SofaDeck
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Privacy policy

Last updated 2026-11-05

This policy covers the SofaDeck app for Windows and Mac, SofaDeck for iPhone, SofaDeck for Android and the website www.sofadeck.com, both operated by Dixon App Studio LLC ("we").

The SofaDeck app

  • No account, and no telemetry unless you opt in. The app doesn't collect analytics or crash reports, and never sends your deck, buttons, commands or files to us. The only usage data it can send is the optional anonymous counts below, and only if you turn them on.
  • Anonymous usage counts (optional, from version 1.0.18). Off by default. SofaDeck asks once on the PC's settings page, and you can switch it on or off any time in Settings → Privacy. When it is on, the app sends www.sofadeck.com/api/ping up to seven one-time counts — installed, pairing screen shown and pairing skipped (from 1.0.25), first phone paired, first Pro screen shown, 7-day trial started, first Buy click — each with exactly these fields: a random id the app makes when you turn counting on (not derived from your PC, its name, its network or any account), the event name, the SofaDeck version, the channel (sofadeck.com download, Microsoft Store or Mac), the operating system and (from 1.0.24, for the Pro screen, trial and Buy counts only) which free limit's upgrade prompt led to it, such as "trackpad" or "buttons". Our function keeps only daily totals per event, channel, version and limit (no id, no IP address) and may pass each count to our Google Analytics property without your IP address; no names, button labels, keystrokes, files, phone details or network details are ever sent. Turning counting off deletes the random id on your PC. We use the counts only to see how many installs get a phone paired and reach the Pro screen.
  • Local network only. Your phone connects directly to your PC over your local network. Your buttons, settings and the list of paired devices are stored on your PC.
  • Voice. Voice is push-to-talk. Speech-to-text is performed by your phone's browser, which may use your phone platform's speech service (for example Google or Apple) under their privacy terms. SofaDeck receives only the recognised text and does not store audio.
  • Update check. Once a day the app downloads sofadeck.com/download/latest.json to see whether a newer version exists. Like any web request this reaches our host (Netlify) with your IP address; nothing about you or your PC is sent. You can turn it off in Settings.
  • Pro license check. When you enter a Pro license key (and about once a week afterwards), the app sends that key to Gumroad's license API to confirm it's valid. Purchases are processed by Gumroad under Gumroad's privacy policy; we receive your email address and order details from Gumroad, not your card details.

SofaDeck for iPhone

  • Collects no data. The iPhone app has no account, no ads, no analytics, no tracking and no third-party SDKs. Nothing is sent to us. It never asks to track you, because it doesn't.
  • Your PCs only. The app talks only to the SofaDeck PCs you pair, directly over your local network, using an encrypted connection pinned to each PC's own certificate. It finds PCs on your Wi-Fi with Bonjour, which is why iOS asks for Local Network access.
  • Camera. Used only to read the pairing QR code your PC shows. Nothing is recorded or stored.
  • Voice. Push-to-talk speech is recognised on your iPhone (on-device where iOS supports it, otherwise by Apple's speech service under Apple's privacy terms). Only the recognised words are sent — to your PC. No audio is stored.
  • Stored on your iPhone. Paired PCs (address, ports, the PC's certificate and the device token) and your pinned buttons are kept in the iPhone's keychain, shared with the app's own widgets and controls. "Forget" removes a PC and signs the iPhone out on that PC. The Apple Watch app receives your pinned buttons from the iPhone and asks the iPhone to run them.

SofaDeck for Android

  • No account, no ads. The Android app ("SofaDeck: PC Remote & Voice") has no account, no ads, no crash reporting and no advertising ID. Your PC names, addresses, buttons, commands and files are never sent to us.
  • Optional anonymous usage statistics (version 1.2.3 and later). To see which features get used, the app sends anonymous events to Google Analytics for Firebase: fixed event names with small types or counts, for example "a PC was paired", "a button ran" (with its action type, never its label), "a command was sent" (voice or typed, never the words), "the Pro screen was opened", "Buy was tapped" and which screen was opened. Google Analytics adds a random app-instance ID, the device model, Android version, app version and an approximate location derived from the IP address. The advertising ID and Android ID are not collected, ad personalisation is off, and the data is used only for analytics, not for ads, and is not sold or shared. Turn it off any time in Settings › Privacy › "Share anonymous usage statistics": collection stops and the app-instance ID is reset. To have the statistics already collected deleted, email support@dixonappstudio.com. Devices in Google's automated test lab are never counted.
  • Your PCs only. The app talks only to the SofaDeck PCs you pair, directly over your local network. To find them it asks the PCs on your Wi-Fi for SofaDeck's public setup page (and listens for SofaDeck's Bonjour/DNS-SD announcement); after pairing, every connection is encrypted and pinned to that PC's own certificate.
  • Camera. Used only to read the pairing QR code your PC shows. Frames are decoded on the phone and never recorded or stored.
  • Microphone and voice. Push-to-talk only. Speech is recognised by your phone's speech service (offline where your phone supports it, otherwise by the speech provider you chose in Android, such as Google, under its privacy terms). Only the recognised words are sent — to your PC. No audio is stored.
  • Send to PC. Links, text, photos and files you share to SofaDeck go only to the PC you pick, which saves files in Downloads › SofaDeck.
  • Stored on your phone. Paired PCs (address, ports, the PC's certificate, its network adapter address for Wake-on-LAN and the device token) and your widget buttons stay in the app's private storage. They are excluded from Android backups and device transfer. "Forget this PC" removes it and signs the phone out on that PC; uninstalling the app deletes everything.

This website

  • Analytics. We use Google Analytics 4 to count visits and see which pages and buttons are used (for example download and Pro button clicks). Google may set cookies for this. We also record anonymous page visits and outbound clicks with our own first-party counter, which sets no cookies and stores no personal information.
  • Launch list. If you join the launch list we store your email address (and whether you ticked the Pro box) using our host Netlify's form service, and use it only to email you about SofaDeck releases. Ask us any time and we'll delete it.
  • "Email me the link". On a phone you can type your email address to get the SofaDeck download link to open on your computer. We use the address only to send that one email, from support@dixonappstudio.com through our email provider Zoho Mail, and don't keep it. To stop abuse we keep a one-way, salted fingerprint (hash) of the address and of your IP address for 24 hours, which can't be turned back into either. If you tick the optional box "Send me SofaDeck updates (about once a month)", we store your address and the date and time you agreed (with our host Netlify) and email you about new SofaDeck versions about once a month. Every update email has an unsubscribe link that deletes your address at once, or email us and we'll delete it.
  • Email. If you email support, we keep the conversation to help you and for our records.
  • Links to other sites. Some guides link to other websites, including Amazon. Those sites have their own policies. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases: links to Amazon carry our tracking ID, and pages with such links say so.
  • Advertising (Google AdSense). Some pages of this website may show ads served by Google AdSense. Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this website or other websites. Google's use of advertising cookies (including the DoubleClick cookie) enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visits to this and other sites. You can opt out of personalized advertising in Google Ads Settings, or opt out of some third-party vendors' use of cookies for personalized advertising at www.aboutads.info. See how Google uses information from sites that use its services. The desktop app itself shows no ads.
  • Hosting. The site is hosted by Netlify, which processes standard server logs (such as IP address and browser type) to serve and protect the site.

Your choices

You can block or delete cookies in your browser and use Google's Analytics opt-out add-on. To access, correct or delete information we hold about you, email support@dixonappstudio.com. We don't sell personal information.

Visitors in the EEA, UK and Switzerland

If you visit from the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Switzerland, you are shown a consent message from Google, a certified consent management platform, before personalized ads or advertising cookies are used. You can change your choice at any time through that message. Under the GDPR and UK GDPR you can ask to access, correct, delete or port your personal data and object to its processing; our legal bases are your consent (advertising cookies) and our legitimate interest in running and securing the site (hosting logs, analytics). You can also complain to your local data protection authority.

Children

SofaDeck and this site are not directed at children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect their personal information.

Changes

If this policy changes we'll update the date above; significant changes will be noted on the changelog.