Short version: we barely have any of your data.

Last updated · 23 April 2026

MatrixGolf is built to run on your iPhone and Apple Watch without a backend for most of what it does. Your rounds, shots, scorecards, launch monitor imports, and bag configuration live on your device. We don't have a server copy. We don't have an analytics dashboard counting your swings. This page explains what we do collect, what we don't, and why.

At a glance

AccountsOptional Sign in with Apple. Stores nothing beyond your Apple ID relay.
Rounds & shotsLocal to your device. Not sent anywhere.
GPS locationUsed only during active rounds. Never stored off-device.
Health dataRead locally via HealthKit for the round workout. Not uploaded.
Launch monitor CSVParsed and stored on-device.
AdsNone. Ever.
AnalyticsAggregate crash reports via Apple only.
Data sellingNever.

What we collect

Apple account (optional)

If you choose to sign in with Apple, we receive a private Apple relay identifier and (if you grant it) your name and a hidden email address. We use this only to bind your lifetime or subscription entitlement to an identity across devices. We don't store a password. We don't have your real email.

Purchase receipts

When you buy lifetime or start a subscription, Apple's StoreKit passes us a receipt. We verify it with Apple to unlock Pro features. Apple handles billing, taxes, refunds, and regional pricing. We never see your card.

Anonymous crash logs

If MatrixGolf crashes, Apple may send us an anonymous crash log via the standard iOS/watchOS crash reporting you've already opted into at the OS level. These logs identify the crash, not you. You can turn this off in iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Analytics & Improvements.

What stays on your device

The app is offline-first by design. The following categories never leave your iPhone or Watch:

Rounds, scores, and shot history. Stored in your device's local storage.
Handicap index and differentials. Computed locally from your round history using the USGA World Handicap formula.
Bag configuration. Clubs, distances, calibration baselines.
Launch monitor imports. Your CSV shots live in a local file; deleting the app deletes the file.
Course cache. Downloaded course data (satellite images, polygons, elevation grids, green maps) sit in an encrypted 50 MB LRU cache.

Permissions we ask for

Location (When In Use)

Used for: current-city display on the Courses tab, distance-to-green calculations during a round, auto hole detection, and shot tracking. Location is only read while the app is open or a workout session is active. We don't store a location trail off-device.

Motion & Fitness

Used for: CoreMotion-based swing detection on the Watch. Accelerometer and gyroscope samples stay on the Watch and are used to classify a swing event. The raw sensor data is not persisted beyond the active round.

HealthKit

Used for: starting a golf workout session so GPS stays alive in the background, and for capturing heart rate, active calories, and walking distance on the round record. Health data stays in your Health app; we only read what you grant access to, and we never write sensitive health data back.

Notifications (optional)

Used only for round-related reminders (e.g., "You left a round in progress"). No marketing notifications.

Third parties

Apple (StoreKit): purchase processing. Required for any iOS paid app.
Apple (Sign in with Apple): optional. No other identity provider is integrated.
Apple (HealthKit): for workout session integration, per your grant.
Cloudflare R2 / CDN: hosts the encrypted course index, polygons, elevation grids, satellite imagery, and community-scanned green maps. The CDN sees an IP address when it serves a file, which Cloudflare discards after standard log retention. No account linking.

We do not use Google Analytics, Firebase, Mixpanel, Amplitude, Facebook SDK, AppsFlyer, Branch, or any marketing/attribution SDK.

Community scan contributions

If you join the community scan program, scans you submit are uploaded to our CDN and associated with your contributor account (email only). Scans are published as part of the public green-contour database under an open license; you agree to that license at submission time. We store your email to credit your lifetime Pro entitlement. You can request deletion at any time.

Kids

MatrixGolf is not directed at children under 13 and we don't knowingly collect data from them.

Your rights

You can:

Delete the app, which removes all locally stored data.
Revoke individual permissions (location, motion, HealthKit, notifications) at any time via iOS Settings.
Revoke Sign in with Apple via Settings → Apple ID → Sign in with Apple.
Email privacy@matrixgolf.app to request deletion of your contributor email (if you're in the scan program) or a copy of whatever we have on file (which, for most users, is nothing).

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes, we'll update the "Last updated" date at the top and mention it in the app's update notes. Material changes will be surfaced in-app on next launch.

Contact

MatrixGolf is built by a small indie team under Teelab. For anything privacy-related, write to privacy@matrixgolf.app. For general support, support@matrixgolf.app.