Wasilah · Legal
Privacy Policy
Before the legalese. I'm Miraz — I built Wasilah for my own family in Dhaka. The app has no backend of its own. There are no Wasilah servers, no Wasilah accounts, and no remote push. The short version: your location is used on your device only, and uninstalling removes everything stored on your device. The Android build does include the Meta (Facebook) SDK so I can see whether the small ad campaigns I run on Meta are reaching Muslims who would actually use Wasilah; the iOS build does not include it. What that SDK sends and what it does not is detailed in section 3.6 below. The long version that follows is the legal one Apple and Google require.
1. Introduction
Wasilah is a mobile application that provides Islamic religious tools, including prayer times, Qibla direction, the Holy Quran with audio recitation, and dhikr and duʻa collections. We respect your privacy and are committed to processing the minimum amount of personal data necessary to deliver these features. This policy explains what we collect, why, how we use it, and the rights you have over it.
By installing or using Wasilah you agree to this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please do not install or use the app.
2. Summary at a glance
| What we process | Why | Stored where |
|---|---|---|
| Approximate or precise device location | To compute prayer times and the Qibla direction for your area | On your device only. Coordinates are not transmitted to any server |
| Crash and diagnostic data (Apple MetricKit) | To detect and fix bugs that crash or destabilise the app | Locally in the app's caches directory. iOS aggregates anonymous payloads on its own schedule; opt-out is available from Settings |
| App preferences (e.g. bookmarks, calculation method, language, theme) | To remember your settings between launches | Locally on your device only |
| Quran content cache | To let you re-open surahs you have already viewed without an internet connection | Locally on your device in a SQLite database |
| Install event, app-open event, Android Advertising ID, anonymous Meta attribution metadata (Android build only) | So Meta can attribute installs that come from Wasilah ad campaigns and measure whether those campaigns are reaching the right people | Transmitted to Meta via the Facebook SDK on Android. Not present on iOS. See section 3.6 for the exact list of fields |
What we do not collect. We do not collect your name, email address, phone number, contacts, photos, payment information, or any account credentials. Wasilah does not require you to create an account. We do not show advertisements inside the app, and we do not generate or transmit any push notification token. The Android build does include the Meta SDK for app-install attribution only (no in-app event tracking, no profile building inside Wasilah); the precise scope is in section 3.6.
3. Information we collect
3.1 Information you provide directly
Wasilah does not require sign-up or sign-in. We do not collect names, email addresses, profile photos, or contact details. The only data you "provide" is your in-app preferences (calculation method, reciter, notification settings, language, theme), which are stored only on your device using local storage and never transmitted to us.
3.2 Device location (used on-device)
If you grant location permission, the app reads your device's coordinates using the iOS or Android location service. As of version 1.1.0, your location is used entirely on-device:
- Prayer times — your latitude and longitude feed an on-device implementation of the PrayTimes.org canonical solar-geometry algorithm. No prayer-time API request is made; your coordinates are never sent to any server.
- Qibla bearing — computed locally from your coordinates to the Kaaba in Mecca (21.4225°N, 39.8262°E).
You can revoke location permission at any time through your device's system settings. If you do, Wasilah falls back to a default city (Dhaka, Bangladesh) and shows a banner indicating that prayer times are for the fallback location.
3.3 Crash and diagnostic data (Apple MetricKit)
If you have crash reporting enabled (Settings → Diagnostics → Crash reports, on by default), the iOS build of Wasilah subscribes to Apple's first-party MetricKit framework. MetricKit is part of iOS itself and runs at the operating-system level — no third-party SDK is involved. Once every 24 hours, iOS may deliver an anonymous diagnostic payload to the app containing:
- Crash traces and hang reports
- CPU, memory, and exception diagnostics
- Aggregate performance metrics (launch time, hang ratio, etc.)
These payloads are written to the app's local caches directory on your device and are not transmitted to any external server. They are not linked to any user identity, and the framework is automatically disabled in debug builds.
You can opt out at any time from Settings → Diagnostics → Crash reports. The Android build does not currently collect any crash data.
3.4 Notifications (local, no server)
If you grant notification permission, Wasilah schedules local notifications on your device using UNCalendarNotificationTrigger on iOS and AlarmManager on Android. These fire at the exact prayer times computed locally for your location. No remote push service is involved — the app does not register for, request, or use any push notification token, and there is no server that can send messages to your device. You can disable notifications at any time in the app's Settings or in your device's system settings.
3.5 Network requests to third-party services
The app makes HTTPS requests to the following third-party services. These requests inherently expose your IP address, app version, and the request itself to the operator of that service:
- AlQuran.cloud (
api.alquran.cloud) — to fetch the Quran text and translation for the surahs you open. The cached text is stored locally afterwards. See alquran.cloud/terms-and-conditions. - islamic.network audio CDN (
cdn.islamic.network) — to stream Quran recitation audio when you play it.
Both endpoints are open public APIs that do not require an account or identifier from you.
3.6 Meta (Facebook) SDK for app-install attribution (Android only)
The Android build of Wasilah includes the Meta SDK, specifically the native facebook-core Android library. The iOS build does not include it — the SDK is linked directly into the Android app rather than through a cross-platform plugin, precisely so nothing Meta-related ships on iOS. The SDK exists in the Android app for one purpose: so Meta can attribute installs that come from Wasilah ad campaigns and so I can measure whether those campaigns are reaching Muslims who actually open the app.
What the SDK sends to Meta on Android:
- The fact that you installed Wasilah, fired once when the SDK initialises after install.
- The fact that you opened Wasilah, logged automatically by the SDK as an app-activation event each time the app launches or returns to the foreground.
- Your Android Advertising ID, if the operating system supplies one and you have not opted out. Meta uses this for attribution and ad measurement.
- Anonymous device and SDK metadata that Meta uses for attribution: device model, OS version, app version, locale, and an anonymous Meta-side attribution identifier.
What the SDK does not send to Meta:
- Your name, email, phone number, or account information. Wasilah does not collect any of these in the first place.
- Your device location, latitude, longitude, or city.
- Anything from your prayer tracker, bookmarks, Quran reading history, dhikr counts, or app settings.
- Any in-app events beyond install and app-open. The app code does not call the SDK for any prayer, Quran, tracker, or settings action.
You can opt out of the Android Advertising ID at any time. Go to Android Settings → Privacy → Ads (or Settings → Google → Ads on some devices) and select "Delete advertising ID." After that the Meta SDK can still see the install and app-open events but cannot tie them to an identifier Meta can match across other apps.
Meta's processing of the data described above is governed by Meta's Privacy Policy. The Meta App ID associated with this integration is 2554090355008071.
4. How we use your information
- To compute and display prayer times and Qibla direction (entirely on your device)
- To fetch and stream Quran text, translation, and recitation audio
- To schedule prayer-time reminders and other local notifications you have opted into
- To detect, diagnose, and fix bugs and crashes via Apple MetricKit (opt-out)
- To measure, on the Android build only, whether ad campaigns we run on Meta result in installs that actually open the app (install + app-open events via the Meta SDK; see section 3.6)
- To comply with legal obligations
Wasilah does not show advertisements inside the app. The Meta SDK on Android is used only for install attribution as described in section 3.6, not to serve ads to you and not to profile your in-app behaviour. We do not use your in-app data (location, prayer tracker, bookmarks, Quran activity, dhikr counts) for advertising or marketing.
5. Legal bases for processing
For users in the EEA, UK, and similar jurisdictions:
- Performance of a contract / provision of the requested service — for processing your location to compute prayer times and Qibla direction, and for delivering Quran text and audio.
- Legitimate interests — for the opt-out MetricKit diagnostic stream, where our interest is in maintaining a stable app and that interest does not override your rights and freedoms.
- Consent — for local notifications and for accessing precise device location, granted via the operating system's permission prompt and revocable at any time.
6. Data sharing
We do not sell your data. We share data only with the third-party processors listed below, and only to the extent necessary to provide the corresponding feature:
| Recipient | Role | Region |
|---|---|---|
| AlQuran.cloud | Quran text and translation | Operated globally |
| islamic.network | Quran audio streaming | Operated globally |
| Meta Platforms, Inc. (Facebook) | App-install attribution and ad measurement, Android build only (see section 3.6) | United States; operated globally |
We may also disclose data if required to do so by law, regulation, or court order, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of users or the public.
7. International transfers
The third-party processors listed above operate globally and may store and process data in countries outside your country of residence. Where data is transferred from the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, we rely on the recipient's compliance with appropriate safeguards (Standard Contractual Clauses or equivalent mechanisms) as published by that processor.
8. Data retention
- On-device data (preferences, downloaded audio, bookmarks, MetricKit payloads) is retained until you uninstall the app or clear app storage.
- Location coordinates are never transmitted to a server and exist only in process memory plus a local preferences store (so the home-screen widget can read them).
- Network request logs at AlQuran.cloud and islamic.network are governed by their respective privacy policies; we hold no copy.
9. Security
All network requests made by Wasilah use HTTPS / TLS encryption in transit. On-device data is stored using the operating system's standard application sandbox. No system can be guaranteed perfectly secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security of your data.
10. Your rights
Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have some or all of the following rights:
- Right of access — to request a copy of the personal data we process about you.
- Right of rectification — to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
- Right of erasure ("right to be forgotten") — to request deletion of your data.
- Right to restrict or object to processing — including objecting to processing based on legitimate interests.
- Right to data portability — to receive your data in a structured, commonly-used format.
- Right to withdraw consent — for any processing based on consent, by revoking the relevant permission in your device settings.
- Right to lodge a complaint — with your local data protection authority.
Because Wasilah does not collect names, emails, or other identifiers, and does not transmit your data to any server we control, most of these rights are satisfied automatically: uninstalling the app removes all stored data on your device. To exercise any of these rights formally, contact us at the address in Section 13.
11. Children's privacy
Wasilah is intended for general audiences and is suitable for users aged 13 and over. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under the age of 13 (or the equivalent minimum age in your jurisdiction, such as 16 in some EEA countries). If you are a parent or guardian and you believe a child has provided personal data to us, please contact us at the address in Section 13 and we will take reasonable steps to delete the data.
12. Permissions used by the app
| Permission | Why we request it |
|---|---|
| Location (precise and approximate, "when in use") | Compute prayer times and Qibla direction, entirely on-device |
| Internet | Fetch Quran text and translation, stream Quran audio |
| Post notifications | Show local prayer-time reminders |
| Schedule exact alarms / Use exact alarms | Trigger prayer-time notifications at the precise time computed for your location |
| Receive boot completed | Re-arm scheduled prayer notifications after the device restarts |
| Vibrate, wake lock | Subtle haptic feedback and brief screen wake on notifications |
Use advertising ID (Android com.google.android.gms.permission.AD_ID) | Read by the Meta SDK on Android only, for app-install attribution (see section 3.6). You can revoke it at any time from Android Settings → Privacy → Ads. iOS does not request this permission. |
13. Contact
For privacy questions, requests, or complaints, please contact:
Miraz Mullick (operator of Wasilah)
Email: privacy@wasilah.site
Web: https://wasilah.site
14. Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date at the top of this document and, where the changes are material, surface a notice in the app's More → About screen on next launch. Continued use of Wasilah after the changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.