BirdScribe Privacy Policy

Last updated: 10 June 2026

BirdScribe is a free, anonymous field-recording tool for birders, built by Kingfisher Birding (Cairns, Australia). This policy explains what BirdScribe does and does not do with your data.

The short version: BirdScribe does not require an account, does not ask who you are, and does not store your identity. Almost everything stays on your device.

No account, no identity. BirdScribe does not collect your name, email, phone number, or any account credentials. You use the app anonymously.

What stays on your device. Your observations, transcripts, GPS coordinates, session notes, and exported eBird files are stored locally on your device using on-device storage. BirdScribe does not upload these to our servers in this version.

What leaves your device. When you record an observation, the text of what you said (for example, “five rainbow lorikeets in the fig tree”) is sent to Anthropic’s Claude API so the app can identify the species. This text is sent without any identifier — it is not linked to you, your device, or a user account. We do not send your location, audio, or identity with it. Anthropic processes this text under their own terms; see anthropic.com/legal.

Speech recognition. BirdScribe uses Apple’s on-device speech recognition to turn your spoken words into text. Depending on your device and language settings, Apple may process some audio on Apple’s servers. This is handled by Apple under Apple’s privacy policy, not by BirdScribe. BirdScribe does not store your voice recordings.

Location. BirdScribe uses your device location to tag observations for eBird export. Location data is stored only on your device and is included in the eBird files you choose to export. BirdScribe does not upload your location to our servers.

eBird export. When you export a checklist, BirdScribe creates a file on your device. What you do with that file — including submitting it to eBird — is your choice and is governed by eBird’s own terms.

Children. BirdScribe is not directed at children under 13 and does not knowingly collect data from them.

Changes. If a future version of BirdScribe collects additional data (for example, optional cloud sync), this policy will be updated and the change disclosed before that feature is enabled.

Contact. Questions: hello@kingfisherbirding.com.