Privacy Policy
Topika Remote lets a person at a Topika microscope camera share the live image with a remote expert. It has two parts: the Topika Remote app for iPhone, used at the microscope, and the web page at remote.topika.co.il that an expert opens from an invitation link. This policy explains, in plain language, what data they handle.
The short version
- No accounts, no sign-in, no advertising, no tracking, no analytics or crash-reporting tools. We don't sell or share personal data.
- Video, audio, the laser pointer, measurements and snapshots go directly between the people in a call, encrypted. They are never stored on our servers.
- Our server only helps the two devices find each other, checks that the camera is activated, and counts each camera's call minutes. It forgets each session within 8 hours (15 minutes for demo sessions).
- Snapshots and recordings you make stay on your iPhone.
Who we are
Topika Remote is made by Topika Labs ("Topika", "we", "us"). On the App Store the app is published by Itzik Shoshan (individual developer account) on behalf of Topika Labs. Questions about this policy: info@topika.co.il.
What our server handles
The server at remote.topika.co.il runs on Cloudflare. This is everything it receives or keeps:
| Data | Why | How long |
|---|---|---|
| Camera serial number, sent by the app when it checks the camera's activation and when you start a session | To check that the camera is activated, and its end date and call minutes. The serial itself is not stored and not written to logs. | The server keeps only a one-way fingerprint (a SHA-256 hash) of it: in the session, deleted with the session, and in the call-minute records below. |
| Names you type (the operator's and the expert's) | Shown to the other person in the call. | Deleted with the session. |
| Session record: room code, start and end times, whether it is a demo, and the invitation key, PIN and access tokens in hashed form | To let the invited expert in and nobody else. | Deleted automatically at most 8 hours after the session starts (15 minutes for demo sessions). Ending a session revokes all of its links and tokens immediately. |
| Connection setup messages (technical descriptions of the media formats and of the network addresses the two devices can be reached at, which include IP addresses) | Passed between the two devices so they can connect directly. | Relayed in real time, never stored. |
| Call-minute records for each camera, identified only by its fingerprint: when each call started and ended, and the minutes used each month | To apply the camera's monthly minutes and maximum call length, and to show the minutes used in the app. | Details of each call are deleted after 70 days; monthly totals after 13 months. They contain no names and nothing from the call itself. |
| IP address and basic request details: time, the address requested, device or browser type, approximate location derived from the IP address, and the response status | Cloudflare's request logs, used for security, abuse prevention (rate limits) and troubleshooting. The contents of requests, including the camera serial, are not logged. | Deleted automatically after at most 7 days. Rate-limit counters last about one minute. |
| Registered-camera list: serial numbers, the client name or note Topika enters when it activates a camera, and the camera's access end date and call minutes, if any | To decide which cameras may use Topika Remote. | Kept until Topika removes the camera. The list is private: the server answers only about the one serial it is asked about and never reveals other cameras, client names or how many cameras are registered. |
Calls, video and snapshots
- Peer-to-peer and encrypted. Audio, video, the laser pointer, annotations, measurements and snapshots travel directly between the operator's iPhone and the expert's browser using WebRTC, which encrypts them end to end (DTLS-SRTP).
- Encrypted relay when needed. When the two devices cannot reach each other directly (for example behind a strict company firewall), the call is relayed through Cloudflare's TURN service. The relay forwards encrypted packets it cannot read and does not record them. Its access credentials are temporary and expire shortly after the session.
- We don't record calls. Nothing from a call is stored on our servers.
- Snapshots requested during a call go directly to the expert's browser. They exist only on the two devices; the expert keeps one only by choosing to download it.
- You stay in control. You choose whom to invite, you approve each expert before they see anything, and the invitation stops working when the session ends. Microscope images can contain sensitive information, such as clinical samples. Please don't show patient names or other identifying details on screen.
On your iPhone
The app asks for each permission only when a feature needs it. You can change them at any time in the iPhone Settings app.
| Permission | Used for |
|---|---|
| Camera | Scanning the QR code on the microscope camera, and, if you choose, showing your face to the expert. |
| Microphone | Talking with the expert during a call. |
| Local network | Finding and streaming from the microscope camera on its Wi-Fi network. |
| Photos (add only) | Saving snapshots and recordings to your photo library when you choose to. |
The app stores the following only on your iPhone: your settings and the name you use in calls; recently used cameras, including the camera's Wi-Fi name and password from its QR code; calibrations; snapshots, recordings and their measurement files; the result of the camera's last activation check, signed by Topika so the app can work offline; and, if an administrator entered one, an access key kept in the iOS Keychain. Deleting the app deletes all of this (copies you saved to Photos remain there). Recordings are made only when you tap Record and contain only the microscope camera's video.
The expert's web page
Experts join in a browser without an account. The page remembers the name you typed in your browser's local storage, and keeps the session's access token in session storage, which the browser clears when you close the tab. The site uses no cookies, no analytics and no tracking scripts.
Sharing and service providers
- We don't sell, rent or share personal data, and we don't use it for advertising.
- Cloudflare, Inc. hosts our server and the call relay and processes the data above on our behalf, on its global network, which may be outside your country. See Cloudflare's privacy policy.
- If you contact us by WhatsApp or email, those services handle your message under their own terms.
- We may disclose information if the law requires it.
Children
Topika Remote is a tool for laboratory, education and research use. It is not intended for medical diagnosis. It is not directed to children, and we don't knowingly collect information from children. If you believe a child has given us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.
Your choices and rights
Because we keep so little, and only briefly, there is usually nothing to look up or delete. You can still ask us what we hold about you, ask us to correct or delete it, or ask us to remove a camera from the registered list, by writing to info@topika.co.il. You can delete everything the app stored by deleting the app, and you can withdraw permissions in the iPhone Settings app.
Security
All connections use TLS. Calls are encrypted end to end. Invitation keys, PINs and access tokens are stored only as hashes. Invitation links can't be guessed and expire with the session, and the operator approves every expert before any video is shared.
Changes to this policy
If we change how Topika Remote handles data, we will update this page and its effective date.
Contact
Topika Labs · info@topika.co.il · WhatsApp and phone +972-58-492-8662