CouchWand privacy policy

Effective date: November 1, 2026. Provider: Jason Randall Dorfman. Contact: support@getigneous.com.

The short version

• What you type, tap and swipe goes only from your iPhone or iPad to the computer you paired, encrypted, over your own network or your Tailscale network. It never goes to us. We do not run a server for CouchWand.
• There is no account, and the apps contain no analytics of their own.
• The free iPhone and iPad app shows ads from Google AdMob. It asks for consent where required before ads load. Once you own the Remove Ads + Themes purchase, the ads software is not started when the app launches.
• The Mac and Windows desktop apps contain no ads, analytics or telemetry.
• Pairing information stays on your devices until you remove it.

The iPhone and iPad app

Input you send to your computer

Pointer movements, taps, gestures, key presses, gamepad input (only while the Controller switch is on) and, when you use the Paste in key, the text on your phone's clipboard are sent directly to the computer you paired. When you use the Copy out key, the text selected on the computer is sent back to your phone's clipboard over the same encrypted connection. The connection is end-to-end encrypted between your two devices and only works on private local network addresses and Tailscale addresses. This information is not sent to us or to anyone else, and the app does not keep a record of it.

Stored on your device

• The list of computers you paired (name, operating system, network addresses) in the app's own storage.
• The cryptographic keys used for pairing, in the iOS Keychain.
• Your settings, such as pointer speed, orientation and gamepad layout.
• Any custom buttons, macros and layouts you make in the Customization Studio, in a file in the app's own storage.

Deleting a computer in the app removes its pairing. Deleting the app removes its data from your device (Keychain items may remain until the device is erased, as is normal on iOS).

Permissions

• Local network: to find and connect to your paired computers.
• Camera: only to scan the pairing QR code shown on your computer. Images are not stored or sent anywhere.
• Dictation: CouchWand does not request microphone or speech recognition permission and never accesses the microphone. If you tap the mic key on the iOS keyboard, iOS performs the dictation, and iOS itself may process the audio on your device or on Apple's servers depending on your Apple settings, under Apple's own terms. CouchWand receives only the text that results, and sends it to your computer like typed text. CouchWand does not record or store audio.
• Tracking (App Tracking Transparency): iOS asks whether the advertising identifier may be used for more relevant ads. The app works the same whatever you choose.

Advertising

The free version uses the Google Mobile Ads SDK and Google's User Messaging Platform. Before any ad is requested, the app runs Google's consent flow where it applies (for example in the EEA, the UK and some US states) and the iOS tracking request. If consent does not allow ads to be requested, no ad is loaded. The free version shows a single banner ad across the top of the controller screen; it shows no popup or full-screen ads, and no ads inside menus. The banner never appears over the trackpad, keyboard or gamepad.

When ads are shown, Google may collect information such as your IP address, device and app information, ad interactions and, if you allow it, the advertising identifier. This is governed by Google's privacy policy and how Google uses information from apps that use its services.

Remove Ads + Themes purchase

The Remove Ads + Themes purchase is handled by Apple through the App Store. We do not receive your payment details. The app checks with Apple whether you own the purchase; when you do, the ads software is never started.

The Mac and Windows desktop apps

• No ads, analytics or telemetry. The only time they contact us is to check for updates: once a week in the background and whenever you choose Check for Updates in the menu, each app requests one small public file (couchwand.getigneous.com/version.json). The request carries no account, device or usage information. Like any web request, it reveals your IP address and the app's name and version to our host, Cloudflare, which keeps standard server logs. Nothing is downloaded or installed unless you choose to.
• They accept connections only from private local network addresses and Tailscale addresses, and only from devices you paired.
• They store the list of paired devices (name, model, last seen time and public key) in your user profile (~/Library/Application Support/CouchWand/ on Mac, %APPDATA%\CouchWand\ on Windows) and the computer's own pairing key (protected by Windows DPAPI on Windows), plus your gamepad mapping (gamepad_mapping.json) in the same folder. Remove a device from the menu bar or tray menu to delete its pairing.
• To show your Tailscale address, they may read status from the Tailscale software already running on the same computer. That query stays on the computer.
• On a Mac, the Accessibility permission is used only to move the pointer and type the input you send from your paired device.

This website

• No cookies, analytics, tracking pixels, third-party scripts or web fonts from other servers.
• Your light or dark theme choice, if you pick one, is saved in your browser's local storage on your device only.
• The site and downloads are served by Cloudflare, which processes technical data such as IP addresses to deliver and protect the site.

Children

CouchWand is a general-audience utility and is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children, and ads are not configured as child-directed.

Your choices and rights

Where consent is required, you can change your ad choice at any time under Settings, Ads, Ad Privacy Options in the app. You can also deny tracking in iOS Settings, buy Remove Ads + Themes, remove pairings at any time, or delete the apps. Because we do not hold personal data about you on our own systems, requests about ad data should go to Google; for anything else contact support@getigneous.com.

Changes

We will update this page if the apps change how they handle data, and change the effective date above.