Privacy Policy – Zapio: Universal TV Remote

Effective: November 12, 2026 · Developer: Zapio Apps · Contact: zapiotvremote@gmail.com

Zapio: Universal TV Remote ("the app") lets you control your TV from your phone over your home Wi‑Fi or the phone's infrared port. This page explains how the app handles your data.

Summary

• The app has no account and no server of its own. We do not collect your name, email, phone number or contacts.
• The phone talks to the TV directly, inside your home network.
• Ads (Google AdMob), crash reports (Firebase Crashlytics) and anonymous usage statistics (Firebase Analytics), all provided by Google, collect some device data as described below. You can turn usage statistics off in Settings.

Data stored on your phone

The following stays on your phone and is never sent to us:

• Your saved TVs (name, brand, local IP address, MAC address used to turn the TV on over the network).
• Pairing codes, keys or certificates your TV issues so the phone may control it. These are kept in Android's encrypted storage.
• Your settings (haptics, phone volume buttons, language…).

Uninstalling the app deletes all of it.

Local network

To find and control TVs, the app sends and receives data on your home Wi‑Fi (SSDP, mDNS and each TV brand's control protocol). This traffic goes straight from your phone to your TV and never passes through any server of ours.

Photos, videos and music you cast

When you pick a photo, video or music file to play on the TV, the app uses Android's photo picker or file picker. It reads only the file you choose. Music files are copied temporarily into the app's cache, and only the most recent pick is kept. The file is served from your phone to the TV on your home network through a temporary, hard-to-guess link, which stops working when you stop playback or leave the Cast screen. It is never uploaded to the internet.

When you paste a video or music link, the app may send a small request to that link to check that it is a media file. The link is then sent directly to the TV.

Screen mirroring

When you turn on Screen mirroring, Android asks whether you allow the app to capture the screen. If you agree, your phone's screen is encoded as video and played on the TV you chose, inside your home network. The picture is not saved, no audio is recorded, and nothing is sent to the internet. Everything on your screen, including notifications, appears on the TV while mirroring. You can stop at any time in the app or from the notification.

Ads – Google AdMob

The free version shows ads from Google AdMob. Google may collect the Advertising ID, IP address, device information and ad interactions to serve and measure ads. Where required (e.g. the EU, UK and Switzerland), the app asks for your consent before loading ads. You can change your choice in Settings › Ad privacy options, and reset or delete your Advertising ID in Android settings. Pro users see no ads. More: How Google uses data.

Crash reports – Firebase Crashlytics

If the app crashes, Firebase Crashlytics (Google) may send a report containing: the error details, phone model, Android version, app version, a random installation ID and the type of TV in use (e.g. "Samsung"). Reports do not contain your name, your TV's IP address or anything you type. We use them only to fix bugs.

Usage statistics – Firebase Analytics

To learn which features are useful and which TV types fail to connect, the app sends anonymous usage statistics through Firebase Analytics (Google): which intro pages were seen, how many TVs a scan found (capped at 10) and whether the phone was on Wi‑Fi, the TV type (e.g. "Samsung Tizen") and the result of connecting/pairing, features used (e.g. keyboard, cast, touchpad), views of the Pro page, the plan bought, ad results, and the light/dark theme. Along with them go a random app instance ID and general information such as phone model, OS version, app version, language and country. Never sent: your TV's name or IP/MAC address, anything you type or say, TV app names, or the files you cast. The app does not collect the Advertising ID for Analytics and does not use these statistics for ads. You can turn this off at any time in Settings > "Share anonymous usage data" (Crashlytics crash reports are not affected).

Remote configuration – Firebase Remote Config

The app periodically (about every 12 hours) downloads a configuration file from Firebase Remote Config (Google), for example to switch off a feature that is broken, show a notice, or suggest an update. For this download Google receives a random app instance ID, the app version, and the device's language and country. No other personal data is sent.

Purchases – Google Play

The Pro upgrade is sold through Google Play, which handles all payments. The app only receives from Google Play which plan you own, so it can unlock Pro features. It never sees your card details.

Manual bug reports

When you tap "Report a problem" in Settings, the app prepares a message with the app version, Android version, TV type and the last error. You choose which app to send it with and can edit it before sending.

Sharing

We do not sell your data. Apart from Google (AdMob, Firebase, Google Play) as described above, we share data with no third party.

Children

The app is not directed at children under 13 and does not knowingly collect their data.

Changes

If this policy changes, we will update this page and the effective date at the top.

Contact

For privacy questions or to request deletion of crash data, write to zapiotvremote@gmail.com.

Zapio is not affiliated with Samsung, LG, Sony, Google, Roku, Amazon, Apple or any TV maker. Brand names are used only to describe compatibility.