Privacy Policy

Effective Date: 06.07.2026

Spade Launcher is designed with a privacy-first approach. The app does not use analytics, advertising, user accounts, crash reporting, or tracking technologies.

Information Stored Locally

Spade Launcher stores settings locally on your device, including:

• Favorite app selections
• Hidden app selections
• Gesture shortcut preferences
• Theme and appearance settings
• Weather city preferences
• Wallpaper settings

Spade Launcher also reads the list of launchable apps installed on your device to provide the app drawer, favorites, hidden apps, and shortcut features. This app list is not sent to Spade Launcher servers.

Weather Functionality

When weather is used, Spade Launcher sends the following information to a self-hosted weather server operated by the developer (weather.spadelauncher.com):

• City search text (sent to Open-Meteo's geocoding API to resolve city coordinates)
• Selected city coordinates (sent to the self-hosted server to fetch the forecast)

Spade Launcher does not request precise device location permission for weather. Weather is based on the city selected by the user.

Weather forecasts are served from a self-hosted server using data from DWD and NOAA, processed with the open-source Open-Meteo software. City search uses Open-Meteo's public geocoding API. The self-hosted server may receive technical information such as IP addresses during requests.

Permissions Used

• INTERNET: used for weather data, city search, and Ace Edition purchase verification
• SET_WALLPAPER: used to set wallpapers when requested by the user
• READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE: used on Android 12 and below to select wallpaper images
• SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW (display over other apps): used only by the optional Focus Gate feature, to show a blocking screen once a self-set time limit on a chosen app expires
• PACKAGE_USAGE_STATS (Usage Access): used only by the optional Focus Gate feature, to detect which app is currently in the foreground so the blocking screen is shown only for the app you've limited — not the rest of your device

Focus Gate Feature

Focus Gate is an optional, user-enabled feature that lets you set a time limit on a chosen app and shows a blocking screen once that time is up. To do this, it uses two permissions you grant explicitly and separately in system settings: the ability to display over other apps, and Usage Access, which lets it check which app is currently in the foreground.

This information is processed entirely on-device, in real time, only to decide whether to show or hide the blocking screen. Spade Launcher does not store, log, transmit, or share your app usage history — with the developer, with any third party, or with Spade Launcher servers. Nothing about which apps you use or when is ever sent off your device.

Focus Gate is a self-restriction tool intended to help reduce app usage. It is best-effort and is not a guaranteed or bypass-proof parental control or device management system.

Ace Edition Purchase Verification

When purchasing or restoring Ace Edition, the app sends a cryptographic purchase receipt (issued by Google Play) to a self-hosted server operated by the developer (api.spadelauncher.com) to verify the purchase is genuine. No personal data is included — only the signed receipt from Google. The server does not store this data after verification.

Data Collection

Spade Launcher does not collect, sell, or share personal data for advertising or tracking.

Spade Launcher does not use:

• Analytics
• Advertising
• User accounts
• Crash reporting
• Tracking technologies

Data Deletion

Most data used by Spade Launcher is stored locally on your device. You can remove this data by changing settings inside the app, clearing app data, or uninstalling Spade Launcher.

Contact

For privacy-related questions, you can contact us at: support@spadelauncher.com