The following describes in more detail HTC's privacy practices regarding certain apps and features, including apps and features that may not be available on your device where limited by carrier or region. For information about HTC's general information collection and use practices, visit the HTC Privacy Policy.
Activation Data last updated: 2/5/2015
When you activate your phone, HTC collects certain deidentified data to help us understand the number and types of phones activated and when they are activated; the general location of phones activated to ensure adequate software support, to administer updates, and to diagnose system issues; and to understand when your phone was activated to see if you qualify for certain services, such as HTC Advantage. Activation data we collect includes: IMEI, MEID, or SN; device status; connected network; device model, model id, and model number; time zone; country; locality and sublocality; zip code; current operating system; ROM version, language; and other data about the time and status of your activation.
Usage Reporting Data last updated: 5/18/2018
HTC collects Usage Reporting Data and analyzes the way you and other users use HTC devices and features to develop improved versions of its features, functions, products and services and to make them easier and more intuitive to use. HTC also uses Usage Reporting Data for statistical research purposes and to improve our marketing efforts.
Usage Reporting Data is not collected in a form that identifies you directly. HTC may reidentify this data if you sign up for or use services that need to know your identity, such as HTC Account and certain HTC apps, or when you request HTC services like technical support.
Even if you choose not to send Usage Reporting Data, HTC apps and services continue to collect and use some of the same types of information as Usage Reporting Data and other types of data as described in the HTC Privacy Policy, in this Learn More, and in notices provided to you in those apps and services. HTC also collects certain data about your device when you activate your device. HTC may also collect error count as well as any error reports you choose to send, and may associate error reports you've sent in the past with your request for technical support, should you choose this option. Your Usage Reporting Data settings do not affect those collection activities.
If you use HTC device, Usage Reporting Data we collect can include, for example:
- details about how you use your device and the apps, shortcuts, categories, menus, features, programs and services on your device (including, for example, People, Phone, Mail, Messages, Music, Camera, Galleries, Clock, Settings, Weather, and Calendar), including how and when you access these items, the number of times you access these items, actions you take when accessing and using these items, the length of time of the access, the number of times and the manner in which you adjust the settings of these items and when you remove shortcuts to these items from the home screen of your device;
- your device identifiers, such as serial number (in a hashed format), network MCC and MNC (these numbers tell us the country you are in and your network provider);
- general information about your device, including the language setting of your device, which network you are on and what type of network it is and whether your device is "roaming" (i.e., when you are in any country other than your "home country"), the modem and your memory usage;
- city and region location information about your device;
- information about how many calls you make and receive on your device and when, information about the signal strength (and other device information) at that time of the call (but not the call contents or name or number of the person calling you or receiving your call);
- the number of SMS and MMS messages you send and receive, the total number of SMS and MMS messages stored on your device (but not the name or number of the person sending you messages, the recipient of your messages, or message content), the number of times you send a ‘group message' to multiple contacts at once and the type of content (for example, photos or videos) that you attach to MMS messages (but not copies of such content);
- the number and types of email accounts synchronized to your device (but not email addresses or passwords to the accounts), whether you have a Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync ("EAS") account, your email account settings (server and port settings only), the number of emails in each of your email accounts, the average size of emails in your email accounts and the length of time it takes for your accounts to be synchronized (but not the sender, recipient, email message content or attachments);
- application information about your downloads, including what you downloaded, when, whether you share these downloads, whether you un-install or delete the downloads (and if so when);
- information about whether Wi-Fi/hot spot is enabled;
- the number of contacts you have on your device, the number of pieces of information you have about each contact, details about where information about the contacts came from (e.g. Facebook, Gmail, LinkedIn) and the number of groups you have set up on your device (but not the individual contact details);
- whether your camera is turned on or off, the total number of photos and videos you have taken with the camera on your device, the number of photos and videos stored on your device, the number of folders and virtual folders in which you store such photos and videos (but not copies of the photos or videos) and the number of songs you have stored on your device;
- the battery status of your device and wakelock information (wakelock is an Android power management mechanism which can prevent your device going into a low power state); and
- information about the number or times and the length of time you use or access 'help' or 'show me' articles or videos provided by HTC and stored on your Device (collectively, "Usage Data").
If you use VIVE Focus, Usage Reporting Data we collect can include, for example:
- details about how you use your device and the apps, categories, features, programs and services on your device, including how and when you access these items, the number of times you access these items, actions you take when accessing and using these items, the length of time of the access, and the number of times and the manner in which you adjust the settings of these;
- your device identifiers, such as serial number (in a hashed format);
- general information about your device, including device model and software version;
- city and region location information about your device;
- application information about your downloads, including what you downloaded, when, whether you share these downloads, whether you un-install or delete the downloads (and if so when);
Your Usage Reporting Data is recorded, secured and stored locally on your device. Your device will transmit the collected data by a secured channel (httpS) from your device to HTC. When the data is transmitted it will be linked to your device serial number in hashed form.
You can opt-in or out of HTC's collection and use of your Usage and Reporting Data at any time by going to Settings>About>Usage and Error Reporting. If you use VIVE Focus, you can change the Error Reporting setting on your device at any time by going to: Quick menu => Settings => More settings => About device => Usage and Error Reporting.
For information about HTC's general information collection and use practices visit the HTC Privacy Policy.
Error Reporting last updated: 5/18/2018
HTC uses Error Reporting to improve its hardware and software performance and reliability based on error reports you submit from your device when a program, app or piece of hardware experiences an error. HTC collects the error reports that customers send, analyzes them and uses the aggregated and deidentified information to determine what is causing problems for our customers. HTC also provides aggregated Error Reporting information to third parties to help them fix errors and improve their products. You can choose whether or not to send error reports to HTC as further outlined below.
When you experience an error, software on your device gathers information that describes the error and other information (such as network and general location information) that may help HTC identify and resolve the problem. The content of error reports vary depending upon the cause and nature of the error. Error reports may include the following types of information:
Error information. Information about the type of error and a description of the error.
- Device Information.
- Includes information about the device, such as the device name, device ID, build ID, model, product, and version release, as well as hashed serial number.
- Log file.
- Information about the state of your device at the moment the error occurred that may be helpful in determining the cause of the error. The log file may contain personal information relating to the event, such as your precise location data if a location-based service crashes, but any personal information which is unintentionally collected during the error reporting process will not be used to identify or contact you, will not be used for any other purpose, and will not be shared with any third parties.
When your device or an app on your device crashes, fails to respond or stops unexpectedly because of an error, you will be asked if you would like to send an error report. You will have the option to choose whether you want to be asked each time a report is created or if you would like to automatically send reports without prompting. If you select the automatic report option, future reports will be sent without requiring your consent. You can view the details of the report before sending it, unless you have selected the automatic reporting feature. If you want to turn off the automatic reporting feature, you can change the Error Reporting setting on your smartphone at any time by going to: Menu>Settings>About> Usage and Error Reporting. If you use VIVE Focus, you can change the Error Reporting setting on your device at any time by going to: Quick menu => Settings => More settings => About device => Usage and Error Reporting.
You can choose how a report will be sent, either when there is a data connection or when a Wi-Fi or cable connection is available. If you indicate that you would like to send the report via the data connection, standard data charges may apply. If you select the automatic reporting feature, the network preference you choose at the time you select automatic reporting will apply unless you change it by changing the Error Reporting setting on your device to ask each time before sending a report, as outlined above.
HTC may associate error reports submitted by you with identifying data you provide as part of a request for technical support. For example, if you choose to provide HTC customer care with the serial number of your device, HTC can match that number with the hashed serial number attached to previous error reports submitted by you, which may enable HTC to more efficiently diagnose a repeated issue with your device. Any identifying data collected by HTC as part of the Error Reporting process will be used only for the purposes of providing you technical support, will not be shared with third parties, and will be treated in accordance with the HTC Privacy Policy.
For information about HTC's general information collection and use practices visit the HTC Privacy Policy.
VIVE Eye Tracking last updated: 5/15/2019
When you use VIVE Pro Eye or other devices with VIVE eye tracking technology incorporated within, your eye tracking data may be collected with your consent. VIVE eye tracking enables you to use your eyes to control or interact with applications on your device. A series of photographic images are taken and each eye image is instantly used to create data that can include gaze data (e.g., direction you are looking at), pupil size, eye openness (whether your eyes are open or closed). This eye tracking data (but not eye image itself) may be used by other applications or services to interact with you. The actual image of your eyes is not permanently stored or sent off your device, including to us or other parties. We do not allow use of eye image to, on its own, identify you.
Applications on the device may need access to your eye tracking data so you can control or interact with that application. Although we place restrictions on what third party application or service providers can do with the data, HTC is not responsible for their data practices. You should review their privacy policies to learn how they use your data. If you do not want these applications to access your eye tracking data, you can turn off the eye tracking in the settings or systems menu, control your permissions in the application (if available), or uninstall or remove the application. If you use VIVE Pro Eye, you can turn off the eye tracking by pressing “System Button” on your device controller to launch SteamVR dashboard and then selecting “VIVE Pro Eye” icon.
If you turn off eye tracking, you may not be able to use applications which require eye tracking data to function.
For information about HTC's general information collection and use practices visit the HTC Privacy Policy.
HTC Sense Home last updated: 7/20/2015
HTC's Sense Home provides you with news, articles and stories, and recommendations about content and apps tailored to your interests. With your consent, HTC Sense Home runs constantly in the background so that you can receive timely information about current events, new content and recommendations, as well as reminders and alerts about shows and other content. HTC Sense Home collects, accesses, and uses a variety of information to tailor recommendations to your preferences, including: your calendar (as well as any confidential information included in your calendar); your social information (such as call log and contacts); your precise location (using GPS and network based location mechanisms) to determine home, work and common hangouts; network communication (full network access); your accounts (add or remove accounts, create accounts and set passwords, use of accounts on the device); storage (modify or delete the contents of your SD card); phone calls (directly call phone numbers, read phone status and identity); battery settings; sync settings; wall paper; your app information (run at start-up); default settings; and system tools.
In order to provide you with a personalized experience, HTC Sense Home collects certain usage data specific to you and your use of HTC Sense Home and your device, such as:
- General information about your device, such as the type of phone you have, your carrier and the like
- General data about how you use HTC Sense Home, such as how long you used HTC Sense Home and pages you went to and features you use, such as services and apps you connect to HTC Sense Home
- Topics, publishers and articles you select and click to help us learn what interests you so we can show and suggest more relevant articles and content. You can choose the topics that interest you most from Add Content within HTC Sense Home.
- Terms you use to search for content and results and custom feeds you create based on searches
- Apps you download and use on your device, websites you visit, content you view and listen to, like your music, videos, TV shows, phone themes – we use this to help determine your interests and deliver and suggest other content and apps we think you may like
- Information about services and apps you choose to connect with HTC Sense Home, such as social networking services (to let you share content and information, help us learn more about your interests, and so we can display news from your accounts in HTC Sense Home), Zoe (so we can display your photos and videos in HTC Sense Home), HTC TV (so we can give you recommendations, and Calendar (so we can display your agenda in HTC Sense Home and add reminders about TV shows and events)
With your consent, HTC Sense Home may use or provide to third parties certain usage and location data to deliver interest-based advertising as part of your Blinkfeed experience. Various apps, services and content providers that you link to Blinkfeed may also deliver ads, interest-based or otherwise, as part of your use of these apps, services and content feeds. You may change your HTC Sense Home settings with respect to interest-based advertising delivered by or on behalf of HTC at any time by going to: Sense Home > Menu > Personalize HTC Sense Home. Changing your HTC Sense Home settings will not block third party ads delivered as part of your use of third party apps, services and content feeds. Please check the settings applicable to any such third party.
If you choose not to opt in to HTC Sense Home's requests for identifiable usage data and precise location data, we will be unable to offer you personalized content and recommendations. You may still receive recommendations based on your city or region or related to content you add to HTC Sense Home.
You may change your HTC Sense Home settings at any time by going to: Sense Home > Menu > "Personalize HTC Sense Home"
For information about HTC's general information collection and use practices visit the HTC Privacy Policy.