Legal
Privacy policy
Fathom is a local client for public AT Protocol records. It has no accounts, no sign-in and no server operated by its developer. This policy explains the small amount of data it touches and where that data goes.
1. Who is responsible
Fathom is developed and published by Ewan Croft, an individual developer based in the United Kingdom. For the limited processing described here, he is the data controller under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.
Contact: contact@ewancroft.uk. No Data Protection Officer has been appointed; Fathom is not required to appoint one.
Fathom is a client, not a service. The records it reads belong to your AT Protocol repository, and your Personal Data Server (PDS) operator is responsible for that repository. If you self-host your PDS, you are its controller.
2. What Fathom reads
Fathom is read-only. It never writes a record, never asks for a password
and never stores an access token, refresh token or app password. It reads
the public records of the handle or DID you enter: the teal.fm profile,
the now-playing status, and the plays in both the current
fm.teal.* and older fm.teal.alpha.* namespaces.
Requests go directly from your device to:
- public.api.bsky.app — to resolve a handle to a DID;
- plc.directory, or the relevant
did:webhost — to find that DID's PDS; - your PDS — to read the public profile, status and play records.
None of those requests pass through a Fathom-operated backend. The developer does not receive your handle, your DID, your listening history or your IP address from the app. Each service you contact necessarily sees your IP address and is governed by its own privacy policy.
3. What is stored on your device
- Preferences: the handle or DID you connected, and the selected period (7 days, 30 days or all time). Android keeps these in app-private SharedPreferences; iOS keeps them in UserDefaults.
- Saved history: one app-private JSON file containing the plays, profile, status and handle from the last read, so the next launch opens immediately.
The saved history is excluded from Android Auto Backup and device transfer, and from iCloud and computer backups on iOS. On iOS it is also written with complete file protection, so it is unreadable while the device is locked. It contains only public records.
Disconnecting in Profile deletes the saved history and forgets the handle. Uninstalling the app removes everything the app stored. No credentials exist to delete.
4. No analytics, advertising or tracking
Fathom contains no analytics SDK, advertising SDK, crash-reporting SDK, tracking pixel or fingerprinting code. It does not sell, rent or share personal data. It does not build a profile of you, and it makes no automated decision that produces legal or similarly significant effects.
5. This website
fathom.ewancroft.uk is a static site served by Vercel. It sets no cookies, runs no analytics and loads no third-party scripts, fonts or images. Vercel, as the hosting provider, may record standard request logs including IP addresses for security and delivery. That processing is outside the developer's control.
The legal basis for the website's limited processing is legitimate interests: operating and securing the site. Vercel may process data outside the UK under its own data protection terms.
App downloads are served by GitHub Releases, Vercel, AltStore Classic or the self-hosted F-Droid repository. Those hosts receive the download request and the IP address that makes it. The developer does not receive a separate download record from any of them.
6. Your rights
Under the UK GDPR you have the right to access, rectify, erase, restrict, object to and port your personal data, and to withdraw consent at any time without affecting processing already carried out.
In practice the developer holds almost nothing. Data on your device is under your control and is removed by disconnecting or uninstalling. Data in your AT Protocol repository is under your control and your PDS operator's, and can be edited or deleted with any AT Protocol client. For anything else, email contact@ewancroft.uk; you will receive a response within one month.
If you are unhappy with how your data has been handled, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint, by calling 0303 123 1113, or by writing to the Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF. You may also seek a judicial remedy.
7. Children
Fathom is not directed at children and is not intended for anyone under 13. The developer does not knowingly process the personal data of children under 13.
8. Changes
This policy may be updated to reflect new features or legal requirements. The effective date at the top always reflects the current version, and the full history is in the public Git repository. A change that materially affects your rights will be surfaced in the app or in the release notes rather than made silently.
9. Contact
Privacy questions: contact@ewancroft.uk, or open an issue on the Fathom repository.