CoordScanner · Last updated September 13, 2026
CoordScanner is a camera-based tool for reading GPS coordinates displayed on another screen and, optionally, sharing that location live with people you choose. This page explains what data the app handles and why.
The app uses your device's camera to run on-device text recognition (Apple's Vision framework) so it can find GPS coordinates in whatever the camera is pointed at. Camera frames are processed entirely on your device and are never stored, saved, or transmitted anywhere — only the coordinate numbers extracted from the text are used by the app.
The app asks for your device's location (while the app is in use) solely to sanity-check a freshly scanned coordinate: if it's implausibly far from where you actually are, the app flags it before using it. This location reading is used only on your device and is never transmitted or stored.
If you choose to share a "live link," the scanned coordinate is sent to a Firebase Realtime Database (a cloud database service operated by Google) under a randomly generated session code. Anyone with that link can open it in a web browser to view the coordinate on a map.
If a person you shared the link with chooses to enter a callsign and allow their browser to share their location, that callsign and location are also sent to the same Firebase session so it can be shown back to you on the scanning device's map. This is entirely opt-in on their end — nothing is shared unless they submit a callsign and grant location permission.
Data associated with a session (coordinates, callsigns, viewer locations, and timestamps) is retained in the database until it is manually deleted. We do not currently offer in-app deletion of past sessions; contact us using the information below if you'd like session data removed.
Location and session data described above is processed by Firebase (Google), which acts as our data processor for this feature. See Google's Privacy Policy for how Google handles data on infrastructure it operates.
CoordScanner is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect data from children under 13.
Questions about this policy, or requests to delete session data, can be sent to cjamesirwin@gmail.com.