Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

This Privacy Policy describes how WindowsHelper ("we," "our," or "the App") collects, uses, and protects your information when you use our mobile application and related services. By using WindowsHelper, you agree to the practices described in this policy.

WindowsHelper is a Windows PC troubleshooting and optimization application that provides guided fixes, community support, and remote PC diagnostics.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide

• Account Information: When you create an account, we collect your email address, username, display name, and profile photo (optional). We support Google Sign-In and Apple Sign-In for convenient authentication. We also store your XP (experience points) and earned badges as part of your profile.
• Community Submissions: If you submit fix requests, vote on community content, post comments, or share tips, we store your submissions linked to your account in Google Firestore.
• Notes & Favorites: Personal notes you add to fixes and your favorited fixes are stored in Firestore to sync across your devices.
• Feedback: Any feedback you provide through the app's feedback system.
• Download & Launch List Email: The PC Companion download page asks for your email address before it hands over the installer. We use it for two things only: to tell you when our Kickstarter launches and when a new version of the app is ready. Every one of those emails carries an unsubscribe link, and unsubscribing does not affect software you have already downloaded. Alongside the address we store a salted, one-way hash of your IP address (never the address itself) purely to rate-limit signups. We never sell or share either.

When you join the launch list from a fix guide page, we also add one to a running total for that guide, so we can see which guides bring people in; the total is not stored with your email address.

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

• Usage Data (Firebase Analytics): We use Firebase Analytics to collect anonymized usage statistics such as which fixes you view, which fixes you complete, search queries, and how you navigate the app. This helps us improve content and user experience.
• Device Information: Basic device information (device type, operating system version, app version) for compatibility and troubleshooting purposes.
• Crash Reports (Firebase Crashlytics): If the app crashes, we collect crash logs via Firebase Crashlytics to diagnose and fix stability issues. These logs may include device state, stack traces, and app version information.
• Performance Data (Firebase Performance): We use Firebase Performance Monitoring to collect performance metrics such as app startup time, network request latency, and screen rendering performance. This data is anonymized and used to optimize the app experience.
• Website Analytics (Vercel Web Analytics): On this website we use Vercel Web Analytics, which is cookieless and collects no personal information. It sets no cookies, does not fingerprint you, and does not track you across other websites. We use it only to count, in aggregate, how many people visit our pages and how many join the launch waitlist — never to identify individual visitors. You do not need to accept a cookie or consent banner for it.

2.3 Information We Do NOT Collect Important

• We do not collect your location data
• We do not access your contacts, photos, or files
• We do not record audio or video without your explicit action
• We do not track you across other apps or websites
• We do not sell or share your data with advertisers

2.4 What This Website Stores In Your Browser

This website (windowshelper.app) itself sets no cookies, as already noted above. It does keep a few small things in your browser's own storage, explained here in plain terms. Except where noted below, none of it is sent to us or to anyone else — it stays on your device until you clear it, and none of it identifies you.

• Language choice: remembers the language you picked, so we don't ask again on your next visit. Your saved choice also decides which language's text your browser asks our server for — exactly the same request as visiting that language's page directly, and it tells us nothing about who you are.
• Cached translated text: a saved copy of page text your browser already translated, so switching languages again is instant instead of downloading it a second time.
• Accessibility preferences: settings such as larger text or higher contrast, so your choice carries over as you move between pages.
• Recently viewed guides: a short list of fix guides you've looked at, purely so you can find them again quickly. This list is kept only in your browser and is never sent to us.
• “Did this help?” answers: after you answer the question on a fix guide, your browser remembers that you answered that guide — and, if you added a note, that you sent one — under names that start with “wh-helpful:” and “wh-helpful-note:” followed by the guide's name. This is only so the question isn't asked again. The record itself is never sent to us; your answer is sent separately, as described in 2.5.
• Site-owner sign-in: the one item here that identifies someone to us. If you are the person who owns this website and you sign in to review incoming requests, a sign-in token is stored so you aren't asked to log in on every page. That token is sent back to us only to confirm you're signed in, applies only to the site owner, and is never created for an ordinary visitor.

You can remove any of this at any time using your browser's own settings — usually called “Clear browsing data” or “Clear site data.” Doing so only resets these preferences; it does not affect anything else described in this policy.

2.5 Requests, Searches and Feedback You Send From This Website

Some parts of this website send what you type to us. Here is exactly what each one keeps, and for how long.

• Request a fix: when you ask for a fix we don't have yet, we store your email address (required on the website form; the phone app sends one only if you type it), your description of the problem, whether it came from the website or the app, the date and time, and a salted, one-way hash of your IP address (never the address itself). A request from the phone app can also include the fix title, its category and a random request number. We keep the 2,000 most recent requests; older ones are deleted automatically. To limit abuse we also keep counters for 24 hours, keyed by that IP hash and by your email address. Like a support request, the text may be sent to Anthropic's Claude AI to help sort it and draft a reply for a person to review (see section 8). While we look into your requests, we may also keep a short status for your email address (open, waiting on you, or resolved, with an optional line from us). It has no time limit of its own: it is not removed when older requests are deleted automatically, only when you ask us to delete your data. You can ask us to delete your requests at any time (see section 13).
• Fix-library searches: when you search the fix library, we record the search text (lower-cased, with extra spaces and punctuation at the ends removed), a running total of how many times it has been searched, and whether it found a good match. No IP address, account or date is kept with it. A search containing an email address or a phone number is not recorded at all. To limit abuse, a salted, one-way hash of your IP address is used for one hour as the key of a counter; it is never stored with the search. From time to time each list is trimmed back to about its 500 most-searched entries; there is no other time limit. We may use these totals to show which guides people look up most, as guide titles only — never your search text. A search that finds no good match may be sent to Anthropic's Claude AI, and to Google's translation service if it is not in English, to help us decide which guide to write next (see section 8).
• Report a wording problem: on a translated page you can tell us a sentence reads wrong. We store the sentence, your optional note, the page's address (without anything after a “?”), its language code, the date and time, and a salted, one-way code made from your IP address (never the address itself). That code is made differently from the one kept with fix requests, so the two don't match each other; it only shows us when many reports come from the same place. We ask for no name or email, and a report containing an email address or a phone number is refused. We keep the 1,000 most recent reports. A separate counter, keyed by a hash of your IP address, limits how many reports can be sent in 24 hours; it is not stored with the report.
• “Did this help?” answers: a Yes or No on a fix guide only adds one to that guide's Yes or No total. We keep just those two totals per guide — not your IP address, not the date, and not anything that identifies you. For one hour, a counter keyed by a salted, one-way hash of your IP address limits how many answers and notes one connection can send; it is not stored with the totals.
• “What was missing” notes: after a No you can add one line. We store that line, which guide it was about, the page's language code, and the date and time — no IP address and nothing that identifies you. A note containing an email address or a phone number is refused. We keep the 500 most recent notes.

Wording reports, “Did this help?” answers and notes are not sent to any AI service.

3. PC Control Feature

• Command Allowlisting: Only commands matching a pre-approved allowlist can run, and commands you type yourself cannot be sent. The allowlist covers repair actions that change your system as well as read-only diagnostics like ipconfig and systeminfo; anything classified as destructive additionally requires a confirmation click on the PC itself.
• Encrypted Communication: All communication between the app and your PC uses Google Firebase's encrypted infrastructure.
• Session-Based: PC Control sessions are temporary. Your phone deletes each command, and its result, about an hour after it is sent. That clean-up runs inside the app, so if you close the app before the hour is up, that command can stay on our servers.
• No Persistent Access: We do not maintain ongoing access to your PC. Each session requires your explicit authorization.

4. How We Use Your Information

Data Type	Purpose	Retention
Account info	Authentication & personalization	Until account deletion
Fix completion data	Track progress, achievements, recommendations	Until account deletion
Community submissions	Display in community, help other users	Until deleted by user
Notes & favorites	Sync across devices, personal reference	Until deleted by user
Usage analytics	Improve app experience & content	90 days (anonymized)
Crash reports	Bug fixes & stability	30 days
Performance metrics	App optimization & speed improvements	90 days (anonymized)
PC Control commands	Remote diagnostics	About an hour after sending, by the phone app

5. Data Storage & Security

• Cloud Storage: Your account data is stored securely using Google Firebase (Firestore), which provides enterprise-grade security, encryption at rest, and encryption in transit.
• Local Storage: App preferences, settings, cached content, and downloaded language packs are stored locally on your device.
• Security Rules: Our database implements strict security rules ensuring users can only access their own data. Community content is read-accessible but write-protected with authentication.

6. Language Packs & Translation

WindowsHelper supports 75 languages through downloadable language packs. When you download a language pack:

• The pack is downloaded from our servers and stored locally on your device
• No personal data is transmitted during the download
• Language-pack content is translated entirely offline after download — none of the app's guide text is sent to translation services (this is separate from support requests you send us — see “Third-Party Services” below)
• You can delete language packs at any time to free up storage

7. Device Permissions

WindowsHelper may request the following device permissions. Each permission is optional and used only for its stated purpose:

Permission	Purpose	When Used
Camera	Scanning QR codes for PC Control session connections	Only when you initiate QR scanning
Microphone	Voice input for search and text fields	Only when you activate voice input
Notifications	Alerts for community responses, fix updates, and app announcements	Only if you enable notifications

We do not access the camera, microphone, or send notifications without your explicit action or opt-in. No audio or video data is recorded, stored, or transmitted to our servers.

8. Third-Party Services

WindowsHelper uses the following third-party services:

• Google Firebase: Authentication, Firestore database, Cloud Storage, Analytics, Crashlytics, and Performance Monitoring (Firebase Privacy Policy)
• Google Sign-In / Apple Sign-In: Authentication only — we receive your name, email, and profile photo
• Malwarebytes Security Feed: Security news displayed in-app (no personal data shared)
• Vercel: Hosting for language packs and PC Control web interface, plus Vercel Web Analytics on this website — a cookieless visit counter that stores no personal information and does not track you across other sites (Vercel Privacy Policy)
• Upstash: The database, run for us through Vercel, that stores launch-list and download-page email signups, support requests and fix requests from the apps, and what you send through this website: fix requests, fix-library searches, wording reports, “Did this help?” answers and notes (see 2.5) (Upstash Privacy Policy)
• Resend: Delivery of transactional email (such as waitlist welcome messages and support replies) that we send you (Resend Privacy Policy)
• Anthropic (Claude AI): When you submit a support request or a fix request, or a fix-library search finds no good match, the text may be sent to Anthropic's Claude AI to help categorise it and, for requests, draft a suggested reply for a human to review before anything is sent to you (Anthropic Privacy Policy)
• Google Translate: If a support request, fix request or unmatched search is not written in English, the text may be briefly sent to Google's translation service so we can match it to the right help article. You never see the translation itself (Google Privacy Policy)

We do not use any advertising SDKs, tracking pixels, or analytics services that profile users across apps.

9. Children's Privacy

WindowsHelper is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us so we can take appropriate action.

10. Your Rights

You have the following rights regarding your data:

• Access: You can view all data associated with your account within the app
• Correction: You can update your profile information at any time
• Deletion: You can delete your account and all associated data from Settings > Account > Delete Account
• Export: You can request a copy of your data by contacting us
• Opt-Out: You can disable analytics, notifications, and community features individually in Settings

11. Data Sharing

We may share information only in these limited circumstances:

• With your consent: When you explicitly choose to share (e.g., community posts)
• Legal requirements: If required by law, court order, or governmental request
• Safety: To protect the rights, safety, or property of our users

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes through the app or via email. The "Last updated" date at the top indicates when the policy was last revised.

13. Contact Us

If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or your data, please contact us:

• Email: support@windowshelper.app
• In-App: Settings > Contact Support