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Privacy Policy
Last updated: October 2026
Rooktick ("Chess Clock Timer – Rooktick", "the App") is developed by Pradep Kumar Chinnasaamy ("I", "me", or "my"). This Privacy Policy explains what the App collects, what stays on your device, and which other companies are involved.
1. In Short
- The App needs no account and no sign-in. I never ask for your name, email address or phone number.
- Your games, moves, player names, scoresheet photos and settings are stored on your device and are not sent to me.
- The App sends usage analytics and crash reports to Google (Firebase), and subscription information to Apple and RevenueCat. These are tied to random identifiers, not to your name.
- The App shows no ads, does not track you across other apps or websites, and I do not sell your data.
2. Information I Do Not Collect
I do not collect your name, email address, phone number, contacts, precise location or payment card details. The App has no user accounts and no profiles.
Anything you type into the App stays on your device. That includes player names, the name of a game or event, the names you give your own clocks and themes, and the moves of your games. None of it is included in analytics or crash reports.
3. Data Stored on Your Device
The App stores the following locally, in its own storage on your device:
- Finished games: the result, date, time control, each move and its clock time, the PGN, and any player names or game name you entered
- Photos of paper scoresheets that you attach to a game
- A game in progress, so it survives the App being closed
- The clocks you have saved or recently used, and the themes you have made
- Your settings (move recording, voice announcements, low-time warnings, button feel, selected theme)
The App does not upload this data and has no cloud sync of its own. If you back up your device to iCloud or to a computer, Apple's backup may include it, according to your own Apple settings.
Deleting the App deletes this data, with one exception: the number of free scoresheet scans you have used is also kept in your device's Keychain, so that reinstalling does not reset the free allowance. It is a single number, it is not synced, and it never leaves your device.
4. Camera and Photos (Scoresheet Scanning)
If you choose to scan a paper scoresheet, the App asks for the camera, or lets you pick a photo from your library. The photo is read entirely on your device, using Apple's on-device models (Apple Intelligence and Vision). It is not sent to me or to any server for processing. The photo is kept with the game on your device until you remove it or delete the game.
Scanning is available only on devices that support Apple's on-device models.
5. Microphone and Speech (Speaking a Move)
If you choose to speak a move, the App asks for the microphone and for speech recognition. The audio is used only to work out the move you said.
- Where your device can recognise speech on the device, the App asks for that, and the audio does not leave the device.
- Where it cannot, iOS sends the audio to Apple's speech recognition service to be transcribed, under Apple's Privacy Policy.
The App does not keep the recording and does not send it, or the transcript, to me. Only the move that was recognised is written to your scoresheet.
Voice announcements of the clock (if you switch them on) are generated on your device.
6. Live Activity
While a game is in progress, the App can show both clocks on your Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island. This is drawn on your device from the game on your device. It includes the player names if you entered any, so anyone who can see your screen can see them. You can turn Live Activities off for the App in the iOS Settings app.
7. Analytics
The App uses Google Analytics for Firebase to understand how it is used, so that I can improve it. It sends:
- Which screens are opened and which features are used
- The clock chosen for a game (for example "Blitz 5+3", its base time and increment), and for a game: that it started, paused, finished or was discarded, its result, how many moves it had and how long it lasted
- How moves were recorded (tapped, typed, spoken or scanned), and whether a scoresheet scan succeeded
- Changes to settings, and the theme in use (a theme you made is reported only as "custom")
- Views of the subscription screen, and the start and outcome of a purchase or restore, including the plan, product and price
- Errors the App recovered from
- Device and app information: device model, iOS version, app version, language, and an approximate region derived from your network connection (Google Analytics does not store your IP address)
- A random identifier for this installation of the App, and Apple's identifier for my apps on your device (IDFV)
It does not send player names, game names, the moves of your games, scoresheet photos, audio, or the names of your own clocks and themes. A clock you made yourself is reported only by its shape (for example "7+3").
The following controls are applied:
- The App does not use the advertising identifier (IDFA) and does not ask to track you
- Ad storage, ad user data and ad personalization are set to denied, and ad personalization signals are disabled
- Analytics data is not shared with advertisers or data brokers
8. Crash Reports
The App uses Firebase Crashlytics to find and fix crashes and errors. When the App crashes or hits an error, a report is sent containing:
- What the code was doing (stack traces) and the state of the App and device at that moment
- Device model, iOS version, app version, and a random installation identifier
- A short trail of the screens and actions that led up to it, and a few settings (such as the theme and move recording mode)
Crash reports do not contain player names, your moves, photos or audio.
9. Subscriptions
Chess Clock Pro ("Pro") is an optional subscription, sold through Apple's App Store and managed with RevenueCat.
- Apple takes the payment. I never see your card or payment details, or your Apple Account.
- RevenueCat receives a random identifier for this installation, your purchase and subscription history for the App (products, dates, prices, renewal and trial status, store country), and basic device and app information, in order to check that a subscription is valid and unlock Pro.
- The App also gives RevenueCat the random analytics identifier described in section 7, so that subscription events (such as a renewal or cancellation) can be counted alongside the App's analytics.
When a subscription ends, Pro features become unavailable; your games and other data stay on your device.
10. Third-Party Services
The App uses these services, each under its own privacy policy:
No advertising frameworks and no other tracking tools are used. These companies may process data in countries other than your own, including the United States.
11. How Information Is Used
Analytics and crash data are used only to understand how the App is used, to fix problems, and to decide what to improve. Subscription data is used only to provide the subscription you bought. I do not sell personal information, and I do not use it for advertising.
Where the law asks for a legal basis: providing your subscription is necessary to perform the contract with you, and analytics and crash reporting rest on my legitimate interest in keeping the App working and improving it.
12. Data Retention
- Data on your device stays until you delete it or delete the App.
- Google keeps analytics data that relates to an installation for a limited period (up to 14 months); statistics that describe no individual installation may be kept longer.
- Crash reports are kept by Google for 90 days.
- RevenueCat and Apple keep purchase records for as long as they are needed to provide and account for subscriptions.
13. Your Choices
- You can delete any game, clock or theme in the App, and remove all on-device data by deleting the App.
- You can withdraw camera, microphone and speech recognition permission, and turn Live Activities off, in the iOS Settings app. The clock itself works without any of them.
- Reinstalling the App resets the random identifiers that analytics, crash reports and RevenueCat use.
- You can manage or cancel a subscription in your Apple Account settings.
- You can ask me what data relates to you, or ask for it to be deleted, at the address below. Because the App has no accounts and I do not know who you are, I may not be able to tell which data is yours without the identifiers from your device.
14. Children's Privacy
The App is a general-audience chess clock and is not directed at children. I do not knowingly collect personal information from children. The App requires no account, and nothing a child types into it leaves the device.
15. Changes to This Policy
If this policy is updated, the date at the top of this page will be revised. Continued use of the App after changes constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.
16. Contact
Questions about privacy? Reach out at:
Email: rooktick@pkc-dev.com
© 2026 Pradep Kumar Chinnasaamy. All rights reserved.