Privacy Policy — LudusCtrl

Last updated: 16 October 2026

LudusCtrl does not collect, transmit, or share any personal data. There are no accounts, no analytics, no advertising, no crash reporting, no tracking, and no third-party SDKs of any kind. The only way anything reaches the developer is if you choose to send a problem report by email, described below.

LudusCtrl is developed by Josip Parlov. This policy covers the LudusCtrl Android app and the LudusCtrl receiver for Windows, and explains what they do and do not do with your data. It is short because they collect nothing.

What the Android app does

LudusCtrl forwards input from a gamepad paired to your device over Bluetooth to a computer on your own local network. To do this it:

• Reads button and stick input from a gamepad you have paired, using Android’s standard input APIs.
• Sends that input as UDP packets to an IP address on your local network, either discovered automatically or typed in by you.
• Listens for a discovery broadcast from the receiver program running on your computer.
• The first time it links to a computer, pairs with it: the two exchange keys so that only your phone can control that computer, and the app sends your device’s maker and model (for example “Google Pixel 8”) so the computer can show which phone is asking. You confirm the pairing on the computer.

All of this traffic stays on your local network. Nothing is sent to the developer, and nothing is sent to any internet server.

Data stored on your device

The app saves the last receiver address and port you used, and whether you enabled dim-screen mode, so you do not have to set them again. For each computer you pair with, it also keeps a random ID for your phone, the computer’s random ID, address and port, the key created during pairing, the date you paired, and a link counter. You can remove a computer with Paired PCs > Forget. All of this is stored only in the app’s private storage on your device. It is not included in Android’s cloud or device-to-device backups (the app turns backup off), it is removed when you uninstall the app, and it is never transmitted anywhere.

Reporting a problem

If you tap Report a problem, the app opens your own email app with a pre-filled message to josipparlov@protonmail.com. The message contains:

• the app version;
• your device’s manufacturer and model, and its Android version;
• the connected controller’s name, its vendor and product IDs, and the button layout the app detected;
• the connection status and the measured round-trip time;
• the receiver address you are connecting to, which is an address on your local network (for example 192.168.1.20:45989).

You can read and change the message before sending it. Nothing is sent unless you send it yourself from your email app. If your device has no email app, the report is copied to the clipboard instead, and again goes nowhere unless you paste and send it.

A report you send is used only to look into the problem and reply to you, and is not shared with anyone. You can ask for it to be deleted at the same address.

The Windows receiver

The receiver runs on your computer and accepts controller input only from your local network. It sends nothing to the developer or to any internet server.

It keeps its files in %LOCALAPPDATA%\LudusCtrl on your PC:

• Settings (settings.json), such as whether the browser client is on.
• A log file (ludusctrl.log, kept to a few megabytes). It records what the receiver did, such as starting up, connections and errors, and can include the local network addresses of devices that connected. It exists so a problem can be diagnosed after the fact. It never leaves your PC; if you want to include it in a problem report, attaching it is up to you.
• Paired phones (pairing.json): a random ID for the computer and, for each phone you allowed, its random ID, maker and model, the key created during pairing, the date you paired and a link counter. The file is readable only by your Windows account. Remove a phone in the receiver’s window (Paired phones > Remove) or with --forget.
• The browser client’s certificate, described next.

The browser client

The receiver can optionally serve a web page on your local network, so a phone without the app (an iPhone, for example) can send controller input from its browser. It is off unless you turn it on.

• The page is served over HTTPS with a self-signed certificate that is created on your PC the first time the browser client is used and stored in the folder above. No certificate authority or other outside service is involved.
• Each session uses a random access token, part of the address the receiver shows you. Only a browser that has that address can send input.
• The page loads nothing from the internet and sends controller input only to your PC.

Permissions (Android)

The app requests no location, contacts, storage, camera, or microphone permissions.

Children

The app is not directed at children and collects no data from anyone, regardless of age.

Third parties

None. Neither the app nor the receiver contains third-party analytics, advertising, or tracking libraries. A problem report you choose to send passes through your own email provider and the developer’s (Proton), as any email does.

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes, the updated version will be published at this same address, and in the receiver’s source repository at https://github.com/parl0v/ludusctrl/blob/main/PRIVACY.md, with a revised date above. Any future version that introduces data collection will say so explicitly.

Contact

Questions about this policy: josipparlov@protonmail.com