This Privacy Policy applies to the TimeWarden: Watch Identifier mobile app, the TimeWarden website, and related support and legal pages (together, “TimeWarden”). TimeWarden AI, based in Texas, United States, is the controller of the personal information described here. Contact us at support@timewardenai.app.
1. Information we collect
| Information | Purpose | Typical retention |
|---|---|---|
| Watch photos captured or selected by you | Identify and analyze a watch, research its market, and create watch artwork | Normally discarded by our server after processing. If artwork needs delayed retries, one front photo may remain only in server memory for up to approximately 18 hours and is removed sooner after success, exhaustion, eviction, or restart. |
| Account and authentication data, including email, salted password hash and salt, and short-lived password-reset credentials | Create and secure an optional account, sign you in, and recover access | Until the account is deleted or credentials are replaced; reset links expire after 30 minutes. |
| Anonymous account and device data, including an Android device identifier, internal user ID, authentication token, and app preferences stored locally | Provide an account before registration, prevent free-limit resets after reinstall, and authenticate requests | Server records remain until account deletion. Local records remain until cleared, sign-out, deletion, or app-data removal. |
| Collection and provenance data, including saved watches, journal entries, purchase/service details you enter, and files you choose to attach | Maintain and synchronize your collection and supporting records | Until you remove the item or delete the account. Attachments are stored privately in object storage. |
| Usage and progress data, including scan counts, collection limits, XP events, check-ins, completed sets, and activity timestamps | Operate limits, collector features, abuse prevention, and optional re-engagement notifications | While the account exists, unless a shorter period applies. |
| De-linked scan activity, including acceptance timestamp, processing outcome, watch identity when resolved, whether the watch reused the catalogue, and number of submitted angles when known | Maintain the shared catalogue activity history, diagnose scan outcomes, and understand catalogue reuse | Retained with the shared catalogue. It is not linked to an account and does not contain the submitted photo, email, device identifier, IP address, or TimeWarden user ID. Historical catalogue backfills do not include an angle count. |
| Subscription data, including plan, entitlement, purchase token, renewal status, and verification timestamps | Verify purchases and provide Premium features | While needed to provide the subscription, resolve billing issues, and meet legal obligations. |
| Notification data, including push token, language, timezone offset, last-active time, and delivery/deduplication records | Send optional notifications at an appropriate local time and avoid repeated messages | Until account deletion, token replacement, or the token is reported invalid. |
| Advertising and consent data on the free tier, including advertising identifiers, consent choices, device information, and ad interactions | Request, deliver, measure, and protect ads | Processed under Google’s advertising policies and your consent choices. |
| Network, support, and security data, such as IP address, request timing, rate-limit events, browser/device information, and messages you send us | Deliver and secure the service, diagnose failures, answer requests, and prevent abuse | Rate-limit data is short-lived; support, infrastructure, and security records are retained only as reasonably necessary. |
We collect information directly from you, automatically from the app or device, and from services involved in purchases, advertising, notifications, and hosting. We do not sell personal information for money.
2. Watch-photo and AI processing
A scan is transmitted to our backend and processed through TimeWarden’s AI and image-processing workflow to perform watch identification, analysis, research, report generation, and artwork generation. Processing requests contain the watch photo and watch-related instructions or results. We do not intentionally include your email, password, payment token, push token, or TimeWarden user ID in those requests.
TimeWarden does not use your account data to train general-purpose AI models. Technical implementation details may change without affecting the data-handling practices described here. Infrastructure and feature providers are listed in our Service Provider Notice.
After a scan passes the account and usage-limit gates, we keep a de-linked timestamped event showing its processing outcome and, when resolved, whether it created or reused a shared catalogue watch. This activity record does not contain the submitted photo or identify the account that submitted it.
3. Advertising on the free tier
The free tier uses Google AdMob. Google and participating advertising providers may process identifiers, device and network data, consent signals, and ad interactions to deliver, measure, limit, and protect ads. TimeWarden currently requests non-personalized ads, but advertising providers may still use data for contextual delivery, frequency capping, aggregated reporting, fraud prevention, and legal compliance.
Where required, Google’s consent form appears before an ad request. You can revisit available choices through Account → Privacy options. Premium subscribers do not receive in-app ads. Learn more in Google’s partner-sites notice and AdMob privacy guidance.
4. Payments and notifications
Google Play processes subscription payments. We do not receive full card details; we receive purchase and entitlement information needed to verify Premium. If you enable notifications, we send a push token and the notification content through Expo’s push service and the applicable mobile-platform notification service. Notification permission is optional and can be changed in device settings.
5. Device permissions and local storage
- Camera: used only when you open the scanner and grant permission.
- Photo library or document picker: used only when you choose an existing watch image or an attachment.
- Notifications: requested after you use the app and used only if you grant permission.
The app stores authentication, onboarding, language, notification-prompt, and other preference data locally. Clearing local app data does not by itself delete server records.
6. Why we process information
Where EEA or UK law requires a legal basis, we rely on:
- Contract: to provide scans, accounts, collections, billing verification, and requested features.
- Legitimate interests: to secure and improve the service, enforce fair-use limits, prevent fraud, respond to support, and maintain reliable records, balanced against your rights.
- Consent: for optional permissions, personalized advertising where offered, and other processing where consent is required. Consent may be withdrawn.
- Legal obligation: to comply with law, valid legal process, tax/accounting requirements, and consumer-protection duties.
7. When information is disclosed
We disclose only the information reasonably necessary:
- to service providers acting for hosting, private object storage, email delivery, push delivery, advertising, and purchase verification;
- to government authorities or other parties when required by valid legal process, or when reasonably necessary to protect users, the public, our rights, or service security;
- in connection with a merger, financing, acquisition, reorganization, or sale of assets, subject to appropriate confidentiality and notice where required; or
- with your direction or consent.
8. Retention and deletion
Registered and anonymous server accounts persist until deleted; uninstalling the app does not delete an anonymous account. On Android, the app may reconnect to the same anonymous account after reinstall using a stable device identifier so usage limits are not reset.
You can delete your account in the app through Account → Delete account, or follow the instructions on our account-deletion page. This removes the account, collection membership, journal, attachments, authentication data, device association, usage/XP records, billing token, and push records controlled by TimeWarden. Providers may retain limited records when legally required or under their documented service-retention periods.
Shared, de-linked watch catalogue information—such as a watch reference, specifications, general price history, report, validated watch artwork, and scan-activity timestamps/outcomes—may remain after account deletion because it is maintained separately from your account for all users. The original scan photo is not stored with that shared catalogue entry or activity event.
9. Security
We use measures designed to protect information, including HTTPS in transit, authenticated API access, salted scrypt password hashes, server-side secrets, limited photo persistence, and short-lived private attachment links. Access is limited to people and providers who need it to operate the service. No transmission or storage system is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.
10. International processing
TimeWarden is operated from the United States, and information may be processed in the United States and other countries where our providers operate. Where required for transfers from the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, we rely on recognized safeguards such as adequacy decisions, the Data Privacy Framework, or contractual protections. You may contact us for additional information about safeguards relevant to your data.
11. Your choices and rights
Depending on where you live, you may have rights to request access, correction, deletion, restriction, portability, or more information about recipients; to object to certain processing; to withdraw consent; and to appeal or complain to a privacy regulator. California residents may also request the categories and specific pieces of personal information collected and information about disclosures. We will not discriminate against you for exercising applicable privacy rights.
Submit a request to support@timewardenai.app. We may verify your identity and will respond within the period required by applicable law. Advertising and notification choices can also be managed through the app and device settings.
12. Automated results
Watch identifications, authenticity observations, rarity labels, and value estimates are automated informational outputs. They do not produce legal or similarly significant effects about you. Review important decisions with a qualified human professional.
13. Children
TimeWarden is intended only for people aged 18 or older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has provided information, contact us so we can investigate and delete it where required.
14. Changes and contact
We may update this policy as the service or law changes. Material changes will be communicated in the app or on this page where appropriate, and the date above will be updated.
TimeWarden AI, Texas, United States — support@timewardenai.app.