Each detail looks harmless. Together, they add up.
Every app can read these without asking you first. Combined, they can work as a device fingerprint that recognises you across apps.
- When your iPhone was set up, to the second
- When it last restarted, to the second
- Free space, to the byte
- Your headphones’ name, which often holds your first name
- Your languages and keyboards
- Which apps you have, asked about one by one
Grant a permission and an app can see far more. And any app can ask whether specific apps are installed — an answer that could reveal your dating life, your health, your faith or your money.
Four simple steps. Then fix it.
Footprint, Sensitive apps, Tracker and Check-up — each one calm, plain and on your device. On iPhone Duo, every page works folded or open, upright or sideways.
Footprint
One tap checks the details any app can read about your device without asking — nearly 50 on an iPhone or iPad. You get a score out of 100 — higher is better — and a colour chart of what is worth a look, worth knowing or minor. “What your score means” explains the bands (heavy under 50, moderate 50 to 74, light 75 and up) and how high your score could go.
Sensitive apps
See which of your apps any other app can spot, and what that could reveal. Choose from nine kinds: dating; religion and faith; health and fertility; addiction and recovery; VPN and censorship tools; private messaging; crypto and gambling; job hunting and workplace; politics and news. Banking, government and employer apps can run the same check, so the app suggests using their website instead. Names stay hidden until you tap “Show the apps”. Only how many were found is kept on your device, never which apps. On iPhone and iPad, for an app that could give you away, the first advice is to hide and lock it; on Android, to move it into Private space, or Secure Folder on Samsung.
Tracker
See what your apps really did. Open the App Privacy Report you save from your iPhone or iPad’s Settings, and the app explains in plain words which apps used your location, photos, contacts, camera or microphone, and which shared data with advertising or analytics companies. Ordinary activity — an app talking to its own service, to Apple, to sign-in and hosting services or to a weather service — stays calm. Apps appear by name wherever the app knows them, from a list built into it. The report covers the last 7 days and shows who an app talked to, not what it sent. On Android, Tracker shows which apps can read your screen, read every notification or lock the device, and flags any app that holds more than one — apps built into the device are listed but not counted. One tap opens Privacy dashboard, Android’s own record of which apps used your location, camera and microphone.
Check-up
This app can’t see which of your other apps can reach your health data, location or photos — only Settings shows that. So the check-up starts with Safety Check on iPhone and iPad, or the privacy check on Android, then simple steps to lock your device and protect your account, and walks you through those settings one area at a time while you tick each one off. It covers social media apps too — what they can reach and share — and helps keep unwanted apps out: install updates, restart once a week, check for leaked passwords, and on Apple devices see whether Lockdown Mode is right for you. On iPhone and iPad, its directions name what your device really has, such as Face ID or Touch ID.
Fix them with me
From your score, the app takes you through each finding you can fix, one at a time, and shows you where to change it in Settings. It can’t change settings for you — you make each change, then scan again to watch your score go up. Where only Apple, Google or your device’s maker can fix something, it says so honestly.
One privacy score
The checks you have done add up to one overall score out of 100 on the first page — the average of the checks so far. Every finding has a plain headline and one short line on why it matters, then what you can do, or honestly that it’s out of your hands.
Every clue explained
Each finding says how serious it is — worth a look, worth knowing or minor — who can read it, how long it lasts and what it lets someone do, in plain words.
What apps see once you say yes
On iPhone and iPad, ten permissions, from Location and Photos to Contacts and Local Network; on Android, four — Location, Nearby devices, Contacts and Calendars. Tap “Show me” on one to see exactly what an app would get — it asks only then, never when the app opens. Contacts, calendars and photos appear as counts and summaries, never contacts' names, numbers or event titles.
Keep track
Scan again to see before and after. History stays on your device as scrambled markers, never the values, and is left out of backups. On iPhone and iPad, a scoreboard shows what Apple has closed and what is still open. You can share your score, never your values. An optional re-scan reminder, off until you turn it on, can nudge you every week or month — set on your device, with no server.
Your score at a glance
Add the widget to see your privacy score and when you last checked. It shows nothing else, stays on your device and connects to nothing.
The detective
A blue furry detective in a deerstalker and a trench coat lives on every page, and every section is one of his sticky notes — coloured by what it found. On an iPhone he leans when you tilt it, and he gives you a tip when you tap him.
On a Mac, it sees even more.
A Mac lets any app read far more than a phone does, without asking. hYYa Digital Footprint Check shows you all of it, and how to reduce it.
IDs that never change
The Mac’s serial number and hardware ID. Any app can read them, and they stay the same even after you erase the Mac — only Apple can fix this.
Your full name
The name on your Mac account, exactly as you typed it when you set the Mac up, along with your account name.
Every app, with no limit
Every app in your Applications folders and every app open right now. Your apps can reveal your work, health, faith, dating life and money.
Router and network names
Your router’s address, the servers that look up websites for you, and network names that often reveal your employer or internet provider.
One click to the right setting
Fixes and the check-up open the right page of System Settings directly. Tracker opens the places that show which apps can record your screen, read your keyboard, control your Mac or read all your files.
It can’t connect anywhere
The Mac version has no permission to use the network at all. It asks for seven permissions — Location, Contacts, Calendars, Reminders, Photos, Camera and Bluetooth — and only when you click “Show me”.
What you will see.
On a Mac
It shows you everything. It keeps nothing.
The App Store privacy label is Data Not Collected, and Google Play’s data safety section says no data collected. There is no hYYa account, no sign-up, no hYYa server, no analytics and no advertising or tracking code, and the Android version has no permission to use the internet. Everything the app reads is shown to you on your device and stays there. On Apple devices, a few features use Apple’s own services, such as your App Store country — the privacy policy names each one.
Read the privacy policyDon’t take our word for it.
The code is published under the Mozilla Public License 2.0, so anyone can read it and check every claim on this page.
Read the code on GitHubFrequently Asked Questions
What can apps learn about my phone without asking?
Dozens of details: when it last restarted, to the second; its free space, to the byte; the name of your headphones; your languages and keyboards; and many more. hYYa Digital Footprint Check shows you each one in plain language — nearly 50 on an iPhone or iPad.
What is device fingerprinting?
It is combining many harmless-looking details into a pattern unusual enough to recognise one device across apps. No single detail gives you away; together they can.
Can an app see which other apps I have installed?
On a phone or tablet it can ask about specific apps — on iPhone and iPad, up to a limit the system sets — and the answer can reveal your dating life, your health, your faith or your money. On a Mac, any app can list every app in your Applications folders. hYYa Digital Footprint Check shows you which of your sensitive apps can be spotted, and keeps their names hidden until you tap.
Can apps learn my name from my headphones?
Often, yes. Headphones and speakers are frequently named after their owner, such as "Sam's AirPods", and any app can read that name without asking. hYYa Digital Footprint Check flags it and shows how to rename them.
How can I see which apps on my iPhone share my data with advertising companies?
Turn on the App Privacy Report in your iPhone's Settings, save it, and open it in hYYa Digital Footprint Check's Tracker. It shows in plain words which apps shared data with outside advertising or analytics companies over the last 7 days — who they talked to, not what they sent.
What is the App Privacy Report, and how do I read it?
It is a record your iPhone or iPad keeps, once you turn it on in Settings, of which apps used your data and which services they contacted over the last 7 days. hYYa Digital Footprint Check's Tracker opens the file you save from it and explains it in plain words, leaving ordinary activity — an app talking to its own service, to Apple or to a weather service — calm.
Can hYYa Digital Footprint Check see which apps have access to my Health data or location?
No. It can’t see which other apps can reach your health data, location or photos; only Settings shows that. The check-up walks you through those Settings screens one at a time, starting with Safety Check on iPhone and iPad or the privacy check on Android. On an iPhone or iPad, Tracker can also show which apps actually used your location, photos, contacts, camera or microphone, from the App Privacy Report you open yourself. On Android, Tracker shows which apps can read your screen, read every notification or lock the device.
What is a digital footprint?
It is the trail of details your devices and apps leave about you. On a phone, that includes details any app can read without asking, such as when the phone last restarted and what your headphones are called. hYYa Digital Footprint Check shows you those details in plain language and how to reduce them.
How do I check app permissions?
On iPhone and iPad, open Settings, then Privacy & Security, and tap a permission to see which apps have it. On a Mac, open System Settings, then Privacy & Security. On Android, open Settings, then Security & privacy, and find Permission manager — the exact path depends on your phone’s maker. No app can see this for you, so the Check-up in hYYa Digital Footprint Check walks you through those settings one area at a time.
How do I do a privacy check-up?
On iPhone and iPad, start with Safety Check. On a Mac, start with Device Management. On Android, start with the privacy check, Android’s own overview of your privacy and security settings. Then go through your settings one area at a time and tick each off as you go. The Check-up in hYYa Digital Footprint Check guides you through it.
How can I tell if an app can watch my screen or read my notifications on Android?
Run the Footprint check, then open Tracker. On Android it shows which apps can read your screen, read every notification or lock the device, and flags any app that holds more than one of these. Apps built into the device are listed but not counted. It shows what an app is allowed to do, not what it did, and it does not search for malicious code.
Is it a spyware or virus scanner?
No. It is NOT a spyware, malware or virus scanner. It shows what any app can read about your device, and how to reduce it. It does not look inside other apps or search for malicious code.
Does it collect or send any of my data?
No. Its App Store privacy label is Data Not Collected, its Google Play data safety section says no data is collected or shared, there is no hYYa account and no hYYa server, and nothing the app reads leaves your device.
Why does it ask for permissions?
Only to show you what an app would get if you said yes. It asks for each permission when you tap "Show me", never when the app opens, and for contacts, calendars and photos it shows counts and summaries, never contacts' names, numbers or event titles.
What does the footprint score mean?
It is out of 100, and higher is better: 75 and up is a light footprint, 50 to 74 moderate, and under 50 heavy. Only findings you can change lower it; things only Apple, Google or your device’s maker can fix are listed separately, and the app shows how high your score could go once you fix what you can.
Is it free and open source?
Yes. It is free, with no in-app purchases, no subscription and no ads, and its code is published under the Mozilla Public License 2.0 on GitHub, so anyone can read it to check these claims.
What do your apps know about you?
Find out, then fix it. Free, open source, and nothing leaves your device.
Free · open source · no in-app purchases