Privacy Policy

Application: CouchDeck (Package: com.couchdeck.remote)
Developer: Ticherhaz
Effective Date: October 15, 2026
Last Updated: October 28, 2026

Privacy Overview: CouchDeck connects your phone and TV strictly over your private local Wi-Fi network. We do not collect, monitor, store, or sell your personal data, keystrokes, gamepad actions, or browsing history. Non-premium users may see third-party banner and interstitial advertisements delivered by Google AdMob. Anonymous crash diagnostics and optional push notifications are powered by Google Firebase (Crashlytics, Cloud Messaging, and Analytics) to improve application stability and deliver feature alerts.

1. Introduction

This Privacy Policy governs your use of CouchDeck (the "Application"), developed by Ticherhaz ("Developer", "we", "us", "our"). CouchDeck is a dual-mode smart remote, multi-client trackpad, virtual gamepad, and TV web browser utility.

We are dedicated to safeguarding your privacy. This policy outlines what data the Application accesses, how network traffic is handled, and the third-party services utilized.

2. Local Peer-to-Peer Architecture & Data Handling

a. Personal Data

The Application does not collect Personally Identifiable Information (PII). No registration, user accounts, names, email addresses, phone numbers, or passwords are required to use CouchDeck.

b. Remote Input, Touchpad, & Virtual Gamepad

All user inputs—including trackpad cursor gestures, mouse clicks, text typing, multi-client player cursors, media playback commands, and virtual gamepad buttons/joysticks—are transmitted directly from your phone to your TV screen over your local wireless network (LAN) using direct local TCP sockets (port 8888) authenticated with a locally generated 4-digit pairing PIN. No remote control, gamepad, or keystroke data is ever sent to the Internet or stored on external servers.

c. Web Browsing & Local Storage

When running in TV Screen Mode, the Application renders web pages using the standard Google Android System WebView component:

• Standard Mode: Web cache, cookies, and local session data are stored securely in Android's private local app storage on your TV. You can permanently clear all TV browsing data, cookies, and cache at any time using the "Clear TV Browsing Data" option in Remote Settings.
• Incognito Private Browsing Mode: When enabled, browsing operates in an ephemeral RAM-only session that disables DOM storage and caching, leaving zero permanent cache, cookies, or history on the TV device.

d. Encrypted Local Preferences & Bookmarks

Custom bookmarks, custom home page URLs, last-paired local TV IP addresses, and pairing PIN tokens are encrypted at rest on your device using AES-256-GCM backed by the Android Hardware Keystore before being saved to Android's private SharedPreferences. These sensitive preference files are explicitly excluded from Android Cloud Auto-Backup and device-to-device transfer rules so your local network configuration never leaves your device.

3. In-App Advertising (Google AdMob)

To support free development and maintenance, the free version of CouchDeck displays banner advertisements on mobile control screens and occasional interstitial advertisements during natural navigation transitions (such as saving bookmarks or switching modes), served by Google Mobile Ads (AdMob):

• Data Collected by AdMob: Google AdMob may automatically collect and process pseudonymous identifiers, such as your Android Advertising ID (AAID), coarse IP-based location, app interaction events, and device diagnostic information to deliver ads, enforce frequency capping, and detect fraud.
• Opt-Out & Advertising Controls: You can reset or delete your Advertising ID and opt out of personalized ads at any time through your Android device settings: Settings > Google > All services > Ads > Delete advertising ID.
• Third-Party Privacy Policy: For details on how Google processes data in advertising products, please visit Google's Advertising Privacy & Terms and How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services.
• Ad-Free Experience: Subscribing to CouchDeck Premium immediately and permanently disables all Google AdMob banner and interstitial advertisements throughout the Application.

4. Firebase Services: Diagnostics, Push Notifications, & Analytics

To ensure application stability, diagnose technical errors, and deliver timely feature updates, CouchDeck integrates services provided by Google LLC (Firebase):

• Firebase Crashlytics (Crash Reporting): If the Application encounters an unexpected crash or critical fault, Crashlytics collects technical diagnostic data, including stack traces, Crashlytics Installation UUID, device model, operating system version, and app state metadata at the time of the crash. This data is strictly non-personal, pseudonymous, encrypted in transit, and used solely to resolve software bugs and improve app stability.
• Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM & Push Notifications): We use FCM to deliver optional system push notifications regarding product updates and announcements. FCM uses a pseudonymous Firebase Installation ID (FID) and registration token to route notifications to your device. We do not link this token to any personal identity. On Android 13 and above, notifications are only delivered if you explicitly grant notification permission (POST_NOTIFICATIONS), and you may enable or disable notifications at any time in your Android device settings (Settings > Apps > CouchDeck > Notifications).
• Google Analytics for Firebase: Aggregated, pseudonymous app interaction metrics (such as mode selection, notification opens, and subscription conversion events) are processed to understand feature usage and stability. No personal browsing URLs, search queries, keystrokes, or remote control inputs are ever logged or transmitted to Firebase Analytics.
• Firebase Privacy Documentation: Learn more at Privacy and Security in Firebase.

5. Web Content Filtering & Pop-Up Blocker

The Application includes an optional built-in Web Ad & Pop-up Filter for the TV browser surface:

• This feature operates 100% locally on your TV device by matching incoming sub-resource web requests against an on-device list of known third-party ad/tracker domains and applying standard CSS rules to hide generic banner and pop-up containers.
• No browsing history, visited URLs, or web traffic data are ever transmitted to us or any external server by this filter.

6. Android Device Permissions & Rationale

The Application requests only minimum necessary permissions to operate across your local network:

• android.permission.INTERNET: Required to establish local Wi-Fi socket communication between the phone and TV, render web pages in the TV WebView, validate SSL certificates when requested by the user, and load AdMob/Firebase services.
• android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE & android.permission.ACCESS_WIFI_STATE: Required to check local Wi-Fi connectivity and display your TV's local LAN IP address for pairing.
• android.permission.CHANGE_WIFI_MULTICAST_STATE: Required for zero-configuration Network Service Discovery (mDNS / UDP port 8889) to automatically discover CouchDeck TV on your local Wi-Fi without manual IP entry.
• android.permission.POST_NOTIFICATIONS: Required on Android 13+ (API level 33+) to display optional system notifications. Requested only after you review and accept our legal disclosures.
• com.android.vending.BILLING: Required to process CouchDeck Premium subscriptions and restore purchases via Google Play Billing.
• com.google.android.gms.permission.AD_ID (merged via Google Mobile Ads SDK): Used by Google AdMob to respect your device's Advertising ID preferences and limit ad frequency.

We do not request or access sensitive permissions such as GPS/Fine Location, Contacts, Camera, Microphone, Call Logs, SMS, or External Storage/Photos.

7. In-App Purchases & Financial Data

All payments, subscription trials, renewals, and cancellations for CouchDeck Premium are processed exclusively by Google Play In-App Billing. We never access, collect, or store your credit card numbers, bank account details, or billing address. Purchase entitlements are verified locally using RSA cryptographic signature verification.

8. Third-Party Websites & External Content

When you use the TV browser to visit third-party websites (such as search engines, news portals, or media platforms), your interaction with those websites is governed directly by their respective privacy policies and cookie terms. We do not control and are not responsible for the privacy practices of external websites you choose to visit.

9. Children's Privacy (COPPA & GDPR-K)

The Application is intended for general audiences aged 13 and older (or 16 and older in the European Economic Area / UK). We do not knowingly target children or collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has inadvertently provided any personal information to us via support email, please contact us at ticherhaz@gmail.com and we will immediately delete it.

10. Data Security & Network Encryption

We implement defense-in-depth technical safeguards to protect your device and data:

• Authenticated Local Pairing: Local TCP socket connections between your phone and TV require a 4-digit pairing PIN generated via SecureRandom to prevent unauthorized devices on shared Wi-Fi networks from sending remote commands.
• Hardware-Backed Encryption at Rest: Sensitive local preferences are encrypted using AES/GCM/NoPadding (256-bit) via the Android Keystore system.
• Transport Security: All third-party SDK communications (Google Play Billing, AdMob, Firebase) use TLS/HTTPS encryption, and the Application manifest enforces usesCleartextTraffic="false" for application network calls while providing real-time HTTPS/HTTP lock status indicators and X.509 certificate inspection for user-initiated web browsing.

11. Data Retention, Deletion & Your Privacy Rights (GDPR / CCPA / VCDPA)

Because we do not maintain user accounts or external databases of your personal data, you have direct, immediate control over all data stored by the Application:

• Clear TV Browsing Data: Open Remote Settings > Clear TV Browsing Data at any time to immediately wipe all WebView cookies, cache, and history on the TV.
• Delete Local App Data: You can erase all saved bookmarks, pairing PINs, and preferences at any time via Android Settings > Apps > CouchDeck > Storage & cache > Clear storage, or by uninstalling the Application.
• Reset Advertising & Analytics Identifiers: You can delete your Android Advertising ID in your device's Google Settings, which permanently dissociates any prior ad profile.
• Statutory Rights (EEA, UK, California, Virginia, & Global Users): Depending on your jurisdiction, you have the right to request access to, correction of, or deletion of personal data, and the right to opt out of targeted advertising or the sale/sharing of personal information. We do not sell your personal information. To exercise any privacy right or request assistance, contact us at ticherhaz@gmail.com.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect software improvements, SDK updates, or regulatory changes. The updated policy will be bundled in application updates and published on our official policy page with a revised "Last Updated" date.

13. Contact Information

If you have any questions, data requests, or concerns regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact:

Developer: Ticherhaz
Email: ticherhaz@gmail.com
Application: CouchDeck (com.couchdeck.remote)