# Collecting user data in Homey (Community) Apps **URL:** \ **Category:** Developers\ **Created:** [September 4, 2026, 8:28pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/collecting-user-data-in-homey-community-apps/159185 "2026-09-04T20:28:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ChrisG](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/chrisg/32/8825_2.png) [@ChrisG](https://community.homey.app/u/ChrisG)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2026, 2:15pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/collecting-user-data-in-homey-community-apps/159185/21 "2026-10-07T14:15:24Z")
Hi Sven, I wrote a TelemetryCollector app; maybe you’ll find it useful. > **[TelemetryCollector | Homey](https://homey.app/en-us/app/org.cflat-inc.telemetryCollector/TelemetryCollector/)** > > Setup and collect telemetry in minutes! > [@\[APP\]\[Pro\] TelemetryCollector - Setup and collect telemetry in minutes! (v1.0.3)](https://community.homey.app/t/app-pro-telemetrycollector-setup-and-collect-telemetry-in-minutes-v1-0-3/131546): > > Setup and collect telemetry in minutes! The [TelemetryCollector App](https://homey.app/de-ch/app/org.cflat-inc.telemetryCollector) captures logs and monitoring data, processes them and forwards them via the agent to the relevant Homey applications and/or observability servers. Big pictures Good to know The Homey-App establishes the connection to the app via the [TelemetryCollector-Api](https://community.homey.app/t/131548), so the developer of the app must integrate this into his app. This means that you have to contact him, preferably via the app topic, with the request to integrate i… ---
**Author:** ![smarthomesven](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/smarthomesven/32/79712_2.png) [@smarthomesven](https://community.homey.app/u/smarthomesven)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2026, 3:50pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/collecting-user-data-in-homey-community-apps/159185/22 "2026-10-07T15:50:55Z")
Hi, The app looks interesting. However, my service will do a bit more than just collecting telemetry. The new service will use a real-time WebSocket connection, which allows me to remotely push notifications to the user’s timeline (also to users on specific app versions). Since quite some users have auto-update disabled, this helps to push messages to users when f.e. the manufacturer changed an API that the user need to update to the latest version. ---
**Author:** ![DaneedeKruyff](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/daneedekruyff/32/964_2.png) [@DaneedeKruyff](https://community.homey.app/u/DaneedeKruyff)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2026, 6:45pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/collecting-user-data-in-homey-community-apps/159185/23 "2026-10-07T18:45:02Z")
I’m pretty sure all this will be opt-in, right? ---
**Author:** ![smarthomesven](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/smarthomesven/32/79712_2.png) [@smarthomesven](https://community.homey.app/u/smarthomesven)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2026, 7:27pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/collecting-user-data-in-homey-community-apps/159185/24 "2026-10-07T19:27:25Z")
It will be enabled by default, just like the previous service. Are you interested in an opt out feature? I might add that as well ---
**Author:** ![DaneedeKruyff](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/daneedekruyff/32/964_2.png) [@DaneedeKruyff](https://community.homey.app/u/DaneedeKruyff)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2026, 7:32pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/collecting-user-data-in-homey-community-apps/159185/25 "2026-10-07T19:32:17Z")
Well, seeing what you plan to do, I will not use your apps, and doing these thing on an opt-out basis should not be allowed in Homey apps in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![smarthomesven](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/smarthomesven/32/79712_2.png) [@smarthomesven](https://community.homey.app/u/smarthomesven)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2026, 7:42pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/collecting-user-data-in-homey-community-apps/159185/26 "2026-10-07T19:42:05Z")
> [@DaneedeKruyff](#): > > Well, seeing what you plan to do, I will not use your apps Which part of my plan do you have issues with? IPs will **NOT** be collected (or used for geoIP) anymore, it will use a more privacy-friendly approach without personally identifiable information ---
**Author:** ![DaneedeKruyff](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/daneedekruyff/32/964_2.png) [@DaneedeKruyff](https://community.homey.app/u/DaneedeKruyff)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2026, 7:44pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/collecting-user-data-in-homey-community-apps/159185/27 "2026-10-07T19:44:24Z")
Telemetry service, real time websocket connection, unsolicited push messages etc. And to add to that, I think you’re not aware what qualifies as Personal Identifiable Information and you use your own definition for it. ---
**Author:** ![smarthomesven](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/smarthomesven/32/79712_2.png) [@smarthomesven](https://community.homey.app/u/smarthomesven)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2026, 8:22pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/collecting-user-data-in-homey-community-apps/159185/28 "2026-10-07T20:22:27Z")
> [@DaneedeKruyff](#): > > unsolicited push messages etc Push messages to your phone are always opt in. It will push timeline notifications, and you can enable push messages for these types of timeline notifications in the Homey settings. > [@DaneedeKruyff](#): > > And to add to that, I think you’re not aware what qualifies as Personal Identifiable Information and you use your own definition for it. Any identifier that can identify you as a person (IP address, email address, physical address, phone number, etc.) is what I would consider as Personal Identifiable Information. ---
**Author:** ![SunBeech](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/sunbeech/32/111391_2.png) [@SunBeech](https://community.homey.app/u/SunBeech)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2026, 8:28pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/collecting-user-data-in-homey-community-apps/159185/29 "2026-10-07T20:28:09Z")
> [@smarthomesven](#): > > real-time WebSocket connection I don’t know how this technically works, but doesn’t this mean that you need to know which Homey to send a message to? So you need to have some kind of unique ID / reference? ---
**Author:** ![smarthomesven](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/smarthomesven/32/79712_2.png) [@smarthomesven](https://community.homey.app/u/smarthomesven)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2026, 8:31pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/collecting-user-data-in-homey-community-apps/159185/30 "2026-10-07T20:31:36Z")
> [@SunBeech](#): > > So you need to have some kind of unique ID / reference? Yes, that’s true. This will work the same way as the old service: it generates a unique installation ID on install, and uses that to connect to the WebSocket service. This identifier will be randomly generated, it identifies the app installation so it will be kept until you uninstall the app ---
**Author:** ![SunBeech](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/sunbeech/32/111391_2.png) [@SunBeech](https://community.homey.app/u/SunBeech)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2026, 8:38pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/collecting-user-data-in-homey-community-apps/159185/31 "2026-10-07T20:38:25Z")
FYI ![IMG_3044](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/uploads/athom/original/3X/c/a/ca9bc73f706efca99ce3bedc4d084fbc835fac2a.jpeg) Source: [What is considered personal data under the EU GDPR? - GDPR.eu](https://gdpr.eu/eu-gdpr-personal-data/) ---
**Author:** ![smarthomesven](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/smarthomesven/32/79712_2.png) [@smarthomesven](https://community.homey.app/u/smarthomesven)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2026, 8:40pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/collecting-user-data-in-homey-community-apps/159185/32 "2026-10-07T20:40:17Z")
Yes, I know that. MAC or Cloud ID for example are device identifiers. However, my solution uses a randomly generated installation identifier, this doesn’t belong to a specific device since it’s wiped after a factory reset (or uninstall of the app) ---
**Author:** ![smarthomesven](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/smarthomesven/32/79712_2.png) [@smarthomesven](https://community.homey.app/u/smarthomesven)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2026, 8:47pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/collecting-user-data-in-homey-community-apps/159185/33 "2026-10-07T20:47:16Z")
> [@DaneedeKruyff](#): > > Telemetry service And which type of telemetry do you mean by that? The telemetry that my apps will collect is very minor, only version, app ID and unique install ID, and it will do error reporting of unexpected errors. Country or language can be left out, not really needed for this service anyway (since the Homey Developer Tools already has a dashboard for that) ---
**Author:** ![DaneedeKruyff](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/daneedekruyff/32/964_2.png) [@DaneedeKruyff](https://community.homey.app/u/DaneedeKruyff)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2026, 4:57am UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/collecting-user-data-in-homey-community-apps/159185/34 "2026-10-08T04:57:02Z")
> [@smarthomesven](#): > > However, my solution uses a randomly generated installation identifier, this doesn’t belong to a specific device since it’s wiped after a factory reset (or uninstall of the app) From the moment of creation until deletion, so during it’s use, this is considered personal data and is subject to GDPR regulation. ---
**Author:** ![DaneedeKruyff](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/daneedekruyff/32/964_2.png) [@DaneedeKruyff](https://community.homey.app/u/DaneedeKruyff)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2026, 4:58am UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/collecting-user-data-in-homey-community-apps/159185/35 "2026-10-08T04:58:14Z")
> [@smarthomesven](#): > > And which type of telemetry do you mean by that? Any and all. Please educate yourself on this subject. ---
**Author:** ![smarthomesven](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/smarthomesven/32/79712_2.png) [@smarthomesven](https://community.homey.app/u/smarthomesven)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2026, 5:34am UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/collecting-user-data-in-homey-community-apps/159185/36 "2026-10-08T05:34:04Z")
> [@DaneedeKruyff](#): > > From the moment of creation until deletion, so during it’s use, this is considered personal data and is subject to GDPR regulation And this means that you need a privacy policy, which I can definitely add if needed > [@DaneedeKruyff](#): > > > [@smarthomesven](#): > > > > And which type of telemetry do you mean by that? > > Any and all. > > Please educate yourself on this subject Every mobile app has some kind of installation tracking and many also have notifications, so this is quite normal for many software. Also, keep in mind that these are free apps, you don’t need to use them if you don’t want to. ---
**Author:** ![4x4\_Pete](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/4x4_pete/32/113286_2.png) [@4x4\_Pete](https://community.homey.app/u/4x4_Pete)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2026, 7:45am UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/collecting-user-data-in-homey-community-apps/159185/37 "2026-10-08T07:45:21Z")
This makes the installation identifiable, not the person. I think this is ok under GDPR as long as you do _ **at no point in time connect it with an IP adress** _. - Not when it is created and not when it phones home. But still I wonder what additional enlightenment is expected from being able to identify a particular installation!? ---
**Author:** ![4x4\_Pete](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/4x4_pete/32/113286_2.png) [@4x4\_Pete](https://community.homey.app/u/4x4_Pete)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2026, 7:51am UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/collecting-user-data-in-homey-community-apps/159185/38 "2026-10-08T07:51:18Z")
> [@smarthomesven](#): > > Every mobile app has some kind of installation tracking and many also have notifications, so this is quite normal for many software. That does not mean that it complies with GDPR nor that it is desireable by the user or is any good otherwise. > [@smarthomesven](#): > > Also, keep in mind that these are free apps, you don’t need to use them if you don’t want to. Not using it is, what I will probably do and will recommend to others. ---
**Author:** ![smarthomesven](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/smarthomesven/32/79712_2.png) [@smarthomesven](https://community.homey.app/u/smarthomesven)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2026, 7:58am UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/collecting-user-data-in-homey-community-apps/159185/39 "2026-10-08T07:58:37Z")
> [@4x4\_Pete](#): > > as long as you do _ **at no point in time connect it with an IP adress** _ The app doesn’t use IPs, so that should be fine. > [@4x4\_Pete](#): > > nor that it is desireable by the user or is any good otherwise. Why? The user doesn’t even notice it’s there, the app still works fine and when it can’t reach the service (e.g. no internet) it will still work normally ---
**Author:** ![4x4\_Pete](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/4x4_pete/32/113286_2.png) [@4x4\_Pete](https://community.homey.app/u/4x4_Pete)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2026, 8:08am UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/collecting-user-data-in-homey-community-apps/159185/40 "2026-10-08T08:08:17Z")
> [@smarthomesven](#): > > The user doesn’t even notice it’s there, That is the worst. It sends data to somewhere and doesn´t tell you. And this data is not even necessary to run the thing or make it better. It is just for pleasing someones curiosity as it seems. Mate, my trust in you and your apps is destroyed and I am just about to identify remove the apps I have from you. - But mayne through your current telemetry you can help me with that 🤣 [Previous page](https://community.homey.app/t/collecting-user-data-in-homey-community-apps/159185.md?page=1) [Next page](https://community.homey.app/t/collecting-user-data-in-homey-community-apps/159185.md?page=3)