Last updated: August 2026

Overview

Laminar is a planetary imaging capture application developed by Mac Observatory (Andrew Burwell). We respect your privacy and have designed Laminar to collect the minimum data necessary to function.

The short version: Laminar does not create accounts, does not track you, does not use analytics, and does not sell or share your personal information. Your imaging data stays on your device.

Data We Access

Location Data

What: Your approximate geographic coordinates
Why: To fetch local weather and seeing forecasts for the Sky Quality, Seeing, and Transparency readouts
Where it goes: Sent to Open-Meteo (api.open-meteo.com) for weather data and to 7Timer (7timer.info) for the seeing and transparency forecast. Nowhere else.
Stored: Not stored permanently by Laminar; held in memory and refreshed as needed

Laminar requests a deliberately coarse location fix, accurate to roughly 100 meters. Once you grant location access, weather and seeing data refresh automatically: on a new location fix, after you move about a kilometer, and on a periodic timer while the app is running. Denying location access is the way to stop this; Laminar still runs, and the weather, Sky Quality, Seeing, and Transparency features are simply unavailable.

Open-Meteo's privacy policy: https://open-meteo.com/en/terms

Camera Access

What: Video feed from a connected astronomy camera, a USB Video Class (UVC) webcam, or an iPhone or iPad used as a Continuity Camera
Why: Core functionality, previewing and capturing planetary images
Where it goes: Nowhere. Video data is processed locally and saved to files you specify.
Stored: Only when you initiate a capture, saved as SER files to your chosen location

Laminar talks to astronomy cameras through vendor driver libraries from ZWO, Player One, QHY, ToupTek, and SVBONY, and to webcams and Continuity Camera devices through Apple's AVFoundation. No camera driver in Laminar is configured for or has been observed to perform any network activity, and no frame data is transmitted anywhere.

Files and Metadata

What: SER video files with optional metadata (observer name, telescope, timestamp)
Why: Industry-standard format for planetary imaging
Where it goes: Saved locally to a folder you choose
Stored: Entirely under your control

The observer name and telescope fields are optional and only included if you configure them in Settings.

Diagnostic Logs

What: Technical logs recording app operations, errors, and camera communications
Why: Troubleshooting issues
Where it goes: Stored locally inside Laminar's sandbox container, or a folder you choose
Stored: On your Mac, with automatic cleanup after seven days

Logs record your coordinates rounded to about a kilometer, along with the nearby place name, so a support session can tell which forecast the app requested. Logs are never sent automatically. If you contact support, we may ask you to share logs voluntarily to diagnose problems; exporting them writes a zip file to a location you pick.

Data We Do NOT Collect

  • Personal accounts or login information
  • Analytics or usage tracking
  • Advertising identifiers
  • Crash reports (unless you choose to share via Apple)
  • Any data from your captures or images
  • Contacts, calendars, or other personal data

Third-Party Services

Laminar uses two third-party data services, both free, keyless, and account-free:

Service Purpose Data Sent
Open-Meteo Weather data for the Sky Quality score Approximate location (latitude/longitude)
7Timer Astronomical seeing and transparency forecast Approximate location (latitude/longitude)

Both receive only coordinates so they can return a forecast for your area. We chose them specifically because they do not require user accounts or API keys and have a privacy-respecting approach. See Open-Meteo's terms at https://open-meteo.com/en/terms

Laminar also uses Apple system services: Core Location for the location fix, Apple's geocoder to turn coordinates into a nearby place name for display, and StoreKit for the App Store purchase. These are governed by Apple's privacy policy.

Laminar contains no analytics SDK, no crash reporting service, and no third-party advertising libraries.

Data Storage and Security

  • All capture data remains on your device
  • Laminar is sandboxed per macOS security requirements
  • We have no servers that receive or store your data
  • Location is queried live and not persisted to settings or data files

Children's Privacy

Laminar does not knowingly collect any personal information from children under 13. The app does not require accounts or collect personal data beyond the location functionality described above.

Your Choices

  • Location access: Can be granted or denied in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services
  • Diagnostic logs: Can be deleted from the log folder shown in Settings → Diagnostics
  • Metadata: Observer and telescope fields are optional

Changes to This Policy

If we make material changes to this privacy policy, we will update the "Last updated" date and, for significant changes, notify users through the app or our website.

Contact

For privacy questions or concerns:

Email: support@macobservatory.com
Website: macobservatory.com
Developer: Andrew Burwell, Mac Observatory

App Store Privacy Labels

For transparency, here is how we respond to Apple's App Store privacy questions:

Data Used to Track You: None
Data Linked to You: None
Data Not Linked to You: Coarse location (for weather and seeing forecasts only)

Mac Observatory · macobservatory.com