Privacy Policy

1. Overview & Privacy Commitment

At Apps4Us ("we", "our", or "us"), we believe that your private notifications and device usage belong strictly to you. This Privacy Policy outlines the policies and procedures regarding the collection, use, and disclosure of information when you use the Pinhole Notify Android application ("Application" or "Service").

Pinhole Notify is built upon a privacy-first, on-device processing architecture:

We do NOT collect, read, store, or transmit your private notification message contents, chat texts, sender names, or emails.
We do NOT sell, rent, or monetize your personal data with third-party advertisers or data brokers.
All notification matching, icon color extraction, and hardware cutout calibration occur 100% locally on your device.

2. Prominent Disclosures & System Permissions

To provide its core lighting and visual effects around your front camera hole-punch cutout, Pinhole Notify requires specific Android system permissions. Below are clear, transparent explanations of why each permission is required and our strict privacy safeguards.

🔔 1. Notification Access (`BIND_NOTIFICATION_LISTENER_SERVICE`)

Purpose of Use: Pinhole Notify requires Notification Listener access to detect when applications on your watchlist post a new alert, allowing the app to illuminate the camera ring in real time.

Scope of Access: The app inspects only the notifying app's Package Name (e.g., com.whatsapp) to verify if the app is enabled in your settings and to query its launcher icon for dynamic color palette extraction.

🛡️ Absolute Privacy Guarantee: The Application NEVER reads, captures, stores, logs, or transmits the actual content of your notifications (such as message text, sender identities, contact details, private emails, two-factor authentication codes, or media previews). All notification evaluations occur transiently in volatile device memory and are immediately discarded.

⭕ 2. Display Over Other Apps (`SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW`)

Purpose of Use: Pinhole Notify requires the Overlay permission to draw the hardware-accelerated animated glowing ring around your physical front-facing camera cutout on top of other applications, your home screen, and your lock screen.

🛡️ Absolute Privacy Guarantee: The overlay is strictly an output/display layer configured with non-focusable, non-touchable flags (FLAG_NOT_TOUCHABLE / FLAG_NOT_FOCUSABLE). It cannot capture screen taps, read on-screen content, intercept user interactions, or log keystrokes.

⚡ 3. Wake Lock & Screen Wake (`WAKE_LOCK`)

Purpose of Use: Used briefly (maximum 10-second timeout) to wake the device processor and illuminate the screen/overlay when a new notification arrives while the device screen is off, allowing you to see the notification glow.

📱 4. Installed Applications Discovery (`QUERY_ALL_PACKAGES` / `ACTION_MAIN`)

Purpose of Use: The app queries installed launcher applications exclusively on your device to present the "App Galaxy" and "Add App" selection lists and extract vibrant color palettes from installed app icons via the AndroidX Palette API. This installed apps list is processed 100% locally and is never sent off your device.

3. Third-Party Services & Analytics

Pinhole Notify integrates a minimal set of industry-standard, reputable third-party SDKs to monitor application stability, diagnose technical errors, and facilitate optional voluntary developer tipping:

Google Firebase Crashlytics

Collects anonymized crash stack traces, device hardware models, operating system versions, and device operational state at the time of an unexpected crash. This information is used exclusively to identify, diagnose, and repair bugs to maintain app stability.

Google Analytics for Firebase

Collects aggregated, non-personally identifiable telemetry regarding high-level feature usage (such as total notifications illuminated counter, animation speed adjustments, and device fold posture transitions) to guide future performance improvements.

Google Play In-App Billing

Enables optional voluntary tip jar contributions to support indie development. All financial transactions, credit card handling, and billing information are securely and independently processed by Google Play. Apps4Us never receives, processes, or stores your financial or payment details.

Google Play Terms: https://play.google.com/about/play-terms/

4. Google Play Store Data Safety Summary

In compliance with the Google Play Store Data Safety policy requirements, the table below provides a full summary of data accessed, collected, or shared:

Data Category	Data Type	Collected / Shared	Purpose	Encrypted in Transit
Notification Content	Messages, senders, text	NOT COLLECTED	Filtered in memory; never saved	N/A
App Info & Performance	Crash logs & diagnostics	Collected (Firebase Crashlytics)	App functionality & Analytics	Yes (HTTPS/TLS)
App Activity	App interactions & feature usage	Collected (Firebase Analytics)	Analytics & product improvement	Yes (HTTPS/TLS)
Device or Other IDs	Firebase App Instance IDs	Collected (Firebase SDK)	Diagnostics & analytics	Yes (HTTPS/TLS)
Financial Info	Purchase history / tip tokens	Handled by Google Play	In-app tip purchases	Yes (Google Play)
Installed Apps	App package list & icon colors	On-Device Only	Custom color selection & display	N/A (Never sent)

5. Local Storage & Data Management

Your customized application preferences (such as camera X/Y calibration coordinates, ring size, pulse animation speeds, selected app glow colors, and App Galaxy bubble coordinates) are stored entirely locally on your device via the Android Jetpack DataStore Preferences library.

You maintain full control over your local data at all times:

In-App Factory Reset: You can reset all configurations to their default states at any time via Settings > System > Reset to Defaults.
Uninstalling the App: Uninstalling Pinhole Notify permanently deletes all local DataStore preferences and cache files from your device.

6. Data Retention and Deletion Requests

In compliance with Google Play Developer Policies and global privacy regulations:

Local App Data: Retained only for as long as the application remains installed on your device.
Firebase Crashlytics Data: Automatically retained for up to 90 days by Google Cloud and subsequently purged.
Firebase Analytics Telemetry: Anonymized event telemetry is retained for up to 14 months before automated deletion.

Submitting a Data Deletion Request: If you wish to request the deletion of any associated diagnostic telemetry or have privacy inquiries, you may email us directly at [email protected]. We will process your request within 30 business days.

7. Data Security & Encryption

We take the security of your data seriously. All communications between the Application and third-party services (Firebase, Google Play) are encrypted in transit using industry-standard Transport Layer Security (HTTPS/TLS). On-device data is secured within the Android sandboxed application storage.

8. Children’s Privacy (COPPA / GDPR-K)

Pinhole Notify is a general audience utility application and is not directed to children under the age of 13 (or under 16 in the European Economic Area). We do not knowingly collect or solicit personally identifiable information from children. If you become aware that a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us at [email protected] and we will take immediate steps to remove such information.

9. International User Rights (GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, Australia)

Depending on your jurisdiction, you have specific statutory privacy rights:

European Economic Area & UK (GDPR / UK-GDPR): You have the right to access, rectify, port, or request erasure of your data, and to restrict or object to its processing.
California Residents (CCPA / CPRA): You have the right to know what categories of personal information are collected, request deletion, and opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information (note: Apps4Us does not sell or share your personal data).
Australia (Privacy Act 1988 & APPs): We adhere to the Australian Privacy Principles governing open, transparent management of personal information.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact our privacy representative at [email protected].

10. Updates to This Privacy Policy

We may update our Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in our practices or legal obligations. Any updates will be posted directly to this web page (https://apps4us.co/pinholenotify/privacy.html) with an updated effective date. We encourage you to review this page periodically.

11. Contact Us

If you have questions, feedback, or concerns regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact us at:

Apps4Us Privacy Team

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://apps4us.co

Community Group: https://groups.google.com/g/apps4us-insiders