As of December 2015, Photics software (apps, books and games) follows a strict code of honor.
- Photics Software Does Not Track You – Software created by Photics does not “phone home” or collect personal data. If you’re buying a copy of Photics software, that’s awesome! It makes me happy that you appreciate my work enough to pay for it. You should not be penalized for that. You should not have to give up your privacy for that.
- Photics Software Does Not Require Internet Access – Once you download the Photics software, you should be good to go.
- Photics Software Should Be Suitable For All Ages – No violence, no profanity and no sexually explicit content are permitted in Photics software.
- Photics Software Does Not Spam – There are no third-party advertisements in Photics software. There are no pop-ups asking to join a mailing list. There isn’t even cross-promotion of other Photics software.
- Photics Software Does Not Use In-App Purchases – 😝
Before the Internet, back when books were only in printed form and home video games were sold as cartridges, there was a lot less hassle in buying media. You didn’t have to worry about a game hitting you up for more money. You didn’t have to worry if your book was also reading you. That’s the reason for the Code of Honor. It’s the idea that Photics software should be more like the media of yesteryear. Just because software can track a user, that doesn’t mean it should. Just because top grossing apps are using in-app purchases, that doesn’t mean that Photics software should too.
The Code of Honor is about building trust as a developer, while showing respect to you as a customer.
Reasonable exceptions
Photics Hyperlink – Photics software may contain a hyperlink back to Photics.com. “Book Apps” may contain hyperlinks back to related resources on Photics.com. No special tracking is added to the hyperlink.
Apple Setting – Apps from the iTunes App Store and the Mac App Store may send anonymized data back to Apple and to the developer of the software. You can update your device settings… https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202100 …to disable the “Share With App Developers” settings.
Legacy Apps – “Suitable For All Ages” does not apply to updates of Photics games created before December 2015. Some of these games may have cartoonish violence. It’s part of Photics history. Previously created games may be ported to modern hardware/software.
Widgets / Apparatuses – The weather widget asks for your zip code to get an approximate location. This is to find the nearest weather station. Photics doesn’t collect this information. However, the weather widget will create a connection to api.weather.gov. For more information on their privacy policy, see https://www.weather.gov/privacy.
The general goal is to allow the widgets to work offline. But some cool widgets, such as the weather widget, simply require Internet access. If you don’t want the app to go online, you can disable the related widgets from the app settings.
Additionally, Widgets / Apparatuses contains reference material. Such content may not be suitable for all ages. Since the inclusion of the “Dictionary” widget, the Apple App Store age rating has increased from 4+ to 12+. An exception to the Code of Honor was deemed reasonable, as this is mainly a Utility / Reference app.
Updated – May 18, 2021