Privacy Policy

Last updated: July 14, 2026

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This Privacy Policy explains how Shift Tracker ("the app", "we") handles information when you use the app on your Android device.

1. Summary

  • The app stores your shift, payment, and settings data locally on your device.
  • We do not run our own servers and do not use third-party analytics or crash-reporting tools.
  • The app shows banner ads supplied by Google AdMob, unless you purchase Remove Ads or Lifetime — see "Advertising" below.
  • Remove Ads and Lifetime are one-time purchases processed by Google Play — see "In-App Purchases" below.
  • If you choose to enable Google Drive backup, your backup file is saved to your own Google Drive account, in a hidden folder reserved for the app, and only your device and your Google Account can read it.
  • The app posts local notifications that never leave your device.

2. Information the App Stores

The app stores the following data on your device only:

  • Shift records you enter: start time, end time, break minutes, hourly rate, paid/unpaid status, optional job name, notes, and tags. Optional per-shift fields when enabled by the job: paid-break flag, tips, expenses, mileage, sales, and holiday flag.
  • Payment records you log: the amount received, the date it was received, the date range it's applied against, the job it's for, and an optional note.
  • Job profiles you create: job name, hourly rate, pay frequency and pay day, week start day, default/quick shifts, and per-shift reminders. Optional pay rules: take-home deduction percent, multi-tier daily and weekly overtime and double-time thresholds, paid-breaks toggle, mileage reimbursement rate and distance unit (mi/km), per-field tracking toggles (tips, expenses, notes, mileage, sales with commission rate), holiday pay (enabled flag and multiplier), rounding rules for hours and earnings, and wage-rise history (effective date and new hourly rate).
  • Invoice branding you set up: an optional business/display name and a logo image you choose from your device's photos, used only to personalize PDF invoices you export. The image is copied into the app's private storage — we never see or receive it.
  • App settings: theme, decimal/24-hour format preference, default home view, graph style, currency, combine-jobs toggle, your preset tag library, backup frequency and time, and similar UI choices.
  • Reminder schedule: the days and times you've configured for shift reminders, plus a flag for whether reminders are turned on. Standalone "general" reminders you create for yourself.
  • Active shift state: the start time and any pause spans of a clock-in that's still running, plus a snapshot of the job's name, hourly rate, and paid-breaks flag taken at clock-in time.
  • Last backup timestamp (if you use Google Drive backup).

This data is held in the app's private Room database, DataStore preferences, and — for an invoice logo you choose — private app file storage. Other apps cannot read it. Uninstalling the app removes all of it.

3. Information We Do Not Collect

  • We don't collect your name, phone number, location, or contacts.
  • If you enable Google Sign-In for backup, we receive only the email address associated with your Google account (see Section 4) — we don't collect it otherwise.
  • If you choose a photo from your device to use as an invoice logo, it's stored only on your device (see Section 2) — we never see or receive a copy of it.
  • We don't include third-party analytics or crash-reporting SDKs.
  • We don't transmit your shift, payment, or job data to any server we operate — we don't operate a server.

4. Google Sign-In and Google Drive Backup (Optional)

Backups are off by default. If you turn them on:

  • We use Google Sign-In to let you authorise the app. Your sign-in is handled entirely by Google; we receive only your email address and a short-lived OAuth token to access Drive on your behalf.
  • The token is requested with the drive.appdata scope. This scope grants access only to a hidden folder inside your own Google Drive that's dedicated to this app. It does not let the app see, list, modify, or delete any other files in your Drive.
  • We upload a single JSON backup file (your shifts, payments, settings, job profiles) to that hidden folder. We do not retain a copy anywhere else.
  • You can disable backup at any time from Settings, sign out, or delete the file directly from your Google account.
  • Google's handling of the data on Drive is governed by the Google Privacy Policy.

5. Advertising (Google AdMob)

Shift Tracker shows banner ads supplied by Google AdMob on the Home and Shifts screens, unless you've purchased Remove Ads or Lifetime (see Section 6). To serve and measure ads, Google AdMob may collect and process:

  • Your device's advertising ID (Android's resettable ad ID) and other device and app-usage signals.
  • General technical information used for ad delivery, frequency capping, and fraud/invalid-traffic prevention.

We don't control what Google collects, how long it's retained, or whether ads are personalized. This is governed by Google's Privacy Policy and, for advertising specifically, how Google uses information from sites or apps that use its services. You can reset your advertising ID or opt out of ad personalization from your Android device's Settings → Google → Ads.

Purchasing Remove Ads or Lifetime stops the app from requesting further ads.

6. In-App Purchases (Google Play Billing)

Shift Tracker offers two one-time, non-subscription purchases — Remove Ads and Lifetime — handled entirely through Google Play Billing:

  • Purchases are processed by Google Play. We never see or store your payment card, billing address, or other checkout details.
  • The app receives only a purchase confirmation/token from Google Play, used locally to unlock the purchased features and to acknowledge the purchase with Google.
  • Refunds, billing history, and payment methods are managed entirely through your Google Play account, under Google's Privacy Policy and Google Play's own terms.

7. Notifications

The app schedules and posts local notifications for:

  • Shift reminders you configure (per-shift or standalone).
  • Backup success or failure (when Drive backup is enabled).
  • Purchase confirmations and Pro/ad-removal status changes.
  • An ongoing "active shift" notification shown via a foreground service while you're clocked in, with Pause, Resume, and End shift quick actions. The notification displays the job name and elapsed working / break time, updated locally on your device.

These notifications are generated and shown by your device. No notification content is sent to a server.

8. Permissions

The app requests the following Android permissions:

  • POST_NOTIFICATIONS — to show shift reminders, backup status, purchase status, and the active-shift notification.
  • SCHEDULE_EXACT_ALARM / USE_EXACT_ALARM — to wake the device for time-of-day shift reminders.
  • RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED — to re-arm reminders and the backup schedule after the device restarts.
  • FOREGROUND_SERVICE / FOREGROUND_SERVICE_SPECIAL_USE — to run the ongoing active-shift timer notification while you're clocked in. Declared as a "special use" foreground service for this purpose only.
  • INTERNET — used to show ads (Google AdMob), process in-app purchases (Google Play Billing), and, if you enable it, to talk to Google's servers for Drive backup.
  • com.google.android.gms.permission.AD_ID — lets Google AdMob use the advertising ID to serve and measure ads. Not used once you've purchased Remove Ads or Lifetime.

We don't use camera, microphone, contacts, or location permissions. Choosing an invoice logo uses Android's system photo picker for a single image — the app is not granted general access to your photo library or other storage.

9. Data Retention and Deletion

  • All data lives on your device. Deleting a shift, job, payment, or invoice logo, or clearing app data in Android Settings, removes it immediately.
  • Uninstalling the app removes the local database, stored logo image, and all settings.
  • The Drive backup file (if any) stays in your Google Drive's hidden app folder until you sign out, disable backup, or delete the file from your Google account.

10. Children

Shift Tracker is not directed at children under 13. We don't knowingly collect personal data from children.

11. Security

Your data is stored in the app's private storage area, which Android isolates from other apps. Backups are sent to Google Drive over HTTPS using a short-lived OAuth token issued by Google.

We can't guarantee absolute security of any data — for example, if your device or Google account is compromised, the data on them could be exposed. Keep your device updated and your Google account secured.

12. Changes to This Policy

If this policy changes materially, we'll update the "Last updated" date and post the new version with the next app release. Continued use after an update means you accept the new policy.

13. Contact

Questions or requests about this policy: moalduhun07@gmail.com