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BuckBook Privacy Policy

Effective date: October 11, 2026

This policy explains how BuckBook, the Android trail-camera journal developed by Zajabuk ("we," "us"), handles information. It describes the current app, including version 0.12.0, and app-support communications. For privacy questions, contact contact@zajabuk.com.

1. Your journal and the information it uses

BuckBook stores your journal in the app’s private storage on your Android device. This includes downloaded or imported photos; capture dates and times; GPS coordinates and camera names when supplied by the source; photo source identifiers and hashes used to prevent duplicates; weather information; and buck names, notes, age details, archive status, and photo assignments. It also stores your app preferences, sync history, selected cameras, saved weather locations, and local photo-filtering decisions.

We use this information to organize photos, maintain deer profiles, prevent repeat downloads, display weather, summarize activity patterns, and provide the sharing and backup features you choose. BuckBook does not require a separate Zajabuk account and does not automatically upload your journal to a Zajabuk server. The current app has no advertising SDK and does not sell your journal information or use it for targeted advertising.

2. Camera accounts and syncing

When you connect Stealth Cam or Tactacam Reveal, the app uses your login details and session information to authenticate with that provider and retrieve photos and camera metadata. Reveal authentication uses the provider’s Amazon Cognito service. These services receive your connection information, such as your IP address, and the account and photo requests needed for syncing.

If you choose remembered credentials or validate an account for Easy Sync, your email and password are encrypted on the device using a key protected by Android Keystore. The embedded Stealth Cam sign-in page can also store cookies and web-session data. BuckBook’s sync integrations copy photos; deleting a local BuckBook photo does not delete the provider’s original.

You can choose a sync start date and select which cameras Easy Sync and Auto Sync use. These selections are stored on your device. Auto Sync checks your connected accounts in the background only when you enable a hunting sync session. You can stop it through its notification or Sync Settings. Provider services, including pages shown inside the app, handle information under their own policies: Stealth Cam privacy policy and Tactacam privacy policy.

3. Locations and weather requests

BuckBook uses coordinates contained in photo or camera metadata and locations you select or enter. The current app does not request access to your phone’s live GPS location.

To retrieve forecasts, historical weather, or a location’s time zone, the app sends coordinates and relevant date or time parameters to Open-Meteo. Town and postal-code searches send your search text to its geocoding service. These requests can occur while processing or viewing photos and weather features. Open-Meteo receives your IP address; photos, buck notes, and camera passwords are not sent for weather lookup. Its API logs may contain requested coordinates and are retained for up to 90 days under its published policy. See Open-Meteo’s privacy information for its handling and retention practices.

4. On-device image processing and diagnostics

BuckBook uses Google ML Kit to read printed timestamps and camera names from photos on your device. Google states that ML Kit does not send the input images or recognized text to its servers. ML Kit does send diagnostic and usage metrics to Google, including device and app information, an installation identifier, performance and error information, and processing configuration such as image size. Google uses these metrics to maintain and improve ML Kit and detect misuse.

See ML Kit’s privacy terms, its Android data disclosure, and Google’s Privacy Policy. On-device recognition does not mean that the SDK has no network activity.

The optional deer-photo filter uses bundled machine-learning models and ONNX Runtime on your phone. BuckBook does not upload photos to a cloud AI service for deer detection or classification, or use your photos to train these bundled models. Filtering results and exclusion records are stored locally. This local processing is separate from ML Kit’s diagnostic transmissions and any backup or sharing you choose.

5. Sharing and opening maps

Sharing happens when you choose a share action and a receiving app. Shared photos preserve their original image data and may include embedded GPS or other metadata. Shared descriptions can include camera locations, capture times, weather, and profile notes or summaries. Review the content before sending it. Opening a sighting in a map app passes its coordinates to that app. Receiving apps and recipients control their own copies and handling of that information.

6. Phone and Google Drive backups

Backups are optional. You can select a phone folder, a supported document provider, or connect Google Drive and choose a folder. A backup ZIP contains buck profiles, names, notes, birth-year details, archive status, saved assigned photos, and their capture, location, weather, and source metadata. Camera passwords, sync settings, and unreviewed photos are excluded.

For direct Google Drive backups, Google handles account authorization and folder selection. BuckBook requests the drive.file permission, which limits access to files created by the app or explicitly made available to it, rather than broad access to all of your Drive. BuckBook stores the connected account email, a Google account permission identifier, and the selected folder’s identifier and name on your device to direct and verify subsequent backups. Authorization tokens are handled through Google Play services and used in memory for requests; BuckBook does not save Google passwords or write bearer tokens into its own persistent storage.

When you start a Drive backup or enable scheduled Drive backups, the archive is uploaded to your selected folder. Restoring downloads a selected backup to the phone and merges missing profiles and photos with your journal. Google receives the archive, authentication and file requests, and connection information such as your IP address. Google handles this information under Google’s Privacy Policy. BuckBook uses Google account and Drive data to provide the backup and restore features you request, not for advertising, sale, or AI model training.

BuckBook does not encrypt the contents of backup ZIP archives. HTTPS protects direct Drive transfers in transit, but anyone with access to a backup file or its shared folder can read its contents. Choose a private destination you trust. Exports to another cloud document provider are handled under that provider’s own policies.

Manual and automatic backups use the destination you choose. Automatic backups run only after you enable them and follow your cadence and retention settings; Android battery, scheduling, and network restrictions can delay them. After a successful backup, retention removes eligible older BuckBook backups while preserving the newest. For Drive, eligible old backups are moved to Trash. Unrelated files are left alone. Manual exports, backups in previous destinations, and incomplete uploads must be managed separately.

7. Retention, deletion, and your controls

Your local journal remains until you remove its contents or clear the app’s storage. Deleting a photo removes its local image file, but a database record—including source identifiers and existing capture metadata—remains so the app can remember your decision. By default, this prevents the photo from being downloaded again. The individual-server sync option to review previously downloaded photos can allow a deleted photo to be downloaded again. Easy Sync and Auto Sync continue to skip known or deleted photos. Marking a buck as dead archives its profile; it does not erase it. Temporary sharing copies older than seven days are cleaned up the next time you share.

You can remove saved camera logins in Settings → Sync Settings, disable automatic syncing and backups, and remove saved weather locations. In the Stealth Cam sync view, “Sign out & forget login” also clears its embedded web-session data.

To remove all BuckBook data from the device, use Android Settings → Apps → BuckBook → Storage → Clear storage/data, or uninstall BuckBook. This removes the local journal and settings. Android system backup is disabled for BuckBook. Delete exported backups and previously shared copies separately. None of these actions deletes your camera-provider account or server photos; contact that provider to manage those records.

Settings also offers Wipe local data with two confirmations. It removes the local journal, photos, notes, weather locations, review history, and filtering decisions, while preserving camera connections, saved logins, and connected backup destinations. To erase those retained settings too, clear the app’s storage or uninstall it.

Disconnecting Google Drive in BuckBook stops its scheduled Drive backups and removes the stored connection details, but does not delete existing backups or revoke the Google account permission. You can revoke access in your Google Account’s third-party connections settings. Delete unwanted cloud backups in Drive and manage Drive Trash separately. Previously downloaded or shared copies are not recalled. Camera-provider originals remain under the provider’s controls.

8. Security and permissions

BuckBook uses Android private app storage, encrypted saved credentials, and HTTPS for its direct network connections. Backups and shared files have the limitations described above. No storage or transmission method can be guaranteed completely secure.

The app uses internet access for connected features, notifications and a foreground service for hunting sync, and Android’s file or folder picker for imports, exports, and backups. Background scheduling supports enabled backup tasks. The current app does not request your contacts, microphone, or live device-location permission.

9. Support and privacy requests

If you email us, we receive your email address, message, and any attachments you choose to send. Our email providers process that correspondence so we can respond. We use it for support and retain it as needed to resolve your request and meet applicable legal obligations. Never email camera passwords. Share precise hunting locations only if they are necessary for your support request.

You may contact contact@zajabuk.com to ask about access, correction, or deletion of information held by us. Depending on where you live, additional privacy rights may apply. We may need to verify your request and may retain information where required by law. We cannot remotely access or erase a journal stored only on your phone; use the device controls above. Requests concerning a camera, weather, cloud-storage, or other independent provider should also be directed to that provider.

10. Children and policy changes

BuckBook is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly solicit personal information from children under 13 through our support channels. If you believe a child has provided such information to us, contact us so we can address it.

We will update this policy when the app’s data practices change and revise the effective date. Material changes will be communicated through an appropriate website or app notice, with additional consent where required. This policy covers BuckBook; linked websites and independent services have their own practices.

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