Karasu Software — Privacy Policies
Privacy policies for each Karasu Software app.
Prosthetic Brain · Edge of the Wilds
Prosthetic Brain
Last updated: June 2026
This policy explains what data Prosthetic Brain ("the app") collects, how it's used, and who it's shared with. The app is built around storing your information on your own device — there is no Karasu Software account, login, or user database. Most data never leaves your phone except where described below.
Data stored on your device
The app stores the following locally, in app-private storage, for the app's core features to work:
| Data | Why |
|---|---|
| Destinations, departure alarms, simple/location alarms | Core alarm/departure-tracking functionality |
| Medication / dose reminders, dose history, refill counts | Medication reminder and refill-tracking features |
| Cycle-tracking entries (if enabled) | Optional menstrual cycle tracker feature |
| Important locations, contact names/photos (if added) | Important-location and sharing features you choose to set up |
| Checklists | Checklist feature, optionally synced if shared with another device (see below) |
| Home address / saved locations | Travel-time calculation for departure alarms |
| Diagnostic/telemetry log (on-device only) | Used to help diagnose bugs if you choose to submit feedback |
| Garden hardiness zone and planting-reminder dates | Optional garden-zone detection feature — computed entirely on-device from a one-time GPS reading against a bundled lookup table; never sent to Karasu Software or any other service |
If you use Android's built-in backup (Auto Backup / device transfer), most of this data is included in that backup. That backup is stored in your own Google account, managed by Google — Karasu Software does not host, receive, or have access to it. Encrypted credentials (such as API keys) are excluded from backup and re-created on first run.
Data sent to other services
The app talks to a small number of outside services, only when the relevant feature is used:
| Service | What's sent | When |
|---|---|---|
| Google Maps Geocoding / Directions API | An address or coordinates you provide, for the manual "geocode" button and for calculating travel time to destinations | When you manually geocode an address, or when a departure alarm needs travel-time data |
| LocationIQ | Address search text (restricted to US/Canada results) | Address autocomplete and calendar-import destination lookup |
| National Library of Medicine (RxNorm/RxTerms) and openFDA | A medication name you enter | Medication autocomplete, drug-label, recall, and interaction lookups |
| ip-api.com | Your device's IP address (used to estimate a coarse location) | Fallback origin lookup if GPS/Wi-Fi location isn't available |
| Google AdMob | Standard mobile-ad identifiers, subject to your consent choice | Only on the free, ad-supported tier — never for paid subscribers. Ad personalization is gated behind Google's consent prompt (UMP), shown before any ad request is made |
| Google Play Billing | Purchase/subscription status | If you subscribe to a paid tier |
| Karasu Software's Azure storage | Shared checklist data and important-location data, end-to-end encrypted before upload; optional crash/bug feedback reports (description, optional screenshot, diagnostic log), encrypted before upload | Only if you share a checklist with someone else, or choose to submit feedback from within the app: each individual dataset can be added individually to provide context for specific feedback. |
Feedback submissions and shared-checklist data are encrypted on your device before upload — Karasu Software's storage holds ciphertext, decryptable only by the intended recipient (for shared checklists) or by the bug-tracking process (for feedback reports). Feedback reports are retained only as long as needed to investigate the issue, then deleted.
Permissions
| Permission | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Location (fine/coarse/background) | Departure-alarm travel monitoring, optional geofence-based location alarms, and optional one-time garden hardiness-zone detection (computed on-device, no location data leaves your phone) |
| Calendar | Optional calendar import, to create departure alarms from your events |
| Contacts | Optional — attaching a contact to an important location or shared checklist |
| Notifications, exact alarms, full-screen intent, vibrate | Showing alarms and reminders reliably, including over the lock screen |
| Foreground service | Keeping departure monitoring and geofencing running while the screen is off |
| Boot-completed | Restoring your scheduled alarms after the device restarts |
| Display over other apps | Full-screen alarm alerts and optional floating checklist/timer overlays |
None of these permissions are used to collect data beyond what's needed for the feature they're tied to, and none are shared with advertisers.
Children's privacy
Prosthetic Brain is not directed at children and is not knowingly used to collect personal information from children under 13.
Your choices
You can delete any data you've entered directly within the app (medications, alarms, locations, checklists, etc.), export your dose history, or uninstall the app to remove all locally stored data. Shared-checklist data tied to your device can be removed by leaving the shared checklist from within the app.
Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, the "last updated" date above will change accordingly. Continued use of the app after an update means you accept the revised policy.
Contact
Questions about this policy or your data can be sent via the in-app "Provide Feedback" option, or by email to support@karasusoftware.com.
Edge of the Wilds
Effective date: August 6, 2026
This policy explains what data Edge of the Wilds ("the app") collects, how it's used, and who it's shared with. It applies to the version of the app distributed on Google Play.
Background location use, in plain terms
Edge of the Wilds is a background cellular-coverage monitor: it periodically checks your signal on a schedule you set — including while the app is closed or not in use — and can log your GPS location at the time of each check. This is core to what the app does. It's how the app can show you a map of where you have (and don't have) coverage, warn you when you've gone too long without service, and alert you to nearby wildfires. Location is not collected for advertising, profiling, or any purpose unrelated to these features.
You can disable location logging on failed checks (Settings → "Also log location on failed checks"), and you can stop background monitoring entirely at any time from the app's Status screen. Denying location permission still lets the app monitor your cellular signal — it just won't log GPS points or offer map/wildfire features.
Information the app collects
Cellular / signal data
The app reads your device's current network type (e.g., LTE, 5G) and signal strength (bars) using Android's telephony APIs, to compare against the coverage target you configure. This is processed entirely on your device and stored only in the app's local database — it is never transmitted to us or anyone else.
Location data
When a background check runs (or when you tap "Check now"), the app may request a GPS fix via Android's location services (Google Play Services). By default this happens on every check, pass or fail; you can restrict it to successful checks only in Settings. This location is:
- Stored locally in the app's on-device database, alongside the timestamp and signal reading, so it can be shown on your coverage map and history.
- Used to fetch and cache nearby offline map tiles (see below).
- Used to check for nearby wildfire incidents, if you've enabled wildfire alerts (see below).
We do not receive, log, or have access to your location. It stays on your device unless you export it yourself.
Offline map data
The app displays maps using tiles fetched from the USGS National Map service (a U.S. federal government, public-domain data source — basemap.nationalmap.gov). Requesting a tile for a given map area necessarily sends that area's map coordinates (as a tile row/column/zoom index, not raw GPS coordinates) to USGS's servers, the same way any online map works. Downloaded tiles are cached on your device for offline use. No account or device identifier is sent with these requests.
Wildfire alert data
If you enable wildfire alerts, the app periodically sends your current latitude, longitude, and your configured search radius to the National Interagency Fire Center's WFIGS service (a public, keyless map service operated on ArcGIS infrastructure) to check for confirmed wildfire incidents nearby, and — only when a nearby fire is actually found — to fetch that fire's perimeter outline for display on the map. These are direct, on-device requests; we do not see or store this traffic. This feature is off by default.
Speed test data
If you enable the optional speed test, the app downloads a small (~2 MB) file from Cloudflare (speed.cloudflare.com) to measure your connection's real throughput. This is an anonymous download with no personal or device-identifying information attached. This feature is off by default and only ever runs on checks where your coverage target is already met.
What we don't collect
The app has no user accounts, sign-in, or registration. We don't collect your name, email address, contacts, photos, or any other personal profile information. The app contains no advertising SDKs and no analytics or crash-reporting SDKs.
Third parties the app talks to
| Service | Purpose | Data sent | Operator |
|---|---|---|---|
| USGS National Map (USGSTopo) | Offline map tiles | Tile coordinates (area being viewed/cached) | U.S. Geological Survey |
| NIFC WFIGS | Wildfire proximity / perimeter alerts | Latitude, longitude, search radius | National Interagency Fire Center (via Esri ArcGIS) |
| Cloudflare | Optional speed test | Anonymous download request | Cloudflare, Inc. |
| Google Play Services (Location) | Obtaining your GPS fix | Handled per Google's own privacy policy | Google LLC |
None of these integrations receive data that identifies you personally, and we don't control or receive copies of what's sent to them. Each is used solely to provide the app feature it corresponds to.
Data storage, retention, and deletion
All coverage history, logged locations, and downloaded map tiles are stored locally on your device only, in the app's private storage. We do not operate a server that stores your data.
- You can permanently delete all locally stored history and map tiles at any time via Settings → Delete all data.
- Uninstalling the app removes all of its locally stored data as part of standard Android app removal.
- You can also limit how much map data is retained on-device via the "Maximum offline map storage" setting, which prunes the oldest cached map tiles once your configured cap is reached.
Data sharing and sale
We do not sell your data. We do not share your data with third parties for their own advertising or marketing purposes. Data only ever leaves your device as part of the direct, on-device functional requests described above (map tiles, wildfire lookups, speed test).
Permissions this app requests
| Permission | Why the app needs it |
|---|---|
| Phone state | Read signal strength and network type for coverage checks |
| Location (fine, coarse, background) | Log where checks happened; offline maps; wildfire alerts |
| Notifications | Alert you when your target is met, coverage is lost, or a wildfire is nearby |
| Full-screen intent | Show a ringing, lock-screen alarm for loss-of-coverage / wildfire alerts, if you choose that alert style |
| Boot completed, wake lock, exact alarms, vibrate | Keep background monitoring running reliably on schedule, including after a restart |
| Internet, network state | Fetch map tiles, run the optional speed test, query wildfire data, and detect Wi-Fi for download settings |
Children's privacy
Edge of the Wilds is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect information from children under 13.
Security
Your data is stored in your device's app-private storage, which Android isolates from other apps by default. All network requests the app makes use HTTPS.
Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, we'll update the effective date above and, for material changes, note it in the app's release notes.
Contact us
Questions about this policy or your data can be sent to jason.dempsey@gmail.com.