Qibla Finder is provided by NVAPPS LTD, 86–90 Paul Street, London EC2A 4NE, United Kingdom. We are responsible for the personal information we process in connection with the Qibla Finder iPhone and Android apps and this website. Contact us at hello@nvapps.co about this policy or your information.
You do not need a Qibla Finder account to use the app. This policy explains the location and device information used to provide the compass, maps and broadcasts, information handled by service providers, and your choices.
1. Location and compass information
With your device’s foreground location permission, the app obtains your current coordinates to calculate the direction and distance to the Kaaba. It can refresh your location when you return to the app and while you use the map. The app does not request background location access.
Your latest location and the place name returned by your device’s geocoding service are saved on your device so the app can display them again. Compass heading readings are used on the device. The app does not send your saved coordinates as custom Firebase Analytics event parameters or maintain an account-based location history.
Location is not exclusively an offline process: your device’s location and geocoding services may process coordinates to determine your location and place name. Loading a map also makes requests to Mapbox for the area being viewed. Once a location is available, calculating the Qibla direction does not itself require an internet connection.
2. Information saved on your device
The app saves your latest location and address, including associated accuracy, altitude, heading or speed when supplied by your device, language preference, setup and walkthrough completion, downloaded configuration and the timing of review prompts. This information helps preserve your settings and avoid repeating setup. Your operating system may include app data in device backups according to your backup settings.
3. App usage, diagnostics and configuration
We use Google Analytics for Firebase to understand which screens and features are used. App events include opening the map, changing the compass design, opening Help and pressing Share. Firebase Crashlytics and Performance Monitoring help identify crashes, errors and performance problems. Firebase Remote Config supplies settings such as available broadcast links.
These services can process app or installation identifiers, device and operating-system information, usage events, timestamps, crash reports and performance information. Network services receive information such as your IP address. Google’s SDKs may process advertising identifiers where available and permitted by the platform and relevant settings. This information should not be assumed to be anonymous; an IP address can also indicate an approximate location.
See Firebase’s privacy information and Google’s Privacy Policy for details about these services.
4. Maps and broadcasts
Maps. Mapbox provides the map imagery. Map requests can disclose your IP address, technical request information and the area you are viewing. Mapbox telemetry is disabled in Qibla Finder; this does not prevent the network requests needed to display a map. See Mapbox’s Privacy Policy. Native location and geocoding services are also subject to the relevant Apple or Google privacy information, or that of your device’s relevant location and geocoding provider.
Broadcasts. When you open the broadcasts screen, the app loads YouTube video thumbnails and an embedded player, and playback can start automatically. These requests share device, network and playback information with Google/YouTube. The player may use cookies or similar storage and may display advertising under Google’s policies and controls. Its supporting player page is hosted on GitHub Pages, which receives the network request for that page. See Google’s Privacy Policy and GitHub’s Privacy Statement. You can use the compass without opening broadcasts.
5. Support and website visits
If you email us, we receive your email address, message and any details or attachments you choose to send. Opening the app’s email composer does not automatically send a message or attach your saved location. External store reviews, sharing tools and the linked Google partnership-enquiry form are handled through their respective services.
This website uses local browser storage to remember a language you select and reads your browser language preferences for automatic selection. It does not load the app’s Firebase Analytics SDK or a separate advertising script. Cloudflare delivers and protects the website and processes request information such as IP addresses, requested URLs and browser headers. See Cloudflare’s Privacy Policy. Links to app stores and other websites are subject to those services’ policies.
6. Why we process information and who receives it
We process information to provide features you request, respond to support, maintain security and reliability, understand feature use and meet legal obligations. Where UK or European data-protection law applies, the relevant grounds are providing the requested service, our legitimate interests in operating and improving it, legal obligations, and consent where applicable. Device permissions and service-specific privacy controls apply separately; this notice does not itself request consent.
Information is handled by the providers described above and by the services used to deliver support. We may disclose information where required by law or necessary to protect people, our services or legal rights. We do not sell the location saved by Qibla Finder or use it to build our own advertising profiles.
Providers operate internationally and may process information outside your country, including in the United States. Their linked privacy and data-processing information describes their transfer arrangements and safeguards. Contact us for information about arrangements relevant to your data.
7. Retention and security
Saved app settings and location remain on your device until replaced or removed through your device’s app-data controls or deletion of the app; backups may retain copies under your operating-system settings. Reset Onboarding only restarts setup and does not erase your saved location.
We keep support correspondence for as long as needed to address the request, handle follow-up and meet applicable legal requirements. Usage and diagnostic retention depends on the relevant service, its settings and the purpose for which the data is held, as described in the provider information above. Removing the app does not automatically delete information already received by a service provider. No internet transmission or storage system can be guaranteed completely secure.
8. Your choices and rights
You can change location permission in your phone’s settings, avoid the broadcasts screen, clear this website’s language preference through browser site-data controls, or stop using the app. Disabling location access limits location-dependent features. Your device and the relevant providers offer additional privacy and advertising controls.
Depending on the law that applies to you, you may request access, correction, deletion, restriction or portability of personal information, withdraw consent where processing relies on it, and object to processing based on legitimate interests. Email hello@nvapps.co to make a request. We may need information to verify your request and locate relevant records. We cannot remotely remove data held only on your device.
You may complain to your local data-protection authority. In the UK, this is the Information Commissioner’s Office. Parents or guardians with concerns about information a child has supplied can contact us using the same address.
9. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy when the app, website or data practices change. The date above identifies the latest version. Material changes will be explained on this page or through another appropriate notice.