Privacy Policy Supplement: Companion Apps
Ethoseen LLC (“Ethoseen,” “we,” “us”), an Oregon limited liability company, publishes Sightline, including the Sightline Companion apps for iPhone and Apple Watch. This supplement adds the App Store and TestFlight detail that applies to the Companion apps. It is part of the Privacy Policy, which applies to the Companion apps in full; nothing here narrows it.
The Companion apps are distributed through the personal Apple Developer account of Christopher Ives, Ethoseen’s founder, so the App Store seller name reads “Christopher Ives” rather than “Ethoseen LLC.” The TestFlight data described in Section 8 is delivered by Apple to that developer account and is handled by Ethoseen under the Privacy Policy and this supplement.
1. Summary
The Sightline Companion apps are scoring devices used during in-person behavioral observations. In tethered operation, tapping a scoring button sends a timestamped event over an encrypted Bluetooth Low Energy connection to the paired computer as the session runs. In untethered operation, an observation is first checked out from the computer; the phone records it locally, then transfers it to the computer when the paired devices reconnect.
The Companion apps have no server component and no user accounts, and they do not make internet requests. The apps transmit observation data only to the paired computer; they do not transmit it to Ethoseen or to any third party. During beta distribution, Apple’s TestFlight service can deliver crash diagnostics and tester-submitted feedback to the developer account, as described in Section 8.
2. Information stored on the phone
The app stores the following on the iPhone:
- Display and haptic preferences (button layout, haptic intensity), in iOS UserDefaults.
- Pairing metadata for the computer(s) you have connected: the computer’s Bluetooth identifier and a device ID used to recognize a previously paired computer.
- Observations checked out for untethered use, including the session configuration, the journal of scoring events, and any voice clips recorded during the observation.
The app does not transmit preferences or pairing metadata. Checked-out observation data is stored in a location the app marks as excluded from device backups; other app data, such as preferences, may be included in the device backups you configure in iOS.
In tethered operation, scoring events are sent directly to the computer and no untethered observation journal is created on the phone. In untethered operation, the checked-out observation remains on the phone until the devices reconnect, which may be a period of days.
Untethered files are encrypted at rest while the phone is powered off or before its first unlock after a restart. This protection does not re-apply each time the screen locks: after the first unlock, the app can continue appending scoring events while the phone is locked.
3. Information the phone sends to the computer
During a tethered observation, the phone sends the following to the paired computer as the session runs:
- Timestamped scoring events (for example, “button 2 tapped at 10:14:23.420”).
- Voice note audio clips, if the voice note feature is used.
- Pairing handshake information (device name, protocol version).
In untethered operation, the phone stores the same categories of data locally and sends the completed journal and voice clips after the devices reconnect.
This transfer uses the encrypted local Bluetooth link between the paired phone and computer; no internet service is involved. For untethered observations, the phone deletes its local copy after the computer has stored the observation and confirmed receipt.
4. Information the computer sends to the phone
The computer sends the phone the labels configured for the session: behavior names, ABC tag labels, and activity labels. Label text is written by the practitioner. If a label contains a student’s name, that text crosses the Bluetooth link and is displayed on the phone. Ethoseen recommends keeping student names out of labels.
For a tethered session, the phone holds these labels in memory and clears them when the session ends. For an untethered observation, the checked-out configuration and its labels persist on the phone until the computer confirms receipt of the completed observation. The apps do not transmit labels to Ethoseen or any third party.
5. The Apple Watch app
The Apple Watch app is an extension of the iPhone app. The phone sends the watch the current session’s labels and state so the watch can mirror the scoring controls. The watch sends scoring taps, and any voice clips recorded on the watch, to the phone over Apple’s encrypted watch-to-iPhone link. The watch deletes its local copy of a voice clip after the phone confirms the transfer. The watch app does not make internet requests.
6. Voice notes
The voice note feature is optional. During a tethered observation, audio is streamed to the paired computer over Bluetooth. After the computer completes a local transcription, the temporary audio file on the computer is deleted.
During an untethered observation, voice clips remain on the phone with the journal until the devices reconnect and the computer confirms receipt. The computer transcribes the audio during ingest and deletes it when transcription and ingest complete. If transcription or ingest does not complete, the audio is retained on the computer for recovery.
Microphone access is requested the first time the voice note feature is used on a device, and can be denied or revoked in iOS Settings at any time. Transcription is performed locally on the paired computer; no cloud speech service is used.
7. Information the Companion apps do not collect
The Companion apps transmit observation data only to the paired computer. They do not collect, and do not transmit to Ethoseen or any third party:
- Observation data, from tethered or untethered sessions.
- Account information (the apps have no accounts).
- Analytics or usage telemetry.
- Advertising identifiers or tracking data.
- Location data.
- Contacts, photos, calendar, or health data.
The apps contain no crash-reporting SDK. During beta distribution, Apple can deliver TestFlight diagnostics and tester-submitted feedback as described in Section 8.
8. The TestFlight beta
During beta distribution through Apple’s TestFlight service, Apple may deliver the following to the developer account:
- Crash diagnostics, along with device and build metadata.
- Tester-submitted feedback, including any text and screenshots the tester chooses to include. A screenshot or feedback text can include visible app content, such as session labels.
TestFlight is operated by Apple and is separate from the observation workflow described in this supplement. Apple’s handling of TestFlight data is described in the terms Apple presents when you join the beta.
9. Students and children
The Companion apps are tools for adult practitioners (school psychologists, BCBAs, behavior analysts). They are not marketed to or intended for use by children, and students being observed do not interact with the apps. The content the apps display (behavior and tag labels, and any voice notes) is authored by the practitioner.
Identifying text can cross the local Bluetooth link if a practitioner places a name in a label, as described in Section 4. The handling of student observation data on the paired computer is described in the Privacy Policy.
10. Third-party software and services
The Companion apps include no third-party analytics, advertising, or crash-reporting SDKs, and they have no vendor backend. They are built on Apple’s system frameworks, including Core Bluetooth, AVFoundation, SwiftUI, and Watch Connectivity. As required by Apple, the apps declare their use of UserDefaults (reason CA92.1, to store preferences) and file-timestamp APIs (reason C617.1, to manage voice-note audio files) in their privacy manifest. During beta distribution, Apple’s TestFlight service operates as described in Section 8.
11. Retention, deletion, and your rights
Ethoseen holds no observation data from the Companion observation workflow, so there is nothing for Ethoseen to produce, correct, or delete.
Retention on the phone: a tethered session leaves no observation journal on the phone; a checked-out observation is deleted after the computer stores it and confirms receipt; preferences and pairing metadata persist until the app is deleted. To remove all Companion state from a device, delete the app: iOS removes its preferences and locally held files, including any checked-out observation that has not yet transferred to your computer. Complete an untethered observation’s transfer before deleting the app if you want to keep it.
For the personal information Ethoseen does hold (license, billing, and correspondence records), the access, correction, and deletion mechanisms in Section 8 of the Privacy Policy apply, along with its notices for individuals in the EU, UK, and California.
12. Changes to this supplement
We may update this supplement. The version number and effective date appear at the top of this document, and material changes are noted in the app’s TestFlight or App Store release notes. The current version is always at sightlinebehavior.com/privacy/companion.
13. Contact
Ethoseen LLC 1538 E 25th Avenue Eugene, OR 97403 United States