Privacy policy — Longbeard Launcher

Effective date: 26 October 2026

Longbeard Tech provides this Android launcher. Privacy and support contact: hello@longbeard.tech. Publisher website: longbeard.tech.

This policy describes the launcher and its optional features. The launcher needs no separate Longbeard account. It contains no advertising, and Longbeard Tech does not operate a launcher-data upload or personal-profile service. Weather, external search and Google Play billing can communicate with external providers as explained below; this is not a claim that no information ever leaves your device.

Apps, layout and shortcuts

Android supplies the launchable app names, icons, activity identities and available personal/work profiles needed to show and open your apps. Favourites, hidden-app choices, groups, layout, accessibility choices, gesture assignments and background recipes are stored in the launcher's private storage on your device. Icon-colour sorting samples original app icons locally. The launcher does not upload your app inventory or use it for advertising.

If you create a dialler shortcut, the name and phone number you enter or select through Android's contact picker are saved locally with that shortcut. The picker grants access to the selected contact details rather than your entire address book. A dialler shortcut opens your phone app with the number prepared; the launcher does not place a call, read call history or request broad contacts access.

Photos and generated backgrounds

Android's photo picker grants access to an image you choose. The launcher retains the selected image reference and the permission needed to display it; it does not request access to your whole photo library or upload the image. Removing or replacing the chosen photo releases the launcher's retained access where possible. The original image remains managed by your photo provider.

Procedural patterns are generated on the device from saved settings and a random seed. They do not use a cloud image generator, AI prompt service or image-generation account.

Apply to lock screen creates a background-only still image and gives it to Android's wallpaper service after you press Apply. It does not export app labels, widget readings or notifications. Android manages that system wallpaper separately; change it through Android settings if you want to remove it, including after uninstalling the launcher.

Optional weather

Weather is off until you enable it. Before requesting Android location permission, the app explains that it sends approximate location directly to MET Norway in Norway to request a forecast. The request rounds coordinates to two decimal places and uses HTTPS. MET Norway receives those coordinates, your connection's IP address and the request's technical information, including the launcher version. No name, app list, calendar, notification or health data is included in the forecast request.

The launcher saves the approximate coordinates and forecast response in its private device storage while weather is enabled, so it can reuse a forecast and reduce requests. Turning weather off clears that saved forecast and location. Forecasts can become outdated while offline. MET Norway handles requests under its own privacy information and service terms.

Calendar and local tasks

The basic month calendar does not read your events. If you enable Agenda and grant calendar access, the launcher reads event identifiers, titles, times and all-day status from visible personal calendars to display upcoming events. It does not modify your calendars, access your calendar account credentials or upload event details. Agenda information stays in memory while the eligible Home view is active and is removed from the displayed state when that view becomes inactive.

Task text and completion state are saved in the launcher's private on-device storage. Tasks have no launcher cloud sync, account or reminder service. You can edit or delete tasks through Calendar & tasks → Edit tasks, including when the paid Home tile is unavailable.

Health Connect

Health widgets are optional and depend on compatible source apps and Android Health Connect. Each chosen record type requires its own read permission. Available types are steps, recorded heart rate, distance, active calories and sleep sessions. The launcher reads selected information to display the corresponding widget; it does not write health records, run live health monitoring or request background-health access.

Health readings are used only for eligible, active and unlocked personal Home. They stay in memory, are cleared from the widget state when it becomes inactive or locked, and are not saved as a launcher health history or sent to Longbeard Tech, weather providers, billing services or advertisers. Buying Studio does not grant health permission. Revoke access through Android/Health Connect settings. The original records remain with Health Connect and their source apps; manage or delete those records there.

Notifications and media

Android notification access is an optional, separate system grant. It supports active-alert counts, eligible app-row previews, notification/app icon rows and compatible media-session discovery. App-row preview display is a separate setting.

While notification access is granted and the device is unlocked, Android's listener may update an in-memory snapshot of eligible active alerts even while another app is foreground. That snapshot can include the originating app/profile, notification identifier, title, text, time, open action and eligible icon resource. The launcher does not inspect hidden notification extras, save notification history to disk, upload messages or perform direct replies. It excludes ongoing alerts, group summaries, secret notifications and unavailable profiles. Screen-off/lock, access revocation or listener disconnection clears the preview snapshot; unlocking can refresh eligible current alerts.

Now playing uses compatible Android media sessions to show bounded track, artist, player and playback information and to send the transport controls you press. Only the active, unlocked personal Home observes this information. The launcher does not download artwork, keep a playback history, record audio or automatically start playback when Home opens. Your media app remains responsible for its service and privacy practices.

Screen activity and system controls

The optional screen-activity widget requires Android Usage access. It examines screen-interactive and related system events to calculate today's recorded screen-active time and hourly periods. It does not build a per-app usage profile or upload raw events. Summaries are briefly held in memory while eligible personal Home is active; incomplete Android history is labelled as partial or unknown. No launcher activity history is saved to disk.

Battery, clock, next-alarm, storage and supported system-control tiles use the relevant Android system information or open Android's controls. Torch uses Camera permission only to control the flashlight; the launcher does not capture pictures or video. External camera, music, phone and settings shortcuts open the corresponding installed app or Android screen, whose own practices apply.

Search and voice

App-search text stays in memory and is not kept as a search history. A web-search action sends the query to the Google app or a browser through Android. In the optional integrated app/Google field, pressing Enter with a nonblank query and no matching app can perform that explicit web search. Voice search opens a compatible external provider; the launcher does not request microphone access, record audio or receive a speech transcript. The provider handles the query, connection data and any audio under its own terms and privacy policy.

Studio purchases and access codes

In a configured public build, Google Play handles the optional one-time Studio purchase, account, payment and store transaction. The launcher does not receive your payment-card details or require a separate billing account. Google and Google Play services process purchase and related technical information under their own terms and privacy policy.

The public build initializes the Google Play Billing library when it checks purchase availability and ownership, including before you make a purchase. The library reports billing API and purchase-flow diagnostics to Google, including operation results, error information and event times, together with technical app, device and connection information. This can include the app package/version, billing-library version, Android version, device model/manufacturer/build, memory capacity, language, region, time zone and network type. The library also generates temporary random client/session identifiers and identifiers for individual billing flows to correlate billing operations and diagnostics. These are not advertising identifiers or permanent hardware identifiers. Our app does not pass its health readings, calendar events, tasks, notification content, app inventory, chosen photos or search text to the billing library. Google handles this billing-related processing under its own terms and privacy policy.

The launcher receives purchase information from Play, checks the signed receipt, and stores the original signed purchase JSON and signature in private app storage so verified access can be recovered offline. The receipt can include the product, package, token, purchase state, time and other fields supplied by Play. That cache is separate from layout and widget settings. The current client does not upload receipts to a Longbeard purchase-verification server. A verified ownership refresh can update or remove the cached entitlement without deleting your saved appearance, widget choices or tasks.

If you enter a signed Studio access code supplied by Longbeard Tech, the launcher verifies its signature and Studio scope on this device, including when the launcher starts. It saves the complete verified code in separate private app storage to retain that permanent grant. The code contains a random grant identifier and details identifying the launcher and Studio grant; it contains no name or email address and has no expiry or device binding. Verification itself makes no network request, creates no account or Google Play purchase record, and grants no Android permissions. Keep the code private. Use Remove access code in Studio settings to remove its local copy; clearing app data or uninstalling also removes it. Removing the code leaves any independent verified Google Play purchase, saved appearance and local tasks intact. Access codes are excluded from the launcher backup.

Internal previews make no charge, create no purchase record and do not construct the Play billing client. Their Free-edition comparison switch is not purchase ownership and is absent from the public build.

Retention, removal and security

Saved settings, chosen photo references, shortcut contact details, tasks, cached purchase evidence and any saved Studio access code remain in private app storage until you change them, remove the relevant data, clear the app's data or uninstall. Weather data is additionally removed when weather is turned off. Health, agenda, media and notification information is memory-only as described above; it is not a disk archive. Screen-activity summaries are not persisted.

The app provides no automatic Longbeard cloud-backup or device-sync service and configures Android backup/device-transfer exclusions for its private data. Clearing app data or uninstalling can permanently remove local tasks and configuration. It does not delete your original photos, calendars, health records, provider accounts, Google Play purchase records or Android-managed lock-screen wallpaper. A valid Studio purchase can be restored using the owning Play account; deleting a local receipt does not cancel that purchase.

You can explicitly export a JSON backup of launcher settings and local tasks to a file location you choose through Android. The file can include app and group choices, appearance and layout settings, task text/completion state, and the names and phone numbers in your gesture shortcuts. It does not contain health readings, notification content, media or screen-activity history, weather cache, purchase receipts, Studio access codes or the selected photo image/access reference. Optional personal-data source choices are reset in the exported/restored configuration; choose your photo again and re-enable the optional sources you want after restoring. Restoring a backup neither grants Android permissions nor transfers Studio ownership.

An Android document provider you select may store that backup in a cloud service under its own terms. The launcher does not automatically upload backups to Longbeard Tech. Backup copies are separate from private app storage and are not removed by clearing the app or uninstalling it; manage and delete them in the location or provider you selected.

The launcher uses Android's permission controls, app-private storage and HTTPS for its direct forecast connection. You can turn optional features off and revoke their Android permissions without losing core launching, favourites, search, layout or accessibility controls. Longbeard Tech does not sell your launcher data or use these personal sources for advertising.

If you contact support, Longbeard Tech uses the name, address, message and attachments you choose to send to respond. Such correspondence is kept as needed to resolve your request and manage any continuing support discussion or applicable legal requirement. You can request deletion of support correspondence by emailing hello@longbeard.tech. Avoid sending sensitive records or private notification content unless it is necessary for your request.

Changes and contact

Material changes to these practices will be reflected in an updated policy. If a future feature introduces a new provider or a Longbeard backend, its handling must be disclosed before that feature is released. Contact hello@longbeard.tech with questions or privacy requests.