Legal

Privacy Policy

Applies to Clutch: Lap Timer & Pace Notes for iPhone · Effective 6 October 2026 · Last updated 6 October 2026

The short version

Clutch has no account, no login, no server and no cloud.
There is no analytics, no advertising and no third-party SDK in the app.
Your routes, runs and measurements are stored only on your device.
Clutch never records audio, and it never sends your location anywhere.
We do not collect, sell, share or have access to any of your personal data.

1. Who we are

"Clutch" refers to the iOS application Clutch: Lap Timer & Pace Notes and the developer who publishes it. For any privacy question, contact oceanzhou913@outlook.com.

2. Data we collect

We collect nothing. Clutch does not have a user account system, does not operate a backend server, and contains no analytics, attribution, crash-reporting or advertising SDKs. We do not receive your location, your routes, your runs, your device identifiers, your usage statistics or any other information.

3. Permissions Clutch asks for

Clutch asks for permissions only where a feature genuinely needs them, and only at the moment you use that feature.

Location ("While Using the App", optionally "Always")

Used to receive GPS fixes so the app can record a route, show where you are on a saved route, and time an actual start-gate crossing. Location processing happens entirely on the device.

"While Using" is enough for every feature. The optional "Always" upgrade keeps timing and voice notes running when the screen is locked or the phone is in a pocket during a drive. If you grant only "While Using", the app tells you clearly that locking the screen will pause timing. You can change or revoke this at any time in iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services.

Microphone

Used only on the Tools page, only after you tap start, so the app can show a live sound-level meter. Audio is analysed in memory to calculate a level reading. Audio is never recorded, never written to storage, and never transmitted. Revocable in iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone.

Motion & Fitness (accelerometer / gyroscope)

Used only inside the instrument tools and during a timed run, to show the G meter (lateral and longitudinal acceleration) and, if you enable it, per-corner G recording. Sensor readings are processed on the device and saved only as part of your own run data. Revocable in iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Motion & Fitness.

You may decline any of these permissions. Features that depend on a permission will simply be unavailable, and the app will say so rather than fail silently.

4. What is stored, and where

Everything Clutch saves is written to storage that belongs to you on your own device:

route geometry and track names you create or import;
runs: lap times, gate crossings, speed and G traces, distances;
app settings, units, language and sensor calibration;
whether the one-time Pro purchase is active (stored in the iOS Keychain, so it survives reinstalling the app).

None of this is uploaded anywhere. If you use the in-app export, the file is produced locally and handed to whatever destination you choose in the iOS share sheet — that transfer is your action, and we are not involved in it.

5. What leaves your device, and who handles it

Clutch itself sends nothing to us. Two things involve third parties, and in both cases the party is Apple:

Maps. Map imagery and map data come from Apple Maps (MapKit), which is part of iOS. When a map is displayed, iOS requests map tiles from Apple in the normal way. That request is between your device and Apple and is governed by Apple's Privacy Policy.
Purchases. The one-time Clutch Pro purchase is handled entirely by Apple's App Store (StoreKit). We never see or receive your name, payment method, Apple Account or purchase details. Apple tells the app only whether a valid purchase exists.

6. Data retention and deletion

You can delete any individual run or track inside the app; deletion is immediate and permanent.
Deleting the app from your device removes all of its stored data.
A purchase record is kept by Apple against your Apple Account, not by us. You can restore a purchase in the app with Restore purchase, and Apple's own refund process applies to purchases.

7. Children

Clutch is not directed at children and does not knowingly collect any information from anyone, including children under the age of 13, because it does not collect information at all.

8. Your privacy rights

Rights such as access, correction, deletion, portability and objection (for example under the GDPR or the CCPA) concern personal data held by a company about you. Because Clutch holds no personal data about you on any server, there is nothing for us to disclose, correct, export or erase. The data the app creates is already under your exclusive control on your own device, and the in-app export function lets you take it with you at any time.

9. Security

Because there is no transmission to protect, there is no server-side store to breach. Information stays within the protections iOS provides for app data on your device.

10. Driving responsibly

Clutch is a timing and note-taking tool. It does not suggest, display or announce a recommended speed, and it does not encourage speeding. Use it only where it is legal and safe to do so — track days, closed roads and private property — and always obey traffic laws.

11. Changes to this policy

If this policy changes, the updated version will be published on this page with a new "last updated" date. Material changes will also be noted in the app's release notes.

12. Contact

Questions about this policy or about privacy in Clutch: oceanzhou913@outlook.com.