Privacy policy
In short
- Sense Launcher does not collect, store or share your personal data. I, the developer, receive nothing from your phone.
- There are no accounts, no ads, no analytics and no tracking in the app.
- Your settings, favourite apps, habits, to-dos, water and step counts stay on your device.
- The one thing the app sends over the internet is a weather request, described below.
Who is responsible
Sense Launcher is made by Ben Simms, an independent developer based in the United Kingdom. Because the app sends me no personal data, I do not hold any information about you. If you have a question about this policy, contact me through bensimms.co.uk.
What stays on your device
The app saves the following in its private storage on your phone, so it can remember your setup:
- Your settings: colours, layout, which widgets and gestures are on.
- Your chosen home-screen apps and their order.
- Widget data you enter: habits and ticks, to-do items, water count, timer, and your step goal.
- For the Steps widget: today's step count and the step sensor's last reading.
This data is not uploaded, and app backup is turned off, so it is not copied to Google's cloud backup either. It is deleted when you clear the app's storage or uninstall it.
Permissions, and what each is for
Sense Launcher asks only for what its visible features need. Apart from those a launcher cannot work without, every permission is optional, and the app explains each one in Settings, About.
| Permission | Why it is used | What happens to the data | Optional? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Installed apps | Shows your app list, the A-Z index and the app picker. | The list is read on your phone and never sent anywhere. | Required for a launcher |
| Notification access | Shows the current track and controls it (Now playing), and shows missed notifications with the app, title and a short snippet. | Displayed on screen only. Not saved and not sent anywhere. You grant this in Android's system settings and can revoke it there at any time. | Optional |
| Approximate location | Finds the weather and sunrise or sunset where you are. | Your phone's last known approximate position is used for one weather request. It is not stored by the app. If you decline, a default location (central London) is used instead. | Optional |
| Internet and network state | Fetches the forecast, and lets the network widget show whether you're online. | Used for the weather request described below and nothing else. | Needed for weather |
| Wi-Fi state | Lets the network widget show Wi-Fi strength, or that you're sharing a hotspot. | Read on your phone only. | Optional widget |
| Phone state | Reads mobile signal strength for the network widget. | Signal strength only. The app does not read calls, phone numbers, messages or contacts. | Optional |
| Physical activity | Reads your phone's built-in step sensor for the Steps widget. | The app stores only today's step count, your daily goal and the sensor's last reading, on your phone. No profile, location or account is involved, and nothing is uploaded. | Optional |
| Uninstall apps | Offers Uninstall when you hold an app. | Android always asks you to confirm. The app never uninstalls anything by itself. | Optional feature |
| Set wallpaper | Applies a background made in the Background maker. | Used only when you choose to apply a background. | Optional feature |
| Vibration | Haptic feedback and the timer alert. | Nothing is collected. You can turn haptics off in Settings. | Optional |
| Quick settings | Lets the swipe-down gesture open your quick settings panel. | Nothing is collected. You can turn the gesture off in Settings. | Optional |
Photos. The Background maker opens Android's photo picker so you can choose one picture. The app never gets access to the rest of your photos, and the picture is processed on your phone.
The weather request (the only network use)
The weather widget asks Open-Meteo, a third-party weather service, for the forecast and sunrise and sunset times. Each request contains approximate coordinates (from your phone, or the default location if you decline location access) and standard technical details every internet request carries, such as your IP address. No account, device identifier or other personal information is included. The request uses an encrypted (HTTPS) connection. Open-Meteo's handling of requests is described in their terms and privacy information.
What the app does not do
- No advertising, analytics or crash-reporting code from third parties.
- No user accounts or sign-in.
- No selling or sharing of data. There is no data to sell.
- No reading of your calls, contacts, messages, or files.
If you install the app through Google Play, Google may collect its own information (such as installs and crash reports) under Google's privacy policy. I do not control that.
Your choices
- Turn any widget or gesture off in Settings, and remove any permission in Android's app settings at any time. The related feature stops, and the rest of the app keeps working.
- Revoke notification access in Android's Settings, Notifications, Notification access.
- Clear all data the app holds by choosing Clear storage in Android's app settings, or by uninstalling it.
Because I hold none of your data, there is nothing to request from me or delete. If you are in the UK or EU, your rights under data protection law (such as access, correction and deletion) still apply, and I will help with any question about them.
Children
Sense Launcher is a general-purpose app and is not aimed at children. It does not knowingly collect personal information from anyone.
Changes to this policy
If the app changes in a way that affects your privacy (for example, if a feature starts sending different data), I will update this page and the date at the top before the change reaches you.
Contact
Questions about privacy? Reach me at bensimms.co.uk.