Privacy Policy

1. Who operates the app

This policy applies to Tick Sync: Watch Time Sync (“Tick Sync,” “the app”), provided by its independent developer (“we,” “us”). For privacy requests, contact dishangti@outlook.com.

2. Summary

• No Tick Sync account is required.
• No advertising, cross-app tracking, or analytics SDK is included.
• Location-based NTP preselection is optional and off by default.
• Your iPhone’s location coordinates stay on the device.
• NTP servers and ipwho.is can see ordinary network metadata.
• Watch details, settings, and recent sync history are stored locally.

3. Information handled on your device

The app may store the following in local iOS app storage:

• language, selected time source and radio station, radio duration, feature toggles, and your NTP server configuration;
• the Bluetooth identifier and displayed name of a paired compatible watch, connection preference, and up to ten recent sync timestamps and whether each sync was active or automatic;
• a short-lived NTP result containing offset, uncertainty, and capture time, retained for no more than 24 hours for app functionality; and
• the most recently StoreKit-verified App Store entitlement decision, used while the app refreshes it at launch.

We do not receive this local data. You can remove a saved watch from the app, change or restore server settings, disable optional features, and remove remaining local app data by deleting the app. Copies may remain temporarily in device backups controlled by you and Apple.

4. Location and optional ipwho.is lookup

If you turn on location-based preselection, Tick Sync requests “While Using the App” location access for a one-shot foreground selection. The coordinate provided by iOS—precise or approximate, depending on your system setting—is compared with server locations only on your device. It is not sent to us, ipwho.is, or an NTP server.

For each resolved non-Anycast NTP endpoint, the app sends that server IP address to https://ipwho.is over HTTPS to obtain an approximate location for the server. The request also necessarily exposes your connection’s public IP address, request time, and ordinary HTTPS metadata to the service and its infrastructure. The provider states that usage data, including IP addresses, may be stored in log files. Its retention and processing are governed by the IPWhois privacy policy.

5. NTP network requests

When you request NTP calibration—or enable a subscribed background feature that performs fresh NTP calibration—the app sends standard, unauthenticated NTP packets over UDP port 123 to your selected servers. An NTP operator and intervening network providers can observe your public IP address, timestamps, request timing, and ordinary network metadata. Operators independently determine whether and how long they retain logs.

The built-in catalog currently includes:

• time.apple.com
• time.cloudflare.com
• time.windows.com
• ptbtime1.ptb.de
• time.nist.gov
• stdtime.gov.hk
• time.smg.gov.mo
• edu.ntp.org.cn
• ntp.tuna.tsinghua.edu.cn
• ntp.aliyun.com
• time.cloud.tencent.com

The last four hosts are services located or operated in mainland China, so requests to them may be processed there. You can use the single server mode, disable individual advanced-mode servers, or enter your own server. Do not enter a private hostname that you are not authorized to disclose or query.

6. Bluetooth and audio

Bluetooth discovery, watch identifiers, device names, protocol messages, and time-setting commands stay on the local Bluetooth link between your device and the selected compatible watch. Tick Sync does not upload them to us. The app produces audio output for radio-watch synchronization; it does not request microphone access or record audio.

7. Purchases

Apple processes subscription purchases through StoreKit and the App Store. Tick Sync receives product information and Apple-verified transaction or entitlement status, but not your payment-card details. The app has no independent purchase account or receipt database. Apple’s handling is described in App Store & Privacy .

8. Support email

If you contact us, we receive your email address and whatever information you choose to include. Email is processed using Microsoft Outlook. Please do not send passwords, payment-card data, full purchase receipts, precise location, or other unnecessary sensitive information. We retain support correspondence only as long as reasonably needed to answer, prevent abuse, and meet legal obligations.

9. How information is used and shared

Information is used only to provide requested time synchronization, server selection, Bluetooth operation, subscription access, security, and user support. We do not sell personal information, use it for targeted advertising, or combine it across other companies’ apps and websites for tracking.

Network data is disclosed only to the services needed for the feature you invoke, to Apple for App Store functionality, when you choose to email support, or when disclosure is legally required. Providers we select are expected to protect data consistently with their published commitments and applicable law; independent NTP servers and services remain responsible for their own practices.

10. Legal bases and international processing

Where a legal basis is required, processing is performed to provide features you request or your subscription, based on your choice to enable optional location/GeoIP access, to respond to support requests, to keep the service secure, and to comply with law. Network providers may process connection data outside your country, including in the United States, Europe, Hong Kong, Macao, and mainland China, depending on the servers you enable.

11. Your choices and rights

• Decline or revoke location permission in iOS Settings.
• Turn off location preselection to stop ipwho.is requests.
• Select, disable, replace, or restore NTP servers in the app.
• Unpair a saved watch and delete the app to remove local data.
• Contact us to request access to or deletion of support correspondence.

Depending on your location, you may also have rights to access, correct, delete, restrict, object to, or receive a copy of personal information, and to complain to a data-protection authority. Because Tick Sync has no developer-operated account or backend, we generally cannot identify or retrieve local app data from your device.

12. Security and children

We minimize transmitted data and use HTTPS for ipwho.is, but standard NTP traffic is not encrypted or authenticated and no network system is completely secure. Tick Sync is a general utility and is not directed to children under 13 or the higher minimum age required where they live. We do not knowingly operate an account system that collects children’s personal information.

13. Changes and contact

We may update this policy when the app, providers, or law changes. The latest version will show a new date. Material changes will be presented through the app or product page when appropriate.