The short version
Stop Motion Movie Maker does not collect, store or share any personal information. There is no account to create, no analytics, no advertising, no tracking, and we run no servers. The pictures you take, the sounds you record and the movies you make stay on your iPhone or iPad. Copies leave your device only when you save a movie to Photos, share it yourself, show it on a TV, or as part of an iCloud or computer backup you have turned on, which is covered by Apple's privacy policy. The only other party involved is Apple, which also handles App Store purchases.
1. The camera and the microphone
- Camera: The camera takes the pictures for your movie. iOS asks for permission the first time. Each picture you snap is kept in the app's private storage on your device as a frame of your movie. The live camera picture is shown on your screen (and on a TV, if you connect one) and is not recorded or kept except for the pictures you take.
- Microphone: The microphone is used only when you record a voice-over while decorating a movie. iOS asks for permission the first time. The recording is kept with that movie on your device.
2. Auto Snap and the hand check
When you turn on Auto Snap, the app looks at a tiny, low-resolution brightness map of the camera picture about ten times a second to see when things have stopped moving. Before it takes a picture, Apple's Vision framework checks, on your device, that no hand is still in the picture. None of this is saved, and nothing is sent to us, to Apple or to anyone else. The app does not identify people or recognize faces.
3. Photos and videos you bring in
Adding photos as frames, or a video in Studio mode, uses Apple's system photo picker. The picker runs outside the app, so the app only ever receives the photos or video you select. It cannot browse, read or scan the rest of your photo library, and it never asks for permission to do so. What you pick is copied into the movie on your device.
4. Songs
- From Files: Adding a song from Files uses Apple's system file picker, so the app receives only the files you choose.
- From the Music app: Adding songs from the Music app asks for permission to your media library, the first time you use it. The app uses it only to show your songs and copy the one you pick. It does not read your listening history or send anything anywhere.
- From other apps: A song you send to the app with the Share button or AirDrop is received only because you sent it.
Songs you add are copied into the app's private storage (My Songs), and a song used in a movie is copied into that movie.
5. What is stored on your device
Everything the app stores stays on your iPhone or iPad, in the app's private storage:
- Movies: each movie's pictures, imported photos and videos, voice-overs, songs, and your edits (words, stickers, sounds, titles, credits and the names you type into them).
- My Songs: the songs you have added, with their names.
- Settings: your choices in Grown-up Settings, such as Studio mode, Museum mode, Auto Snap and which buttons do what.
Nothing in it is transmitted anywhere. You can throw away a movie from My Movies at any time, and deleting the app deletes all of its data. Movies you have saved to Photos are separate and stay there until you delete them in Photos.
Backups: If you use iCloud Backup or back up your device to a computer, the app's data may be included in that backup like any other app's data. Backups are controlled by you in your device settings and are covered by Apple's privacy policy, not ours.
6. Saving, sharing and the big screen
- Save to Photos: When a movie is saved, iOS asks for permission to add to your photo library. This add-only permission lets the app place the movie in Photos; it does not let the app see or read anything already there.
- Share: Sharing uses the standard iOS share sheet. The movie, GIF, pictures or project backup goes only to the app, place or person you choose, and their privacy practices apply from that point.
- TV or monitor: If you connect a TV or monitor, or use AirPlay, the app shows the stage on it. The picture goes only to that screen, through your adapter or Apple's AirPlay.
7. Purchases (Stop Motion Pro)
Stop Motion Pro is sold through Apple's App Store using Apple's StoreKit framework. Apple handles the entire transaction. We never receive your name, email address, payment details or Apple Account information. The app checks whether Pro is unlocked using Apple's purchase records, and Restore Purchase works the same way. We do not use any third-party purchase or subscription service.
Apple's handling of your purchase is covered by Apple's privacy policy.
8. Permissions the app may ask for
| Permission | When | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Camera | The first time you make a movie | To take the pictures for your movie |
| Microphone | Only if you record a voice-over | To record your voice for the movie |
| Add to Photos | Only when you save a movie | To place the finished movie in your photo library |
| Media & Apple Music | Only if you add a song from the Music app | To list your songs and copy the one you pick |
The app never requests access to read your photo library, your location, contacts or notifications, and never asks to track you.
9. Information we do not collect
We do not collect any personal information, usage data or device identifiers. The app contains no analytics, no advertising, no crash-reporting service, no third-party code and no tracking of any kind. The app itself makes no network connections; the only network activity comes from Apple's StoreKit framework handling purchases, from Apple's AirPlay when you choose to use it, and from links (such as this policy) that open in Safari.
Apple may share anonymised crash logs and usage statistics with developers, but only if you have chosen to share analytics with app developers in your device's Settings. That data is collected by Apple under Apple's privacy policy.
10. Children's privacy
Stop Motion Movie Maker is made for children to use, with a grown-up nearby. Because the app collects no personal information from anyone, it collects none from children: there are no accounts, no chat, no ads and no tracking, and nothing a child makes leaves the device unless a grown-up saves or shares it. This is consistent with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and similar laws elsewhere.
On kid screens, features that cost money show an “ask a grown-up” sheet behind a grown-up math question, and every purchase needs the Apple Account's own confirmation or Ask to Buy approval.
11. Your rights
Privacy laws such as the GDPR, the UK GDPR and the California Consumer Privacy Act give you rights over personal data that companies hold about you. We hold none: we have no data about you or your child to access, correct, export, delete, sell or share. Everything the app stores is on your device and under your control.
12. Security
Your movies live inside the app's private storage on your device, protected by your device's own security: your passcode, Face ID or Touch ID, and iOS encryption. We run no servers and hold no copy of your data. The only copies outside your device are the backups, saved movies and shares you control.
13. Changes to this policy
If the app ever changes in a way that affects your privacy, we will update this page and the effective date at the top.
Questions
Email support@calastudios.app. Stop Motion Movie Maker is made by CaLa Studios LLC.