It depends on how you feel about tracking: Canary declares data used to track you. The sensitive items are location. In total the label lists 3 data types; 40% of security camera apps we checked declare tracking.
Canary privacy in one look
- 1Collects nothing
- 2Not linked
- 3Linked
- 4Tracks you
Built only from the developer's App Store label. It describes disclosure, not tested behaviour.
Canary's developer reports using location to track you across other companies' apps and websites.
Did Canary ask for something?
Pick the permission prompt you saw. We compare it with what Canary's developer declared.
Canary lists Location on its label, including for tracking. Choose While Using and turn off Precise Location if the feature works without it.
User Content is not on Canary's label. That can be fine: data used only on your iPhone does not have to be declared. If the data would need to leave the phone for the feature to work, ask why it is missing.
Contacts is not on Canary's label. That can be fine: data used only on your iPhone does not have to be declared. If the data would need to leave the phone for the feature to work, ask why it is missing.
Canary declares data used to track you, so expect the “Allow to track?” prompt. Tap Ask App Not to Track; the app must keep working without it.
Health & Fitness is not on Canary's label. That can be fine: data used only on your iPhone does not have to be declared. If the data would need to leave the phone for the feature to work, ask why it is missing.
A permission is what the app can reach on your iPhone; the label is what the developer says leaves it. They answer different questions.
What Canary collects, explained
| Data type | What it covers | Where to limit it |
|---|---|---|
| LocationSensitiveUsed to track youLinked to you | Where your phone is, either precisely (street level) or approximately (city or area). | Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services: choose Never or While Using, and turn off Precise Location if the app does not need it. |
| Contact InfoLinked to you | Your name, email address, phone number or postal address. | Use Sign in with Apple with Hide My Email where offered, and check the app's account and marketing preferences. |
| DiagnosticsNot linked to you | Crash logs, launch times, hang rates and energy use. | Settings › Privacy & Security › Analytics & Improvements › Share With App Developers controls what Apple passes on; the app's own crash reporting is separate. |
What Canary's label means for you
Canary's label has 1 type under “Data Used to Track You”, 2 types under “Data Linked to You”, 1 type under “Data Not Linked to You”. A data type can appear in more than one section when it is used for different purposes — for example, identifiers used for both analytics and advertising.
Tracking is the declaration that most separates apps. It means location from Canary can be combined with data from other companies to target or measure ads, or shared with data brokers. On iOS 14.5 and later, the app must ask your permission before tracking you through the advertising identifier; answering “Ask App Not to Track” blocks that identifier and tells the developer you have declined.
The items that deserve the most attention are location. Location history reveals home, work and routines. Precise location deserves the most scrutiny.
Security camera apps stream video from inside and around your home. Cloud recording, sharing with household members and law-enforcement request policies all matter. Turn on two-factor authentication for the camera account and review who has shared access.
Among the 164 security camera apps in our snapshot with a label, 40% declare tracking, 66% collect data linked to you and 17% say they collect nothing. Canary lists 3 data types, about the same as the average of 3.1 for this group.
Lifestyle apps cover family, home and personal organisation, and often combine location, contacts and photos in one place.
Settings to check for Canary
- 1
Tracking
Settings › Privacy & Security › Tracking. If “Allow Apps to Request to Track” is off, apps cannot ask, and they are told to treat you as having declined. You can also turn it off for this app alone.
- 2
Location
Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services › Canary. Choose While Using or Never, and switch off Precise Location if a city-level answer is enough.
- 3
Microphone & camera
Settings › Privacy & Security › Microphone and Camera. The orange and green dots in the status bar show when either is in use.
- 4
Sign-in
When creating an account, Sign in with Apple can give the app a relay address from Hide My Email instead of your real one.
- 5
Lock the app
On iOS 18 and later, touch and hold the icon and choose Require Face ID. Anyone who picks up your unlocked phone then needs your face, fingerprint or passcode to open it.
- 6
Notifications
Settings › Notifications › Canary › Show Previews: When Unlocked keeps message and account details off the Lock Screen.
Does Canary track you?
Location. Apple defines tracking as linking data from this app with data from other companies' apps, websites or offline sources for targeted advertising or ad measurement, or sharing it with a data broker.
Lock Canary behind Face ID
- Find Canary on your Home Screen or in App Library.
- Touch and hold the icon until the quick-actions menu opens.
- Tap Require Face ID (or Require Touch ID / Require Passcode, depending on your iPhone).
- Tap Require Face ID again to confirm. Canary now asks for authentication every time it opens.
The lock is an iPhone feature, so it works whether or not Canary has a passcode of its own. It does not change what the app sends to its developer.
About Canary
| Developer | Canary Connect Inc. |
| App Store category | Lifestyle (also Utilities) |
| Latest version | 9.2.0, released October 2026 |
| First released | December 2014 |
| Requires | iOS 26.0 or later |
| Size | 158 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ |
| Languages | 4 (EN, FR, DE, ES) |
| Bundle ID | is.Canary.www-Canary |
The current version shipped in October 2026, so the app is actively maintained and its label is likely current. Labels are updated by developers when practices change.
What the label cannot tell you
- A label is self-reported. Apple publishes the developer's answers and can reject apps that misrepresent them, but it does not independently verify what Canary sends.
- It does not say where data is stored, how long it is kept, whether it is encrypted, or which companies receive it. The privacy policy covers those points.
- Optional data counts: if a feature lets you add something (a profile photo, a phone number), the type is listed even if you never use the feature.
- Data handled only on your iPhone is not 'collected', so a no-collection label is compatible with an app that reads your files locally.
- Third-party sign-in, payment processors and SDKs are supposed to be included, but a label can lag behind a new version.
The question to ask Canary's developer: Who can view my camera footage, and is it end-to-end encrypted?
Canary vs similar security camera apps
- YCC365 Plus
- ADT Control
- Arenti
- Canary (this app)
- Mobile Security Camera
- Security Camera pro
Fewer types is not automatically safer: a cloud backup app has to collect your files to work. Compare like with like.
Look up any of our apps in seconds, or put two labels side by side.
Apps similar to Canary
All security camera apps → Who tracks you? A–Z → Apps that collect location → Privacy label decoder →
Your Canary privacy checklist
Done. You have applied every control the label points to.
True or false?
- Right.Not quite.
True: it lists location under Data Used to Track You.
- Right.Not quite.
Labels are self-reported by developers. Apple can reject or remove apps that misrepresent practices, but it does not audit each label.
- Right.Not quite.
True: Location appears on its label.
- Right.Not quite.
It is collected and sent; the developer says it is de-identified rather than tied to your account or device.
- Right.Not quite.
Apple's rules require apps to work the same whether or not you allow tracking.