Our promise: GamepadOS needs no account, and has no analytics SDKs, no ads and no tracking. Controller input never leaves your own network. An account is entirely optional — it exists so your controller layouts can be backed up and restored — and every controller feature works without one.
The product
GamepadOS is two pieces of software: an Android app that turns your phone into a game controller, and a Windows server that receives its input and presents it to games as a standard Xbox 360 controller. Both work entirely on your local network — they need no internet connection to function.
What stays on your device
- Controller input (sticks, buttons, gyro) travels directly from your phone to your PC over your local network (Wi-Fi/UDP) or over the USB cable in wired mode. It is never uploaded anywhere.
- Layouts and settings are stored locally on your phone. If you sign in and leave backup on, your layouts are also copied to your account — see Accounts.
- The pairing key is stored locally on your PC and phone so you don't have to re-scan the QR every time.
The apps contain no analytics SDK, no advertising and no tracking of any kind. Signing in is optional and changes nothing about how controller input travels.
Accounts (optional)
You can use GamepadOS entirely without an account, and every controller feature — touch layouts, gyro steering, the custom editor, wired and wireless play — works signed out. An account exists for one reason: so the layouts you build survive losing, wiping or replacing your phone.
If you choose to create one, we store:
- Your email address — to identify the account, confirm it with a 6-digit code, and let you reset your password.
- Your password, hashed — stored as a scrypt hash with a per-password random salt. We cannot read it, and it is never stored or logged in plain text.
- A display name — whatever you choose to type; it does not need to be your real name.
- A session token — a random value held on your phone so you stay signed in. Signing out deletes it; changing your password invalidates every one.
- Your controller layouts, if backup is on — the widget positions, labels, colours and names you created. Nothing about your gameplay, and no controller input, is ever included.
Backup can be switched off at any time in Account → Backup, and you can run it manually instead. We do not sell or share this data, use it for advertising, or send you marketing email — account email is limited to confirmation and password-reset codes.
Deleting your account: in the app, go to Account → Danger zone → Delete account and confirm with your password. The account, its sessions and every layout backed up to it are erased immediately and permanently — we keep no copy. Layouts already saved on your phone stay on your phone, and the app carries on working without an account. If you can no longer sign in, email support@gamepad.space from the address you signed up with and we will do it for you.
Who can use GamepadOS
Anyone. GamepadOS is a controller for your PC — it shows no ads, contains no purchases, and has no content of its own. Every feature works without signing in, and used that way we collect nothing at all: no email, no name, nothing.
An account is optional and exists only to back up your layouts. If you or a family member want an account and its data removed, do it in the app under Account → Danger zone, or email support@gamepad.space and we will remove it for you.
What the website sees
This website is a static site. Our hosting providers keep standard webserver logs (IP address, requested page, timestamp) as virtually all hosting does. We run no analytics scripts of our own and set no tracking cookies.
Support tickets
If you contact us, we store what you submit — your name, email address, subject and message — so we can answer you. That data is used only to handle your request. Ask us to delete it at any time and we will. In-app feedback and star ratings arrive the same way, and include your app version and phone model so we can reproduce problems.
Downloads
The Android APK and the Windows server are served from our backend; downloads may appear in ordinary server logs. The PC server installs the ViGEmBus driver locally on your machine. Neither app updates itself silently or sends us any personal data. Both do a lightweight update check: on launch (and when you tap "Check for updates") they fetch a small version file from our backend and compare it to your installed version — if a newer one exists, you're shown a Download button. That request reaches our backend like any web request (and may appear in ordinary server logs), but carries no account, device, or usage information, and nothing is installed without your action.
Where your data lives
Accounts, backed-up layouts and support tickets are stored in our Postgres database (hosted on Supabase, in the AWS Asia Pacific — Mumbai region). Our backend runs on Railway, the website on Vercel, and transactional email goes through Brevo. Layouts shared by code are stored without any link to an account.
No ads, no tracking, no profiling
GamepadOS shows no advertising, contains no in-app purchases, and includes no analytics or advertising SDKs of any kind. We do not profile anyone, build audience segments, or target anything at anybody. The only personal data we ever hold is an email address, if someone chooses to create an account (see Who can use GamepadOS), and whatever you send us through the contact form.
Changes
If this policy changes, we'll update this page and the date at the top. Significant changes will also be noted on the homepage.
Contact
Privacy questions? Use the contact form (pick "Business inquiry" or "Something else") or email support@gamepad.space.
Attributions
GamepadOS stands on excellent open-source work:
- ViGEmBus virtual gamepad driver — Nefarius Software Solutions (BSD-3-Clause)
- GSAP animation platform — Webflow
- Vite build tooling
- Inter and Inter Tight typefaces — Google Fonts
- Express, Prisma and the wider open-source Node.js ecosystem powering the support backend