Privacy Policy
Last updated: 16 October 2026
QuakeScope ("the app", "we", "us") is a free earthquake and tsunami information app for iOS published by Webgrup, Türkiye. This policy explains what information the app handles, why, and what choices you have.
In Short
- QuakeScope has no accounts and no sign-up.
- Notifications need a few things on our server: a hashed random device key, your Apple push token, your alert settings and, only if you allow it, an approximate location rounded to about 10 km.
- Notification logs and technical logs contain no device, token, location or IP address.
- You can erase everything we hold about your phone at any time in Settings > Request deletion of my data. It works instantly and needs no e-mail.
- The app is free and shows a small banner ad through Google AdMob, only on the quake list and preparation screens. There are no ads on event details, tsunami messages, "I'm safe" or settings.
- There are no in-app purchases or subscriptions.
Who Is Responsible
QuakeScope is published by Webgrup, Türkiye. Contact: [email protected]. Webgrup is the data controller for the data on its own servers described below. Apple, Google and Cloudflare process data under their own policies.
Data That Stays on Your Device
Settings (theme, language, units, ad choices), your saved places and regions, preparation checklist progress, and a cache of recent earthquakes so the app opens instantly and works offline. We cannot see this data. Deleting the app deletes it. A backup you make yourself (for example iCloud) may include it under that provider's rules.
Data Our Server Keeps
Only what is needed to deliver the alerts you ask for:
| Data | Purpose | Retention |
|---|---|---|
| Device key hash: the app creates a random key in the iOS Keychain; the server keeps only its SHA-256 hash (not your advertising ID) | Recognize your phone when it updates its settings | Until you delete it, or 120 days after you last open the app |
| Apple push notification (APNs) token and environment | Deliver the notifications you chose | Same; removed at once if Apple reports the token invalid |
| Alert settings: minimum magnitudes, radius, regions or countries, quiet hours, sound options, tsunami option, language, units, time zone, app version | Decide which earthquakes notify you | Same |
| Approximate location (optional): rounded on your phone to 0.1 degree (about 10 km) and rounded again by the server; never precise | Match earthquakes near you | Same |
| Country code of your place | Match tsunami messages to your coast | Same |
| Device-integrity key (Apple App Attest public key) | Check requests come from a genuine copy of the app and slow down abuse | Same |
| Delivery queue entry (device reference and event reference) | Send each notification once | 14 days |
Notification records kept for statistics (how many notifications were decided and sent for an event) and our technical logs (timing of data sources and of sending) contain no device, token, location or IP address. Your IP address is used only momentarily by the network layer (Cloudflare) and our rate limiter to slow abusive traffic; we do not store it.
Permissions and Why We Ask
| Permission | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Notifications | To send the alerts you set up. You can allow or refuse, and change it in iOS Settings. |
| Location, only while using the app (optional) | To show distance to earthquakes and match nearby alerts. If you refuse, you can pick a city or region instead. The app never uses background location. |
| App tracking (iOS) | Only to show more relevant ads. See "Advertising". |
The app does not ask for your contacts, photos, camera, microphone or "always" location. "I'm safe" uses the iOS share sheet; the message goes where you send it and we do not receive it.
Advertising
QuakeScope is free and shows a banner ad through Google AdMob (Google Mobile Ads SDK). AdMob may collect and use your device's advertising identifier, IP address and ad interaction data to deliver, measure and limit ads and to prevent fraud. See https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites .
- iOS: the app asks for App Tracking Transparency permission. If you decline, only non-personalized ads are shown.
- EU/EEA, United Kingdom and Switzerland: a consent form from Google's User Messaging Platform appears. You can change your choice in Settings > Ad preferences.
- We never send your location, earthquake settings or notification settings to advertisers.
- Ads are paused for about six hours after a major earthquake or tsunami message that concerns you.
Sharing and International Transfers
We do not sell your personal data. Data leaves our servers only in these cases:
- Apple (push notifications through APNs, App Attest): your push token and the notification content.
- Google AdMob: advertising data described above, collected by the SDK on your phone.
- Cloudflare: passes requests to our server and may process technical connection data (https://www.cloudflare.com/privacypolicy/).
These providers may process data in other countries (including the United States), under their own safeguards such as standard contractual clauses or adequacy decisions. For people in Türkiye, to the extent that KVKK Article 9 applies, transfers rely on the safeguards allowed by that article and, where required, your explicit consent given through the system permission prompts.
Data Sources and Credits
Earthquake and tsunami information comes from public sources, not from you: EMSC (CC BY 4.0), USGS, NOAA/NWS Pacific and National Tsunami Warning Centers, and GDACS. Fault lines: GEM Global Active Faults Database (CC BY-SA 4.0). Place names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Country boundaries: Natural Earth. This data does not identify you. QuakeScope is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by these organizations.
Legal Bases
- Alerts (token, settings, approximate location, country): performance of the service you ask for, and your consent through the system permission prompts, which you can withdraw at any time.
- Device-integrity key and abuse prevention: our legitimate interest in running the service securely and fairly.
- Personalized advertising: your consent (ATT, UMP).
Retention
Server data is deleted when you use the in-app deletion, automatically 120 days after you last opened the app, or when Apple reports your push token invalid (for example after you delete the app). Delivery queue entries are removed after 14 days. Data held by Apple, Google or Cloudflare follows their policies.
Your Rights
Depending on where you live you may have rights under the GDPR (EEA), the UK GDPR, the KVKK (Türkiye, Law No. 6698, Article 11), the CCPA/CPRA (California) and the LGPD (Brazil): access, correction, deletion, restriction or objection, withdrawal of consent, portability and complaint to a supervisory authority (in Türkiye, the Personal Data Protection Board).
- Delete your data: open Settings > Request deletion of my data in the app. The record of your phone and its alert settings are removed from our server immediately and alerts stop. Because we hold no name or e-mail, this is also how we can identify your data.
- Access or other requests: write to [email protected] from the app's support page. We reply within 30 days. We may not be able to find records without your device key, which we keep only as a hash.
- Withdraw permissions: iOS Settings > QuakeScope (notifications, location, tracking), and Settings > Ad preferences.
California residents: we do not sell personal information for money. Ads served by Google may count as "sharing" or targeted advertising under some US state laws; you can limit this by declining tracking.
Children
QuakeScope is not directed at children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect their data beyond what the app needs to send alerts. Personalized ads are not meant for minors. If you believe a child's data is on our server, delete it in the app or contact us.
Security
Requests travel over encrypted connections (HTTPS). Our server accepts registration only from verified app installations, stores only a hash of the device key, and keeps no location in logs. No method is completely secure.
Not an Official Service
QuakeScope is not an official agency and not an early warning system. See the Terms of Use. For decisions about your safety, follow official sources such as AFAD, USGS and your local authorities.
Changes
We may update this policy. The date at the top shows the latest version. For material changes we will give notice in the app or on this page.
Contact
Webgrup, Türkiye — [email protected]