Privacy Policy
Last updated: June 2026
1. Who we are
SmokeWatcher is a smoking behaviour tracker developed by an independent developer based in India. If you have questions about this policy, email us at smokewatcher25@gmail.com.
2. What data we collect and why
2.1 Account data (Firebase Authentication)
- Email/password sign-up: your email address and a secure password hash stored by Google Firebase.
- Google Sign-In: your Google account name, email address, and profile picture, provided by Google when you choose this option.
Why: to identify your account and allow you to sign in across devices.
2.2 Public profile (Firestore)
- Display name you choose during setup
- Auto-generated 6-character friend code
- Current streak (seconds since last smoke, derived from your logs)
- Badge name (earned milestone)
Why: to show your streak on the optional friend leaderboard. Any authenticated SmokeWatcher user can see your name and streak if they are your friend. Your email is never exposed.
2.3 Smoke tracking data (Firestore)
- Timestamp of each cigarette logged
- Whether an urge timer was running at the time
- Which alternative behaviour you tried (if any)
- Whether you beat the urge without smoking
Why: this is the core data the app was built to collect — it powers your dial, streak, insights, and leaderboard streak.
2.4 Data stored only on your device Never uploaded
- Daily cigarette target and price per cigarette (set in onboarding)
- Notification preferences and reminder time
- Haptic feedback setting
- Onboarding and profile setup completion flags
Why: these are personal settings that do not need to be synced. They live in your phone's SharedPreferences storage and are wiped when you delete the app or your account.
2.5 Analytics (Firebase Analytics)
- Screen views and in-app events (anonymised)
- Device model, OS version, country, language
- App version and session duration
Why: to understand which features are used and improve the app. Analytics data is aggregated and not linked to your individual identity. You can opt out via your device's "Limit Ad Tracking" or analytics opt-out settings.
2.6 Advertising (Google AdMob)
- Device advertising identifier
- Ad impressions and interactions
- Approximate location (country/region level only)
Why: SmokeWatcher is free and supported by ads served by Google AdMob. AdMob may use your advertising ID to show relevant ads and measure ad performance. See Google's Privacy Policy for full details on how AdMob uses data.
2.7 Crash reports (Firebase Crashlytics)
- Stack traces when the app crashes
- Device model and OS version at time of crash
- App version and state (anonymised)
Why: to identify and fix bugs quickly. Crash reports do not include your smoke data or personal information.
3. How we use your data
- To provide the core app functionality (smoke tracking, urge intervention, insights, and streaks)
- To display your streak on the optional friend leaderboard
- To show ads that keep the app free
- To diagnose crashes and improve stability
- To understand aggregate feature usage via analytics
We do not use your data for:
- Selling to third parties
- Profiling for purposes beyond serving relevant ads via AdMob
- Any automated decision-making that affects you legally
4. Who we share data with
We use the following third-party services. Each has its own privacy policy:
- Google Firebase (Authentication, Firestore, Analytics, Crashlytics, Remote Config) — Firebase Privacy
- Google AdMob — AdMob Privacy
- Google Sign-In — covered under Google's Privacy Policy
We do not share your data with any other third parties. We do not sell your personal data.
5. Data retention
- Active accounts: your Firestore data is retained until you delete your account.
- After account deletion: all Firestore data (smoke events, profile, friend data) is permanently deleted within seconds. Firebase Auth credentials are immediately removed. Local device data is wiped when you confirm deletion in-app.
- Analytics and crash reports are retained by Google for up to 14 months per Google's standard retention policy.
6. Your rights
You have the right to:
- Access your data — all your smoke data is visible inside the app.
- Correct your data — edit your display name in Profile Settings at any time.
- Delete your data — use Settings → Delete account in the app, or email us at smokewatcher25@gmail.com. See also our account deletion page.
- Opt out of analytics — via your device's ad / analytics settings.
- Opt out of personalised ads — via your device's "Limit Ad Tracking" setting (Android: Settings → Google → Ads).
For users in the European Economic Area or UK, additional rights under GDPR apply. Contact us at smokewatcher25@gmail.com to exercise any right.
7. Children
SmokeWatcher is not directed at children under 18 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has created an account, contact us and we will delete it promptly.
8. Security
All data in transit is encrypted via HTTPS/TLS. Firestore data is encrypted at rest by Google. Account authentication is handled entirely by Firebase (we never see your raw password). We limit access to your data to what is necessary to operate the app.
9. Changes to this policy
If we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page and notify users via an in-app message. Continued use of the app after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
10. Contact
Questions, requests, or complaints about this privacy policy:
smokewatcher25@gmail.com