bbstelnet-privacy

BBStelnet Privacy Policy

Last updated: May 9, 2026

This document explains how BBStelnet (the “App”) handles user data. The App is a BBS terminal client developed and maintained by Zhu-Cheng Studio (茿誠工作室) (the “Developer”).

1. Overview

The Developer does not collect, store, or transmit any user personal data to any server operated by the Developer. All user-specific preferences are stored exclusively on the user’s device.

The App does, however, integrate the following third-party services, and shares limited data with these services:

Google AdMob — to display advertisements (free version)

In-app purchases (“Remove Ads” and paid expansion packs) are handled directly by Apple’s native StoreKit 2; no third-party receipt-validation provider is involved. Please see Section 4 (“Third-Party Services”) for the categories of data collected by each service.

2. Data Handled Directly by the App

If the user enables the “Auto-Login” feature, the App stores the entered BBS username and password in the iOS Keychain on the device, encrypted by the operating system.
This data is never transmitted to the Developer or any third-party server. It is sent only by the App, directly to the BBS host the user has chosen to connect to, when the user initiates a connection.
The user may delete a site entry at any time within the App, which removes the corresponding credentials from the Keychain.

2.2 App Preferences

Site list ordering, custom shortcut buttons, terminal font size and color theme, ambient-audio settings, and similar personalization data are stored in iOS UserDefaults on the device.
This data is used only by the App itself and is never transmitted to any external server.

2.3 BBS Connection Data

The App connects directly to the user’s chosen BBS host over Telnet (TCP) or WebSocket. The contents of that connection (including everything the user types and everything displayed on screen) are exchanged solely between the user’s device and the BBS host. The Developer cannot access and does not record any of this connection content.
Each BBS host’s data-collection practices are determined by that host and are outside the scope of this policy. Please refer to the terms of service of each BBS host.

3. What the App Does Not Do

❌ No crash reporting or usage analytics (no Firebase Analytics, Crashlytics, Sentry, or similar SDK).
❌ No access to Contacts, Photos, Location, Microphone, Camera, or Health data.
❌ The Developer collects no personal data of its own.

Note: The App provides an optional “Reading Ambience” feature (rain / white / pink noise / ocean) that plays in the background only when the user explicitly enables it. The audio is synthesized entirely on-device, does not access the microphone, and transmits no audio data.

4. Third-Party Services

4.1 Google AdMob (Advertising)

The App uses Google AdMob to serve banner and interstitial advertisements that fund the App’s free distribution.

Data that AdMob may collect or process:

Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA) — collected only if the user grants permission via the iOS App Tracking Transparency (ATT) prompt. If the user declines, AdMob continues to serve non-personalized ads without the IDFA.
Coarse location — derived from IP address (country/city level; not precise GPS).
Device information — device model, iOS version, language.
Ad interaction data — ad impressions and clicks.

Purposes:

Ad delivery (personalized or non-personalized).
Ad performance measurement.
Fraud prevention and invalid-traffic filtering.

Data controller: Google LLC.

Google’s privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy

User choices:

Tracking consent may be revoked at any time in iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking. AdMob will automatically switch to non-personalized ads.
The user may purchase the in-app “Remove Ads” upgrade (NT$90, one-time). Once purchased, the AdMob SDK no longer loads any advertisements and stops sending any data to Google.

4.2 Apple App Store (Purchase Processing)

All in-app purchases are processed by the Apple App Store via Apple’s native StoreKit 2 framework, which handles payment information, receipt validation and entitlement state. Purchase status is queried locally through Transaction.currentEntitlements / Transaction.all and is associated only with the user’s Apple ID. The Developer does not receive the user’s credit card or payment data, and no third-party purchase-management SDK is used. Please refer to Apple’s privacy policy: https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/

5. Permissions

The App requests only the following system permissions:

Permission	Purpose	Required
Network access	Connecting to user-chosen BBS hosts; loading ads	Required
Notifications	Displaying BBS whisper / private-message alerts	Optional, user-controlled
Background audio	Playing the user-enabled “Reading Ambience”	Optional
App Tracking Transparency (ATT)	Obtaining IDFA for personalized ads	Optional, may be declined

6. Data Retention and Deletion

On-device data — When the user deletes the App, all preferences and Keychain credentials stored on the device are removed by iOS as part of standard uninstallation.
Data held by AdMob — Governed by Google’s terms. Please refer to Google’s privacy policy linked above to exercise rights of access, deletion, or other data-subject rights.
Individual site entries may be removed within the App at any time, which immediately deletes the associated credentials.

7. Children’s Privacy

The App does not actively collect any personal data and does not require user account registration. Per Google policy, AdMob serves only non-personalized ads to users identified as minors. The App functions solely as a client for connecting to third-party BBS hosts; the policies of those hosts regarding minors are determined by the hosts themselves and are outside the scope of this policy.

8. International Data Transfers

The third-party service integrated by the App (Google AdMob) operates servers in the United States and other jurisdictions. Data shared with this service is therefore transferred outside Taiwan and may be processed internationally. The Developer itself does not perform any cross-border data transfer.

9. Changes to This Privacy Policy

If the App adds or changes features that affect data handling (for example, new third-party services), this policy will be updated and republished here in advance of the change. Material changes will be communicated within the App or via App Store update notes.

10. Contact

For any privacy-related inquiries, please contact:

saxo0213@gmail.com

This policy is provided in English as a courtesy translation. In the event of any conflict between language versions, the Traditional Chinese version (PRIVACY_POLICY_zh-Hant.md) shall prevail.