Privacy Policy
This policy explains what Smart Bowling (the "app", "we", "us") collects, why, and what you can do about it. We collect only what the app needs to work.
Who we are
Smart Bowling, a sole-developer app based in Hoover, Alabama, USA. Questions about this policy go to smartbowlingapp@gmail.com.
What we collect
We collect three kinds of information.
- Account information: your email address, display name, and a unique account ID. If you sign in with Google or Apple, we receive the name and email those services share with us. Guest accounts have an ID only.
- Bowling data you enter: your bowler profile (handedness, positive axis point, ball speed, rev rate, axis tilt and rotation, preferred line), your arsenal and drilled layouts, live sessions, shots, game scores, and conditioning logs.
- Location, only while you use a live session: the app reads your approximate location once every 30 minutes to look up outdoor humidity for the Friction Index. Location is sent to the weather service described below and is not stored by us.
Camera and on-device processing
The app uses your camera to scan a shared arsenal QR code, to track a thrown ball, and to estimate knee angle for fatigue detection. Camera frames are processed on your device and are never uploaded, stored, or shared. Only the resulting numbers (for example a knee angle or ball path) are saved with your session if you choose to save them.
How we use your information
We use your information to:
- Sign you in and keep your data attached to your account.
- Compute drilling layouts, surface suggestions, ball recommendations, and in-match adjustments.
- Adjust live-session advice for lane surface and humidity.
- Respond when you contact support.
What we do not do
- We do not sell your information.
- We do not show ads or use advertising trackers.
- We do not use analytics or crash-reporting services.
- We do not use your data to train machine-learning models.
Services that process data for us
The app relies on these providers. Each processes data only to provide its service to us.
- Google Firebase (Authentication and Cloud Firestore): stores your account and bowling data on Google's servers in the United States.
- Google Firebase Storage: holds the drill sheet files (PDFs and photos) that pro shops upload for their customers, on Google's servers in the United States.
- Google Sign-In and Sign in with Apple: verify your identity when you choose those sign-in options.
- Open-Meteo (open-meteo.com): receives your approximate latitude and longitude to return current humidity. No account identifier is sent with the request.
- Like any internet request, calls to these services reveal your device's IP address to the service. We do not store IP addresses.
Where data is stored and transferred
Your data is stored on Google Firebase servers in the United States. If you use the app from outside the United States, your data is transferred to and processed there. For users in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, Google provides these transfers under its Standard Contractual Clauses and Data Privacy Framework certification.
The app also keeps a copy of your sign-in session and some cached data on your device so it can open quickly. Signing out or uninstalling removes it.
Sharing your arsenal
If you tap Share bag, the app shows a QR code containing your arsenal (ball names and layouts). Anyone who scans that code sees that information. Nothing is shared unless you show the code.
Sharing with your pro shop
You can link your account to a pro shop. A linked shop's staff can see your profile numbers (speed, rev rate, PAP, axis rotation and tilt), your fit specifications, your arsenal with its drilled layouts and surfaces, and your ball preferences, and the app computes drilling and ball recommendations for you on their screen. While linked, the shop can add the balls it drills for you, with their layouts, to your arsenal. A linked shop cannot see your live sessions, shots, games, scores, or conditioning logs.
A pro shop may also create and keep its own records for customers who have not installed the app: name, measurements, layouts, and images of drill sheets. Those records belong to the shop, which is responsible for them and for having the customer's permission to keep them. If a shop has a record for you, it can give you a claim code; entering it in the app copies the shop's numbers and balls into your account and links the shop. That is the only way a link is created; a shop can never link your account on its own.
To end a link, remove the shop from the app (Profile > Pro shops), or email us. Unlinking, or deleting your account, removes the shop's link to your account and its record stops referring to you, but the shop keeps the record of the work it did as its own business record.
How long we keep data
Your account and bowling data stay in your account until you delete them. You can remove individual balls and games in the app at any time, and ask us by email to remove anything else. Deleting your account removes all of your data from our database within a few seconds. Firebase may keep encrypted backups for up to 30 days before they expire.
Guest accounts that are never upgraded to a full account may be deleted after 12 months without activity.
Your choices and rights
You are in control of your data.
- Access and edit: everything we store is visible and editable in the app.
- Delete: use Profile > Delete account to remove your account and all data. You can also email us and we will delete it within 30 days.
- Location: deny or revoke location permission in your device settings. The app then uses a neutral humidity value.
- Camera: deny or revoke camera permission in your device settings. Scanning and tracking features will not work without it.
- Portability: email us and we will send your data in a machine-readable format.
Regional rights
If you live in California, the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or another region with privacy laws, you may have additional rights, including the right to know, correct, delete, restrict, or object to processing, and to lodge a complaint with your local authority. We apply the same rights to every user. Our legal bases under the GDPR are performance of a contract (providing the app) and, for location lookups, your consent, which you can withdraw by revoking the permission.
We do not knowingly sell or share personal information as those terms are defined by California law.
Children
The app is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect information from them. If you believe a child under 13 has an account, email smartbowlingapp@gmail.com and we will delete it.
Security
Data travels over encrypted connections and is stored by Firebase with access rules that let only your signed-in account read or write your data. No system is perfectly secure, so use a strong password and keep your device locked.
Changes
If we change this policy in a way that matters, we will update the effective date and show a notice in the app. Continued use after the change means you accept the updated policy.
Contact
Email smartbowlingapp@gmail.com with any privacy question or request.