Topofon privacy policy

Effective date: 2026-10-26

This policy covers Topofon, Rawsector's free field recorder for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. Topofon has no accounts, ads or advertising tracking. Rawsector does not collect app usage analytics or operate a server for the app. Weather, maps and address lookups use the external services described below.

Your logs and storage

Topofon saves your logs on your device or on an external drive you choose. A log can contain audio, a place name, coordinates, time, weather, notes, a photo, markers, a route and a transcript. These files are not uploaded to Rawsector.

Logs on the device are stored in the app's Documents folder. Topofon does not use iCloud sync. Your device backups, including iCloud Backup, may include this app data according to your backup settings. This is separate from app sync.

You can delete logs in the app. Deleting the app removes its logs stored on the device. Logs on an external drive remain on that drive. Copies you export or back up are managed where you keep them.

Permissions

Topofon requests access for these features:

- Microphone: attach field recordings to your logs.
- Location while using the app: record where field recordings are made, and the path you walk while recording a log with route recording enabled. Always location access is not required.
- Temporary precise location: show where you are on the compass map when only approximate location is allowed.
- Camera: add photos to your logs.

You can change permissions in your device's Settings. Denying a permission makes the feature that needs it unavailable.

External services

Weather requests

Weather lookup needs an internet connection. Depending on your location and service availability, Topofon requests observations from national weather services and NOAA's Aviation Weather Center, or uses Open-Meteo as a fallback. The requests differ:

- Open-Meteo receives the latitude and longitude used for the lookup.
- The US National Weather Service (NWS) receives latitude and longitude rounded to four decimal places. Later requests identify a grid area or weather station.
- DMI (Denmark), FMI (Finland), Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), and NOAA's Aviation Weather Center receive a bounding box around the lookup location. The box is calculated from your coordinates and can reveal your location.
- Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) Weather Nuri site data requests include selected region codes. GeoSphere Austria requests include nearby station IDs. Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD) requests include nearby station file names. These requests indicate an area or nearby stations rather than sending your coordinates directly.
- KMA API Hub, Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), MeteoSwiss, and SMHI (Sweden) provide nationwide tables or feeds. These requests do not include your coordinates or a location-specific area or station selection. Topofon selects nearby observations on your device. KMA API Hub is used only when its key is available and earlier sources have no qualifying observation.

Weather requests go directly to the providers, which receive the query data described above, the connecting IP address and technical request information. Providers may retain request logs for service operation, security, troubleshooting and usage statistics under their own privacy policies. Open-Meteo says its troubleshooting logs may include coordinates and are deleted after 90 days. These requests do not upload your recordings, notes, photos, transcripts or stored routes.

Apple services and Apple Watch

Maps and address lookup use Apple Maps. Apple's privacy policy applies: https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/en-ww/

Transcription and sound detection run on your device. A speech model may need to be downloaded from Apple before you use a language for transcription. Topofon does not upload your audio for this processing.

The Apple Watch app exchanges recording commands and recording status with the paired iPhone. The iPhone records the audio.

Export and support messages

Exported files contain the information you share. Depending on the export, audio tags and accompanying documents can include notes, location, time, weather, photos, markers and transcripts. A recorded route is shared as a GPX file with the audio. Check the files before sharing them with another person or service.

If you email support, Rawsector receives your message and any files you attach. Send only what is needed to explain the issue.

Children

The storage, permissions and external-service requests described in this policy apply to users of all ages, including children.

Changes and contact

Changes to this policy will be posted on this page with an updated effective date.

For privacy questions, contact Rawsector at [email protected].

Use of the Rawsector website is covered by its separate privacy policy: https://www.rawsector.com/privacy