Privacy Policy
Surface Surfer
Effective date: 2026-10-03
Summary
Surface Surfer has no accounts and no analytics of its own. Capture, motion analysis (optical flow), face detection and 3D display all happen on your iPhone, and the app never sends your images, scan locations or orientation records anywhere. The developer does not receive them.
To show the banner ad at the bottom of the screen, Google's ad service (AdMob) uses information such as device identifiers (see Ads). If you buy the in-app purchase "Remove Ads", no ads are shown and no ad requests are made.
Camera
The back and front cameras are used to make scans. Images are only kept when they are saved to your own Photos library.
The front-camera image shows whoever is holding the phone, usually you. If you share a saved image, that part is shared too.
Face detection
Only in the Lenticular view, and only while face position is turned on, the app looks for a face in the front-camera picture to find where it is. This happens in real time on the device. No images or face data are stored or sent anywhere. The app only uses where the face is on screen; it does not try to recognize who it is.
Photos
- The app uses add-only access to save your scans to Photos.
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Read access is used only to show your own past scans in the app.
The app looks only for scans it saved, using the photo identifiers it noted at save time,
the “Surface Surfer” album, and file names (PNG files whose names start with
slitscan_). It does not load, display or send the images of any other photos. - The “Surface Surfer” album is only created when you have given full Photos access.
Location
Only when location recording is turned on in Settings, and only while the app is in use, the app reads your location to record where each scan started. That location is stored in:
- the Photos location of the saved image
- the file name (if the option to add coordinates to the file name is on)
- the orientation record inside the PNG
The app never sends your location anywhere.
Sharing a scan image or file also shares where it was taken. Turn off the file-name option to keep coordinates out of file names, or turn off location recording to stop recording location at all. You can also revoke location access for the app at any time in the iPhone Settings app.
Motion sensors
The gyroscope and accelerometer are used for horizon lock, for the orientation record, and for detecting tilt in the Lenticular view. The orientation record (which way the phone faced for each slit, plus how far the camera moved, measured from the video) is stored inside the saved PNG.
What the app keeps on your iPhone
- Your settings
- A list of the identifiers and file names of the photos it saved, so it can find them again in past scans. If coordinates are added to file names, those file names include them.
Nothing else is kept. This data stays on the device and is removed when you delete the app.
USDZ export
A USDZ file is only created when you choose to export one. It contains the scan images. If coordinates are added to file names, the USDZ file name includes them too. The file goes only where you send or save it from the share sheet.
Ads
To keep Surface Surfer free, a Google AdMob banner is shown at the bottom of the screen. To show ads, Google's ad SDK collects the following and sends it to Google (according to Google's disclosure):
- IP address (used to estimate a general location)
- Device identifiers (the advertising identifier, or identifiers scoped to the app or developer)
- Ads you have seen, and interactions such as app launches and taps
- Crash and performance information (such as launch time)
This is used to show ads, measure them and prevent fraud. For how Google handles it, see How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services.
- Tracking permission: the first time you use the app, iOS asks whether to allow tracking. If you don't allow it, the advertising identifier is not used and the ads are not personalized. The app works the same either way. You can change this later in Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking.
- EU, UK and similar regions: where the law requires it, Google's consent screen appears before ads. You can change your choice at any time from "Ad privacy settings" in the app's Settings.
- Your images, scan locations, orientation records and face detection results are never used for ads.
In-app purchase (Remove Ads)
The purchase and payment for "Remove Ads" are handled by Apple's App Store. The developer does not receive any payment information. The app checks the purchase status on your iPhone from the App Store's records.
Information shared through Apple
If you have allowed your iPhone to share analytics with app developers, Apple may pass crash reports and similar information to the developer. This is part of iOS; the app itself does not send it.
Children
The app is not specifically directed at children. The app itself does not collect data from anyone; for ads, see Ads above.
Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, this page will be updated.
Developer and contact
Developer: Ryu Furusawa (古澤龍)