Privacy Policy

1Who we are

SMote for iPhone and Apple Watch is published on the App Store by Javidan Salarian ("we", "us"), who is responsible for the information described here. You can reach us at [email protected].

SMote is an independent app. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Samsung Electronics. Samsung and Samsung Smart TV are trademarks of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. and are mentioned only to describe the TVs SMote works with.

2What stays on your device

To work as a remote, SMote keeps a few things on your iPhone (and, for the widgets and the Watch, in storage shared only between SMote's own parts on your devices):

• the TVs you have added: their names, network and hardware addresses, and the names you give them;
• the access token each TV issues when you press Allow, kept in the iOS Keychain;
• the list of apps your TV reports and your pinned apps;
• your settings, such as remote style, haptics and night keys.

None of this is sent to us or to anyone else. Deleting SMote deletes it.

3Your home network

iOS asks you to allow Local Network access. SMote uses it only to find Samsung TVs on your Wi-Fi (with Bonjour and a short scan of your own network), to talk to the TV you choose, and to send a wake-up signal to a TV you have paired. Commands and the text you type go directly from your iPhone to your TV over your home network, encrypted where the TV supports it. They do not pass through our servers. SMote also checks on your iPhone whether a VPN is on, only so it can tell you that a VPN may be hiding your TV. That check stays on your iPhone and nothing about it is sent anywhere.

4Voice, the microphone and speech recognition

Voice is part of SMote Pro. SMote asks iOS for access to the microphone and to speech recognition only when you first tap Voice, after a short explanation. It never asks at launch and never uses either for anything else. While the Voice panel is listening, your iPhone turns your speech into text with Apple's speech recognition in its on-device mode: the audio is processed on your iPhone and is not sent to Apple, to us or to anyone else. If your iPhone or your language cannot recognise speech on the device, Voice says so and does not fall back to a server.

• Nothing is recorded or stored. The audio goes from the microphone to the recogniser as it arrives and is discarded. SMote keeps no recording, transcript or history, and forgets the words when you close the panel.
• Only while it is on. The microphone and speech recognition stop when you tap Done or Cancel, after a pause, after 30 seconds, when you close the panel and when SMote goes to the background.
• Only the result goes to the TV: a key press, an app to open, or the text to type, sent over your home network as described in section 3. Your voice never goes to the TV.
• No statistics about what you say. The statistics in section 5 record only that Voice was used, never your voice or your words.
• Your choice. You can change the microphone and speech recognition permissions at any time in iPhone Settings → SMote. Without them everything except Voice works as usual.

5Usage statistics and crash reports

To find bugs and see which features are used, SMote uses two services from Google: Firebase Analytics (in a version without the advertising-identifier library) and Firebase Crashlytics. They run in the iPhone app only, not in the widgets or the Watch app. You can turn both off at any time in SMote → Settings → Share usage data; crash reports not yet sent are then deleted from your iPhone.

Never included: your voice or the words you say, TV names, IP or MAC addresses, access tokens, the text you type, the names of apps on your TV, or anything that identifies you by name. SMote sets no user ID. The data is not linked to your identity and is not used to track you across other companies' apps or websites.

6Subscriptions and purchases

SMote Pro is sold through Apple's in-app purchase system. Apple handles the payment, your Apple Account and any refund. We never see your card or bank details. The app only asks Apple whether you have an active subscription so it can unlock Pro features. Manage or cancel a subscription in your iPhone's Settings → [your name] → Subscriptions. Apple's own handling of your purchase is described in Apple's Privacy Policy. Purchases are covered by Apple's standard Terms of Use (EULA).

7App configuration file

When it starts, SMote downloads a small settings file from this website (jimootech.com). It tells the app, for example, which features are part of SMote Pro and whether to show first-run tips. The request contains no personal data and no identifier from SMote. As with any website visit, the web server and its network provider (Cloudflare) see your IP address; we do not use it to identify you.

8Apple Watch, widgets, Control Center and Siri

The SMote Watch app sends each button press to SMote on your iPhone through Apple's Watch connection, and the iPhone sends it to your TV. Widgets, Control Center controls and Siri Shortcuts send a single button press or app launch to the TV you already paired, using the details stored on your iPhone. None of them sends anything to us, and none of them uses the microphone.

9Who receives data

• Google (Firebase Analytics and Crashlytics) receives the statistics and crash reports described in section 5, as our service provider. See Firebase privacy and security. Google may process data in the United States and other countries.
• Apple processes your purchases (section 6). Speech recognition for Voice runs on your iPhone, so no audio goes to Apple.
• Cloudflare and our web host serve the configuration file (section 7).
• Your own TV receives your commands and typed text (including text typed by Voice), because that is what a remote does.

We do not sell or rent personal information and we do not share it for advertising. SMote currently shows no ads.

10How long data is kept

Crash reports are kept by Google for 90 days. Usage statistics are kept for the retention period set in our Google Analytics property, at most 14 months, after which Google deletes the event-level data. Information on your device is kept until you delete it in the app or delete the app. Voice keeps nothing: no audio, no transcript.

11Your choices and rights

• Turn statistics off: SMote → Settings → Share usage data.
• Local Network, microphone and speech recognition: change them at any time in iOS Settings → SMote. The microphone and speech recognition are asked for only when you first use Voice.
• Start fresh: deleting SMote removes everything it stored and gives it a new app-instance ID if you install it again.
• Your rights: depending on where you live (for example under the GDPR in the EU and UK, or California law), you may ask to access, correct or delete personal data, or object to its use. We process the statistics on the basis of our legitimate interest in keeping SMote working and improving it, and you can object at any time with the switch above. Because the data is not linked to your identity, we usually cannot find a single person's records; write to us and we will help as far as we can. You may also complain to your local data protection authority.

12Children

SMote is a general-audience utility and is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

13Changes to this policy

If what SMote collects changes, we will update this page before that version is released and change the effective date above. Significant changes will also be mentioned in the app's release notes.

14Contact

Questions about privacy: [email protected]. Help with the app: SMote Support.