Summary
Chobial does not collect personal data. There is no account to create, no analytics or advertising SDK, no tracking, and no Chobial server that your photos, films or settings are sent to. The developer cannot see your photos, your films or how you use the app. On Android, Google's ML Kit sends Google some data about how it works, but never your photos (see Chobial for Android). The one exception is the Android beta sign-up form on this website (see Beta sign-ups).
What stays on your device
Photos you take or import (the original of each one: a RAW or ProRAW DNG, a HEIF or a JPEG), the films you make, the edits you apply and your preferences are stored in the app's own storage on your iPhone or iPad. Deleting the app deletes this data unless you have exported or synced it.
When you export, the developed photo is saved to your Photos library, or handed to the share sheet — only when you ask it to be.
iCloud
If you are signed in to iCloud, Chobial syncs your films, a small set of preferences and, while Settings › Sync Photos is on, your photos and their edits between your devices using Apple's iCloud (the iCloud key-value store and the app's iCloud container). Photos are kept in Chobial's own space there, not in Photos or iCloud Drive. This data is stored in your iCloud account under Apple's terms; the developer has no access to it. You can turn photo sync off in the app's Settings › Sync Photos, film and settings sync in Settings › Sync Films & Settings, and all of it at any time in Settings → [your name] → iCloud. Some values deliberately stay on one device, such as viewfinder calibration.
Purchases
Purchases are handled entirely by Apple through the App Store. Chobial receives only what StoreKit reports to the app on your device — whether an unlock is active — and caches that on the device so a missing network never locks you out of your own photos. The developer does not receive your name, email or payment details. Apple may share aggregated, anonymous sales reports with developers.
Permissions the app asks for
| Permission | Why |
|---|---|
| Camera | To take photographs and to scan film QR codes. |
| Add to Photos | To save a developed photo when you export it. |
| Photo Library (read) | Only to read a single picture you choose — for example, a screenshot of someone's film code. |
| Microphone and Speech Recognition | Only after you tap the microphone in Describe Edits, to turn what you say into a request. See Describe Edits and the microphone. |
Chobial does not request your location, contacts or any tracking permission.
Describe Edits and the microphone
Describe Edits turns a request in your own words, like “warmer, darker sky”, into slider moves. The request is worked out on your device: by Apple Intelligence on iPhone and iPad, and by Gemini Nano on Android phones that have it. It isn't sent to the developer or anyone else.
Chobial uses the microphone only after you tap the microphone button in Describe Edits. It stops when you tap the button again or stop speaking. Your device's speech recognition turns what you say into words in the request field. Chobial asks for this to happen on the device. Some devices and languages can't do that. Then the speech service may process the audio on its servers, under its own privacy policy. On iPhone and iPad, that's Apple's service. On Android, it's the phone's speech service, which is usually Google's. Chobial doesn't keep the recording, and the developer never receives it. The words become part of the photo's Describe Edits conversation. It's kept with the photo, together with its edits.
Place names on collages
Chobial never asks for your location, but your iPhone may already have stored where a photo was taken in the photo itself. If you turn on the Place caption on a collage or contact sheet, Chobial reads that location from the first photo that has one and asks Apple's geocoding service (Core Location) for the name of the town or area. This sends those coordinates to Apple, which handles them under its own privacy policy; nothing is sent to the developer. It happens only when you turn the caption on, and you can edit or clear the name it fills in. If you'd rather not, leave Place off and type a place yourself, or nothing at all.
The Apple Watch app talks only to the Chobial app on your paired iPhone, over Apple's WatchConnectivity, to trigger the shutter and show a small live view of the camera, your films and recent thumbnails.
Sharing films
When you share a film as a QR code or a .chobial file, it is sent only where you send it — Messages, Mail, AirDrop, a post. A film contains its name and settings, and a .cube LUT if it was built on one; it contains no photos and no personal data. If you submit a film for consideration, it goes by email to [email protected], and your email address is used only to reply and, with your permission, to credit you.
Beta sign-ups
If you sign up for the Android beta on this website, we keep your email address, the language of the page and the date you signed up. They're stored in a database at Cloudflare, which hosts this website. The developer uses your email only to send you the beta invite, to ask for feedback on the beta and to share updates about Chobial. They aren't shared with anyone else. To have them deleted, or to stop these emails, write to [email protected].
The form is protected by Cloudflare Turnstile, which checks that a person is sending it. The beta itself comes through Google Play (see below).
Chobial for Android
Everything above applies to the Android app too, unless this section says otherwise. Sharing films and submitting a film by email work the same way.
The Android app sends nothing to the developer. It has no analytics, no crash reporter, no account and no Chobial server. Your photos, films, edits and settings stay in the app's own storage on your phone or tablet. There is no iCloud, and the app doesn't sync between devices. Android may back up the app's data to your own Google Drive, under Google's terms. The developer can't see that backup, and you can turn it off in Android's settings.
Purchases go through Google Play Billing, under Google's privacy policy. The app only checks, on your device, whether Pro is active. The developer does not receive your name, email or payment details.
Masks and film QR code scanning use ML Kit, Google's machine-learning library. ML Kit runs on the phone. Chobial uses it to find the subject, a person or a face in a photo, and to read QR codes. Your photos and camera images are not sent to Google or anyone else. But ML Kit itself sends Google some data about how it works, to help Google improve it. Google lists this data on its ML Kit data disclosure page. It sends your device's maker, model and Android version, and the app's name and version. It sends an ID for this install of the app, which Google says is not meant to identify a person or a device. It also sends how long each task took, and settings such as the image size and format. For QR scanning, it can also send an ID for each scan and the zoom changes. Google says it encrypts this data on the way (HTTPS) and doesn't give it to other companies. Google handles it under its own privacy policy, and the developer doesn't receive it.
The Place caption on a collage works as on iPhone. Chobial looks up a place name only when you turn the caption on. It reads the location already stored in the first photo that has one, and asks Android's geocoding service for the town or area name. On most phones, Google provides this service. The request sends those coordinates to Google or the phone's maker. Nothing goes to the developer.
| Permission | Why |
|---|---|
| Camera | To take photos and to scan film QR codes. |
| Notifications | Only to show progress while photos are being saved, for example when you save many photos or full-size RAW photos. |
| Microphone | Only after you tap the microphone in Describe Edits, to turn what you say into a request. See Describe Edits and the microphone. |
Chobial asks for no permission to read your photos or files. When you import, Android's own picker opens, and Chobial gets only what you pick. Saving to the gallery needs no permission. The app asks for no location, contacts or tracking permissions.
Android beta on Google Play
The Android beta is a Google Play closed test. To join, first join the Google Group [email protected]. Then opt in at play.google.com/apps/testing/app.chobial, and install Chobial from Google Play.
The developer, Abu Ashraf Masnun, makes several apps, and all of his Android app betas share this group. Google runs the group and handles membership under its own privacy policy. As the group's owner, the developer can see members' email addresses. Members can't see each other and can't post to the group.
By joining, you agree that we may email you at that address. We'll write to ask for feedback on the beta and to share news about Chobial. To stop these emails, write to [email protected]. To leave the beta, leave the Google Group, or opt out on the same Google Play testing page.
Children
Chobial is not directed at children and collects no data from anyone, including children.
Changes
If this policy changes, the new version will be posted on this page with a new effective date. If Chobial ever begins collecting data, that will be stated here and in the App Store privacy label and Google Play's Data safety section before it happens.
Contact
Questions about privacy: [email protected].