Privacy Policy

Last updated: April 2026  ·  Applies to: Horizon Campus Compass (iOS) v1.0+

1. Information We Collect

Horizon Campus Compass does not collect any personally identifiable information. Specifically:

• No account registration is required
• No name, email, or contact information is collected
• No analytics or tracking SDKs are included in the app
• No device identifiers or advertising IDs are collected
• No academic records, test scores, or personal data are transmitted to any server

2. Data Stored on Your Device

All data you enter into Horizon Campus Compass is stored locally on your device using Apple's SwiftData framework. This includes:

• Student profile — curriculum type, grades, standardized test scores, extracurricular activities
• University lists — saved universities, Safety/Match/Reach classifications, application status
• Scholarship data — saved scholarships, deadlines, eligibility notes
• Application tracking — deadlines, documents, checklists
• Scanned documents — offer letters and documents processed via OCR
• What-If scenarios — score simulations and scenario comparisons

This data is never sent to MARS Studio servers. There is currently no iCloud sync feature.

3. On-Device Processing

Horizon Campus Compass uses Apple's Vision framework for OCR (Optical Character Recognition) to extract text from scanned offer letters and documents. All OCR processing is performed entirely on your device. No images or extracted text are transmitted to any cloud service or external server.

The app also uses Apple's PhotosUI framework for photo selection. Selected images are processed locally and are not uploaded anywhere.

4. Public API Access

Horizon Campus Compass accesses the following public data sources to provide university information, career data, and education news:

• College Scorecard API (U.S. Department of Education) — university statistics, admission rates, costs, and outcomes. Only search queries (institution name, location, field of study) are sent. No personal data is included.
• Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) API — career salary and employment data. Only occupation codes are sent as query parameters.
• O*NET Web Services — occupation descriptions, skills, and career outlook. Only occupation search terms are sent.
• RSS feeds — education news from public news sources. Only standard HTTP requests are made; no personal data is transmitted.

In all cases, only search queries are sent to these public APIs. No personal information, academic records, or device identifiers are included in any request.

5. UserDefaults

The app uses UserDefaults to store non-sensitive app preferences such as display settings, onboarding completion status, and selected filters. No personal data is stored in UserDefaults.

6. Advertising

Horizon Campus Compass contains no advertisements and does not use any advertising identifiers (IDFA). No advertising or analytics SDKs are included.

7. Data Deletion

You have full control over your data:

• Delete individual items: Remove any university, scholarship, or profile data within the app at any time.
• Delete all data: Removing (deleting) the app from your device permanently erases all locally stored data, including your profile, university lists, application tracking, and scanned documents.

Since no data is stored on any server, deletion from your device is complete and permanent.

8. Children's Privacy

Horizon Campus Compass does not knowingly collect information from children under 13. The app is designed for high school and college-age students and their families. No data is collected from any user regardless of age.

9. Changes to This Policy

If we make material changes to this policy, we will update the "Last updated" date above. Continued use of the app after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

10. Contact

Questions about this policy? Contact us at hcc-privacy@marsstudio.app or write to us at MARS Studio, marsstudio.app.