Privacy Policy

Effective October 5, 2026

ShadeScan is made by ThistleDew. This policy explains what the app uses and what happens to it. The short version: your scans stay on your device, and we don't collect them.

No account, no tracking

ShadeScan has no sign-in and no user accounts. It contains no advertising, no analytics, and no third-party tracking tools. We do not sell or share personal information.

Camera

The camera is used live, on your device, so you can see the sky while scanning for obstructions. Camera images are not uploaded or sent anywhere.

Location

Your location is used while the app is open to work out where the sun travels in the sky at the spot you are scanning. Coordinates are saved with each spot on your device. If you choose to request an online production estimate (the app asks the first time, and you can change that choice in the app), that request goes to ThistleDew's server at shadescan.thistledew.app, which forwards the spot's coordinates, rounded to about 100 m, and the panel settings, including a shading-loss percentage calculated from your scan, to the PVWatts service run by the National Laboratory of the Rockies (formerly NREL). Only that percentage leaves the device, not the scan itself. Results are cached on that server for up to 24 hours by coordinates rounded to about 100 m, and the request is not linked to an account because there are no accounts. Otherwise, location never leaves your device.

Our server and network provider

When the app requests an online estimate, our server receives your IP address, as any website does. The server doesn't store IP addresses, coordinates or settings in its logs; it logs only basic request information such as the path, status and timing. IP addresses are held briefly in memory, for about 10 minutes after your last request, only to limit abuse. Requests forwarded to PVWatts don't include your IP address. Results are cached for up to 24 hours. Cloudflare is our network provider: it carries all traffic to the server and terminates the secure connection, so it can see the full request, including the rounded coordinates and settings, and it processes that data under the Cloudflare Privacy Policy.

Maps

The site list shows your saved spots on an Apple map. Showing the map may load map tiles from Apple, which is covered by Apple's privacy policy. ShadeScan itself does not send your sites anywhere.

Motion sensors

The compass, gyroscope and accelerometer are used on your device to know which way the phone is pointing during a scan. Motion data is not stored or sent anywhere.

Your saved sites

Sites, spots and scan results are stored only on your device, apart from the shading-loss percentage sent with an online estimate, described above. Reports you export, such as PDFs, are shared only where you choose to send them. Deleting a site in the app, or deleting the app, removes that data.

Children

ShadeScan is not directed at children and does not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.

Changes

Effective October 5, 2026, replacing the October 4, 2026 version. This version explains that the panel settings sent with an online estimate include a shading-loss percentage calculated from your scan (only that percentage leaves the device, not the scan); that the server keeps IP addresses, coordinates and settings out of its logs, holds an IP address in memory for about 10 minutes after the last request only to limit abuse, and does not send it to PVWatts; that Cloudflare terminates the secure connection and can see the full request, including the rounded coordinates and settings; and that ShadeScan does not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If this policy changes, the updated version will be posted on this page with a new effective date.

Contact

Questions about privacy: privacy@thistledew.app