Privacy policy
Screen Dimmer (Android app com.geckr.screendimmer)
Last updated: 16 October 2026
This policy explains what personal data is processed when you use Screen Dimmer, who processes it, why, and the choices and rights you have. It is written for users in the United Kingdom and applies everywhere the app is offered.
1. Summary
- Screen Dimmer's dimming, schedules (including sunset and sunrise times), per-app levels, tints and widgets work entirely on your device. There are no accounts, and your settings stay on your phone.
- If you agree, the app sends us usage analytics and crash reports through an analytics provider, stored in the EU, so that we can fix problems and improve the app. They use a random analytics ID, never your name, contact details or advertising ID, and never anything from the accessibility service, your apps or your location. Analytics is off until you agree, and you can turn it off at any time in the app.
- The accessibility service draws a dark layer over your screen. It does not read or record what is on your screen or what you type. Nothing it handles is used for advertising or leaves your device.
- The app is free and shows banner adverts inside its own screens, provided by Google AdMob. To show ads, Google processes data such as your device's advertising ID, IP address and basic device information. If you are in the UK, EEA or Switzerland, you are asked first whether you agree to personalised ads, and you can change your choice at any time in the app.
- If you choose to support the app with a one-off purchase, Google Play handles the payment. We get the order details from Google Play, never your card details.
- We do not sell your personal data.
2. Who we are
The data controller for this app is Geckr Limited, a company registered in England and Wales (company number 15250032). ICO registration number: ZC220673.
Contact for anything about privacy: [email protected].
For personalised advertising, Google acts as an independent controller of the data it collects (see section 6). Our analytics provider, which processes usage analytics and crash reports if you agree to them, acts on our behalf as our processor (see section 5).
3. Data that stays on your device
The app stores the following on your device only, and it is deleted when you uninstall the app or clear its data in Android settings. If you agree to usage analytics, some of your choices are reported as described in section 5 (for example that you turned on a tint or added a schedule), but never the apps you set levels for or your location.
| Data | Why | Stored |
|---|---|---|
| Your dimming settings: level, on/off, presets, tint, safety limit, flicker-free mode, notification and automation switches | To dim the screen the way you set it, including after a restart | On the device, in the app's private storage |
| Schedules (times, days, levels, fade, and whether they follow sunset and sunrise) | To change the level at the times you choose | Same |
| An approximate location for daylight schedules: by default derived from your phone's time zone; if you tap "Use my location", your approximate position rounded to about 10 km | To work out sunset and sunrise times for schedules that follow daylight | Same. Never sent anywhere, and not used for adverts |
| Per-app levels: the apps you pick and the level for each | To apply a different level when one of those apps is open | Same |
| Widget settings (for example the level a "Dim to a level" widget sets) | To make each widget do what you chose | Same |
| The app currently in front (its package name) | Only if you have set per-app levels, to choose the right level | Held in memory while needed, never written to storage |
The accessibility service
Android only lets an app dim the whole screen, including the status bar, navigation bar and lock screen, through an accessibility service. Screen Dimmer's service:
- draws a dark layer over the screen;
- if, and only if, you set levels for particular apps, receives a notice from Android when a different app comes to the front, so it can switch to that app's level;
- does not read, record or collect screen content, text you type, passwords, notifications or anything about you;
- does not pass anything it handles to the advertising SDK, the analytics SDK, Google, our analytics provider, us or anyone else.
You choose whether to turn on the accessibility service after an explanation in the app. If you prefer not to, "limited mode" dims your apps without it (with the limits the app explains).
A second, optional accessibility service, Screen Dimmer - Floating Toggle On/Off, can be assigned to Android's accessibility shortcut (such as holding both volume keys or tapping Android's floating accessibility button). It only receives the shortcut action to switch dimming on or off; it hears no events, reads nothing and draws nothing.
Permissions
| Permission | Used for |
|---|---|
| Accessibility service | Full-screen dimming, the optional shortcut toggle, and, optionally, per-app levels (above) |
| Display over other apps | Limited mode only |
| Foreground service | Keeping limited mode running |
| Notifications | The optional notification with dimming controls |
| Run at start-up | Restoring dimming and schedules after a restart |
| Modify system settings | Flicker-free mode only, which holds your screen's own brightness up |
| Approximate location (optional) | Only if you tap "Use my location" for a daylight schedule; read once, rounded to about 10 km and kept on the device. Without it, the app uses your time zone |
| Internet and network state | Loading adverts (section 6), checking or making the optional support purchase through Google Play (section 4), and, if you agree, sending usage analytics and crash reports (section 5) |
| Google Play billing | Checking or making the optional "Support Screen Dimmer" purchase (section 4) |
| Advertising ID | Adverts only (section 6); never used for analytics |
4. Data we receive
Apart from usage analytics and crash reports you agree to (section 5), we only receive personal data if you contact us, for example by email for support. We then process your email address, name if you give it, and what you write, so that we can reply and keep a record of the conversation. Legal basis: our legitimate interest in answering you and improving the app (UK GDPR Article 6(1)(f)). We keep this correspondence for up to two years after our last exchange, unless we need it longer to deal with a legal claim.
Purchases. If you buy "Support Screen Dimmer", Google Play handles the payment and we never see your card or bank details. Google Play gives us a record of the order: order number, product, price, currency, date and country or region. The app asks Google Play on your device whether this Google account has bought it, to know whether to show adverts; it sends nothing about the purchase to us or anyone else. Legal basis: providing what you bought (UK GDPR Article 6(1)(b)) and keeping accounting records the law requires (Article 6(1)(c)).
Google Play gives us statistics about installs, uninstalls, crashes and app performance. These are aggregated or pseudonymous and are governed by Google's privacy policy and your device's settings for sharing usage and diagnostics with Google. We use them to fix problems and improve the app.
5. Usage analytics and crash reports
We would like to understand how Screen Dimmer is used, so that we can fix problems and decide what to improve. The app asks you once whether you agree to share usage analytics and crash reports. Until you agree, nothing is collected or sent. You can change your choice at any time in the app under Settings › Privacy and ads › Usage analytics.
What is sent if you agree.
- A random analytics ID created by the app when you agree. It is not linked to your name, email address, Google account or advertising ID. Turning analytics off deletes it from your device; if you turn analytics on again, a new one is created.
- App and device information: app version, Android version, device manufacturer and model, screen size and language.
- How you use the app: screens opened, features used and settings chosen (for example turning dimming on or off, the level range used, full or limited mode, tints, schedules added and whether they follow sunset and sunrise, the types of widget you place, notification controls), steps of the first-run setup, whether you granted a permission, and when and for how long the app is open.
- Errors and crashes in the app's screens: the type of error, technical details of where it happened in the app's code, and the app and device information above. The error's own message is removed before sending, because it could quote other data.
- Diagnostic log messages written by us into the app, for example that the app started or which kind of dimming command was applied (such as "turn on" or "set level"). They never contain anything you typed or anything about other apps.
- Which version of a feature you were shown, if we are testing a change with some users (feature flags and experiments). Your IP address is seen by our analytics provider's servers when the data arrives, as with any internet connection. The app tells the provider not to work out a location from it, and we configure the service not to store it.
What is never sent. Anything on your screen or that you type; which apps you have installed or open; the apps you set levels for; anything handled by the accessibility service; your location or the location used for daylight schedules; your advertising ID; your name, email address or Google account.
Why, and the legal basis. To measure how the app is used, find and fix bugs and crashes, improve features and design, decide what to build next, and test changes before releasing them to everyone. The legal basis is your consent (UK GDPR Article 6(1)(a)), which is also what the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 require for storing the analytics ID and sending data from your device. Testing different versions of a feature is done at random and has no legal or similarly significant effect on you.
Who processes it. PostHog Inc. processes the data on our behalf, as our processor under a data processing agreement, and may use sub-processors bound by the same terms. The data is stored in the European Union (Frankfurt, Germany) on PostHog Cloud EU.
Your controls. Turning usage analytics off in Settings stops collection straight away and deletes the analytics ID and any data not yet sent from your device. To have data that was already sent deleted, email [email protected] with the analytics ID shown under Settings › Privacy and ads › Usage analytics, and we will delete it within one month.
6. Advertising (Google AdMob)
The app shows banner adverts inside its own screens only, unless you have supported the app with the optional one-off purchase (section 4), in which case the advertising SDK is not started and no advertising data is collected. Adverts never appear over other apps, on the lock screen, in notifications, in the Quick Settings tile or in home-screen widgets.
Adverts are served by Google AdMob, provided by Google LLC (and Google Ireland Limited where applicable). To request, show and measure adverts and to prevent fraud, the Google Mobile Ads SDK in the app collects and sends to Google:
- your device's advertising ID and app set ID;
- your IP address, from which an approximate location (city or region) can be derived;
- device and app information, such as device model, operating system version, language, and app version;
- interactions with adverts, such as whether an advert was shown or tapped;
- diagnostic and performance information about the SDK, such as crash logs and load times.
Your choice. If you are in the UK, the European Economic Area or Switzerland, the app shows Google's consent message before any advert is requested. You can agree to personalised adverts, or decline, in which case Google may still show non-personalised or limited adverts, which do not use your past activity for targeting but still use some of the data above to deliver the advert, limit how often you see it, measure it and detect fraud. You can change your choice at any time in the app under Settings › Privacy and ads › Ad choices.
Legal basis. For personalised advertising, and for storing or reading information on your device where the law requires consent (the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003), the basis is your consent (UK GDPR Article 6(1)(a)). For non-personalised adverts, fraud prevention and security, it is the legitimate interest in funding a free app and keeping advertising safe (Article 6(1)(f)), together with consent where PECR requires it.
Google's role. Google decides how it uses the data it collects for advertising and is responsible for it as an independent controller. See Google's explanation at https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites and its privacy policy at https://policies.google.com/privacy. Ad selection by Google is automated and, with your consent, may use a profile of your interests; it has no legal or similarly significant effect on you.
Other controls. In Android settings you can reset or delete your advertising ID (Settings › Security and privacy › Other privacy settings › Ads, or Settings › Google › Ads, depending on your device), and manage Google's ad personalisation at https://myadcenter.google.com.
7. Sharing
We do not sell or rent personal data. Data is shared only:
- with our analytics provider, which processes it on our behalf, as described in section 5;
- with Google, as described in section 6;
- with our email provider and professional advisers, under contract and only as needed;
- where the law requires it, or to protect our rights or the safety of others.
8. International transfers
Usage analytics and crash reports are stored in the European Union, which UK law recognises as giving adequate protection. Our analytics provider is based in the United States and may access the data, for example to provide support; that access is covered by the UK International Data Transfer Addendum to the EU standard contractual clauses.
Google may process advertising data in the United States and other countries. Transfers from the UK rely on the UK Extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, the UK International Data Transfer Addendum, or other safeguards recognised under UK law.
9. Retention
- Settings on your device: until you uninstall the app or clear its data.
- Correspondence with us: up to two years after our last exchange (section 4).
- Order records from Google Play: six years after the end of the financial year of the purchase, as UK tax law requires.
- Usage analytics and crash reports: up to 12 months after they are collected, then deleted. Reports and statistics we make from them contain no personal data and may be kept longer.
- Advertising data held by Google: under Google's retention policies (https://policies.google.com/technologies/retention).
10. Children
Screen Dimmer is not designed for children and is intended for people aged 13 and over. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has contacted us, write to [email protected] and we will delete what we hold.
11. Your rights
Under UK data protection law you have the right to access the personal data we hold about you, to have it corrected or deleted, to restrict or object to its use, to data portability, and to withdraw consent at any time without affecting what happened before. Because the app keeps your settings only on your device, you can delete them yourself by uninstalling the app or clearing its data. For advertising data, use the controls in section 6 or contact Google. For usage analytics, see the controls in section 5.
To exercise a right, email [email protected]. We reply within one month.
If you are unhappy with how we handle your data, please tell us first. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/, telephone 0303 123 1113.
12. Security
Data on your device is kept in the app's private storage, which other apps cannot read. Advertising data and usage analytics are sent over encrypted connections, and access to our analytics account is limited to the people at Geckr Limited who need it, with two-factor authentication. No method of storage or transfer is perfectly secure, but we design the app to process as little data as possible.
13. Changes
If we change this policy, we will update the date at the top and, for significant changes, tell you in the app or in the release notes before they take effect. Previous versions are available on request.
14. Contact
Geckr Limited
Email: [email protected]