Privacy policy

Who we are

TicksHook is a focus timer. In this policy, “we” means the person who runs it, reachable at nowshadmahbub19@gmail.com. If you are in the UK or the EU, that person is the data controller for the information described below.

Using TicksHook without an account

This is the default, and it is the whole app: the timer, XP, levels, coins, chests, quests, goals and streaks all work with no account at all.

In this mode your progress is stored only in your own browser, using localStorage. It is never transmitted to us, we cannot read it, and we do not know you exist. Clearing your browser data erases it permanently, and we have no copy to restore.

If you sign in with Google

Signing in is optional and adds three things: your progress is backed up to the cloud, you can appear on the world ranking, and you can add friends. When you sign in, Google tells us:

• your email address, and
• the account identifier Google uses for you.

We store these so that we can recognise you next time. Neither is ever shown to another user. We do not request or store your Google profile photo, and we do not use your Google name anywhere in the app.

Once you have an account we also store:

• a display name, only if you choose to type one in;
• a friend code, generated for you at random, so people can add you without either of you sharing an email address;
• whether you have opted in to the world ranking (off unless you turn it on);
• your game progress: level, XP, coins, streak, cosmetics you own and have equipped, chests and quest progress;
• a record of each finished session: when it finished, how many minutes it ran, how many times it was paused, the XP and coins it earned, and the goal it counted towards, if any;
• goals you create, and their progress;
• friendships: who you have added and who has added you.

What other people can see

Nothing about you is visible to anyone else unless you take a deliberate step. Specifically:

• The world ranking is off by default. It shows nothing about you until you switch it on yourself, and it never lists anyone who has not. When it is on, it shows your display name, level, streak and total focused time — nothing else.
• Your study group — people whose friend code you have swapped and both accepted — can see your display name, level, streak, focused time and how many sessions you have completed.
• Never shown to anyone: your email address, your Google profile photo, your real name, your goals, what you have spent coins on, or who else your friends are.

Friends are added by short code only. There is no way to look somebody up by email address, which means the app can never confirm to a stranger that a particular person has an account here.

Cookies

We set cookies for one purpose: keeping you signed in after you have chosen to sign in. There are no analytics cookies, no advertising cookies, and no third-party trackers anywhere on this site. Use the app as a guest and no cookies are set at all.

Who else handles your data

We use three services, and only these three. Each has its own privacy policy:

• Supabase — stores the database and runs sign-in (privacy policy).
• Vercel — hosts the site (privacy policy).
• Google — handles the sign-in itself (privacy policy).

We do not sell your data, share it with advertisers, or use it to train anything.

How long we keep it

For as long as your account exists. Signing out does not delete anything — it is designed not to, so your streak is still there when you come back.

Deleting your account

Email nowshadmahbub19@gmail.com from the address you signed in with and ask us to delete your account. We remove it, and everything listed above goes with it: progress, session history, goals and friendships. There is no self-service delete button in the app yet; until there is, we do this by hand, normally within a few days.

If you only want to disappear from the world ranking, you do not need to contact anybody — switch it off in the app and you are removed immediately.

Your rights

If you are in the UK or the EU, you have the right to ask for a copy of your data, to have it corrected, to have it deleted, and to object to how it is handled. Email us and we will do it. You also have the right to complain to your data protection regulator — in the UK, that is the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Children

The timer itself needs no account and asks for nothing. Signing in requires a Google account, which Google does not permit under the age of 13 (higher in some countries). We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13. If you believe a child has signed in, email us and we will delete the account.

Changes to this policy

If we change what we collect or who can see it, we will update this page and the date at the top. Material changes will be announced in the app itself rather than quietly.

Contact

nowshadmahbub19@gmail.com