Privacy Policy - GV Photos

This privacy policy applies to the GV Photos app (hereby referred to as "Application") for mobile devices that was created by Gaurav Vadnere GV (hereby referred to as "Service Provider") as a Free service. This service is intended for use "AS IS". The Application is an offline gallery: it shows, organises and edits the photos and videos that are already stored on your device. It has no user accounts, no ads, and no in-app purchases.

The Application collects a limited amount of diagnostic and usage information when you use it. This information may include:

• Crash logs — stack traces and the state of the app at the moment of a crash or error. An error message can occasionally contain the name or path of the file that was being processed when the error happened
• Diagnostics — the operating system you use, the device model and version, the device's total memory, and app performance information
• App interactions — which features are used and when, such as opening the advanced search options or whether the optional AI features are turned on. The text you search for is not included
• Device or other identifiers — an app-instance identifier generated by Firebase, and a push-notification token used to deliver notifications from the Service Provider

This information is collected through Google Analytics for Firebase, Firebase Crashlytics and Firebase Cloud Messaging, and is used only to understand how the Application is used, to fix bugs, and to deliver notifications. It is not linked to your name, email address or any account, because the Application has no accounts. Crash reports are sent only by the published (release) version of the Application.

The Application does not gather precise information about the location of your mobile device. It does not use GPS or network location services to track you. Photos you have already taken may contain location data recorded by your camera; the Application can read that embedded data only to show it to you (for example in the file details of a photo) and only after you grant the media-location permission. This data stays on your device and is never uploaded or shared.

The Application reads your device's photo and video storage to find, display, edit and manage your media. This access is necessary for the Application's core functionality. The following never leaves your device and is never sent to the Service Provider:

• Your photos and videos, their file names, folder paths and embedded details (including camera location)
• Your albums, favourites, trash, pinned albums, album covers and sort or filter choices
• Your search text and recent searches
• Labels created by the optional on-device photo labelling
• Duplicate-finder fingerprints (file checksums calculated on your device) and storage statistics
• Screenshot expiry timers
• Everything in the private vault (see below)

Some features write to or change files, on your device only and only when you ask:

• The photo editor, collage maker, video editor and video frame capture save new images or videos to your device's photo folders
• The PDF maker saves a PDF file to your device's documents folder
• Copy, move, rename, delete, and move to or restore from trash change the files you select
• Screenshot expiry moves a screenshot to the trash when the timer you set runs out; it never deletes it permanently
• "Set as wallpaper" and "Set as contact picture" pass the chosen photo to the system for that purpose

The Application offers an optional private vault protected by a PIN you choose, with biometric unlocking as an additional option. Media you move into the vault is encrypted on your device using AES-256-GCM with a key held in the device's hardware-backed keystore. The PIN, the recovery answer, the encryption keys, and the encrypted files never leave your device and are never transmitted to the Service Provider or to any third party. The Service Provider cannot recover your PIN or decrypt your vault for you. If you uninstall the Application or clear its data without first exporting the vault contents, the encrypted media cannot be recovered.

The Application offers optional AI features on supported devices: automatic photo labelling, used to group your photos by what they show, and subject extraction, which separates a subject from the background of a photo. Photo labelling is disabled by default unless you choose to enable it. All AI processing is performed on your device, not on online servers, and your photos and videos are not uploaded for this purpose. Subject extraction is delivered as an optional download from Google Play the first time you use it. You can withdraw your consent at any time by turning the AI features off in the Application settings; they then stay disabled unless you choose to enable them again.

• Sending anonymous crash reports and usage statistics (Firebase)
• Receiving push notifications from the Service Provider (Firebase Cloud Messaging). A notification may contain a link that opens in the Application
• Fetching configuration values from Firebase Remote Config, which the Service Provider uses to switch the AI features on or off, set the minimum device memory they need, and flag a required update
• Google Play In-App Updates, the Google Play in-app review prompt, and Google Play's download of the optional subject-extraction module, all provided by Google Play services
• Casting: when you cast a photo or video to a TV, the Application runs a temporary web server on your device so the cast device on your own Wi-Fi network can play the selected file. The file is sent directly from your device to your cast device over your local network. It is not uploaded to the Service Provider or to any third-party server, and the server stops when casting ends.

The Application requests only the permissions it needs to work, and explains each one at the moment it is needed:

• Photos and videos (READ_MEDIA_IMAGES, READ_MEDIA_VIDEO, or storage access on older Android versions) — to show, organise, edit and manage the media already on your device
• Media location — optional; lets the Application show the location that your camera saved inside a photo
• Media management (Android 12 and above) — optional; when granted, moving a file to the trash, restoring or deleting it no longer needs a separate system confirmation for every operation. You can revoke it at any time in system settings
• Notifications — to show the progress of long-running work such as copying, moving or scanning your media, the screenshot expiry service, and messages from the Service Provider
• Foreground service — so copying, moving, vault operations and screenshot expiry can finish reliably in the background
• Display over other apps — optional; used only by screenshot expiry, to ask how long to keep a screenshot right after you take it
• Run at startup — used by home-screen widgets and screenshot expiry to keep working after a restart
• Battery optimisation exemption — optional; requested only by screenshot expiry so it is not stopped in the background
• Biometrics — optional; used only to unlock the private vault. Your fingerprint or face data is handled entirely by the operating system and is never seen, collected or stored by the Application
• Internet and network/Wi-Fi state — for the purposes listed in the section above
• Wallpaper and vibration — for the "set as wallpaper" action and for haptic feedback

The Application does not read your contacts, call logs, messages, microphone, or camera feed.

Only anonymous diagnostic and usage data is transmitted to external services to help the Service Provider improve the Application. The Service Provider does not sell your data and does not share it with third parties for their own purposes. The services below process this data on the Service Provider's behalf, or run entirely on your device, and have their own privacy policies:

The Service Provider may disclose the information described in this policy:

• as required by law, such as to comply with a subpoena, or similar legal process;
• when they believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect their rights, protect your safety or the safety of others, investigate fraud, or respond to a government request;
• with their trusted service providers who work on their behalf, do not have an independent use of the information disclosed to them, and have agreed to adhere to the rules set forth in this privacy statement.

Data sent to the services listed above is encrypted in transit. The Service Provider provides physical, electronic and procedural safeguards to protect the information it processes and maintains. Please be aware that no security measures are perfect or impenetrable.

You can stop all collection of information by the Application by uninstalling it, using the standard uninstall process for your device or app store. Everything the Application stores about your library is kept on your device, so uninstalling the Application removes it. Export anything in the private vault first, because uninstalling also removes the vault.

The diagnostic and usage data described above is anonymous and is not tied to your identity, so the Service Provider cannot look up or delete the records of an individual user. It is retained by the services listed above in line with their own retention periods. If you have questions about this, contact the Service Provider at gauravvadneregv@gmail.com and they will respond in a reasonable time.

This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time for any reason. The Service Provider will notify you of any changes to the Privacy Policy by updating this page with the new Privacy Policy. You are advised to consult this Privacy Policy regularly for any changes, as continued use is deemed approval of all changes.

This privacy policy is effective as of 2026-09-25

By using the Application, you consent to the processing of your information as described in this Privacy Policy. Where the Application provides optional AI features, your consent to them applies only if you choose to enable them, and you may withdraw it at any time by disabling them in the Application settings.

If you have any questions regarding privacy while using the Application, or have questions about the practices, please contact the Service Provider via email at gauravvadneregv@gmail.com.