Note: John Penny is no longer publishing apps under newimage.io, so please note that old mentions of newimage.io refer to the developer John Penny (johnpenny.uk, johnpenny.info).

If you downloaded bitTicker from our Google Play page, or from this website, there is no need to read the statement as it does not affect you. This is NOT a security alert for our users and does NOT affect our users in any way. This is a courtesy to people who have found references to this website in non newimage.io (johnpenny) apps.

If a 'developer' from a company other than newimage.io (johnpenny), or an app that doesn't look like bitTicker has sent you to this website, please fully read our statement below.

We are aware that some people have stolen our app code and content

Firstly, You can find the official app available for free on this site, however it is not being actively updated.

A few ripped and modified APKs on the Google Play store contain large portions of bitTicker code and text. Some may even contain references to newimage.io (johnpenny).

If you have been sent to this page by a 'developer' not from newimage.io (johnpenny), or any app that doesn't look like the version freely available on this website, then you have likely bought or downloaded a 'clone' or a 'ripped' copy of our app. If you have purchased a stolen copy of bitTicker on Google Play or any other app store then we will not be able to help you get a refund, even if our instructions, name, or contact details appear within those apps; and even if the in-app help link brought you here. We recommend you immediately cease using the app and delete it; as we have no idea what the cloned apps are doing with your data.

This is not a security issue on our end, and if you are using the actual bitTicker app (from newimage.io (johnpenny) on Google Play, or from this website) then NONE of your data ever leaves your phone's notification system. If you are using a clone or copy we have no idea how your data is handled, and have no control over it.

How was the code stolen?

Unfortunately Android APK decompiling has been trivial for some time. This affects ALL Android apps, and we (and others) take extra steps to protect our copyright, however we suspect that a previous release of our APK was not compiled with our usual additional copy protections. This was likely a version that addressed an urgent bug, and was quickly superseded. This was an error on our end and has zero impact on our user's security or data security; it simply meant that some eagle eyed thieves were able to access our app code, UI, and text, after decompiling our app.

The app is discontinued why does it matter? Why post this? What will you do?

Simply put, we want to make sure that users of these cloned apps know that newimage.io (johnpenny) is not responsible for any data misuse. We also want to inform them that they have purchased an app from a developer who likely doesn't know how to build such an app safely, or may in fact be deliberately farming their data. The only way we can inform a portion of such people is by posting this notice; because some of the cloned apps link to this website. Our main concern is that we build bitTicker to be water tight with as little access and few permissions as possible (see the store summary) and users may be expecting that same level of protection when using the clones.

If we were still selling the app we would possibly be taking legal action via copyright infringement. The particularly egregious factor was having our website, help files, and details still present within the cloned apps. As it stands we simply ask that users not use the clones, and request that Google take them down; both of which are not ultimately under our control.

We are NOT referring to other genuine apps with the same functionality

There are many notification apps out there, likely some with very similar functionality, and most of them are legitimate. You will need to make your own judgement on whether they are clones of bitTicker, or safe to use. The big clue that you're using a ripped app will be that they have linked to our website or mention bitTicker or newimage.io (johnpenny).

To be 100% clear, these cloned apps are illegal in regards to copyright, not functionality. If an app has copied bitTicker functionality with their own code and does not contain our actual code or content, there is absolutely no objection from us, at all. If you purchased an app that simply does the same thing, and the developer looks like a genuine app developer, then it is not what we are referring to here and you should continue to use it and support its developer.

Again, this notice is only for users who have been directed to this site by dodgy apps and 'developers'.