Privacy policy - Apps

Privacy policy - apps

Updated 3rd October 2018

General statement

The Forestry Commission is the data controller for personal data collected by our apps. We may collect personal data such as location, network connections, and photos from your mobile device to enable the apps to perform their tasks. 

Forest Xplorer

- Forest Xplorer uses your location in order to suggest your nearest forests and locations, and to help you locate the forest. Our location permissions are detailed below:

  • Access approximate location (network based)
  • Access extra location provider commands
  • Access precise location (GPS and network-based)

- Forest Xplorer requires Photos/Media/Files permissions in order to download forests and maps to your device.

- Forest Xplorer requires full network access and to view network connections in order to access online forest data, and to establish whether a user is on or offline.

- Forest Xplorer requests permission to prevent phone from sleeping and control vibration in order to provide a smooth user experience.

The Forestry Commission collects anonymous information on the use of Forest Xplorer, this includes behavioural information only. This information is not shared with any third party, and is used for informing future developments of the app. This information is retained permanently in secure analytics tools.

The development of the app and the management of the listings are handled in coordination with third party developers. No personal information is made available to these organisations.

The choice to sign up to hear about the latest news and offers is optional. If completed, your information will be used for marketing purposes, including email newsletters and social retargeting. The Forestry Commission is a data controller under the Data Protection Act 2018. Please be assured that we will safeguard any information you provide.

TreeQuests

  • TreeQuests requires permission to access location services on your device in order to talk to iBeacon technology within the arboretum and tell the device when it is near the desired tree.

     
  • TreeQuests requires access to the camera on the device as part of some of the interactive activities within the app:
    • The camera viewfinder is used to help calculate the height of trees
    • The ‘take a photo of…’ activity uses the camera
    • The app has a ‘camera shortcut’ icon for those wishing to take a photo quickly without the need to exit the app
  • Pictures taken via the app are available to view within the photo library section of the app. This section serves only as a reference to the local photo library on the device; they are not specifically stored on the app.

     
  • No data from the camera is collected and/or sent off the device unless the user specifically shares a photo using standard sharing tools.

     
  • TreeQuests requires Bluetooth in order to detect iBeacons to let the user know they are near a desired tree. If Bluetooth is switched off on the device, the app will detect this and suggest the user switches on their Bluetooth. No data is collected during this process.

     
  • The Forestry Commission collects anonymous information via Google Analytics on the use of TreeQuests, including behavioural information on how the app is used, regional downloads, download numbers and types of device. This information is used for informing future developments of the app and is retained permanently in secure analytical tools.

The Gruffalo Spotters

The app requires access to the camera to display the characters but the Forestry Commission does not collect any data out of the use of the camera.

SnarkHunter

The SnarkHunter app requires access to the camera to display the story but the Forestry Commission does not collect any data out of the use of the camera.

The app also requires access to the users precise location (GPS) but does not store or transmit this data.