← Back to PCB Arena

Privacy Policy

Last updated: August 1, 2026

1. Introduction

PCB Arena ("we," "our," or "us") is a wiring and logic diagram app for iPhone and iPad. You place real dev boards and components on a canvas, wire them to actual pins, and export the result. You can also publish a diagram so other people can see it, and browse what other makers published. This Privacy Policy explains what data we collect, what we don't, what happens to a project when you publish it, and how to delete everything.

PCB Arena is built by one developer. There are no ads, no third-party analytics SDK, no tracking across other apps, and nothing here is sold.

2. How Your Data Flows

• On your device first: every project you create is written to storage on your device and stays there. The cloud copy is a mirror, not the original. If you never sign in to a second device, your diagrams simply live on your phone.
• Device ↔ Apple / Google (sign-in): you sign in with Apple, Google, or an email and password. The provider authenticates you and hands a token to Firebase Authentication. We never see your Apple or Google password.
• Device ↔ Firebase Firestore (projects and profile): your projects, your profile (display name, handle, bio), your likes, who you follow and who you have blocked are stored in Google Firebase Firestore under your user ID. Security rules restrict private projects to your own account.
• Device → Firebase Storage (images): the cover thumbnail PCB Arena renders for each project, and your profile picture if you set one, are uploaded to Google Firebase Storage.
• Publishing (this one is public): when you set a project to Public it becomes readable by anyone using the app: its title, description, tags, cover image, full diagram, and the handle and display name of the account that published it. Setting a project to Unlisted makes it readable by anyone holding its link. Private projects are readable only by you.
• Device ↔ RevenueCat ↔ Apple: if you subscribe to PCB Arena Pro, the purchase is processed by the App Store. RevenueCat reports whether your subscription is active and receives an anonymous user ID we generate plus the store receipt data. We never see your payment method.
• Stays on your device, always: the optional app passcode and the Face ID setting are stored in your device keychain and never leave it. Your appearance and editor preferences are stored locally.

3. Information We Collect

Account information

• Email address (Apple may relay a private address)
• A Firebase Authentication user ID (UID)
• The sign-in method you used (Apple, Google, or email)
• A public handle, generated from your name or email at first sign-in and changeable afterwards
• Your display name, bio, and profile picture, if you set them

Your projects

• The diagram itself: the components you placed, the wires between their pins, frames, and text notes
• Title, description, tags, and whether the project is Private, Unlisted or Public
• A cover image PCB Arena renders from your canvas
• If you remixed someone's public project, a reference to the original and its author

Community activity

• Which projects you liked
• Which accounts you follow, and which you have blocked (your block list is private to you)
• Reports you file about a project, including the reason and your user ID
• Aggregate counts on a project: likes, remixes, and views

Subscription

• Whether your PCB Arena Pro entitlement is active, as reported by RevenueCat and the App Store

What we do NOT collect

• No analytics SDK. PCB Arena ships with no PostHog, Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Amplitude, Firebase Analytics or equivalent
• No location data
• No advertising identifier (no IDFA-based tracking)
• No contacts, calendar, or microphone access
• No access to your photo library beyond the single image you pick as a profile picture
• No third-party ad networks, ad SDKs, or retargeting trackers
• No cross-app or cross-site tracking of any kind
• No session recording or screen replay
• No record of which projects you viewed that is readable by anyone, including the project's author. View counts are aggregate only

4. Permissions, in Plain Language

• Photos: requested only when you choose a profile picture. PCB Arena reads the one image you pick, not your library.
• Photo library (saving): requested only when you save an exported diagram to your camera roll.
• Face ID: requested only if you turn on the optional app lock. The result is a yes or no from iOS; PCB Arena never receives biometric data.

5. Tracking & Advertising

PCB Arena does nottrack you across other companies' apps or websites and does not use Apple's IDFA. The app does not present an App Tracking Transparency prompt because no cross-app tracking occurs.

6. Third-Party Services

• Google Firebase (Authentication, Firestore, Storage, Cloud Functions): hosts your account, your projects, the community layer, and your images.
• Apple: Sign in with Apple, App Store distribution, and billing.
• Google: Google Sign-In.
• RevenueCat: reports your subscription entitlement. Receives an anonymous identifier and store receipt data. Processes data in the United States.

The component artwork in PCB Arena comes from the Fritzing parts library and from Wikimedia contributors, used under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike licences. That is an asset credit, not a data flow: those projects receive nothing about you, and the attribution is carried in the app's Acknowledgements screen and on every image and PDF export.

7. Data Retention & Deletion

Your projects stay until you delete them. Deleting a project in the app removes the local copy and the cloud copy.

You can delete your entire account from Settings. That runs a server-side routine that removes your projects and their cover images, your profile and profile picture, your handle claim (freeing it for someone else), your follows and blocks, the likes you left on other people's projects, and your Firebase authentication record. It is irreversible.

Two things deliberately survive an account deletion, and we would rather say so than leave it out. First, moderation reports you filed are retained without being re-linked to a live account, because a report queue that empties itself when the reporter leaves cannot be moderated. Second, if somebody remixed one of your public projects before you deleted it, their copy is their own project and remains theirs.

8. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)

• Contractual necessity (Art. 6(1)(b)): creating your account, storing and syncing your projects, and operating the publish, like, follow and remix features you choose to use.
• Consent (Art. 6(1)(a)): photo library and Face ID access, which you grant and can withdraw in iOS settings, and publishing a project, which you choose per project.
• Legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f)): basic operation, moderation of publicly posted content, and abuse prevention.

9. International Data Transfers

Firebase, Google, Apple and RevenueCat may process data in the United States and other countries. If you use PCB Arena from outside those countries, your data is transferred there. These providers offer Standard Contractual Clauses for cross-border transfers.

10. Your Rights

• EEA/UK (GDPR): access, portability, restriction, objection, and the right to complain to your data protection authority.
• California (CCPA/CPRA): the right to know, delete, and opt out of "sale" or "sharing." We do not sell or share your personal information.

11. Children's Privacy

PCB Arena is not directed to children under 13 (or 16 in the EEA). We do not knowingly collect data from children. If you believe a child has signed up, contact us and we will delete the account.

12. Security

Authentication is handled by Firebase Auth and all traffic uses HTTPS. Firestore and Storage security rules scope private projects to their owner, prevent one account from editing another's work, and make counts such as likes and views writable only by our server-side code, never by a client. The optional app passcode is held in the device keychain.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy. Material changes will be announced on this page and, if significant, in the app.

14. Contact

Questions or requests, write to support@moetalaat.com.