Privacy Policy

Who we are

This policy covers the iPhone and iPad app Countdown Day (shown on the Home Screen as "Countdown Day" and in older versions as "Day"), published on the Apple App Store by Nattapon Kittisuphat ("we", "us"). The Countdown Day website has its own website privacy policy. Where we say "your iPhone", the same applies to an iPad.

What stays on your iPhone

There is no account and no sign-in, so we have no profile of you on any server. Everything you make in the app is stored on your device in the app's private storage:

• your countdowns: name, date and time, note, tag, category, repeat setting, colours, layout and reminder choices;
• photos you choose as backgrounds, saved as a smaller copy inside the app;
• your settings, such as theme, layout and calendar system.

Your Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets read the same storage on the device to show your countdowns. If you used an older version of the app, its countdowns are moved into the new storage on your iPhone; nothing is uploaded to us in the process.

iCloud sync and backup

If you are signed in to iCloud, the app keeps a copy of your countdowns in its area of your private iCloud database (Apple CloudKit), so they can sync between devices signed in to the same Apple Account and come back after you reinstall. This copy is stored by Apple under your Apple Account. We, as the developer, cannot read private iCloud data.

• Auto iCloud Sync is on by default. Day Pro members can switch it off in the app's Settings → Backup & Sync; the change applies the next time you open the app. Anyone can stop the app using iCloud in iOS Settings → your name → iCloud.
• Back Up Now / Restore Data (Day Pro, and people who used the app before version 3.0) saves a second copy of your countdowns to the same private iCloud database and brings it back on request.
• Photos from your library are not copied to iCloud by the app. On a new device, countdowns come back with their text and settings, and you may need to pick a library photo again.

Calendar import

Calendar import is optional and starts only when you open Settings → Calendar Import. iOS then asks you to allow access to your calendar. The app reads events from the next 12 months, on your iPhone, to show you a list. Only the events you select become countdowns, with their title and start date. Your calendar is not sent to us.

To give imported countdowns a background, the app looks for a matching photo on Unsplash. It sends a general theme taken from the event title (for example "birthday cake celebration" for a birthday) or, if no theme matches and the title is written in Latin letters, the event title itself as the search words. If you would rather not send titles, pick the events you import with that in mind, or change the photo afterwards.

Photos and Unsplash

• Your own photos. The app uses Apple's photo picker, so it receives only the photo you choose, not your library. The photo is resized and stored inside the app.
• Saving share cards. When you save a countdown card image, iOS asks for permission to add photos to your library. The app cannot read your library with that permission.
• Unsplash photos. When you browse or search stock photos, the app sends your search words to Unsplash, and the photos load from Unsplash's servers, which, like any website, see your device's IP address. When you choose a photo, the app tells Unsplash that it was used, as Unsplash requires, and credits the photographer.

Reminders and push notifications

Countdown reminders are local notifications scheduled on your iPhone: for example on the day itself, the day before, a week before if you choose, milestones such as 100, 30 and 7 days to go, the halfway point, anniversaries of past days, occasional reminders to come back to the app, and a reminder one to two days before a free trial ends. Their text is created on the device.

The app also includes the OneSignal push service. If you allow notifications, your device registers with OneSignal, which receives a push token and basic device information such as device model, iOS version, language, time zone and app version, so that we can send occasional announcements. Your countdowns are never sent to OneSignal. You can turn notifications off at any time in iOS Settings → Notifications → Countdown Day.

Advertising

Free use of the app is supported by ads from Google AdMob: a full-screen ad from time to time, for example after saving a countdown or when you come back to the app. There are no full-screen ads in the first 24 hours after you first open the app, and at least three minutes between them. AdMob receives device and advertising data to show ads, limit how often you see them, measure them and prevent fraud.

• Consent first. Where the law requires it (for example in the EU, UK and Switzerland), Google's consent form appears before ads load. You can change your choice later in the app's Settings → About → Privacy Settings, a row that appears where consent applies.
• Apple's tracking prompt. The app shows a short explanation, then iOS asks whether the app may track you across other companies' apps and websites. If you allow it, AdMob may use your device's advertising identifier (IDFA) for more relevant ads. If you ask the app not to track, AdMob does not get that identifier. The app works the same either way. Change it any time in iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking.
• No ads for paying users. Day Pro (yearly, monthly or lifetime), Essentials and the older Remove Ads purchase turn ads off.

Usage analytics

The app sends usage events to Mixpanel so we can see which features help and which get in the way. Events include app opens and sessions, app updates, creating a countdown (with its settings such as unit, background type, category and whether it has a time or note, never the name, note or photo), using quick-add holidays, viewing a countdown, opening a reminder, sharing a card, viewing the purchase screen and purchases (product, price paid and currency), restores, ads shown, the rating prompt, whether you have widgets on screen, your notification permission state, and how many countdowns you created.

Each event carries the app version, device model, iOS version, screen size, your device's region setting, the date the app was first opened and whether you have Day Pro. Mixpanel may estimate an approximate location (country and city) from the connection's IP address. Events are tied to a random identifier created by the app on install. It is not your name, email, Apple Account, phone number or advertising ID, and we do not combine it with any of those. The app also uses Mixpanel feature flags, with the same random identifier, to decide which version of the purchase screen to show.

Purchases

Day Pro, Essentials and older purchases are sold and charged by Apple through the App Store. We never see your card number, name or Apple Account. Apple tells the app which items you own so it can unlock them, and whether you first installed the app before certain features became paid, so long-time users keep them. Purchase events (product and price) are also counted in analytics, as described above.

Web links, feedback and crash reports

• Links to our website. Settings → On the Web, and the menu on some holiday countdowns, open countdownday.com inside the app. These links carry a tag saying they came from the app; nothing about your countdowns is sent. The website's own privacy policy applies there.
• More Apps. The list of our other apps is built into the app and loads nothing from the internet until you tap one, which opens the App Store.
• Feedback. Settings → Feedback opens your Mail app with your message plus the app version, iOS version and device type. We receive your email address only if you send it, and use it only to reply.
• Crash reports. The app has no separate crash-reporting service. If you choose in iOS to share analytics with app developers, Apple may pass us anonymous crash and performance reports.

Children

The app is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

How long data is kept

Data on your iPhone stays until you delete it or the app. The iCloud copy stays in your iCloud until you delete it. Analytics events are kept in Mixpanel only as long as they help us improve the app, and we delete them on request. Google, OneSignal and Unsplash keep data under their own policies, linked above. These services may process data in the United States and other countries.

Your choices and rights

• Stop cross-app tracking: iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking.
• Change ad consent (where offered): the app's Settings → Privacy Settings.
• Stop notifications: iOS Settings → Notifications → Countdown Day.
• Stop iCloud use: iOS Settings → your name → iCloud, or the Auto iCloud Sync switch for Day Pro members.
• Remove what the app stored on your phone: delete the app. Apple lets you manage data apps keep in your iCloud in iOS Settings → your name → iCloud.
• Ask what we hold, or ask us to delete analytics linked to your device: write to us through the contact form. Laws such as the GDPR and the California Consumer Privacy Act give you these rights. Because the app gives us no name or email, we may ask for details such as your device model and the dates you used the app to find your data.

We do not sell your personal information for money. If you allow tracking, the ad data AdMob uses may count as "sharing" for targeted advertising under some US state laws; asking the app not to track stops it.

Changes and contact

If a future version changes what the app collects, we will update this page before that version is released. The date at the top shows the latest change. Questions about this policy: use the contact form and mention "Countdown Day app". See also the terms of use and support page.