This policy explains what information Amote collects on iOS, how it is used, and the choices you have. We built this app to work directly with your TV over your own Wi‑Fi network — not through our servers.
The short version, in plain language
Amote ("the app", "we", "us"), made by the independent developer Javidan Salarian, turns your iPhone into a remote control for Android TV and Google TV devices, with optional casting of your own photos and videos, an Apple Watch companion, Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets, and Siri/Shortcuts support. The remote is free; an optional subscription, Amote Pro, adds some features (Section 8). The app is built to do as much as possible on your device and on your local Wi‑Fi network, without sending your TV activity to our servers.
No account or sign‑in is ever required. Remote commands, voice search audio and the photos and videos you cast from your iPhone go directly between your iPhone and your TV over your Wi‑Fi, never through our servers.
We do use privacy‑respecting analytics and crash reporting (Firebase, from Google) and the Google Cast SDK (also from Google, for casting to Chromecast built‑in TVs) to understand how the app performs and to fix bugs — details in Section 2. The app also reads a small settings file from GitHub (Section 9). Purchases of Amote Pro are processed entirely by Apple (Section 8). This policy applies to the Amote iOS app (including its Apple Watch app, widgets and share extension) and this webpage.
We rely on Firebase Analytics and Firebase Crashlytics (both from Google) to understand feature usage and to catch crashes, and on the Google Cast SDK (also from Google) to cast to your TV's built‑in Chromecast receiver. These tools automatically collect:
Screens viewed, which features and app tiles you use, connection outcomes, feature milestones (e.g. number of commands sent), your TV's brand name as the TV reports it, coarse app settings (theme, language), and whether Amote Pro is active (yes or no). We never receive the text you type, the web addresses you open or what you watch. No TV account or personal identity is attached. Analytics collection uses no advertising identifier (IDFA) and requires no App Tracking Transparency prompt.
Crash logs, stack traces, app version, OS version, and device model, used only to find and fix bugs (Firebase Crashlytics).
A Firebase installation identifier, used to de‑duplicate installs and measure retention. This does not include your name, email, or phone number, which we never ask for. Because usage, crash and diagnostic data travel with this identifier, our App Store privacy label lists the collected data as linked to your device. We do not link it to who you are, and we do not use it to track you across other companies' apps or websites.
Firebase may derive a coarse, country/region‑level location from IP address for aggregate reporting. The Google Cast SDK separately collects diagnostic data by default, and — only if you use its device picker or on‑screen casting controls — a device identifier and casting usage data (for example which device you cast to, and play/pause/seek actions), used by Google to maintain and improve the Cast SDK. See Google's Cast SDK privacy documentation for details. The app does not request or use device GPS location.
If you open the Amote Pro screen, our analytics record which plan keyword you chose (weekly, monthly or yearly), where the screen was opened from (for example Settings or the Voice button) and the outcome (purchased, cancelled, pending, failed, or a restore that did or did not find a subscription). Our own events never include a price, a currency, a transaction or order ID, or anything about your Apple Account. Google Analytics for Firebase can also measure App Store purchase events on its own (for example the product ID, product name and price), which is why our App Store privacy label lists Purchase History.
We do not collect your name, email address, physical address, or payment information. The app has no accounts, and payments for Amote Pro are handled by Apple, not by us (Section 8).
How the remote itself works
To find and control your own Android TV or Google TV, the app asks for Local Network access (iOS's local‑network permission prompt) to discover it on your Wi‑Fi (via Bonjour/mDNS service discovery) and to open a direct, encrypted connection to the TV you choose.
If you use voice search, iOS asks for microphone permission the first time. The app then uses the microphone only while the voice panel shows that it is listening: while you hold the voice button down, or between tapping it to start and finishing or cancelling.
Microphone audio is streamed directly and only to your TV over your local network, exactly like your TV's own remote's voice button — it is never sent to our servers, never recorded to a file, and never used for advertising or analytics profiling.
Audio streaming stops when you release the button (hold mode), send or cancel (tap mode), when the TV ends the voice session, or when the time limit is reached. The app does not capture audio at any other time.
The Cast tab lets you send your own photos, videos, and web links from your iPhone to your TV. When you cast a photo or video from your device:
Amote's Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets, its Control Center control, and its Siri/App Shortcuts/Spotlight support send remote‑control commands the same way the main app does — directly to your own TV over your local network, using the same paired identity stored in your device's Keychain (shared with the app through an App Group container on your device only).
Amote does not require you to create an account, sign in, or provide an email address, phone number, or any other personal identifier to use any feature of the app. Your settings (theme, language, paired TVs, favourite apps) are stored only on your device. An Amote Pro subscription belongs to your Apple Account, which Apple manages; we never see it.
Optional, and paid through Apple
Amote Pro is an optional auto‑renewable subscription (weekly, monthly or yearly) that adds the features marked PRO in the app. The remote, keyboard, apps, casting and browser are free.
Terms of Use: Apple's standard licence agreement, apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula.
A small settings file, with nothing about you in the request
When the app starts, and when you return to it, it downloads one small settings file from gist.githubusercontent.com, a file host run by GitHub, Inc. The file says which features are part of Amote Pro, whether new installs see a short tutorial, and can carry a short notice (for example about a new version).
With your permission, the app may send an occasional silent local reminder (about once every couple of weeks) that Amote is available as your TV remote. These notifications:
| This version | No advertising. The app does not include any ad SDK and shows no ads of any kind. |
|---|---|
| Amote Pro | Amote Pro includes a promise: subscribers will not see ads, even if a future free version shows them. |
| Future versions | If a future version introduces advertising, we will update this policy before that version is released, describe what advertising partner is used and what data it processes, and update the "Last updated" date above accordingly. Continuing to use a version that includes ads means you accept the updated policy in effect at that time. |
We do not sell your information. Limited information described in Sections 2, 8 and 9 is processed by these service providers:
We may also disclose information if required to do so by law, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of the developer, our users, or others.
Amote is a general‑audience utility app and is not directed at children under 13 (or the relevant minimum age in your region). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us using the details below so we can address it.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time, for example to reflect new features (such as advertising, described in Section 11) or legal requirements. We will post any changes on this page and update the "Last updated" date above. Material changes will be reflected in the app's App Store listing update notes.
Amote is made by Javidan Salarian. Reach out any time — we read every message and typically reply within a few business days. Help with the app: support page.