TV Remote: Privacy Policy
Last updated: 17 October 2026 (version 1.2: casting photos and videos, screen mirroring to EShare TVs, anonymous usage statistics)
TV Remote ("the app") lets your phone control your TV over your home Wi-Fi, or by infrared on phones that have an IR emitter. This policy explains what information the app uses and why.
In short
- No account, no sign-in. The app never asks for your name, email, location or contacts.
- Photos, videos and your screen go only from your phone to your own TV over your Wi-Fi when you cast or mirror. Nothing passes through any server of ours or anyone else's.
- Everything about your TVs stays on your phone.
- With your permission (on by default, switch it off any time in Settings › Privacy), the app sends anonymous crash reports and usage statistics (which screens are viewed, which buttons are tapped, which features are used) to Google Firebase so we can fix problems and improve the app.
- Free users see one banner ad (Google AdMob) on the TV list and in Settings, never on the remote. AdMob uses your phone's advertising identifier; where the law requires it, the app asks for your consent first.
- Remote Pro is an optional purchase through Google Play. Pro users see no ads.
What stays on your phone
To control your TVs, the app keeps the following on your phone only:
- the TVs you have connected to: their names, models, network addresses and, where the TV reports it, the network hardware (MAC) address used to switch it on;
- the pairing keys your TVs issue after you approve the app (stored in the phone's secure storage: Keychain on iPhone, Keystore on Android);
- your settings (theme, vibration, keep-screen-on, diagnostics choice, notification remote on or off).
None of this is sent to us or anyone else. Deleting the app removes all of it. "Forget this TV" in Settings removes one TV and its pairing.
Talking to your TV
The app talks directly to TVs on your local network. It finds TVs with standard local discovery (UPnP/SSDP, Bonjour/mDNS, and by asking addresses on your local network), and it sends commands only to the TV you choose. These messages don't pass through any server of ours.
Anonymous diagnostics (Google Firebase)
We can't test every TV ourselves, so the app uses two Google Firebase services. You can turn both off in Settings › Privacy › Share anonymous diagnostics.
- Firebase Crashlytics: if the app crashes or hits an error, it sends a crash report: the technical stack trace, app version, phone model, operating-system version and a random installation identifier.
- Google Analytics for Firebase: anonymous usage statistics: which screens are viewed, which buttons are tapped and which features are used, such as "connected to a Samsung TV: success", "a scan found 2 TVs (Roku, LG)" or "opened the Pro screen from Settings", so we can see what works and improve the app. Plus standard app-usage measurements (sessions, app version, phone model, operating system, country derived from the network) tied to a random app-instance identifier.
These reports never include your TVs' names, network or MAC addresses, pairing codes or keys, anything you type or say, the names of photos or videos you cast, the apps on your TV, or your contacts or location. Firebase doesn't collect the advertising identifier (AAID): advertising-ID collection is switched off for Analytics. Google processes this data under its Firebase privacy and security terms. Analytics data is kept for no more than 14 months, and crash reports for 90 days.
The app also checks Firebase Remote Config for settings such as the latest app version (to suggest updates). This request carries only the app version, platform and a random installation identifier.
Ads for free users (Google AdMob)
Free users see one banner on the TV list and in Settings. There are no ads on the remote, no full-screen ads and no ads for Remote Pro users. The banner is served by Google AdMob, which receives from your phone: the advertising identifier (AAID), the phone's IP address (from which Google may infer an approximate location), device and app information (model, operating system, app version), and how you interact with the ad. Google uses this to show, measure and protect ads; where you allow it, ads can be personalised. In the EEA, UK and other places where the law requires it, the app shows Google's consent form before the first ad, and you can change your choice later. Google processes this data under its privacy policy and how Google uses information from apps.
Remote Pro purchases (Google Play and RevenueCat)
Remote Pro is optional. Every button on the remote stays free. Payment is handled entirely by Google Play; we never see your card or payment details. To know whether you own Pro, the app uses RevenueCat, which receives a random app user identifier created by the app, your purchase receipts from Google Play (product, date, price, status and the purchase token), and basic device information (platform, app version, country). RevenueCat processes this under its privacy policy. It contains no name, email or payment details.
Casting photos and videos
When you cast, you pick photos or a video with Android's own photo picker (the app gets no access to the rest of your photo library). The app serves the chosen files from your phone over your home Wi-Fi so your TV can play them. Photos are converted to a TV-friendly size on your phone. Nothing is uploaded anywhere, kept after casting, or sent to us.
Screen mirroring to EShare TVs (Remote Pro)
When you start mirroring, Android asks you to share your screen and shows that it's being shared for as long as it lasts. The app sends your screen, and if you allow it the sound your phone is playing, directly to the TV you chose on your Wi-Fi. Nothing is recorded, stored or sent to us or to any server.
- Sound needs Android's microphone permission. Android only lets an app capture the sound the phone is playing (music, video) through that permission. TV Remote uses it only during mirroring and only for the phone's own playback sound. It never records your voice or your surroundings. Say no and mirroring still works, with sound staying on the phone.
- "Display over other apps" is used only so that, after you turn your phone, Android's screen-sharing question can appear by itself (Android stops screen sharing when the phone rotates). The app draws nothing over other apps.
- Notifications show that mirroring is on, with Stop, and let you restore the picture.
Voice typing and the notification remote (Remote Pro)
- Voice typing hands you to your phone's own speech dialog (on Android, Google's speech service). That service turns your words into text and gives the app only the text, which is sent to your TV like typed text. The app never records audio.
- Remote in notifications shows TV keys in your notification shade. Its key presses go straight to your TV, like the remote screen.
Permissions
- Local network (iPhone): to find and control TVs on your Wi-Fi.
- Internet, Wi-Fi state and multicast (Android): to find and control TVs on your Wi-Fi, and to send diagnostics if you allow it.
- Infrared (Android, if your phone has an IR emitter): to send remote-control signals.
- Notifications (Android 13 and later): asked when you switch on the notification remote or start mirroring.
- Microphone (Android 10 and later, optional): asked only when you start screen mirroring with sound. Used only to capture the sound your phone is playing, never your voice; nothing is recorded.
- Screen sharing (Android's own consent each time): used only while you mirror, to send your screen to your TV.
- Display over other apps (optional): so the screen-sharing question can reappear by itself after you rotate the phone. The app draws nothing over other apps.
- Advertising ID (Android): used by Google AdMob for the free version's banner, as described above. You can reset or delete it in your phone's settings (Settings › Privacy › Ads).
The app doesn't request location, camera, contacts or storage access. Photos and videos you cast are chosen with Android's photo picker, which needs no storage permission.
Children
The app is suitable for all ages, isn't directed at children, and doesn't knowingly collect personal information from anyone.
Your choices
- Turn diagnostics off (crash reports and usage statistics): Settings › Privacy › Share anonymous diagnostics.
- Ads: change your consent choice where the consent form applies, reset or delete your advertising ID in your phone's settings, or remove ads with Remote Pro.
- Purchases: manage or cancel a subscription in Google Play › Payments & subscriptions.
- Remove everything stored on the phone: uninstall the app.
- To ask about or request deletion of diagnostic data linked to your installation, email us. Because it isn't linked to your name or email, we'll need the app's installation details (Settings › Help › Report a problem includes them).
Changes
When the app starts using a new provider or a new kind of data, this policy is updated before that version is released, and the store privacy labels are updated to match.