Privacy Policy

Last updated: October 20, 2026

Who we are

This policy describes how Auriginal, LLC ("Auriginal," "we," "us") handles information in connection with the Auriginal iOS app and the websites auriginal.app and verify.auriginal.app (together, the "Service"). Questions: email contact@auriginal.app or use our contact form at auriginal.app/contact.

Information we collect

When you take a photo or video with the app

At the moment of capture, the app records:

• The photo or video you take. For videos, this includes the soundtrack and basic sound measurements (loudness and frequency range).
• Location (GPS) at the moment of capture, rounded on your iPhone to an area about 1 kilometer across before it's signed or sent, plus its accuracy and, for videos, the speed you were moving. We never receive your precise location. Your iPhone reads location only after you open the camera, and stops 2 minutes after you close it or as soon as you leave the app. Location is never read in the background.
• Motion and environment readings: motion and orientation (accelerometer, gyroscope), compass heading and magnetic field, air pressure, scene depth where your iPhone supports it, camera exposure settings, and measurements calculated from the photo itself on your iPhone: how sharp and how bright it is, and where the horizon appears (estimated with Apple's built-in image analysis).
• Nearby network and device presence: whether Wi-Fi, cellular and Bluetooth are on, the type of cellular network (for example 5G or LTE), and how many Bluetooth devices were detected nearby. We don't record the names, addresses or identities of nearby devices or Wi-Fi networks, and nothing we keep can link one capture's surroundings to another's.
• Capture timing: precise timestamps that show how the sensor readings line up with the moment the camera captured the image.
• Device and app checks: your iPhone model, iOS version and app version; Apple App Attest, which confirms the capture was made by the genuine Auriginal app; and on-device checks for common signs of a modified device. We store a hashed device identifier, not the raw identifier. Face ID is handled by iOS. Auriginal never receives your face data. It learns only whether unlocking succeeded.
• A digital signature created on your iPhone that binds all of the above together. The signing key is created and kept on your iPhone; we never receive it.

When anyone checks a file on our website

When you (or anyone) uploads a file or enters a record ID at verify.auriginal.app, we process that file to find and compare it with the sealed record:

• we read its QR code;
• if needed, we look up the record by the file's exact digital fingerprint;
• we compare the file with the sealed original.

Uploaded files are not added to any record. They're processed to make the comparison and then deleted. While a video is processed, a temporary copy may be made on our server. It's deleted afterward, and our cleanup removes any copy left behind by an interruption. We log basic technical request information (such as IP address and time) for security, rate-limiting and abuse prevention, along with anonymous performance timings that contain no record or personal details.

When you contact us

If you use our contact or partnership form, we receive your name, email address and message, and for partnerships your company and role. We use them only to reply. We don't store your IP address with them.

How we use information

We use this information for one purpose: to seal captures and let people check them. Specifically, we use it to create and sign the capture record, confirm it on our server, show it on the public record page, compare uploaded copies with the original, and protect the Service against abuse. We don't use your information for advertising or profiling.

What's public, and what stays private

Sealed records are public by design. Anyone with a capture's QR code, link or file can open its record page. Please don't seal anything you wouldn't want others to be able to view and check.

The public record page shows:

• the photo or video, with its QR code;
• when it was captured (date, time and time zone);
• the iPhone model;
• whether Apple App Attest confirmed the app;
• how many and which of the iPhone's sensors took a reading at the moment of capture (including whether Wi-Fi, cellular and Bluetooth did);
• which physics checks were consistent: checks that compare a reading with known physics (for example, the magnetic field against Earth's magnetic model for the area, or the motion sensor against standard gravity);
• for videos, whether the recording's sealed sections were verified as continuous;
• whether the original file matched the signed record;
• the device check result;
• the record ID;
• basic technical details of the signature.

The page's underlying data contains only what the page shows.

Never shown publicly: your location. We only ever receive it rounded to an area about 1 kilometer across, and it's kept only in the private signed record on our servers.

Kept privately on our servers:

• the original file you captured (the public page shows the copy with the QR code);
• your location, rounded to an area about 1 kilometer across;
• the full signed record;
• Apple's App Attest proof for the record, stored encrypted;
• for photos, a digital fingerprint of the image used to find its record.

How information is stored and protected

• Records and media are stored on our servers and cloud storage (Amazon Web Services).
• Data is encrypted in transit (HTTPS/TLS). The App Attest proof is also encrypted at rest.
• We don't keep identifiers of nearby devices or networks. Your iPhone's own device identifier is stored only as a one-way hash, never the raw value.
• Sealed media is kept unchanged so a record can be re-checked over time.
• On your iPhone: until a capture is sealed, the app keeps a protected temporary copy on the device so the capture isn't lost if the app closes. It never leaves your iPhone and is deleted once the capture is saved.

How we share information

We don't sell your personal information or share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. We share information only:

• with service providers that host and run the Service (such as our cloud provider), under obligations to protect it;
• as part of the public record page described above, when you seal a capture;
• if required by law, or to protect the rights, safety and security of Auriginal, our users or the public.

Tracking and analytics

Auriginal has no third-party advertising or analytics SDKs and doesn't track you across other companies' apps or websites. The app's privacy manifest declares no tracking.

Data retention

• Records and their media are kept for as long as the record exists, because ongoing checking is the point of the Service.
• The encrypted App Attest proof is kept only while its record is active and is deleted with it.
• Server confirmation receipts: if your photo or video is still being confirmed when you leave the app, we keep a short confirmation receipt so your iPhone can learn the result later. It holds only one-way hashes, status and times; no media and no location. It's deleted 30 days after the confirmation began.
• Web server request logs, which include IP addresses, are deleted after 30 days. Our other operational logs aren't set up to record IP addresses.
• Deletion notes: when a record is deleted, we keep only its ID and the deletion date, so its link can say it was deleted.

Deleting a record

You can delete any record you made from the Auriginal app. Open the capture and choose Delete this record. Deleting requires the signing key held on the iPhone that made the record. We remove the record, its public and private media, and its App Attest proof from our servers and our storage provider. We keep only a minimal note (the record ID and the date it was deleted) so that its QR code and link can say the record was deleted by its owner. Copies already saved or shared elsewhere aren't affected. Deleting the record doesn't remove the photo or video from your iPhone unless you delete that too.

Reporting a record

If you see a record that you believe is abusive, unlawful or violates someone's rights, use Report this record on its page. We review reports and may remove records.

Your choices and rights

• Permissions: you control camera, microphone, location, motion, Bluetooth and Photos access in iOS Settings, and you can change them at any time. Some features depend on these.
• Access and deletion: depending on where you live, you may have the right to access or delete information about you. Use the in-app delete for your records, or our contact form for other requests.
• Do Not Sell / Share: we don't sell or share personal information as those terms are defined under U.S. state privacy laws.

Children's privacy

The Service isn't directed to children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has given us information, contact us and we'll take appropriate steps.

International users

We operate the Service from the United States. If you use it from outside the U.S., your information may be processed and stored in the United States.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy. When we do, we'll change the "Last updated" date above, and material changes will appear on this page.

Contact us

Questions or requests about this policy or your information: contact@auriginal.app or auriginal.app/contact.