Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

TipCalculate is made by TurboCycle Media, LLC (formerly Heintz Media, LLC), 917 W Glendale Ave, Unit 34, Phoenix, AZ 85021, USA. In this policy, “we”, “us” and “our” mean TurboCycle Media, LLC.

This policy covers the TipCalculate app (“Tip and Bill Split Calculator”) for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, including its iMessage extension, widgets and Siri Shortcuts; the TipCalculate app for Android; and the website and account dashboard at tipcalculateapp.com. Together we call these the “Service”. We are the controller of the personal information described here.

2. What we collect

Here is everything we handle, why, and where it lives.

We don’t use analytics or crash-reporting services in the apps or on the website, and we don’t collect your contacts, photos or precise location in the background.

3. Using TipCalculate without an account

An account is optional. Without one, your calculations, saved tips and preferences are stored on your device. On Apple devices they may also sync through your own iCloud account if iCloud is turned on for TipCalculate. That sync is handled by Apple under Apple’s privacy policy, and we can’t see that data.

4. Accounts and sync

You can create a TipCalculate account with an email address and password, Sign in with Google, or Sign in with Apple. Accounts are provided by Firebase Authentication, a Google service.

• With Sign in with Google, we receive your name, email address and profile photo from Google.
• With Sign in with Apple, we receive the name and email you choose to share. If you hide your email, we only get Apple’s private relay address.
• With email and password, Firebase stores your password securely. We never see it.

With an account, your profile, preferences and tip history are stored in Cloud Firestore and your profile photo in Firebase Cloud Storage, so they stay in sync between the apps and the dashboard at tipcalculateapp.com/account. You can turn sync off in the app’s settings.

5. Location and receipt scanning

Location. TipCalculate asks for location access only when you choose to attach a place to a saved tip. The location is found on your device using Apple’s Core Location and MapKit (or Android’s location services) and saved with that tip. We don’t track your location in the background.

Receipt scanning. When you scan a receipt, the text is read on your device using Apple’s Vision framework. The image isn’t uploaded or stored by us. We only keep the amounts and place name you choose to save, plus a note that the tip came from a scan.

6. Advertising

The free version shows ads from Google AdMob. AdMob may collect your device’s advertising identifier, IP address, device information and how you interact with ads, as described in Google’s policy.

• On iPhone and iPad, TipCalculate asks for permission through App Tracking Transparency. If you don’t allow tracking, AdMob doesn’t receive your advertising identifier and shows non-personalized ads.
• On Android, you can reset or delete your advertising ID in your device settings.
• Unlocking Premium removes ads completely.

7. Purchases

Premium, Pro and Tip Jar purchases are made through the Apple App Store or Google Play. Apple and Google handle payment. We never receive your card or bank details. We only learn which features you’ve unlocked, so we can turn them on and restore them on your other devices.

8. The website and dashboard

tipcalculateapp.com is hosted by Hostinger. Like any website, our host receives your IP address and browser details when you visit, and keeps them in standard server logs.

• Contact form. Messages are emailed to our support team through Resend.
• Spam protection. The contact and translation forms use Google reCAPTCHA v3, which looks at how the page is used to tell people from bots. Its use is governed by Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms.
• Translations. Volunteer translation submissions are saved to a Google Sheet in our Google Drive.
• Fonts and libraries. Pages load fonts from Google Fonts and code libraries from public content delivery networks (unpkg and jsDelivr), which receive your IP address when they send those files.
• Browser storage. The dashboard uses your browser’s storage to keep you signed in (Firebase Authentication) and to remember that you’re signed in so the site can show a “Dashboard” link. We don’t use advertising or analytics cookies on the website.

9. Developer API

If you create a developer API key in the dashboard, we store a one-way hash of it, its name and when it was created and last used. Anyone who has your key can add tips to and read tips from your account, so keep it private. You can revoke a key at any time in the dashboard.

10. Service providers

We use these companies to run the Service. They process information on our behalf, or as independent providers under their own terms where noted.

11. How we share information

We don’t sell your personal information, and we don’t share it for cross-context behavioral advertising beyond the AdMob ads described above. We share information only:

• with the service providers listed above, to run the Service;
• if the law requires it, or to protect the rights, safety and security of our users, the public or us;
• with a buyer or successor if TurboCycle Media’s business or this app is sold or reorganized, under the same protections as this policy;
• with your permission.

12. How long we keep it

• Account data is kept until you delete it or delete your account.
• Data on your device stays there until you delete it or the app.
• Support messages are kept as long as we need them to help you, and then deleted.
• Server logs are kept by our host for a short period for security.

When you delete your account, we delete your sign-in account, your profile, your tip history and your profile photo. Copies may remain in our providers’ backups for a limited period before they are overwritten.

13. Your choices and rights

Wherever you live, you can:

• See and export your data. The dashboard shows everything synced to your account and lets you download your tip history as a CSV file.
• Correct it. Edit your profile and any saved tip in the app or the dashboard.
• Delete it. Delete single tips, or your whole account in the app under Settings or at tipcalculateapp.com/account/delete.
• Turn things off. Turn off sync, deny location or tracking permission, or revoke API keys.

For anything else, or if you can’t sign in, contact us. We may need to confirm it’s really you before acting on a request, and we’ll reply within the time the law requires (usually within 30 days).

14. US state privacy notice

This section applies to residents of California and other US states with consumer privacy laws.

• Categories we collect: identifiers (name, email, user ID, IP address, advertising ID), commercial information (purchase status), geolocation (only the places you attach to tips), internet activity (ad interactions), and the content you save (tip history and notes). The sources and purposes are described in sections 2 to 8.
• Sale and sharing. We don’t sell personal information. Showing personalized AdMob ads may count as “sharing” for advertising under some state laws. You can opt out by not allowing tracking on iOS, deleting your advertising ID on Android, or unlocking Premium.
• Sensitive information. We don’t use sensitive personal information to infer anything about you.
• Your rights. You can ask to know, access, correct or delete your personal information, and to opt out of sale, sharing or targeted advertising. We won’t treat you differently for using these rights. An authorized agent may make a request for you with your written permission. If we deny a request, you can appeal by replying to our response.

15. EEA and UK

If you’re in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, we rely on these legal bases:

• Contract: to provide the features you use, including your account and sync.
• Consent: for personalized ads and the advertising identifier, and for location on saved tips. You can withdraw consent at any time in your device settings.
• Legitimate interests: to keep the Service secure, prevent spam and abuse, and answer your messages.
• Legal obligation: where the law requires us to keep or disclose information.

You also have the right to restrict or object to processing, to data portability, and to complain to your local data protection authority.

16. International transfers

We’re based in the United States, and our providers may process data in the US and other countries. Where we transfer personal information out of the EEA or UK, we rely on our providers’ standard contractual clauses or other approved safeguards.

17. Security

Data is encrypted in transit (HTTPS) and stored with providers that encrypt it at rest. Firebase Security Rules limit each account to its own data, API keys are stored only as hashes, and access to our systems is limited to the people who need it. No system is perfectly secure, so we can’t guarantee absolute security. If we learn of a breach that affects you, we’ll tell you as the law requires.

18. Children

TipCalculate isn’t directed to children under 13 (or under 16 in the EEA and UK), and we don’t knowingly collect their personal information. If you believe a child has given us information, contact us and we’ll delete it.

19. Changes to this policy

We’ll update this policy when the Service or the law changes. We’ll change the date at the top, and for significant changes we’ll give notice in the app or on this site before they take effect.

20. Contact us

Questions or requests about your privacy:

TurboCycle Media, LLC
917 W Glendale Ave, Unit 34
Phoenix, AZ 85021, USA
support@tipcalculateapp.com · Contact form