacy questions or requests, contact:

Mad Max Labs, Attn: Syed Zaid. Email: madmaxlabsllc@gmail.com. Website: madmaxlabs.com.