Privacy policy

Who operates the service

Timelapse Capture is operated by Joshua Eldred, based in Smyrna, Tennessee, United States. Contact support@timelapsecapture.com about privacy or support. We will update this policy if the legal operator changes.

What stays on your iPhone

Local time-lapse photos, local video exports, camera settings and capture diagnostics are stored on the phone. Local capture does not require an account or internet connection. The app requests camera access for framing and capture. It requests permission to add to your Photos library only when you choose to save there; it does not require access to your existing photo library.

Monitoring being off stops that session’s monitoring-preview uploads. A phone signed into a monitoring account may still send connection and device-status information; enabling remote control also allows requested framing snapshots. To disconnect the phone from the service, sign out of its monitoring account. Signing out or canceling a subscription does not delete your local originals.

Information we collect when you use online features

• Account and profile: email address, account identifier, authentication records, and any display name, company name or profile image you provide.
• Photos and videos: monitoring previews, requested framing snapshots, originals you explicitly transfer, and videos you save to the cloud. Associated information includes project names, camera lens, capture timestamps, sequence numbers, file names, sizes and integrity checks.
• Connected-phone information: your chosen phone name, an app-generated installation identifier, connection identifiers, camera capabilities and settings, and last-reported capture state. Status reports can include battery, charging, thermal state, free storage, pending uploads, project sizes, errors and command confirmations.
• Service and billing records: plan, entitlement, subscription and payment status, customer identifiers, usage totals, alert preferences and delivery records. Stripe processes checkout and payment details; our service does not receive or store full payment-card numbers.
• Support and security: messages you send us and technical request information such as IP address, browser information and security or error logs processed by our hosting and authentication providers.

We do not request microphone, contacts, or device-location permission. Images or files you choose to upload may themselves contain personal information, visible locations or embedded metadata. Only capture and upload content you have permission to collect.

Why we use this information

We use it to authenticate you, connect the right phone to your account, store and deliver your content, execute authorized remote commands, show device status, measure allowances, administer subscriptions, send requested alerts and essential service messages, respond to support requests, prevent abuse and troubleshoot reliability. Camera access for remote control requires your opt-in on the phone and the app open in the foreground.

We do not run advertising trackers or combine your account activity with other companies’ activity for advertising. We do not publish your photos by default. People you share downloads or exports with receive their own copies.

Service providers and access

We use Cloudflare for website hosting, request security and cloud file storage; Supabase for authentication, account and service records; Resend for transactional email; and Stripe for billing. Support email is currently forwarded to the operator’s Gmail inbox through Cloudflare Email Routing. These providers process information needed to deliver their part of the service under their applicable terms and privacy practices. Information may be processed outside your state or country.

Account authentication and ownership checks restrict ordinary access to your cloud content. The operator and service providers may access information when needed for support, service operation, security, legal obligations or resolving errors. Cloud content is not end-to-end encrypted, and no storage or transmission system can be guaranteed completely secure. We may disclose information to comply with valid legal requirements, protect rights or safety, or as part of a business transfer with appropriate notice and safeguards.

Retention and deletion

During private testing: automatic subscription-expiry cleanup is disabled. Cloud content and account records remain until removed through an applicable feature, processed through a verified deletion request, or covered by a subsequently announced retention change. Do not treat the pilot as permanent archival storage.

Planned paid-service policy: after paid monitoring access ends, cloud photos and video exports will have a 30-day download grace period, with reminders before scheduled cleanup. This automated policy is not active in the current pilot. We will confirm its activation before live billing begins. A billing cancellation alone is not an account-deletion request.

Fresh framing requests replace older snapshots for each lens. Local projects remain until you delete them or remove the app; separate copies saved to Photos, Files or another device must be managed there. Keep an independent backup of important work.

To delete the entire account, use Delete account. For help or a specific cloud-project deletion request, email support from the account address. We verify ownership before acting and explain any applicable exceptions. Deletion may not immediately remove provider backups, recovery copies or security records. We retain records when required for accounting, fraud prevention, disputes or law, and limit their use accordingly. We do not promise instant erasure from every backup. You can initiate account deletion from Account access → Delete account, which opens our dedicated verification and deletion-request page. Requests are processed manually during private testing, normally within 30 days, with confirmation by email. You do not need to contact support to submit the request.

Your choices and privacy requests

You can edit your profile, change alert preferences, disable remote control, turn monitoring off for a session, sign out of a phone, revoke its connection, and download available content. Camera and Photos permissions can be changed in iPhone Settings. We use browser session or local storage to maintain sign-in, remember preferences and support account functionality; “Keep me signed in” persists the session on that browser. Signing out clears the app’s saved sign-in session.

Contact support to request access, correction, export or deletion, or to ask about applicable privacy rights. Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights, including appeal or complaint rights. We will handle requests as required by applicable law. Do not email passwords, payment-card numbers or sensitive identification documents. We will request only information reasonably needed to verify your request.

Children and policy changes

The service is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their account information. Contact support if you believe a child has provided it. We will investigate and take appropriate action.

We will post changes here with a revised effective date and provide additional notice for material changes when appropriate. New uses of information that require consent will not be introduced merely by silently changing this policy.

Timelapse Creator for Mac

Creator imports and processes photos locally on your Mac. Importing or exporting in Creator does not upload your photos to our servers. Public releases can check our website for software updates; these requests necessarily reveal your IP address and may include the app and operating-system version needed to choose a compatible update. Optional system profiling is disabled. You can turn automatic update checks off in Creator settings.