TimeMachine

Privacy Policy

Last updated: October 2, 2026

In short: TimeMachine works without an account. If you sign in, we store only what is needed to sync your cities and to show your friends your time zone and when you are busy. The app and this website use Google Analytics to see how they are used — on the website with cookies, with your consent where the law asks for it. There are no ads in the app and we sell your data to no one.

Who we are

TimeMachine is a world clock app for iOS and Android, published by theMakeApp (“we”). This policy covers the apps and this website, thetimemachine.global. In the App Store the app is listed as “Global Time Machine”; it is the same app. Questions go to support@thetimemachine.global.

Using the app without an account

The clock, the time zones and the city database are all inside the app, and time zones come from your device. Without an account, your cities, your calendar and your location are not sent to us.

Usage statistics in the app

The app uses Google Analytics for Firebase to show us how it is used, with or without an account. It reports:

  • that the app was opened and which screens were shown;
  • steps of the introduction, dragging a scale (which row and by how many hours), returning to “now”, switching between the 12- and 24-hour clock, adding or removing a city (only how many cities you now have, never which), opening the calendar screen, and the fact of signing in;
  • technical data: device model, system version, language, app version, an app-installation identifier that Firebase creates, and an approximate region derived from the IP address.

It does not report your name, e-mail address, the cities you chose or anything from your calendar. If you connect the calendar of your phone, the app reads it on the device to draw your meetings on the scale; the events stay on the device. The app does not read the advertising identifier of your device and does not track you across other companies’ apps and websites.

What we store when you sign in

  • Sign-in identity. The account identifier that Apple, Google or Microsoft gives us, and your e-mail address if the provider shares it. We never see your password.
  • Profile. The name you choose, your profile picture address if your Google account has one, your time zone and city. The app updates the time zone and city when it starts, so friends see when you travel.
  • Your cities and lists. The places you added and how you ordered them, to keep your devices in sync.
  • Settings. 12- or 24-hour clock, theme, whether you share busy time.
  • Friends. Who you are connected with, and the invite links you created.
  • Busy time. If you connect your calendar, the app works out on your device when you are busy and sends only the start and end of those stretches for the coming two weeks. Event titles, places, guests and notes never leave your device. Past stretches are deleted.
  • Subscription. Which Premium plan is active and until when, as confirmed by the App Store or Google Play. We do not receive your payment card details.

What friends can see

A friend sees your name, picture, city, time zone, and, if you allow it, when you are busy. Nothing else. You can switch busy-time sharing off in the app at any moment, and you can remove a friend at any moment.

The web clock

The clock on this website reads the time zone from your browser to draw your scale. This happens in your browser; the time zone is not sent to us. The site remembers your 12/24-hour choice in your browser’s local storage.

Analytics and advertising on this website

This website uses Google Analytics to see how many people visit, which pages they open and how they use the clock (for example, whether a scale was dragged or a store button was pressed). We also use this data to advertise TimeMachine: Google may show our ads to people who have visited this site, and to people similar to them.

  • For this, Google sets cookies in your browser and receives the page address, the time, your browser and device type, and an approximate location derived from your IP address.
  • If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Switzerland, none of this is stored or used for advertising until you press “Accept” in the cookie banner. If you decline, only anonymous counts without cookies are sent.
  • Elsewhere, it is on by default, and “Decline” switches it off.
  • You can change your choice at any time with the “Cookies” link at the bottom of every page.
  • Invite pages are never reported.

Who else handles the data

  • Apple, Google, Microsoft — when you sign in with them, and Apple or Google when you subscribe.
  • Google Analytics, Firebase and Google Ads — usage statistics of the app and this website, and advertising of TimeMachine, as described above.
  • Our hosting and network providers — they run the server and the domain, and process technical data such as IP addresses to do so.

We do not sell your data. Account data — your cities, friends and busy time — is never used for advertising.

How long we keep it

Until you delete your account. Busy time is kept for no more than about two weeks ahead and is removed once it has passed. Server logs with technical data are kept for a short time to keep the service secure.

Deleting your account

In the app: Profile → Delete account. This removes your profile, cities, lists, friends, busy time and sign-in records from our server right away. You can also write to support@thetimemachine.global from the address of your account. Deleting the account does not cancel a subscription; cancel it in your App Store or Google Play settings.

Your rights

You may ask us for a copy of your data, to correct it, or to delete it. If you are in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, you also have the right to object to processing and to complain to your data protection authority. Write to support@thetimemachine.global.

Children

TimeMachine is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their data.

Changes

If this policy changes, we will update this page and the date at the top.