Privacy Policy

1. Controller and contact

This Privacy Policy covers the Blinkivo app for macOS, the blinkivo.app website and support enquiries. It is also accessible through the privacy link in the app. Further provider details are in the Legal Notice; app licence and purchase information is available under Terms & Usage Information.

2. Website access and hosting

We use Hostinger International Ltd., 61 Lordou Vironos Street, 6023 Larnaca, Cyprus, for hosting.

Hostinger processes your IP address, access time, requested page, HTTP status, transferred data volume and, where applicable, referrer and browser and operating system information in technical logs and server-side access statistics. This supports website delivery, troubleshooting and security. The legal basis is Article 6(1)(f) GDPR; our legitimate interest is secure and reliable operation. The website cannot be provided without the necessary connection data.

Under Hostinger’s contractual provisions, retention of technical logs depends on what is necessary to provide the services, investigate errors and detect and prevent abuse. For preserved incident data, investigation of the incident, statutory retention duties and the need to address specific legal claims determine retention. Data must be deleted once the grounds for retention no longer apply.

3. Cookies and external content

The website code does not set cookies or store user or language preferences in localStorage or sessionStorage. There are no analytics, advertising or social-media scripts, embedded videos or externally loaded fonts. When you open the main address, a small script checks your preferred browser language locally. If it is German, it opens the German homepage; otherwise, the page stays in English. This language value is neither stored nor separately sent to a service. You can always switch using the language links.

Your browser may cache the delivered website files for faster display. This technical cache is not visitor tracking. The website does not require JavaScript.

Links to the App Store, sources and your email application open only when you choose to use them. The respective provider’s data processing then also applies.

4. Email and support

When you contact us, we process your email address, your name if provided, message text, attachments and delivery data to handle your enquiry. The legal basis is Article 6(1)(b) GDPR for contract-related enquiries, and otherwise Article 6(1)(f) GDPR based on our interest in answering enquiries. Providing this information is voluntary; without sufficient information, we may be unable to reply.

Our mailbox is provided through Hostinger Mail. Technical access, delivery and security logs may contain timestamps, IP addresses, the account or sender and recipient, and connection and delivery status. They support delivery, troubleshooting and abuse prevention under Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. The retention criteria in section 2 apply to these logs.

Support messages are deleted once the enquiry has been fully handled, unless statutory retention duties or specific legal claims require further storage. Such retention is based on Article 6(1)(c) or (f) GDPR and ends when the grounds for retention no longer apply.

5. Data the Blinkivo app processes locally

Blinkivo’s timer features work offline, require no user account and send no data to a Blinkivo server. The app contains no advertising or analytics SDKs and does not send us input, app-usage or break logs. The following functional data stays on your Mac:

• Settings: Language, appearance, time controls, focus and break times, prewarning, sound options, volume reduction, natural breaks and introduction completion are stored locally. Timers and temporary interruptions are kept only while the app runs. macOS manages optional launch at login.
• Inactivity and system state: Natural-break detection reads only the elapsed time since the last keyboard, mouse or trackpad input. Input, click and window contents are not read or logged. Blinkivo uses local macOS notifications, for example about sleep, wake, sessions, displays and clock changes. The current pointer position determines the display for the prewarning and break controls. This feature does not require Input Monitoring or Accessibility permission.
• App rules: The selection view reads the names, identifiers and icons of installed or open apps locally. An app file you select is read only for this purpose and is not launched. The selected app names and identifiers, rule mode and enabled state are stored. Matching these against running apps controls the timer; no app-usage history is created.
• Sound and volume: Blinkivo can play the macOS alert sound and lower the volume during a break. The device identifier and previous channel levels are held temporarily in memory for this purpose. Neither microphone input nor playback content is recorded.
• Rating requests: Two local counters limit requests for Apple’s rating dialog: no more than three attempts while these local counters are retained, first after 12 completed breaks, then after 24 additional breaks, and finally after another 48 breaks; at most one attempt per app launch. There is no break history or date history. Requests are made while Settings is active, not during a break. The app learns neither whether Apple shows the dialog nor whether you submit a rating. Blinkivo currently has no separate on/off control for automatic rating requests.

Opening the website, Privacy Policy or Legal Notice from About & Help launches your browser through macOS. This generates the website access data described in section 2. Blinkivo does not attach settings, app lists or break counters to these links. The support button opens your email application with our address and a prefilled subject; a message is sent only when you send it yourself. Apple services are described in section 7.

Processing for the timer and the settings you choose serves to provide these features. Where personal data is necessary for this purpose, the legal basis is Article 6(1)(b) GDPR. The exception under Section 25(2), point 2, of the German Telecommunications Digital Services Data Protection Act (TDDDG) applies only to storage and access that are strictly necessary for the expressly requested service. You can turn app rules, natural breaks and sound options off again in Settings. Reading this policy or using the app does not constitute blanket consent to additional processing. The provider does not maintain a server-side user profile for these locally processed functional data.

6. Retention and deletion of app data

Settings, selected apps, introduction status and rating counters remain stored locally across restarts and updates until you change them or remove the local app data. You can remove selected apps in App Rules. Turning a feature off does not automatically delete its saved choices.

Uninstalling the app may leave local settings on your Mac. If you have questions about completely removing your Blinkivo data, contact support@blinkivo.app for help.

Copies in your own backups are subject to your backup settings. We have no remote access to local app data and cannot delete it from your Mac.

7. Apple and the Mac App Store

When you obtain, purchase, update or rate the app, Apple processes data under its own responsibility, for example about your Apple Account and the transaction. Apple’s Privacy Policy and App Store & Privacy information apply to this processing.

Apple’s rating dialog is requested through StoreKit; an available manual rating link opens the App Store. The rating button is disabled until a valid App Store ID is configured. Blinkivo does not transmit local app-rule lists, inputs or break histories in the process. Any enabled diagnostic sharing by macOS or Apple services is a separate system setting; Blinkivo has no service of its own for sending crash reports.

We read and respond to public App Store reviews through App Store Connect. This involves the displayed name, star rating, review text and date; Apple publishes our responses. We also use diagnostic and crash reports provided by Apple where available. These may contain device and operating system information, the app version, the time of the error and technical error details. Sharing App Store crash reports with developers is controlled through Apple’s diagnostic settings.

Apple is the source of this data; reviews are publicly accessible. We use the information to respond to feedback, troubleshoot errors and improve app stability. Where personal data is involved, the legal basis is Article 6(1)(f) GDPR, based on our interest in providing support and a reliable app.

We delete copies we store ourselves once the enquiry or troubleshooting has been completed, unless statutory retention duties or specific legal claims require further storage. These exceptions are based on Article 6(1)(c) or (f) GDPR; the data is deleted afterwards. Retention on Apple’s platforms is governed by Apple’s policies and does not end when we delete our copies.

8. Recipients and transfers outside the EEA

Recipients of website and contact information are the provider and its hosting and email service providers, to the extent required for the tasks described. Data is disclosed to authorities or other recipients only where there is a legal obligation or another valid legal basis. We do not sell personal data. Where service providers process data on our behalf, they do so under an agreement pursuant to Article 28 GDPR and in accordance with our instructions. Processing under a provider’s own responsibility, such as Apple’s processing of an App Store purchase, is distinct from this.

Hostinger’s Data Processing Addendum supplements its terms for hosting and email. Appendix 3 describes subprocessors. Necessary processing by support or other service providers may take place outside the European Economic Area. For transfers to countries without a recognised adequate level of protection, section 9 of the addendum provides, in particular, for EU Standard Contractual Clauses. The contractual provisions are accessible through the link; information and a copy of the relevant safeguards can also be requested using our contact details.

9. Your data protection rights

If we process personal data about you, you can request access, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing and data portability, subject to the applicable legal conditions. You can contact support@blinkivo.app to exercise these rights. We have no remote access to app data stored exclusively on your Mac.

Where processing is based on your consent, you can withdraw it at any time for the future. This does not affect the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal.

Right to object: Where processing is based on legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR), you can object on grounds relating to your particular situation. We will then continue processing the affected data only if we demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds that override your interests, rights and freedoms, or the processing serves to establish, exercise or defend legal claims. We do not use your data for direct marketing.

We generally respond to requests free of charge and without undue delay, at the latest within one month. If a legally permitted extension of up to two further months is necessary, we will explain the reasons within the first month.

You can lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority, particularly where you live, work or where the suspected infringement occurred. You can find the relevant authority in the directory of German data protection supervisory authorities.

We do not make decisions based solely on automated processing that have legal or similarly significant effects, or carry out corresponding profiling.

10. Changes to this policy

If app features, the website or the services used change, we will update this policy. Publishing a new text alone does not authorise new processing; any required information or consent will be provided or obtained separately.