Slabs Privacy Policy

Effective date: 22 July 2026

App: Slabs (Android home screen launcher) Package name: com.almostuseful.slabs Developer: Almost Useful

This Privacy Policy explains how Almost Useful (“we”, “us”) handles information when you use the Slabs Android app from Google Play or other builds we distribute. It applies together with any in-app privacy summary shown in Settings.

We wrote this policy to meet Google Play’s User Data expectations and to describe our practices clearly for a small product without user accounts.

1. Who we are

Slabs is developed and published by Almost Useful.

Contact for privacy questions and deletion requests: Email: [email protected] Website: https://almostuseful.xyz

If Australian privacy law applies to your enquiry, you may also find general guidance in the Australian Privacy Principles published by the OAIC.

2. Summary

• Slabs is a paid home-screen launcher. Your layouts, shortcuts, and pins stay on your device unless you export a backup yourself or Android’s own backup saves them to your Google account (see section 3).

• We collect crash reports and coarse product usage signals that are not linked to your identity, to keep the app stable and improve features.

• We do not collect your installed-app list, home layout contents, tile labels, shortcut URLs, or search terms.

• We do not show ads, and we do not use the advertising ID.

• There is no account to create. Crash and product analytics are on by default in normal builds (no in-app opt-out today).

• You can ask us to delete analytics data we can reasonably find — see Deletion.

3. Information stored on your device

Slabs stores data locally so the launcher can work, including for example:

• Home grid layouts, tile positions and styling

• URL shortcuts and related settings (such as how a shortcut opens)

• Pins and recents in the app drawer

• Preferences such as walkthrough completion

This information stays on your device unless you use Export backup / Import backup, or Android’s automatic backup saves an encrypted copy of app data to your own Google account (and copies it during device-to-device transfer when you set up a new phone). That backup is managed by Google under Google’s terms, and you can turn it off in Android’s system backup settings. We exclude our analytics install identifiers from it, and we never receive or access your backups. We do not upload your layout or shortcut contents to our servers.

Permissions (examples): Slabs may use Internet access (for crash/analytics delivery and things like favicon fetch), camera/flashlight access for the built-in torch widget, and other Android permissions needed for launcher behaviour (for example uninstall via the system dialog, or expanding the notification shade). Permission prompts follow Android’s normal rules.

Installed apps: Slabs needs to see apps on your device to list and launch them. That inventory is used only on the device for launcher functionality. It is not sent to our analytics or crash tools.

4. Information we collect

4.1 Crash and diagnostic data (Sentry)

When Slabs crashes or hits certain serious failures, we send diagnostic information to Sentry so we can fix bugs. That may include:

• Stack traces and error messages (scrubbed where we can remove URLs, package-name-like tokens, and similar)

• App version, device model, OS version, and similar technical metadata

• Random installation/session correlation identifiers used by the crash SDK (not linked to your name or any account)

We configure Sentry to avoid advertising-style personal data (sendDefaultPii off), and we disable session replay and crash screenshots/view hierarchies so your home screen is not captured as images. Details of what the Android SDK may collect are described by Sentry: Android data collected.

Like any internet service, Sentry receives your device’s IP address when a report is delivered. We have enabled Sentry’s setting that prevents IP addresses from being stored with crash events, and we do not receive or store your IP address ourselves.

Crash data is sent to Sentry’s EU ingest for our project (organisation associated with Almost Useful).

4.2 Product usage analytics (PostHog)

We send coarse product events that are not linked to your identity to PostHog to understand which features people use (for example that a home tile was added or deleted, that the walkthrough finished, or that search was opened). Events use enums, booleans, counts, and durations — not the names of your apps, not shortcut URLs, and not the contents of your layout.

PostHog may also attach device/app properties (such as OS version, device model, locale, screen size) and a random per-install distinct id that is not linked to your name, email, or any account. We disable session replay and automatic screen/deep-link capture. See PostHog’s privacy documentation.

PostHog also receives your device’s IP address when events are delivered and derives approximate location fields from it (such as country, and in some cases region or city). We use only country-level breakdowns, we do not receive or store your IP address ourselves, and the app itself never requests or reads your device’s location.

Product analytics are processed on PostHog’s US Cloud for our project.

4.3 What we do not collect

We do not intentionally collect or upload:

• Your list of installed apps (for analytics or advertising)

• Home layout contents, tile labels, or screenshots of your home screen

• Shortcut URLs, browsing history inside shortcut WebViews, or search query text

• Your name, email address, or other account profile data (Slabs has no login)

• Your device’s location — Slabs never requests location permissions and never reads GPS or network location (coarse IP-derived location handled by our providers is described in sections 4.1 and 4.2)

• Photos, videos, or files from your gallery (export/import you choose stays under your control via the system file picker)

• Advertising ID

4.4 Google Play / Android diagnostics

If you install Slabs from Google Play and you allow Google to collect usage and diagnostics, Google may collect Android Vitals-style metrics (such as crash and ANR rates) under Google’s terms. That is separate from Sentry and PostHog. See Google’s Play / privacy materials for how Google handles that data.

5. How we use information

We use the information in section 4 to:

• Diagnose crashes and improve stability

• Understand coarse feature usage and prioritise improvements

• Maintain and secure the app

• Comply with law and Google Play policy requirements where applicable

We do not use this information to show ads, to sell a list of your apps, or to build advertising profiles.

Legal bases (EEA, UK, and similar jurisdictions)

Where laws such as the GDPR apply, we process crash and product analytics data under our legitimate interests in keeping Slabs stable, secure, and improving its features — using the data-minimising configuration described in section 4. Where local law requires consent for particular processing, we rely on your consent. We do not make automated decisions with legal or similarly significant effects.

6. How we share information

We share diagnostic and analytics data with service providers who process it on our behalf:

ProviderPurposeRegion (as configured for Slabs)SentryCrash and diagnostic reportingEU ingestPostHogCoarse product analyticsUS Cloud

These providers process data under their own terms and privacy policies. We do not sell your personal information.

We may also disclose information if required by law, to protect rights and safety, or in connection with a business transfer of Almost Useful or Slabs.

7. Retention, security, and international processing

• Crash reports are automatically deleted by Sentry within 90 days of collection.

• Product events are retained by PostHog for up to 12 months, after which they may be permanently deleted. If we move to a plan with a longer retention period, we will update this policy.

• We delete specific Sentry or PostHog data earlier on request — see Deletion.

• Data is transmitted using HTTPS.

• Because we use Sentry (EU) and PostHog (US), information may be processed in those regions (and in other regions those providers use to operate their services). Both providers safeguard international transfers under recognised mechanisms: they are certified under the EU–US Data Privacy Framework (including the UK extension) and/or rely on Standard Contractual Clauses.

We take reasonable steps to protect data in transit and to limit what leaves the device (including client-side scrubbing of crash payloads). No method of transmission or storage is perfectly secure.

8. Deletion and your choices

No account. Slabs does not create a user account. Clearing app data or uninstalling Slabs removes local launcher data from that install.

Analytics and crashes. Crash reporting and product analytics are on by default in normal production builds. There is currently no in-app switch to turn them off.

Deletion requests. Email [email protected] and ask us to delete analytics or crash data associated with your use of Slabs. Tell us whatever you can to help us find records (for example approximate dates, app version, or device type). We will delete matching Sentry/PostHog data where feasible. We may need to keep information when required by law or for security and dispute resolution.

Export. You can export a local backup from Slabs Settings; that file is under your control.

9. Children

Slabs is a general-purpose home launcher. It is not directed at children and is not intended for use by children as a kids product. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children for child-directed services.

10. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you

• Correct inaccurate information

• Delete your information (see Deletion)

• Restrict or object to particular processing, including processing based on legitimate interests

• Receive a portable copy of information you provided

• Complain to a regulator — in Australia, the OAIC; in the EEA or UK, your local data protection / supervisory authority

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at [email protected]. We will respond within a reasonable time. Because the analytics data we hold is not linked to your name or account, we may need your help (approximate dates, app version, device type) to locate records, and in some cases we may not be able to identify data as yours.

Nothing in this policy limits non-excludable rights under applicable consumer or privacy law.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy when our practices, the app, or legal requirements change. We will update the effective date at the top. For material changes, we may also note the update in the app or on our website where practical. Continued use of Slabs after an update means you are informed of the revised policy as presented at that time.

12. Google Play Data safety

Google Play shows a Data safety section for Slabs based on declarations we submit in Play Console. Those declarations are maintained from our internal inventory (our internal Play Data safety inventory in the Slabs source repository) and should match this policy. If you see a conflict, contact us.

13. Contact

Almost Useful Privacy / support: [email protected] Web: https://almostuseful.xyz