Privacy Policy

1. Introduction & Core Philosophy

At Free Counter, we believe your personal tracking data (such as habits, routines, repetitions, and private notes) belongs solely to you. Modern mobile applications often embed invasive advertising SDKs and background trackers that monitor user behavior.

Free Counter was intentionally built from the ground up to operate completely without internet connectivity, remote servers, or external services. Privacy is not a configurable toggle in Free Counter; it is the fundamental architectural foundation of the application.

2. Information We Do NOT Collect

Because Free Counter does not connect to any servers, we collect zero information from our users:

• No Personal Identifiable Information (PII): We do not ask for your name, email address, phone number, age, location, or credentials.
• No Counter or Log Data: The names of your counters, values, categories, streak records, notes, and custom properties are stored strictly on your device and are never transmitted to us or any third party.
• No Analytics or Telemetry: We do not monitor how often you open the app, which buttons you press, or how long you use features.
• No Device Fingerprinting: We do not collect your IP address, IMEI, MAC address, advertising ID (IDFA/GAID), or unique device identifiers.
• No Cookies or Local Storage Tracking: This website and the mobile app use no tracking cookies or marketing pixels.

3. On-Device Storage (Drift & SQLite)

All data you create in Free Counter is stored locally in an embedded SQLite database using the Drift persistence engine. This database resides within the secure, sandboxed application storage provided by your mobile operating system (Android or iOS).

Other applications on your device cannot access this database. If you uninstall Free Counter or clear its application storage, all local database entries are permanently removed by your operating system.

4. Third-Party Integrations & Advertising

Free Counter has zero third-party integrations:

• No Advertising Networks: We do not use Google AdMob, Unity Ads, AppLovin, or any commercial ad exchange.
• No Analytics SDKs: We do not embed Google Analytics, Firebase, Meta/Facebook SDK, Mixpanel, or Amplitude.
• No Crash Reporters: We do not include third-party crash telemetry (such as Sentry or Crashlytics) that transmit device data over the network.

5. Device Permissions Explained

Free Counter only requests the minimum device permissions necessary to execute features you explicitly choose to configure:

• Notifications (Optional): If you set up a reminder for a counter, the app requests permission to schedule local notifications. These notifications are generated and scheduled entirely by your device's operating system clock. No network communication is involved.
• File Access & Share Sheet (Optional): If you trigger an export (such as creating a JSON backup file or CSV spreadsheet) or choose to restore a previous backup, the app uses standard system file pickers to read or write the specific file you select.

6. Data Portability, Backups, and Ownership

You retain 100% ownership of your data at all times. Free Counter includes two built-in mechanisms for data portability:

• JSON Backups: Creates a complete export of your counters, event history, and settings, secured with an SHA-256 integrity checksum to protect against corruption during transfer.
• CSV Export: Generates a standard UTF-8 CSV file with BOM, allowing you to inspect, analyze, or graph your tracking history in Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, or any data analysis tool.

Because Free Counter has no cloud sync, we recommend generating regular backups if you intend to switch devices.

7. Children's Privacy (COPPA & GDPR Compliance)

Free Counter does not collect, maintain, or transmit personal information from anyone, including children under the age of 13 (or under 16 in the European Union). Because no data is collected, Free Counter complies inherently with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and international privacy frameworks.

8. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in software updates or legal requirements. However, our core commitment—that Free Counter will remain a 100% offline, standalone application with zero data harvesting—will never change. Any updates will be posted directly to this web page.

9. Contact Us

If you have any questions, feedback, or inquiries regarding this Privacy Policy or Free Counter's architecture, you may reach out directly through the project's official repository or support channels.