Our promise
Boba's Launch Alerts is a family app for following rocket launches. We built it for our own kid, and we treat your family's information the way we'd want ours treated: we collect as little as we can, we keep it on your phone wherever possible, and we never sell it.
- No ads. No tracking. No analytics. We never sell or rent your information.
- No accounts. We don't ask for your name, email address, or phone number.
- Your location stays on your phone. It is never stored on our servers.
What the app uses, and why
- Location. Used on your phone to work out whether a launch, the Space Station, or a Starlink train will be visible from where you are, which way to look, and how far away the rocket is. To get the cloud and sky forecast, the app sends your coordinates to Apple Weather (Apple's WeatherKit service); Apple handles that request under Apple's privacy policy. We never receive or store your location. You can say no to location access, and the app still works with less detail.
- Notifications. If you turn on alerts, Google's Firebase Cloud Messaging gives the app an anonymous device token so we can send launch news (a go, a delay, a scrub). The token is tied to the kinds of launches you follow (for example, "SpaceX" or "Vandenberg"), not to your name or any account. Turning alerts off stops these messages. Many reminders (launch countdowns, Space Station passes) are scheduled on your phone and never touch our servers.
- Camera. Used only for the augmented-reality rockets and the Sky Finder. The camera picture is processed on your phone and is never uploaded.
- Photos. The app only adds pictures to your photo library when you tap to save one (for example, an AR snapshot or a poster). It does not read your existing photos. Pictures you add to your Logbook stay on your phone.
- Purchases. Mission Crew subscriptions are handled entirely by Apple. Apple tells the app whether a subscription is active; we never see your payment details.
- Crash reports. If you've chosen to share analytics with developers in your iPhone's settings, Apple may send us anonymous crash reports. They don't include your name or location.
Your progress and iCloud
Your Knowledge points, journal, cards, best scores, logbook notes and settings are stored on your phone. If you're signed in to iCloud, the app also keeps a backup copy in your own iCloud account so a new phone or a reinstall picks up where you left off. That backup lives with Apple under your Apple ID; we can't see it. Logbook photos are not included in the backup.
The Top Crew scoreboard
To show best game scores across phones, the app saves a small record to a shared scoreboard in Apple's iCloud (CloudKit): your callsign, the game, your best score, and a random ID made up by the app so your phone updates its own record. Other people using the app can see callsigns and scores. There's no name, email, location or photo in it. Please pick a fun callsign, not a real name. To have a scoreboard record removed, email us and tell us the callsign.
Trading cards
When you trade a spare Fact File card, the app asks our server (Google Firebase) for a one-time trade code and records which card is being traded, so a card can only be redeemed once. The trade record doesn't contain names, contact details or locations.
Where the launch and sky information comes from
The app downloads launch schedules from Launch Library 2 by The Space Devs, satellite orbits from CelesTrak, and weather from Apple Weather. Like any website or online service, those servers see the internet address your request comes from. Apart from the coordinates sent to Apple Weather for a forecast, the app sends them no personal information.
Children
Boba's Launch Alerts is made for families to use together. We don't knowingly collect personal information from children. The only thing a child types that leaves the phone is their callsign on the scoreboard, which is why we ask for a nickname, not a real name. Parents can contact us at any time to remove a scoreboard record.
Sharing
When you share a poster or a card, the app makes the image on your phone and hands it to the iOS share sheet. What happens next is up to you and the app you share it with.
Your choices
- Location, notifications, camera and photos can be turned on or off any time in your iPhone's Settings.
- Deleting the app deletes everything it stored on your phone. Your iCloud backup can be removed in Settings → [your name] → iCloud → Manage Storage.
- Subscriptions are managed in your Apple ID settings.
Changes
If this policy changes in a way that matters, we'll update the date at the top and mention it in the app's release notes.
Contact
BackDrop Studios LLC · support@bobaslaunchalerts.com