Privacy & Data

The short version

What the app does store

LAN Lights saves data locally on your Android device in its private app folder. Only the app can access these files.

Stored locally:

• devices.json — MAC addresses, SKU model numbers, IP addresses, and names of lights you've discovered. Used to remember which lights are yours between sessions.
• timers.json — your timer and schedule rules: times, target lights, actions (on/off, brightness, color). Never leaves the device.
• Preferences — UI animation toggles (via Android's Preferences system). That's it.

Uninstalling the app deletes all of these. There's no backup, no sync, no cloud restore.

Network traffic

LAN Lights sends UDP packets only to devices and addresses on your local network. Period.

Verify it yourself: capture your network traffic while the app is running. You'll see only UDP packets to addresses on your own subnet.

Permissions declared

LAN Lights requests only install-time "normal" permissions. Android will never show you a runtime permission prompt for this app. Here's why each is there:

• INTERNET — Required by Android for any socket use, including local-only UDP. Does not mean the app connects to the internet.
• ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE — Checking that a network connection exists before trying to scan.
• ACCESS_WIFI_STATE — Confirming Wi-Fi is active (lights use 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi).
• CHANGE_WIFI_MULTICAST_STATE — Briefly enabling multicast packet listening during device discovery. Released immediately after.
• RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED — Re-registering timers and schedules when your phone reboots.
• WAKE_LOCK — Waking the device briefly when a timer fires to send its UDP command.
• SCHEDULE_EXACT_ALARM / USE_EXACT_ALARM — Firing timers and schedules at the exact minute you set, not "eventually."

Noticeably absent: location (fine, coarse, or background), Bluetooth, camera, microphone, NFC, contacts, calendar, storage access beyond the app's private folder.

Interaction with Govee's official app

One-time setup: you must use Govee's official app to flip the LAN Control toggle on each light (device → settings gear). After that, LAN Lights can control the lights without the official app present.

LAN Lights never communicates with Govee's servers or the official app. The two apps don't share data.

Third-party code & libraries

LAN Lights uses the .NET MAUI framework and base .NET libraries. It does not include analytics, crash reporters, ads, or tracking SDKs of any kind. The source code is available on request.

Security considerations

LAN-only threat model

Govee's LAN API has no authentication — any device on your Wi-Fi subnet that knows a light's IP can send control commands to it. This is by design (IoT devices don't usually do crypto-heavy auth). The security boundary is your network: if someone is on your Wi-Fi, they can control your lights. If you don't control who joins your network, this is a risk.

Guest network or IoT VLAN recommended if you're concerned.

Effects streaming

When you run an effect (Color Fade, Sparkle, etc.), the app sends rapid color commands from your phone to the light. This traffic is unencrypted plain UDP, visible to anyone on your subnet. The commands themselves are read-only (color, brightness) — no sensitive data is transmitted.

Timers & schedule

Timers and schedule rules are stored on your device only and sent to lights as-needed. Android's alarm system fires them; no external trigger service is involved.

Changes to this policy

This policy describes LAN Lights v1.1 and later. If the app is updated with new features that change its data practices, this page will be updated to reflect it. The app itself will never add telemetry, cloud logging, or tracking without your explicit opt-in.

Questions?

If you have concerns about this app's data practices or want to report a privacy issue, contact videsignstudios@gmail.com.