Privacy & Terms

Privacy Policy

Who we are

Check the Gate is made by MKWorks Inc., New York. Questions about privacy, or anything else: support@checkthegateapp.com.

The short version

Everything you put in the app stays on your iPhone. There is no account, no login, no server of ours, no analytics, no ads and no tracking. The app sends nothing anywhere on its own. The one thing it can share is a residual alert, which is off until you turn it on and never carries your name.

What the app stores, and where

Your jobs, shows, times, pay figures, residual checks, the papers you add (call sheets, contracts, Exhibit G's, pay stubs), the names of performers you enter as a coordinator, your union member ID if you type it, and your settings are kept only on your iPhone, in the app's own storage. The app never asks for or stores a Social Security number; a claim form's SSN line is left for you to fill in yourself. If you use Apple's iCloud Backup, Apple may include the app's storage in your device backup under Apple's terms, not ours; we cannot read it.

What leaves your phone, and only when you choose to

• Emails and text messages

  When you tap Send on a claim, a pay question, a stunt adjustment list, a G for your team or a report, the app writes the message and attaches the papers you chose, then hands it to Apple's Mail or Messages. Nothing goes until you press Send there, and it goes only to the people you chose.

• Residual alerts

  Shared only if you turn them on, and never with your name. The details are in the next section.

• Searching a show's title

  When you type a show name, the app looks it up on Wikidata, a free public database run by the Wikimedia Foundation, to find the real title and its seasons. Only the words you type (and, for seasons, the show's Wikidata number) are sent, with no account and no identifier, under Wikimedia's privacy policy.

• Finding a production office number

  The Find number button opens a Google search in your browser for the show's name and production company. That is Google's website, under Google's privacy policy; the app sends nothing else.

• Directions

  The address buttons open Apple Maps or Google Maps with the address from your call sheet, under their terms.

• Opening a website

  Some buttons open public web pages inside the app, such as SAG-AFTRA's claim and unclaimed-residuals pages. That is their website, under their privacy policy; the app sends them nothing of yours. Anything you type on their page goes to them, not to us.

• Backups and exports you make

  Backup files, PDFs and reports are made only when you ask, and saved or shared where you choose.

• Apple Calendar

  If you turn on calendar sync, the app writes your jobs to a calendar on your device through Apple's Calendar. That stays in your Apple account under Apple's terms.

• Contacts

  If you allow it, the app matches the names on your Exhibit G to people in your Contacts so you can text them their times without typing numbers. It looks up only the names you ask about and keeps no copy of your address book. Names and numbers stay on your phone.

Residual alerts: what is shared

With Residuals alerts on, when you mark that a residual check or a paycheck came in, the app sends one small signal so the others on that show hear that theirs is coming (“Others on your show report residuals out”). The signal is: the show (its title, or its Wikidata number when matched), whether it is TV or a movie, whether it was a residual or a paycheck, the quarter the check came or the week worked, the episode as written, the date it came, the app's version, and a random code made once on your phone that stands for that phone and nothing else. Never your name, an amount, a member ID, an address, or anything from your papers. The signals go to the app's shared database on Apple's iCloud (CloudKit), where any phone with the app can count them. There is no list of who sent what, not for other users and not for us: the random code only keeps one phone from being counted twice, and we have no way to connect it to you. One phone alone shows nothing; it takes two or three phones on the same show to raise a flag. The switch is in Settings and at setup. Turn it off and the app stops sending and listening at once. Because a signal carries nothing that identifies you, we cannot pick yours out to delete; signals are only ever used to count.

What we never collect

We do not collect your name, email address, location, contacts, Social Security number, bank details, or anything else about you. The app has no login. We use no analytics, no crash-reporting service, no advertising identifiers and no tracking of any kind. Apart from the look-ups and links above, which you start yourself, the only thing that ever reaches a server from the app is the anonymous residual-alert signal, and only if you turned alerts on.

Reminders

Reminders (a check that should have come, a residuals list worth bringing in again, “Others got theirs. Did you?”) are scheduled on your phone by the app. They never leave it.

Face ID

If you turn on the lock, Face ID or Touch ID is checked by iOS on your device. The app never sees your face or fingerprint data.

Children

The app is for working adults and is not directed at children under 13.

Deleting your data, and changing your mind

Delete the app and everything it stored is gone from your phone; we hold nothing to delete. Calendar sync, Contacts access, Face ID lock and residual alerts can be turned off in Settings at any time, and turning them off stops them at once.

Changes

If this policy changes, the new version will be posted at checkthegateapp.com/privacy with its date, and in the app under Settings › About › Privacy & Terms.

Terms of Use

What the app is

Check the Gate helps performers log their work days and keep track of pay, paperwork and residual checks. It figures estimates of pay from the public SAG-AFTRA and DGA agreements and published rates, written out in plain words by us.

Independence

Check the Gate is an independent app made by MKWorks Inc. It is not affiliated with, endorsed, sponsored or approved by SAG-AFTRA, the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan, the SAG-Producers Pension Plan, the Directors Guild of America, or any producer or payroll company. SAG-AFTRA is a registered trademark of Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, used here only to describe the union and the agreements the app refers to.

Estimates, not advice

Every figure in the app is an estimate from the public agreements. The app is not legal, tax or financial advice, and we do not guarantee that any figure, rate, deadline or rule is accurate, complete or current. Contracts change, productions have their own deals, and the app only knows what you entered. Your contract, your pay stub, the union and your own advisers are the final word. Decisions you make — what to claim, what to accept, what to sign — are yours.

Your data is yours

You own what you put in the app. It stays on your device, and keeping a backup is up to you (the app has a Back Up My Data button in Settings).

No warranty

The app is provided as is. To the extent the law allows, MKWorks Inc. is not liable for any loss arising from use of the app or reliance on its figures, including missed deadlines, underpayments or claims not filed.

Acceptable use

Use the app for your own work records. Don't use it to store other people's private information beyond what a coordinator needs to report a day's adjustments.

Apple

The app is distributed through the App Store under Apple's standard terms; where those terms and these differ, Apple's apply to the App Store, and these apply to the app.

Contact

support@checkthegateapp.com.