Privacy Policy — Tern

Last updated: July 22, 2026

Tern (“the app”) is a travel memory map developed by Berat Mehmetoglu. This policy explains what the app does — and does not do — with your information.

Summary

Tern does not collect, store, transmit, or share any personal data. Everything the app builds — your places, trips, photos, and location history — stays on your device. There are no accounts, no analytics, no advertising, and no tracking.

Data you create

The map, trips, stops, journal notes, and stats Tern builds are stored only on your device using Apple’s on-device database (SwiftData). This data is never sent to us or to any third party. We operate no servers and have no way to access it.

If you enable iCloud device backup, your data may be included in that backup under Apple’s terms; this is handled entirely by Apple/iOS, not by Tern.

Photos

With your permission, Tern reads the geotag and date already saved in your photos to place them on the map and group them into trips. This happens entirely on your device — your photos, their contents, and their locations are never uploaded anywhere. When you export a travel video or postcard, Tern saves it back to your photo library with your permission (NSPhotoLibraryAddUsageDescription); exports never leave your device except by your own sharing action.

Location

With your permission, Tern can use your location to add a place at your current position, and — only while you’re actively recording a Live trip — to notice places you stay and record the route you travel. This runs entirely on-device: the recorded path and detected stops are stored only in your local database and are never transmitted anywhere. You can revoke location access at any time in iOS Settings.

Place names are resolved from coordinates using an offline, on-device geocoder — this lookup never leaves your device.

Interactive map (Mapbox)

The globe and map views are rendered using the Mapbox Maps SDK, the only third-party component in the app. Drawing the map requires network requests to Mapbox’s servers to fetch map tiles; these requests do not include your trips, photos, or location history — only what’s needed to load the visible map area. Mapbox may receive standard technical information (e.g. IP address) as part of serving these requests, governed by Mapbox’s own privacy policy.

Purchases

Tern Pro is sold through Apple’s In-App Purchase system. All payment processing is handled by Apple under your Apple ID; Tern never receives or stores your payment details. Purchase/restore status is read from Apple’s StoreKit on your device only.

Notifications

Trip-start reminders are scheduled and delivered locally on your device. No notification data leaves the device.

Widget

The home-screen widget reads a snapshot of your stats from on-device storage shared with the app via an App Group. This data never leaves your device.

Children

Tern is a general-purpose utility and is not directed at children.

Changes

If this policy changes, the “Last updated” date above will be revised.

Contact

Questions about privacy: beratmehmetogludev@gmail.com