Privacy Policy

Effective Date: March 1, 2026  ·  Last Updated: April 14, 2026

Hey — I'm Hemanth, the solo developer behind Swale. This policy explains what the app collects, what it doesn't, and why. It's written in plain English because I think legalese is a cop-out.

Short version: Swale is currently free. Your screen time, app habits, notes, and settings stay on your device. The only things that leave your phone are crash reports (so I can fix bugs) and anonymous usage analytics (so I can see which features people actually use). No ads. No data sales. No creepy profiling.

This policy matches exactly what I've declared in the Google Play Data Safety section.

1. What stays on your device (and never leaves)

All the important stuff — everything Swale is actually for — is stored locally in Android's SharedPreferences and never transmitted anywhere:

• Which apps you open and when. Swale tracks this only to enforce mindful delays, session timers, and streaks. It's processed on your device and never sent to a server.
• Your installed app list. Swale reads the list of apps on your phone so it can show them in the launcher drawer. It doesn't upload the list anywhere.
• Your settings. Mindful delay values, per-app rules, block lists, timed blocks, home shortcut preferences, mindful schedules, grayscale preference, notes — all local.
• Screen time stats. Pulled from Android's built-in UsageStatsManager and shown only inside the app. Never transmitted.

If you uninstall Swale or clear app data, all of this is gone.

2. What does leave your device (and why)

There are exactly three network-connected things:

2.1 Subscription verification (RevenueCat)

Swale uses RevenueCat to check whether your subscription is active. When you open the app, RevenueCat receives an anonymous user ID it generates (can't be used to identify you personally) and your subscription status (active/inactive, plan type, renewal date).

RevenueCat never sees your card details — those are handled by Google Play. RevenueCat's privacy policy: revenuecat.com/privacy

2.2 Crash reports (Firebase Crashlytics)

When the app crashes, Firebase Crashlytics collects a stack trace, your device model, Android version, and Swale's version. This helps me fix bugs I can't reproduce. No personal data is included.

2.3 Anonymous usage analytics (Firebase Analytics)

Firebase collects a handful of standard aggregated events — first_open, app_open, session_start, user_engagement. These are session-level metrics only. Swale does not log which specific apps you open — that would defeat the whole point of a privacy-respecting launcher. I disable analytics entirely in debug builds.

Firebase/Google's privacy policies: policies.google.com/privacy · firebase.google.com/support/privacy

3. Permissions Swale asks for

CAMERA is declared by the third-party torch_light library and merged at build time.

4. What I don't do

• I don't sell your data. There's nobody to sell it to — Swale is a personal project, not a business.
• I don't show ads. Swale has no ad SDK.
• I don't profile you. There's no cross-app tracking, no behavioural ads, no data brokers.
• I don't collect your name, email, phone number, location, or contacts. The app doesn't even ask for them.

5. Data retention

• Crash logs: 90 days, then deleted by Firebase automatically.
• Analytics events: 90 days, then anonymised and aggregated.
• Purchase records: Google Play and RevenueCat keep these for 7 years (tax/legal requirement). This is outside my control.
• Everything else: gone the moment you uninstall the app or clear its data.

To request deletion of your RevenueCat user ID or Firebase data, email privacy@swale.hackthru.com with “Data Deletion Request” as the subject. I'll action it within 30 days. Google Play purchase records I cannot delete — that's a legal retention requirement, not my choice.

6. Your rights

You always have the right to:

• Access any data about you that I hold (not much — just the RevenueCat user ID)
• Delete your RevenueCat and Firebase data
• Opt out of analytics (email me and I can flag your installation ID)

GDPR (European users)

Under GDPR you have the usual rights: access, erasure, restriction, portability, objection, and the right to complain to your local supervisory authority. Email privacy@swale.hackthru.com.

CCPA (California users)

I don't sell data, so the CCPA “do not sell” right is already satisfied. You still have the right to know, delete, and request access — same email as above.

7. Children

Swale isn't directed at children under 13. I don't knowingly collect data from children. If you believe a child has used the app, email privacy@swale.hackthru.com and I'll delete any associated data.

8. Security

• All data sent to Google Play, Firebase, and RevenueCat uses HTTPS/TLS encryption.
• Local data is protected by Android's app sandbox — no other app can read Swale's data.
• Swale has no server to get hacked, because there's no server.

9. Third-party services

Swale uses these services. Each has its own privacy practices:

• Google Play (billing): policies.google.com/privacy
• Firebase Analytics & Crashlytics (Google LLC): firebase.google.com/support/privacy
• RevenueCat (subscription management): revenuecat.com/privacy

10. Changes to this policy

If I change something material, I'll update the “Last Updated” date and (for significant changes) show a notification in the app. For anything affecting your privacy rights, I'll ask for affirmative consent before the change takes effect.

Version history:

• v1.0 (March 1, 2026): Initial policy
• v1.1 (April 14, 2026): Rewritten in plain English. Clarified that Swale is a personal project, not a business.

11. Contact

Privacy questions: privacy@swale.hackthru.com
General support: support@swale.hackthru.com
Real reply, no form letter. I'm one person — expect a response within a couple of days.

— Hemanth

Swale is an independent personal project. “Google Play”, “Android”, and “Firebase” are trademarks of Google LLC. “RevenueCat” is a trademark of RevenueCat, Inc.