Effective date: July 25, 2026

Trace ("Trace", "we", "us") is a face-search utility operated by Trace Labs. This policy explains what data the Trace app handles, where it goes, and the choices you have. The short version: no account or personal details are required, we build no identity profiles, and we never sell data.

1. What we collect and why

Photos you search. When you run a search, the photo you selected is transmitted to our face-search provider, FaceCheck.ID, solely to perform that lookup. We do not run our own image servers and we do not use your photos for advertising, training, or any purpose other than returning your search results. FaceCheck.ID processes the image under its own privacy policy (linked below).

Case files (search history). Each completed search is saved as a "case file" so you can revisit it: a small thumbnail of the query image, the result links, match scores, and result preview thumbnails. Case files are stored on your device and in our cloud database (Google Firebase Firestore), linked only to your anonymous ID. You can delete any case file by swiping it away, or erase everything at once (see Section 5).

Anonymous ID. On first launch the app creates an anonymous account (Firebase Anonymous Authentication). This is a random identifier — we never ask for and never receive your name, email address, phone number, or contacts.

Credits and invites. Your credit balance, invite code, and the number of friends who joined with your code are stored against your anonymous ID so your access works across sessions.

Purchases. Subscriptions are processed by Apple and managed through RevenueCat using your anonymous ID and Apple's purchase receipt. We never see or store your payment card details.

2. What we do not collect

3. Third-party services

Service Purpose Their policy
FaceCheck.ID Performs the face search on the photo you submit https://facecheck.id/privacy
Google Firebase (Auth, Firestore) Anonymous sign-in, storage of case files and credits https://firebase.google.com/support/privacy
RevenueCat Subscription management https://www.revenuecat.com/privacy
Apple Payment processing for subscriptions https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/

We share data with these processors only to provide the app's functionality. We do not sell or rent data to anyone.

4. Your responsibility when searching

Trace is built for verification and for protecting your own image — for example checking where your own photos appear online, or confirming that a profile you are talking to is genuine. Only search photos you have the right to use: your own image, or another person's image with their consent. You are responsible for using Trace in compliance with the laws that apply to you (including GDPR, KVKK, and applicable biometric-privacy laws).

5. Data retention and deletion