Privacy Policy

This policy covers the PocketDesk iOS app (iPhone and iPad), the Android app, and the website pocketdesk.cc (together, “the Service”). The app is called “PocketDesk” on both the App Store and Google Play.

PocketDesk is a VNC client that connects to computers you choose. Those computers and their VNC servers are not part of the Service; how they handle data is up to you or whoever manages them.

The Service is developed and run by PocketDesk’s developer (“we”, “us”). We are an individual developer in Taiwan, the same developer shown on the App Store and Google Play listings.

For the emails you send us and for running this website, we are the controller under the EU and UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR / UK GDPR) and the non-government agency under Taiwan’s Personal Data Protection Act. Data in the app stays on your device and we never receive it. We have not appointed a representative in the EU or the UK; please contact us directly at the address below.

For privacy questions or requests, email support@pocketdesk.cc.

We reply within one month of receiving a request; for complex requests we may take up to two more months and will tell you why. Under Taiwan’s Personal Data Protection Act, we handle requests to inquire about, review or copy your data within 15 days (extendable by 15 days), and requests to correct, supplement, stop processing or delete it within 30 days (extendable by 30 days). If we need an extension, we will tell you why in writing.

The app keeps the following on your device. It is never sent to us, and we cannot access it:

• Connection settings: name, host address, port, sign-in method, user name (only when you sign in with a macOS account), and advanced options such as image quality.
• Passwords, only if you turn on “Save password”. On iOS they are stored in the Keychain, limited to this device and never synced to iCloud Keychain. On Android they are encrypted with a key in the Android Keystore and excluded from Android’s automatic backup. Passwords are never written to any log.
• A thumbnail of the last session (a 320-pixel-wide JPEG) that helps you recognize each computer in the list. It is a small copy of the remote screen, so it may show what was on the screen at the time.
• App settings, such as the default input mode and image quality.
• The connection log: the last 200 protocol events (such as the protocol version, sign-in method, screen encoding and errors), used to troubleshoot connections. It contains no passwords or screen content. It is copied to the clipboard only when you tap “Copy connection log”; where you paste it is up to you.

Connection settings, thumbnails and app settings may be included in your device backups (such as iCloud Backup or Android device backup). Those backups are a service between you and Apple or Google, and we cannot access them. See Deleting your data for how to remove everything.

PocketDesk connects directly from your device to the computer you enter or pick. When you connect, the app uses the sign-in details you provide to authenticate with the VNC server on that computer, sends it your keyboard and mouse input, and receives the screen it sends back. This data travels only between your device and that computer. We run no relay servers and do not forward, record or access what passes over the connection.

If you enter a host name, your device looks up its IP address with the DNS server set in your network settings, as the operating system normally does.

Apart from signing in, VNC connections are not encrypted: screen content and keystrokes travel in plain text and could be seen by people on the same network. The app marks every connection “Not encrypted” and reminds you before the first connection. Use PocketDesk only on networks you trust, like home or work, and connect to that network through a VPN when you are away.

PocketDesk asks only for what it needs to connect:

• iOS Local Network: to connect to computers on your network and to find computers with Screen Sharing or VNC turned on using Bonjour (service type _rfb._tcp). The app explains why before the system prompt appears. You can turn it off at any time in Settings > PocketDesk; the app then cannot find or connect to computers on your local network.
• Android network permissions: internet and network state, used to connect and to find computers on your network with the system’s Network Service Discovery (NSD). The system grants these two permissions without a prompt.

To find computers, your device sends Bonjour (mDNS) queries on your current local network, which other devices on that network can see. The app searches only while the connection list is on screen. The computers it finds are shown only on your device and never sent to us. PocketDesk does not ask for location, camera, microphone, contacts or photos, and does not ask to track you.

The current version of PocketDesk has no ads and no in-app purchases. The app contains no third-party analytics, advertising or crash reporting SDKs, does not read advertising identifiers (the IDFA on iOS or the advertising ID on Android), and does not track you or combine your data with data from other companies.

If a future version adds ads or any other feature that sends data off your device, we will update this policy and the privacy information on the App Store and Google Play before that version is released, and change the date at the top of this page.

PocketDesk is distributed through the App Store and Google Play. When you download or update the app, Apple or Google handle the related data under their own privacy policies.

If you choose on your device to share analytics with app developers (“Share With App Developers” on iPhone and iPad, or “Usage & diagnostics” on Android), Apple or Google may give us aggregated usage statistics and crash reports. The platforms collect this data; we use it only to find and fix problems in the app. You can turn it off at any time in your system settings; see Your privacy choices.

When you email support@pocketdesk.cc, we receive your email address, your message and any attachments, plus anything you choose to include (such as your device model, the app version or a pasted connection log). We use this only to reply to you and resolve your issue.

Mail sent to pocketdesk.cc is forwarded by Cloudflare Email Routing to the developer’s mailbox and stored by that mailbox’s email provider. We delete support emails within 24 months of our last exchange, unless the law requires us to keep them.

pocketdesk.cc is a static website. It uses no cookies, no analytics, and loads no third-party scripts, fonts or images.

The site is hosted by Cloudflare, Inc. To deliver pages and protect against attacks, Cloudflare processes your IP address, browser information and request logs and keeps them according to its own policies. Cloudflare acts as our processor.

If you are in the European Economic Area or the UK, we rely on the following legal bases. Data in the app is processed only on your device and never reaches us, so it is not listed here.

We do not sell your personal data, and we do not share it with anyone for advertising. We give data only to the following providers, who help us run the Service:

• Cloudflare, Inc.: website hosting and support email forwarding (our processor, under Cloudflare’s Data Processing Addendum).
• The email provider of the developer’s mailbox: storing support emails (our processor).

We may disclose data where the law requires it.

Cloudflare processes website requests and mail forwarding in the United States and other countries where it has data centers. We are based in Taiwan and handle support emails there; they are stored on the email provider’s servers, which may be outside Taiwan. Cloudflare’s Data Processing Addendum uses the EU Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs).

PocketDesk has no accounts and never sends the data in the app to us, so you can delete it yourself on your device without asking us.

• Delete one connection: in the connection list, swipe left on the connection (iPhone and iPad) or open the menu next to it (Android) and choose “Delete”, or tap “Delete connection” at the bottom of the edit screen. Its settings, saved password and thumbnail are all deleted.
• Delete everything on iPhone and iPad: delete all your connections in the app, then uninstall it. Keychain passwords may stay on the device after the app is uninstalled, so delete your connections first to remove saved passwords too.
• Delete everything on Android: uninstall the app, or go to Settings > Apps > PocketDesk > Storage and tap Clear storage (names may differ by manufacturer). This deletes all connection settings, passwords, thumbnails, the connection log and app settings.
• Device backups: if an iCloud or Google backup includes PocketDesk data, delete that backup as described by Apple or Google.
• Support emails: email support@pocketdesk.cc to ask us to delete them; see Contact and response times for how long we take.
• Aggregated statistics and crash reports: these are kept by Apple or Google; manage them with the platforms’ privacy tools.

European Economic Area and UK: you have the right to access, correct and delete your personal data, to restrict or object to processing (including processing based on legitimate interests), and to receive a portable copy. You can also complain to the data protection authority where you live or work or where the issue occurred; in the UK, that is the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Taiwan: under Article 3 of the Personal Data Protection Act, you can inquire about or review your data, obtain a copy, ask us to supplement or correct it, ask us to stop collecting, processing or using it, and ask us to delete it. You can also file a complaint with Taiwan’s personal data protection authority.

To exercise your rights, email support@pocketdesk.cc; see Contact and response times for how long we take. We may ask for information needed to confirm your request, and we will not treat you differently for exercising your rights. Because data in the app is never sent to us, we cannot look it up, correct it or delete it for you; you can manage it directly in the app, as described in Deleting your data.

Do you have to provide data? No. You can use PocketDesk without giving us any personal data. If you do not give us an email address, we cannot reply to you.

• Don’t save passwords: turn off “Save password” in a connection’s settings and enter the password each time you connect.
• Local network access (iOS): turn off Local Network in Settings > PocketDesk. The app then cannot find or connect to computers on your local network.
• Connection log: it is copied only when you tap “Copy connection log”, and whether to send it to us is up to you.
• Platform analytics: on iPhone and iPad, turn off “Share With App Developers” in Settings > Privacy & Security > Analytics & Improvements; on Android, turn off “Usage & diagnostics” in your system settings (the path may differ by manufacturer).
• Deleting data: see Deleting your data.

If you live in California or another U.S. state with a consumer privacy law, these are the disclosures those laws require:

• Categories of personal information collected: identifiers (your email address when you write to us, and your IP address when you visit this website) and the content of your messages. The app does not send any personal information to us.
• Sources: you (your emails) and your browser (visits to this website).
• Purposes: answering your emails, and providing and securing the website.
• Recipients: Cloudflare and our email provider, acting only on our behalf.
• Selling and sharing: we do not sell personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising.
• Your rights: to know, delete and correct, and not to be discriminated against for exercising these rights. We do not process sensitive personal information.
• How to exercise them: email support@pocketdesk.cc; you may also use an authorized agent. We will ask for reasonable information to confirm your request.
• Retention: see How long data is kept. The last-updated date of this policy is shown at the top of the page.

PocketDesk is a technical tool for controlling computers and is not directed at children. The app does not send anyone’s personal data to us, including children’s, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 13 (or the age set by local law in the European Economic Area, between 13 and 16).

If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has emailed us personal data, email support@pocketdesk.cc and we will delete it.

• Passwords are kept in the iOS Keychain or encrypted with the Android Keystore, and never written to any log.
• The connection log contains no passwords or screen content.
• The app connects only to the computers you choose and searches for computers on your local network; it never connects to servers run by us or other third parties. When you open this website’s help pages from the app, This website applies.
• This website uses HTTPS throughout and a strict Content Security Policy.

Apart from signing in, the VNC connection itself is not encrypted (see VNC connections). Use it only on networks you trust and give your computer a strong password. To report a security issue, see the support page.

The following notice is given under Articles 8 and 9 of Taiwan’s Personal Data Protection Act. Data in the app is never sent to us; this notice covers only the emails you send us, request logs from your visits to this website, and the aggregated statistics and crash reports provided by Apple and Google.

We may update this policy when features, laws or our service providers change. We will change the date at the top of the page, announce significant changes clearly in the app or on this website, and ask for your consent first where required. If a future version will collect new data, we will update this policy before that version is released (see Ads, analytics and tracking). Earlier versions are available on request.

This policy is available in Traditional Chinese and English with the same content. If they differ, the Traditional Chinese version prevails, without affecting any rights you have under the laws where you live.