Patterns

Privacy Policy

Effective date: 16 June 2026

Patterns lets you photograph wild giraffes, identify individuals by their unique coat patterns, collect them as cards, and contribute sightings that help giraffe conservation.

This policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and the choices you have. Patterns is operated from South Africa, and we handle personal information in line with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA). In this policy, “we”, “us”, and “Patterns” refer to the operator of the Patterns app.

Information we collect

Account information. When you create an account we collect your email address and the details needed to sign you in. Sign-in is handled by our authentication provider, Clerk. If you choose to sign in with Apple or Google, those providers share a limited identifier and your email with us.

Photos you take. When you photograph a giraffe, we store that photo so we can identify the individual, create your collectible card, and improve recognition over time. The photos are of animals and are not intended to contain people.

Location. With your permission, we record where a giraffe was seen, taken from the photo or your device at the moment of capture. Your exact location stays private to your own account. Only a coarse region, a general area rather than the precise spot, is ever shown publicly or shared with conservation partners. You can use Patterns without granting location access, although those sightings will not carry a place.

Notifications and device data. If you turn on notifications, we store a push token so we can let you know when a giraffe is ready to reveal. We also process basic technical information needed to run the service, such as app version and device type.

We collect only what we need to run Patterns, and we do not collect special categories of personal information such as health or biometric data about you.

How we use your information

To identify giraffes by their coat pattern and build your collection.
To operate core features: capture, reveal, naming, and tracking.
To send the notifications you have opted into.
To keep the service secure and prevent abuse.
To produce aggregated, coarse-location sighting data that supports giraffe research and conservation.

How we share information

Conservation and research. We may share aggregated, coarse-location sighting data (species, approximate area, and time) with wildlife-conservation organisations and researchers, including national-park and conservation authorities, to support giraffe conservation. This data does not include your exact location or your contact details.

Service providers. We use trusted providers to run Patterns, including authentication (Clerk), cloud hosting, and push-notification delivery (Apple, Google, and Expo). They process information only to provide their service to us.

Legal reasons. We may disclose information if the law requires it, or to protect the rights and safety of our users and the animals.

We do not sell your personal information.

Children and families

Patterns is made to be enjoyed by families. Accounts are created and held by adults aged 18 or older, who confirm their age when they sign up. Young rangers explore under a supervising adult’s account. We do not knowingly create accounts for, or collect personal information directly from, children without a responsible adult. If you believe a child has given us personal information without adult consent, please contact us and we will remove it.

Keeping and deleting your information

We keep your information for as long as your account is active. You can delete your account at any time from Settings › Delete account in the app. Deleting your account removes your profile and associated personal information from our systems, including your sign-in record. Aggregated, de-identified conservation data that can no longer identify you may be kept.

Security

We protect your information with industry-standard measures, including encrypted connections and authenticated access. No system is perfectly secure, but we work hard to keep your data safe.

Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, or delete your personal information, to object to or restrict certain processing, and to complain to a data-protection authority. In South Africa, that authority is the Information Regulator. To exercise these rights, contact us using the details below, or use the in-app account-deletion tool.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. We will post the new version on this page and update the effective date above. We will tell you about significant changes in the app.

Contact us

Questions about this policy or your information? Email privacy@patternsproject.co.za.