HCS Connect Privacy Policy

What this policy covers

This policy covers HCS Connect, the Handcrafted Solutions support app for Android and iOS (listed as “HCS Connect Support” on the App Store). It explains what the app collects, why, how long we keep it, and who else sees it.

Our website has its own privacy policy. This page is only about the app.

What the app does

HCS Connect lets a Handcrafted Solutions technician see your phone’s screen so they can help you with a problem. A session only starts when you enter a one-time support code that we give you.

• You see who is connecting before anything is shared. A consent screen names the technician and Handcrafted Solutions. Nothing is shared until you agree.
• View-only. On a phone or tablet the technician can see your screen, but cannot tap, type, or control your device.
• You can end the session at any time, from inside the app.

The short version

• No accounts. You don’t sign up, log in, or give us your name, email, or phone number in the app.
• Your screen is sent as live video only while you are sharing it. It is not recorded or stored.
• No ads, no analytics, and no third-party tracking or crash-reporting tools.
• We don’t sell or share what the app collects, and we don’t use it to track you.
• Everything the app sends is encrypted in transit.
• The app is free.

What we collect

Your screen, while you share it. During a session your screen is sent as live video from your device, through our relay server, to the technician. It exists only as a live stream. We don’t record it, save screenshots of it, or keep any copy once the stream ends. Anything visible on your screen while sharing — notifications included — is visible to the technician, so close anything private before you start.

A device identifier. When a session starts, the app sends a one-way scrambled (SHA-256 hashed) version of your device’s built-in app identifier — the Android ID on Android, the identifier for vendor on iOS. We can’t reverse it back into the original. It’s kept with the record of your support session, which is deleted automatically 24 hours after the session ends.

Basic device details. When a session starts, the app sends your device’s name, its operating system and version, and its processor type, so the technician knows what they’re looking at. They’re kept with the record of your support session, and deleted with it 24 hours after the session ends. Your device’s name may include your own name (for example, “Sam’s iPhone”) — you can change it in your device’s settings before a session if you’d rather it didn’t.

The support code and your IP address. The one-time code you entered and the IP address your session came from are kept with the record of your support session, which is deleted 24 hours after the session ends. They’re also written to our security audit log — along with which technician joined and when the session started and ended — so we have a lasting record of who connected to what. That log is kept for six years.

Nothing else. The app doesn’t collect your contacts, photos, files, location, messages, or browsing history, and it doesn’t use your camera or microphone. It has no account, so nothing it collects is linked to an account or a profile of you.

Permissions the app asks for

To share your screen, your phone will ask you to allow screen sharing (on Android, screen capture; on iOS, screen broadcast). That prompt comes from your phone’s operating system, and you’ll see it for each session. If you decline, nothing is shared.

On Android, the app may also ask to show notifications. It uses them to show a notice that your screen is being shared, for as long as the session runs, so it’s never happening without you knowing. It asks for no other permissions — no camera, microphone, photos, contacts, or location, on either platform.

Why we collect it

Only to make the support session work: to connect you to the right technician, show them your screen, know what device they’re helping with, and keep a record of the session for security. We don’t use any of it for advertising, marketing, or analytics.

Who else is involved

No one. We don’t sell, rent, or share what the app collects with any third party. The live screen stream passes through our own relay server on its way to the technician and is not stored there. The app contains no advertising, analytics, or crash-reporting software from anyone else.

The only exception is the one every business has: we would disclose information if the law required it — for example, a valid court order.

How long we keep it

• Your screen: never kept. It’s live only.
• Support-session record (device identifier, device details, support code, IP address): deleted automatically 24 hours after the session ends.
• Security audit log (support code, technician, session start and end times, IP address): kept for six years, for security and compliance.

Deleting your data

There is no account to delete, and most of what the app collects deletes itself: your support-session record is gone automatically 24 hours after the session ends. Entries in our security audit log are kept for six years for security and compliance, and are not deleted on request. Uninstalling the app removes it and everything it stored from your device.

Questions about your data? Email support@handcrafted.solutions or call (385) 282-9700.

Security

• Everything the app sends is encrypted in transit (TLS 1.3, and QUIC for the live stream).
• A session can only start with a one-time code we give you, and only after you agree on the consent screen.
• The technician can only view your screen — never control it.
• Your screen is never recorded, so there’s no recording to lose.

No system can promise perfect security, and we won’t. We kept the app small on purpose: the less it collects, the less there is to protect.

Children

HCS Connect is a support tool for our business customers. It isn’t directed at children, and we don’t knowingly collect information from anyone under 13. If we learn we have, we’ll delete it.

Where the app is available

HCS Connect is offered in the United States only, and it’s free.

Changes to this policy

If the app changes what it collects, we’ll update this page and the effective date at the top before that version of the app is released. If a change is significant, we’ll say so here plainly rather than quietly swapping the text.

Contact us

Questions about this policy or the app: