Discwake is an Android emulator for PlayStation games. This policy explains what happens to information about you when you use it.
In short: Discwake has no accounts of its own, no ads, no analytics and no crash reporting, and Astraneta runs no servers for it. Nothing you do in the app is sent to us. The three features that use the network talk directly to the service or device they need, and two of them are off until you use them.
| Feature | What leaves your device | Sent to | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Games, BIOS, saves, memory cards, settings, screenshots | Nothing | Stays on your device | Always |
| Box art | The title of the game whose cover is being looked up | libretro's thumbnail server, or GitHub when that does not answer | On by default. You can turn it off in Settings. |
| RetroAchievements | Your username and sign-in, a fingerprint of the disc, achievements, scores and play activity | RetroAchievements.org | Only after you sign in |
| Netplay | Controller input, the game's state, which game it is, your device's network address | The other player's device, and devices on your network while you host | Only while you host or join a game |
Like any connection over the internet, a request to libretro, GitHub or RetroAchievements also shows them your device's IP address.
1Who is responsible
Discwake (package name com.astraneta.discwake) is published by Astraneta (“we”). You can reach us at [email protected].
2What Discwake does not do
- It does not ask for your name, email address, phone number or any other contact details.
- It does not show ads and does not read your device’s advertising ID.
- It contains no analytics, tracking or crash-reporting software, from us or anyone else.
- It does not access your location, contacts, camera, microphone or photos.
- It does not sell, rent or share information about you with anyone.
- It does not include or download any games or any BIOS.
3What stays on your device
The app keeps the following on your device. We cannot see any of it.
- Your games. You choose a folder with Android’s system folder picker. Discwake reads only that folder and plays the discs where they are, without copying them. To recognise a disc it reads a small part of it and computes a fingerprint (hash). When a disc’s tracks came without a cue sheet, the app writes one in its own storage. Discs you add through the file picker instead are moved into the app’s private storage.
- The BIOS. The BIOS image you pick in Settings is copied into the app’s private storage. Only the emulator reads it.
- Saves. Each game’s memory card, your save states, and the cheat codes you enter.
- Settings. Your preferences and control layouts.
- Screenshots. Saved to your device’s Pictures through Android’s media store, and only when you take one.
- Box art. Downloaded covers, and the list of covers available, are cached so each is fetched only once.
If Android backup is turned on for your Google account, Android may include app data such as settings in that backup. Google handles those backups under its own privacy policy.
4Features that use the network
Box art
To show a cover for each game, Discwake downloads artwork from the libretro-thumbnails project. It first asks libretro’s own server, thumbnails.libretro.com, for the list of available covers and for the image. When that server does not answer, it uses the project’s copy on GitHub instead: the list from api.github.com and the image from raw.githubusercontent.com. These requests contain the title of the game being looked up and identify the app as “Discwake”. Nothing else about you or your device is sent.
Box art downloads are on by default. Turn them off in Settings, where you can also clear covers already downloaded. libretro and GitHub each handle these requests under their own policies; GitHub’s is the GitHub General Privacy Statement.
RetroAchievements
RetroAchievements is an independent community service that awards achievements for classic games. Using it is optional and needs an account you create on their website.
When you sign in, your username and password are sent once, over an encrypted HTTPS connection, to retroachievements.org. Your password is never stored. What is kept is the sign-in token RetroAchievements returns, encrypted with a key held by the Android Keystore.
While you are signed in and playing, the app sends RetroAchievements a fingerprint of the disc so the game can be recognised, the achievements you unlock, leaderboard scores you post, and periodic updates on what you are doing in the game. RetroAchievements shows this on your profile and handles it under its own privacy policy and terms. Signing out deletes the token from your device.
Netplay
Netplay lets two people on the same Wi-Fi network play together. While you host a game, your device announces it on the local network with broadcast messages that carry the game’s title and a fingerprint of it, so any device on that network can see them. During a game, the devices exchange controller input every frame, and the host sends the starting state of the game. Each device sees the other’s network address.
This traffic goes straight between the two devices. There is no relay server and nothing reaches us. If you type in the address of a device outside your local network, the same data travels over the internet to that device. Netplay traffic is not encrypted, so play only with people and on networks you trust.
5Android permissions
Discwake asks for no storage permission. Access to your games folder is granted through the system folder picker, and you can revoke it at any time in Android’s settings.
6Children
Discwake does not collect personal information from anyone, including children. RetroAchievements accounts are subject to RetroAchievements’ own terms, including any minimum age.
7Security
Connections to RetroAchievements, libretro and GitHub use HTTPS. The RetroAchievements sign-in token is stored encrypted using the Android Keystore. Everything else the app keeps is in its private storage, which other apps cannot read, apart from the games folder you chose and screenshots you saved.
8Keeping and deleting data
We hold no information about you, so there is nothing for us to keep or delete.
Everything Discwake stores stays on your device until you remove it. Clearing the app’s storage in Android settings, or uninstalling it, deletes all of it: saves, memory cards, the BIOS copy, and discs you added through the file picker. Discs in the folder you chose, and screenshots you saved to Pictures, are yours and are left where they are. You can delete your RetroAchievements account on their website.
9Your rights
Depending on where you live, laws such as the EU and UK GDPR, Turkey’s KVKK (Law No. 6698) and the California Consumer Privacy Act give you rights over your personal data, including access and deletion. Because we collect none, requests about data held by RetroAchievements, libretro or GitHub should go to them. We are glad to answer any question about how the app handles data: write to [email protected].
10Changes to this policy
If the app starts handling data differently, this page will be updated before that version is released, and the date at the top will change. Significant changes will also be mentioned in the app’s release notes.
11Contact
Questions about this policy: [email protected].