Eagle One Privacy
Eagle One is an independent app for Boston College students, published by Charlie Bieger (“we”, “us”). This policy explains what the app collects, where it is stored, who can see it, and how to remove it. It covers the Eagle One iOS app and the Eagle One website.
The app has no third-party analytics, no advertising, no tracking SDKs and no third-party trackers of any kind. The only usage information it sends us is the anonymous shuttle arrival records described below, which you can turn off. We do not sell or share your personal information, and we do not track you across other apps or websites. One counter is worth naming: when a printed Eagle One poster's QR code sends you to the App Store through this website, we record that one scan happened for that poster, so we can tell which posters work. Each record is an anonymous mark that carries a random identifier and nothing else, nothing about you or your device or your visit, and it is deleted automatically within a year.
This website is separate, and is the one place a third party is involved: these pages use Google Analytics to count visits. In the UK, the EU, the EEA and Switzerland a notice appears on a first visit and nothing is loaded or stored until you accept it; everywhere else analytics runs from the first page view and is disclosed here rather than behind a pop-up. A Global Privacy Control or Do Not Track signal counts as a decline either way, and you can change your mind at any time: or . Installing or using the app involves none of this. The full description is in the site privacy policy.
How Eagle One identifies you
Eagle One has no login, no password and no account to create. Your courses and assignments, your dining favorites and pinned dining halls, and your appearance setting sync through your own private iCloud database, which only you can read. Allergen and dietary preferences, reminder settings and your other on-device settings do not sync; they stay on this device. Eagle One never sees your Apple Account credentials.
Identity comes from the iCloud account already signed in on your device. Apple’s CloudKit gives the app an identifier for that account that is specific to Eagle One, and the app immediately reduces it to a one-way hash. What happens to each:
- The account identifier. Used on your device to compute the hash, and for nothing else. Eagle One never uploads it. One exception is worth naming: when you send a support message, Apple's CloudKit stamps the record with your iCloud user identifier automatically, the same way it stamps any record you create, and that stamp is visible to us on that message.
- The one-way hash. The app computes a SHA-256 hash on your device and stores that hash in your private iCloud database, and alongside any support message you choose to send. The hash is what lets a submission be matched to your account so it can be deleted. The original identifier cannot be recovered from it.
- Your name, campus and class year. You type these yourself when you set the app up or later in Settings. They stay on this device: they are not part of what syncs through iCloud, so a second device asks for them again. The app does not ask for your email address; you type one into the support form only if you want a reply (an address saved by an earlier version of the app may pre-fill it). None of it is uploaded to us unless you submit a support message.
If your device is signed out of iCloud, Eagle One still works and your data stays on the device. Nothing syncs until you sign back in.
What is stored, and where
Courses and assignments are kept on your device and in your private iCloud database. Your profile name, email address, class year, campus and profile photo stay on your device; the photo is never uploaded. Dining favorites, pinned halls and appearance are kept on your device and in your private iCloud database. Allergen and dietary preferences, notification and calendar preferences, permission choices and announcement state stay on your device.
Location is used in memory and the most recent position is cached on your device. It is never transmitted to us, to Boston College or to TransLoc.
Homework calendar events are written to a dedicated “Eagle One Homework” calendar in your own Calendar app. Assignment reminders and dining favorite alerts are scheduled on your device and are not sent from a server. Campus announcements are delivered as push notifications through Apple’s CloudKit, which uses a device token issued by Apple. Eagle One does not store that token and cannot use it to identify you.
iOS may also wake Eagle One in the background, on a schedule iOS controls, to reload dining menus and campus announcements so a reminder can arrive without you opening the app. Those background requests are the same dining and shuttle requests described below, they send nothing about you, and you can turn them off in iOS Settings under Background App Refresh.
Dining, shuttle and route caches stay on your device. To improve arrival times for everyone, Eagle One records which shuttle reached which stop and when, and the arrival times it showed for that shuttle, and sends that record to Eagle One’s own service once the shuttle has arrived. It contains route, stop, bus number and times only: no location, no name, no account and no device identifier. You can turn this off in Settings › Personalization › Share Arrival Data. The arrival model Eagle One uses is built on our service from these records and from public TransLoc data, and every device receives the same one.
Support messages you send are delivered to Eagle One’s own service, which turns them into mail so we can read and answer them. If that service cannot be reached, the message is written to Apple’s CloudKit instead, in the app’s public database rather than your private one. No screen in the app shows support submissions, and the app never looks up anyone else’s. The one time it looks up yours is when you use Delete All Data, to find and delete them. Who may read those records is controlled by the permissions on the CloudKit container itself, which are configured in Apple’s CloudKit Dashboard rather than by the app. A support message also carries a short technical note: a capped list of up to 25 recent problem codes and their timestamps, such as a failed menu load or a run of the app that ended unexpectedly. It contains fixed codes and times only, never your content, and it is kept on your device and sent only when you submit this form. This is the only place your typed name, email address, message and that technical note leave your device, and nothing is sent unless you submit the form.
Synced items go to your own private iCloud database inside Apple’s CloudKit, under your Apple Account. We cannot read it. If iCloud is unavailable, previously loaded data stays usable offline on your device.
Permissions, all optional
After setup, every permission is optional and the app remains usable if you decline. You can change any of them at any time in iOS Settings.
- Location (While Using the App). Shows you on the shuttle map, orders nearby dining halls and estimates walking time. Processed on your device and by Apple MapKit. Not sent to us.
- Calendar (Full Access). Creates, updates and removes events only in a dedicated “Eagle One Homework” calendar. Full access is required by iOS because the app must also delete the events it created. Eagle One does not read your other calendars for any other purpose, and calendar contents are never uploaded to us.
- Notifications. Local reminders for assignments, dining favorites and campus alerts.
- Photos. Only when you choose a profile photo. The image stays on your device.
Information sent over the network
Eagle One makes requests to the services below. As with any web request, the operator of each service can see your device’s IP address and standard connection information.
- Boston College Dining (web.bc.edu), to load menus and hours. No personal information is sent.
- TransLoc (bc.transloc.com), to load shuttle routes, vehicle positions, arrival estimates and service alerts. No personal information is sent, and your location is not included.
- Apple, for CloudKit, MapKit and the App Store version check. CloudKit also delivers campus announcements as push notifications.
- Eagle One’s own service, for five things. A minimum-supported-version check, the shuttle arrival model, and dining menus and hours (past days’ menus, and a copy of Boston College Dining’s feeds used when Dining cannot be reached), none of which sends anything about you. The shuttle arrival records described above, unless you turn them off. And, when you submit the support form, the message itself: your name, email, subject, description, the app version and the short list of problem codes described above are sent there so they can reach us as mail.
Keeping and deleting your information
Information is kept only as long as it is needed to run the app or to answer a support message. On-device caches expire on their own: dining and shuttle caches within days, and the ETA accuracy log after thirty days. Shuttle arrival records sent to our service hold no personal information and are kept for up to 120 days to measure and improve arrival times; because they carry no identifier, they cannot be traced back to you or deleted per person. The shuttle arrival model on your device is the same for everyone and is replaced each time a newer one is downloaded.
If the device is later signed into a different Apple Account, Eagle One removes this device’s local copy rather than showing one person’s data to another. Data already synced remains available to the original account.
Settings › Delete All Data deletes your private iCloud courses, assignments and app state, deletes any support message the app stored in iCloud, and removes local data: homework, profile and preferences, dining favorites and dietary preferences, cached location, appearance, announcement state, shuttle caches, the ETA accuracy log and any shuttle arrival records not yet sent, and pending and delivered notifications. When Calendar access is available it also removes the dedicated Eagle One Homework calendar.
If a required service is unavailable, the app does not report the data as deleted: it explains what remains, pauses synchronization so nothing is re-uploaded, and lets you try again. If cleanup is interrupted, the app finishes it the next time you open it.
Deleting the app without using Delete All Data may leave private iCloud records and calendar events in Apple-managed services, because those live in your Apple Account rather than on the device.
One thing Delete All Data cannot reach: a support message that was delivered to us as mail. The app can remove a support record it wrote to iCloud, but it has no way to withdraw an email that has already been sent. Email charlie@charliebieger.com and we will delete it.
Your rights
Most of your information is already under your direct control: it is on your device or in your own Apple Account, and Delete All Data removes it. For anything we hold, which in practice means support messages, you may ask us to access, correct, delete or export it, or to restrict or object to its use, by emailing charlie@charliebieger.com. We will respond within 30 days and will not treat you differently for asking.
If you are in California: we do not sell or share personal information as those terms are used in the CCPA/CPRA, and we have not done so in the preceding twelve months. If you are in the UK, the EEA or Switzerland: we process this information to perform the service you requested and on the basis of our legitimate interest in operating and supporting the app, and you may lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority. Information we hold is processed in the United States.
Children
Eagle One is intended for university students and others aged 13 and over, and is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from a child under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has provided personal information, email us and we will delete it.
Eagle One is not a school-operated service, is not provided under contract to any school, and does not receive student records from any institution. Everything in the app is entered by you or drawn from publicly available dining and transit feeds.
Security
All network requests use HTTPS. Private data is protected by Apple’s CloudKit private database, which is scoped to your Apple Account and which we cannot read. The account identifier never leaves your device, and only its one-way hash is stored. No system is perfectly secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, the date above changes with it and the current version is available in the app under Settings › Privacy Policy and on the Eagle One website. Material changes will be highlighted in the app.
Important limits
Eagle One is an informational student utility. Shuttle times, dining information and alerts can be delayed, incomplete or wrong. Do not rely on the app for emergencies or for any decision where incorrect information could cause harm.
Contact
Charlie Bieger, charlie@charliebieger.com
Eagle One is an independent, unofficial app. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Boston College, TransLoc or Apple.