Privacy Policy

Christmas Countdown (the "App") shows a live countdown to Christmas — or to any date you choose — along with a matching home screen widget, available on Google Play (Android) and, wherever it is published, the App Store (iOS). This page explains, simply and honestly, what data is processed when you use the App, on either platform.

It applies to anyone installing the App, regardless of country of residence, and takes into account the GDPR (European Union) as well as Google's (Play Store) and Apple's (App Store) privacy requirements.

The App is published by Benoit D., an independent developer, reachable at Xmas@benoitdeguine.com. There is no third-party company, ad network, or processor involved in handling your data — for the simple reason that, as of today, there is no personal data to handle.

None. The App does not ask you to create an account, and does not collect your name, email address, location, contacts, or any advertising identifier. The App requests no Internet-access permission on Android and has no server to send your information to: the countdown is calculated directly on your device.

Some of your preferences are saved, but only locally, in the App's private storage on your phone — never transmitted anywhere else:

• whether the falling-snow effect is on or off;
• your chosen app color (red or green);
• your chosen countdown format (days, or "sleeps");
• the target date your countdown counts down to.

This information is deleted when you uninstall the App.

Christmas Countdown shows no advertising and includes no third-party advertising SDK. No advertising identifier (Advertising ID on Android, IDFA on iOS) is read or transmitted.

On Android, no permission related to personalized advertising is requested. On iOS, the App would therefore not need to request App Tracking Transparency permission — there is nothing to track.

As of this update, no third-party analytics or measurement tool is active in the App: no event, screen view, or usage data is sent to an analytics service. Should this change in the future (for example, to understand in an aggregated and anonymous way which features are useful), this policy would be updated before any such tool is activated, and this section would tell you exactly which tool is used and what aggregated data it processes.

We do not sell, rent, or share any data with third parties, for the simple reason that no personal data is collected. The only third parties involved are the app stores themselves — Google (Play Store) and, where applicable, Apple (App Store) — which handle billing and installation information under their own respective privacy policies.

The "How to add the widget" help link opens Google's own support page inside an in-app browser (Android Custom Tabs on Android, equivalent in-app browsing on iOS), so you never have to leave the App to read it. While that page is open, your interaction with it is governed by Google's own privacy policy, not this one — we do not receive any information about that visit.

The "Share the link with a friend" option simply opens your device's native share sheet with the App's store link pre-filled; which app you choose to share it with, and any data that app then processes, is between you and that app.

The home screen widget calculates the days (or sleeps) remaining until your chosen date directly on your device, refreshing itself once a day at midnight and immediately whenever you change a related setting in the App. It does not connect to any server and does not transmit any data.

Your local preferences are protected by the standard security mechanisms of Android and iOS (app sandboxing, storage encryption native to each platform). Since the App does not transmit any data over the network, there is no application-level network channel for us to secure beyond the app stores' own native connections.

No data is stored on a server, so there is nothing for us to archive or purge. Your local preferences remain on your device until you uninstall the App or reset its data from your phone's settings.

The GDPR and similar laws grant you rights of access, rectification, erasure, and portability over your personal data. Since we collect none, we have nothing to disclose, correct, or export to you — but if you have any doubt or question, you can always write to us.

Christmas Countdown is family-friendly and suitable for all ages, but it is not directed exclusively at children and is not listed under Google's or Apple's dedicated "Kids" categories. Since the App collects no personal data regardless of the user's age, no information about minors is collected, knowingly or otherwise.

The practices described in this policy apply identically on both platforms: the same absence of an account, the same absence of data collection, the same strictly local storage. Only the native technical mechanisms differ (for example, how the home screen widget or the in-app browser is implemented on each platform), with no impact on the data processed.

This policy may be updated, in particular if a new feature were to process data (for example, a future anonymous analytics tool). Any material change will be reflected by the revision date shown at the top of this page and, where relevant, by the App's release notes.

For any question about this policy or how the App works, write to us — we reply personally.