Dots
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Privacy Policy

The short version: we don't collect your data. Below is the long version, written so you can verify that for yourself.

Last updated: April 20, 2026 · Effective date: April 20, 2026

1. Summary (the 30-second version)

Dots ("we", "us", "our") is an iOS application that turns your year into a simple dot-grid wallpaper for your iPhone lock screen. We built Dots with a single privacy principle: your data stays on your device. We do not run a server, we do not have an account system, and we do not use analytics or advertising SDKs.

  • What we collect about you: nothing personal.
  • Where your goals and check-ins live: only on your iPhone.
  • Where the wallpaper is generated: 100% on your device.
  • Who sees your data: you, and only you.
  • Third parties involved: Apple (for payments and the App Store) and RevenueCat (only to verify whether your Pro subscription is active).

2. Who we are and what this policy covers

This Privacy Policy describes how Dots — both the iOS application and this marketing website (collectively, the "Service") — handles information. It applies to anyone who downloads, installs, or uses Dots, and to anyone who visits this website. By using the Service you confirm you have read and understood this policy.

If you have questions about anything below, email us at itsherbrilliance@gmail.com.

3. Information we do NOT collect

To make this completely concrete, here is an explicit list of categories of personal information that Dots does not collect, store, transmit, or sell:

  • Your name, email address, phone number, postal address, or date of birth
  • Your contacts, calendar events, reminders, or notes
  • Your photos or camera roll content (we never read your photo library)
  • Your precise or approximate location, GPS coordinates, or IP-derived geolocation
  • Your goals, daily actions, check-in history, or progress streaks
  • Device identifiers used for advertising (IDFA) or cross-app tracking
  • Browsing history, search history, or app usage telemetry
  • Health, fitness, or biometric data
  • Credit card numbers, bank details, or any payment information
  • Crash reports tied to your identity (we do not run a crash analytics SDK)

4. Information processed only on your device

Dots needs some information to function — your yearly goal, your chosen daily action, and which days you have checked in. All of this is stored locally on your iPhone using standard iOS storage (typically the app's sandboxed container and UserDefaults). Specifically:

  • Yearly goal: the title and description you enter for the year.
  • Daily action: the small habit you commit to performing each day.
  • Check-in history: a per-day record of whether you completed the action.
  • Generated wallpaper image: the dot-grid PNG that Dots creates and saves to your Photos so iOS can use it as a lock screen wallpaper.
  • App preferences: theme, accent color, and reminder settings.

This data never leaves your iPhone through Dots. We have no server to send it to. We do not sync it through iCloud on your behalf. If you have iCloud Backup enabled at the iOS level, Apple may include the app's local data in your encrypted device backup — that backup is between you and Apple and is governed by Apple's Privacy Policy.

5. How the wallpaper is generated

The dot-grid wallpaper is rendered entirely on your device using standard Apple frameworks (Core Graphics / SwiftUI). The pipeline is:

  1. Dots reads the current date and (if you are a Pro subscriber) your local check-in history.
  2. It draws a year-grid PNG image in memory on your iPhone.
  3. With your permission, it saves that PNG to your Photos library.
  4. An iOS Shortcuts automation that you set up assigns the latest image as your lock-screen wallpaper.

No part of this process contacts our servers — because we don't have any. No image, date, or goal data is transmitted off the device.

6. iOS permissions Dots requests

We request only the minimum permissions needed for the app to work:

  • Photos (add-only): required to save the generated wallpaper image to your library so iOS Shortcuts can use it. We never read existing photos.
  • Notifications (optional): if you opt in, used only to remind you to check in for the day. Reminders are scheduled locally; we never push from a server.
  • Shortcuts (you set up): the Shortcuts automation runs entirely on your device under your control. You can disable or delete it at any time.

Dots does not request any of the following permissions:

  • Location (precise or approximate)
  • Contacts
  • Camera or Microphone
  • Health, Motion, or Fitness
  • Bluetooth or Local Network
  • App Tracking Transparency (we have nothing to track across apps)

7. App Tracking Transparency (ATT)

Dots does not show the iOS App Tracking Transparency prompt because we do not track you. We do not use the Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA), we do not link your activity in Dots to your identity in any other app or website, and we do not share any data with data brokers.

8. Subscriptions and RevenueCat

To verify whether your Dots Pro subscription is active, Dots uses RevenueCat, a service that talks to Apple's StoreKit on our behalf. This is the only third-party service embedded in the app. RevenueCat receives:

  • An anonymous app-generated user ID (a random identifier created by the SDK; not linked to your name, email, or Apple ID).
  • Your subscription status returned by Apple (active, expired, in trial, refunded).
  • The Apple-issued purchase receipt token used to validate the subscription.
  • Standard purchase metadata Apple provides for in-app purchases: country/storefront, product identifier, and app version.
  • Basic device metadata required by the SDK (device model and iOS version) for compatibility.

RevenueCat does not receive your name, email address, contacts, photos, goals, daily actions, check-in history, or location. RevenueCat acts as a data processor on our behalf. Their handling of this data is governed by their Privacy Policy and Data Processing Addendum.

9. Apple's role in payments

All purchases of Dots Pro are processed by Apple through your Apple ID and the App Store. Apple — not us — collects and handles your payment method, billing address, and tax information. We never see your card number, billing details, or Apple ID email. Apple's handling of this information is governed by Apple's Privacy Policy.

10. Cookies, analytics, and advertising

The Dots app contains no analytics SDKs, no advertising SDKs, no attribution SDKs, and no A/B testing tools. We do not know how often you open the app, which screens you visit, or how long you stay.

This marketing website is a static site that does not set tracking cookies and does not run third-party analytics scripts. The only data ever logged is what your hosting provider records by default at the network level (e.g. IP address and user agent in standard request logs), retained briefly for security and abuse prevention only.

11. Data retention

Because we have no servers, we have no databases of user data to retain or delete.

  • On-device data persists on your iPhone for as long as Dots is installed. Deleting the app removes this data from your device.
  • RevenueCat subscription records are retained per RevenueCat's retention policy for as long as needed to manage active subscriptions and meet Apple's reporting requirements.
  • Apple purchase records are retained by Apple per their policies.

12. Your privacy rights (GDPR, UK GDPR, CCPA, and similar)

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, delete, port, restrict, or object to the processing of your personal data, and the right not to be discriminated against for exercising those rights.

Because we do not collect personal data ourselves, most of these rights are satisfied automatically:

  • Right to access / portability: all your data lives on your iPhone — you already have it.
  • Right to delete: deleting Dots from your iPhone deletes all on-device data.
  • RevenueCat anonymous ID deletion: if you would like the anonymous subscription identifier associated with your install removed from RevenueCat's systems, email us with the date of your purchase and we will submit a deletion request to RevenueCat on your behalf.
  • Right to opt out of "sale" or "sharing": we do not sell or share your personal data with anyone for advertising. There is nothing to opt out of.

For any privacy request or complaint, contact us at itsherbrilliance@gmail.com. EU/UK users also have the right to lodge a complaint with their local data protection authority.

13. International users and data transfers

Dots can be downloaded and used worldwide where the App Store is available. The only cross-border data flow caused by Dots is the anonymous subscription metadata sent to RevenueCat, which is hosted in the United States. Where required (for example for transfers from the EEA, UK, or Switzerland), RevenueCat relies on Standard Contractual Clauses and equivalent safeguards as described in their DPA.

14. Children's privacy

Dots is not directed at children under 13 (or under 16 in the European Economic Area). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has somehow provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will take appropriate steps. Because the app collects no personal information from anyone, this situation should not be possible.

15. Security

The most secure data is data that is never collected. Because we do not run a server, there is no central database that could be breached. The data Dots stores on your iPhone inherits the security model of iOS itself: app-sandboxed storage, encryption at rest when your device is locked, and protection by your device passcode and biometrics (Face ID / Touch ID). Communications between Dots and RevenueCat / Apple are encrypted in transit using TLS.

16. Third-party links

Dots and this website may contain links to third-party services such as the App Store, Apple Support, Apple's "Report a Problem" page, and RevenueCat. We are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of those third parties. We encourage you to review their privacy policies before using them.

17. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time, for example to reflect changes to the app, to legal requirements, or to the third-party services we rely on. The updated version will be posted on this page with a revised "Last updated" date. For material changes, we will also surface a notice inside the app on your next launch. Your continued use of Dots after a revised policy takes effect constitutes acceptance of that policy.

18. Contact

For any privacy question, request, or concern, please email itsherbrilliance@gmail.com. We aim to respond to privacy enquiries within 1–2 business days, and within statutory deadlines where applicable.