App Privacy Policy

Last updated: 9 September 2026

This Privacy Policy explains what information the PhMuseum Awards mobile apps collect, why we collect it, who we share it with, and what rights you have over it.

It applies to the PhMuseum Awards app for iPhone and iPad, listed on the App Store as Photo Awards Guide by PhMuseum, and to the PhMuseum Awards app for Android, listed on Google Play as Photo Awards Guide by PhMuseum with the package name com.phmuseum.awards. We refer to both together as "the App".

This policy covers the App only. Our website at phmuseum.com is governed by a separate privacy policy, and that policy applies whenever the App opens a link into the website in your browser.

Who we are

The App is provided by PHmuseum Srl, Via Paolo Fabbri 10/2a, 40138 Bologna (BO), Italy. We are the data controller for the information described here.

You can reach us about anything in this policy at support@phmuseum.com.

The short version

  • The App has no accounts, no sign-in, no purchases and no advertising.
  • You never give us your name, email address or any other contact details through the App.
  • We collect anonymous usage statistics and crash reports so we can see which awards people look at and fix the things that break.
  • Your saved deadline reminders stay on your device. We never see them.
  • We do not sell your data, and we do not track you across other companies' apps or websites.

What the App collects

Usage and analytics data

The App uses Google Analytics for Firebase to record how the App is used. This includes:

  • screens you open, such as the awards guide, an award's detail page, or the gallery;
  • actions you take, such as opening an award, adding or removing a deadline reminder, tapping an apply link, sharing an award, or refreshing the list;
  • the identifier of the award or link involved in those actions;
  • errors, such as a failure to load the list of awards;
  • technical information about your device, including its model, operating system version, language, and the version of the App you are running;
  • an app instance identifier generated by Firebase, which is specific to your installation of the App and is reset if you delete and reinstall it;
  • your approximate location at country or region level, derived from your IP address.

We use this to understand which awards are useful, which parts of the App go unused, and where the App fails. We do not attempt to identify you from it, and we do not combine it with any other source of information about you.

Crash and diagnostic data

The App uses Firebase Crashlytics to report crashes and errors. A crash report includes the state of the App when it failed, a stack trace, your device model and operating system version, and diagnostic values such as whether you have notifications switched on. It also includes a Crashlytics installation identifier so that repeated crashes on the same device can be grouped together.

Push notification data

If you allow notifications, the App uses Firebase Cloud Messaging to receive announcements from us about new open calls and PhMuseum grants. Firebase issues a registration token for your installation of the App, and the App subscribes that token to two topics, awards and phmuseum-grants. The token identifies a device, not a person. We do not hold a list of who receives which message, and we cannot use it to contact you individually.

Deadline reminders work differently. They are scheduled and delivered entirely on your device and are never sent through our servers or Google's.

Requests to our servers

The App downloads award listings and images from phmuseum.com. Like any web server, ours records the request, including your IP address, the time, and what was requested. We use these logs to keep the service running and secure.

What stays on your device

The following never leaves your device and is not visible to us:

  • the deadline reminders you have set, and their scheduled times;
  • cached copies of award listings, detail pages and images, so the App works offline and loads quickly;
  • App preferences, such as whether you have seen the welcome screen.

All of it is removed when you delete the App.

What the App does not collect

The App does not ask for or collect your name, email address, phone number, postal address, photographs, contacts, calendar, precise location, or payment details. It contains no advertising and no advertising or attribution SDKs. It does not track you across other companies' apps or websites, and on iOS it declares no tracking in its App Store privacy manifest.

Who we share data with

We share data only with the service providers that make the App work:

We may also disclose information if we are legally required to do so, in response to a valid request from a public authority, or where necessary to protect our rights, investigate misuse of the App, or protect the safety of users or the public.

If PHmuseum Srl is involved in a merger, acquisition or sale of assets, information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will say so before it happens.

We do not sell your personal data, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioural advertising.

International transfers

Our service providers process data in the European Union and in the United States. Where data leaves the European Economic Area, the transfer is covered by the European Commission's standard contractual clauses and, in Google's case, by its certification under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework.

Legal basis for processing

Under the General Data Protection Regulation, we rely on:

  • Legitimate interests for analytics, crash reporting and server logs. Our interest is in maintaining, securing and improving the App. The data is limited, is not used to identify or profile anyone, and is not used for advertising.
  • Consent for push notifications, which you give through your device's notification permission prompt and can withdraw at any time in your device settings.
  • Legal obligation where we are required to retain or disclose information by law.

How long we keep it

We keep information only as long as we need it for the purposes above.

  • Analytics data is retained according to the retention period set on our Google Analytics property, after which Google deletes the underlying event records. Aggregate reports may be kept for longer, as they no longer identify a device.
  • Crash reports are retained by Firebase Crashlytics for 90 days.
  • Push notification tokens are retained while the App is installed and are invalidated when you delete it or turn off notifications.
  • Server logs are kept for a short period for security and troubleshooting.

Your choices

  • Notifications. Turn them on or off at any time in Settings on iOS or in the system App info screen on Android. Turning them off stops both our announcements and your deadline reminders.
  • Reminders. Remove any reminder from within the App.
  • Everything else. Deleting the App removes all locally stored data, stops all future analytics and crash reporting, and invalidates your notification token.
  • Device-level controls. iOS offers Limit Ad Tracking and app privacy controls, and Android offers a resettable advertising ID and an opt-out of ad personalisation. The App uses neither of these identifiers, but the controls apply to your device generally.

Your rights

If you are in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, you have the right to access the personal data we hold about you, to have it corrected or erased, to restrict or object to how we process it, to receive it in a portable format, and to withdraw consent at any time without affecting processing that has already taken place.

Because the App has no accounts and we hold no name or email address, we usually cannot connect a request to a specific device. If you want us to try, write to support@phmuseum.com and we will explain what information would be needed. Deleting the App is the fastest and most complete way to stop all collection.

You also have the right to complain to a supervisory authority. In Italy this is the Garante per la protezione dei dati personali, at garanteprivacy.it. In the United Kingdom it is the Information Commissioner's Office, at ico.org.uk.

California privacy rights

In the twelve months before the date of this policy, the App has collected the following categories of personal information under the California Consumer Privacy Act: internet or other electronic network activity information, such as screens viewed and actions taken in the App; and device identifiers, being the Firebase app instance identifier, the Crashlytics installation identifier, the push notification token and your IP address.

We collect it for the business purposes described above. We have not sold or shared personal information, and we do not do so. We do not knowingly collect or sell the personal information of anyone under 16.

California residents have the right to know what we collect, to request deletion, to correct inaccurate information, and not to be treated differently for exercising those rights. Write to support@phmuseum.com to make a request. As above, the absence of accounts limits what we can link to an individual, and deleting the App achieves deletion immediately.

Children

The App is intended for photographers and other adults, and is not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 13, or under the age of digital consent in their country, which is 16 in some parts of the European Union. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact support@phmuseum.com and we will delete it.

Links to other sites

The App links out to phmuseum.com and to third-party award and competition websites. Once you follow a link you are on that site and this policy no longer applies. We do not control those sites and are not responsible for their content or their privacy practices. We suggest reading the privacy policy of any site you visit.

Security

We use HTTPS for all connections between the App and our servers and those of our service providers. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so while we take reasonable measures to protect information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we will post the new version on this page and change the date at the top. Where the change is significant, we will give notice in the App before it takes effect. Please check back occasionally.

Contact us

Questions about this policy or about your data:

  • Email: support@phmuseum.com
  • Post: PHmuseum Srl, Via Paolo Fabbri 10/2a, 40138 Bologna (BO), Italy