Privacy Policy for HigherBat

1. Controller

The controller within the meaning of Art. 4(7) GDPR is:

2. Data Protection Officer

No data protection officer has been appointed. There is no obligation to appoint one, as the conditions of Art. 37(1) GDPR and Sec. 38(1) BDSG are not met: fewer than 20 people are permanently engaged in the automated processing of personal data, there is no large-scale processing of special categories of data, and the core activity does not consist of large-scale regular and systematic monitoring of data subjects.

For all privacy matters, please use the contact details given in Section 1.

3. Core Principle: Processing Exclusively on Your Device

HigherBat is a local diagnostic tool for your Mac's battery. All measurement, usage, and settings data collected by the App is processed and stored exclusively on your device.

The controller operates no servers to which data from the App is transmitted, and has no access to the data processed in the App. No data is passed to analytics, advertising, or tracking services; no such components (SDKs) are contained in the App.

The App's only network communication is with Apple's services for verifying your purchase entitlement (see Section 4.4).

4. Data Processed in Detail

4.1 Battery and power telemetry

Data: charge level, charging and mains status, voltage, current, power (watts), temperature, charge cycle count, design and nominal capacity, battery condition, battery serial number, device designation, and characteristics of the connected power adapter (wattage, voltage, current, support for programmable charging profiles).

Source: exclusively from the IOKit / IOPowerSources interfaces of the macOS operating system. No data is collected from you that you do not generate yourself by using the device.

Purpose: displaying the live readings, the diagnostic cards, and the history chart, and calculating time remaining, Care Score, and service projection.

Storage: instantaneous values are held in memory. In addition, the history of the preceding 24 hours — for each sample a timestamp, charge level, charging state, power reading, and the name of the application active at that moment (Section 4.2) — is stored in a file inside the App container's “Application Support” folder, so that the history chart survives a restart of the App. This is written at intervals of roughly five minutes and when the App quits. A smoothed battery-health figure is stored persistently in the App's local settings (UserDefaults), likewise inside the App container; the key of that entry contains the battery's serial number, so the value is not incorrectly carried over when the battery is replaced. The serial number does not leave your device.

4.2 Names of active applications (rolling 24 hours)

Data: the display name of the application currently in the foreground, obtained via NSWorkspace, stored together with a timestamp and the corresponding power reading. It is held locally as part of the history described in Section 4.1.

Purpose: attributing energy consumption to individual programs (“Heaviest Power Consumers”).

Please note: this processing is limited to a rolling window of 24 hours: when the App starts, and continuously while it runs, entries older than 24 hours are discarded automatically and irretrievably. While the App is not running, the state last written remains unchanged in the App container; it is pruned at the next start and can be removed in full at any time via “Clear History” or by uninstalling the App. This is not tracking across apps or websites within the meaning of Apple's App Tracking Transparency framework. No combination with third-party data takes place. The data does not leave your device unless you export it yourself (Section 6).

4.3 Settings and application state

Data: alert thresholds, activation of notices and sounds, menu-bar icon style, colour coding, appearance, temperature and time format, onboarding status, visibility of individual controls.

Purpose: providing a configurable application that stays consistent across restarts.

Storage: locally in UserDefaults inside the App container.

4.4 Trial period, purchase, and entitlement

HigherBat offers a three-day free trial followed by a single one-time in-app purchase. There are no subscriptions.

• Start of the trial: the start time is stored locally — both in UserDefaults and in a file inside the App container's “Application Support” folder.
• Link to your Apple Account: to prevent the trial from being extended indefinitely by reinstalling, the App retrieves, through Apple's StoreKit interface (AppTransaction), the date on which your Apple Account first obtained the App, and uses whichever of the two dates is earlier. This retrieval contacts Apple's servers. In doing so the controller receives no identifier for your Apple Account and no personal data; only a date is evaluated locally.
• Payment handling: the purchase is handled entirely by Apple. The controller never receives your payment details, credit-card data, Apple Account identifier, or name — only the information, verified on your device, as to whether a valid entitlement exists.
• Restoring purchases: if you use “Restore Purchases”, the App asks Apple — through AppStore.sync() — to re-deliver to this device an entitlement already associated with your Apple Account. Apple may prompt you to sign in to your Apple Account. The request is addressed to Apple's servers; the controller receives no data from it.
• Code redemption: if you redeem a voucher or promotional code, Apple's own redemption interface is opened. Entry and validation of the code take place exclusively at Apple.

Apple as an independent controller: for the processing of your data within your App Store account, payment handling, and purchase history, Apple is an independent controller. Apple's privacy policy applies in that respect.

4.5 Notifications (system alerts)

When you complete the initial setup — and again whenever you switch the battery alerts back on later — the App requests permission to display notifications with alert text and sound, in order to inform you when charge thresholds are reached (e.g. 20% / 80%).

Granting this permission is voluntary; you can withdraw it at any time in macOS System Settings under “Notifications”. The App remains fully usable without it. Notification content is generated locally and displayed solely by the operating system; no transmission to servers (push services) takes place.

4.6 Launching automatically at login

If you enable “Launch at Login”, the App registers itself with macOS as a login item via the SMAppService system interface. No personal data is processed or transmitted in doing so; it is purely a system setting that you can revoke at any time in the App or in System Settings.

5. Shortcuts and App Intents

HigherBat exposes several read-only functions (“App Intents”) to Apple's Shortcuts app: charge level, charging state, estimated time remaining, battery health, and temperature.

These values are returned only at the moment a shortcut, automation, or Siri request started by you asks for them. Nothing is transmitted in the background, and the App itself sends these values nowhere.

Please note: a shortcut you create is under your own control. If you set up an automation that forwards these values to another application or to an online service (for example a webhook, a messenger, or a cloud service), that disclosure happens at your instigation. The service you selected is responsible for that onward processing; the controller of this App has no influence over it and no knowledge of it.

6. Data Export (CSV)

Using the “Export CSV” button you can write your locally stored battery history — including the recorded names of active applications — to a file at a location of your choosing.

This function also serves to fulfil your right to data portability (Art. 20 GDPR). Please note: from the moment of export the file lies outside the protected App container. You are responsible for its further storage, disclosure, and deletion.

7. Legal Bases for Processing

Access to terminal equipment information (Sec. 25 TDDDG): access to the system sensors (IOKit) and the storage of settings in your terminal equipment are strictly necessary under Sec. 25(2) no. 2 TDDDG in order to provide the telemetry service you have expressly requested. No separate consent is required for this.

Obligation to provide data (Art. 13(2)(e) GDPR): providing the data is neither required by law nor by contract. Without local access to the system's battery interfaces, however, the App cannot perform its function.

8. Recipients and Disclosure of Data

The data processed in the App is not disclosed to third parties. In particular, no data is sold, rented, or leased.

Data exchange exists solely to the following extent:

• Apple — in connection with the purchase and the verification of your entitlement (Section 4.4). Apple is an independent controller in that respect.
• Disclosures instigated by you — through Shortcuts (Section 5) or the CSV export (Section 6).

Processors (Art. 28 GDPR): no processor is involved in the processing that takes place inside the App; it occurs exclusively on your device.

For the receipt and forwarding of postal mail sent to the business address given in Section 1, we use Postflex GmbH, Emsdettener Straße 10, 48268 Greven, as a processor. A data processing agreement pursuant to Art. 28(3) GDPR is in place with them. If you contact us by post, the personal data contained in your letter is processed there strictly on our instructions for the purpose of mail handling. Postflex GmbH has appointed a data protection officer: heyData GmbH, Schützenstraße 5, 10117 Berlin, datenschutz@heydata.eu.

9. International Transfers

The controller transfers no data to countries outside the European Union or the European Economic Area.

Where a transfer to Apple occurs in connection with the App Store purchase, this takes place under Apple's own responsibility. The contracting entity within the EU is Apple Distribution International Ltd., based in Ireland; for any transfers to the USA, Apple states that it relies on appropriate safeguards within the meaning of Art. 44 et seq. GDPR. Please refer to Apple's privacy policy for details.

10. Retention Periods and Deletion

You can remove the stored history completely and irreversibly at any time using the “Clear History” button. Uninstalling the App deletes the entire App container including all settings and history data.

11. Data Security and Backups

All data is stored inside the macOS App Sandbox and is protected against access by other applications by the operating system's access controls.

Please note: depending on your system settings, local App containers may be included in your personal Time Machine or iCloud backups. The security of those backups is governed by your Apple and system settings and lies outside the controller's sphere of influence.

12. No Automated Decision-Making, No Profiling

Automated decision-making, including profiling, within the meaning of Art. 22(1) and (4) GDPR does not take place.

The calculations displayed in the App (time remaining, Care Score, service projection) are purely technical estimates provided for your information. They produce no legal effect concerning you and do not similarly significantly affect you.

13. Contacting Us by Email or Post

If you contact us by email, we process the data you provide (in particular your email address, your name where given, and the content of your message) solely in order to handle your request. This data is not passed on to third parties.

If you contact us by post, your letter is first received and forwarded to us by our processor, Postflex GmbH (see Section 8). In doing so, personal data contained in your letter — such as sender details — may be processed. This takes place strictly on our instructions under a contract pursuant to Art. 28 GDPR.

In both cases the legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR where the enquiry relates to entering into or performing a contract, and otherwise Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR based on our legitimate interest in responding to enquiries.

14. Children

The App is not directed at children and is not intended for use by children under the age of 16. No personal data of children is knowingly collected. Since all data is stored exclusively locally, the controller has no access to it in any event.

15. Your Rights as a Data Subject

You have the following rights against us with regard to personal data relating to you:

• Access (Art. 15 GDPR)
• Rectification (Art. 16 GDPR)
• Erasure (Art. 17 GDPR)
• Restriction of processing (Art. 18 GDPR)
• Data portability (Art. 20 GDPR)
• Objection to processing based on legitimate interests (Art. 21 GDPR)
• Withdrawal of consent with effect for the future (Art. 7(3) GDPR)

Exercising them in practice: because the controller stores none of your data on its own servers and has no access to the data in your App, you exercise these rights directly on your device:

For anything beyond that, please contact service@aaronwst.de.

16. Right to Lodge a Complaint with a Supervisory Authority (Art. 77 GDPR)

Without prejudice to any other administrative or judicial remedy, you have the right under Art. 77 GDPR to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority if you consider that the processing of personal data relating to you infringes the GDPR. The competent authority for the controller is:

You may equally contact the supervisory authority of your habitual residence or place of work.

17. Notice for California Residents (CCPA / CPRA)

No personal information is sold or “shared” within the meaning of the CCPA/CPRA. No processing for purposes of cross-context behavioural advertising takes place. You have the right to non-discrimination for exercising your privacy rights.

Do Not Track signals (CalOPPA): because the App does not track your behaviour across websites or services, DNT signals are not evaluated.

18. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to amend this Privacy Policy so that it always reflects current legal requirements or changes to the App's feature set. The version in force at the time of your visit applies. The current version is delivered with each App update and is available on this page.

Further information can be found in the Imprint.