Gloa Privacy Policy
Gloa ("the app") is a camera app for Android made by TANG TSZ CHUN, an independent developer ("I", "me"). This policy explains what the app does with your information. The short version: your photos never leave your phone, the app has no accounts, no ads and no analytics, and the only data it sends anywhere is technical data to Google: crash reports, and the requests that Google's crash-reporting, billing and update services make.
Your photos stay on your device
Everything Gloa does to a photo happens on your phone. Photos you take with the in-app camera and photos you import from your gallery are processed locally by your phone's graphics processor. They are never uploaded to me or to anyone else.
The app keeps these files on your device:
- Your finished photos are saved to your phone's gallery, in
Pictures/Gloa. They are ordinary image files that you control. Uninstalling Gloa does not delete them. Gloa writes these files without camera metadata, so they carry no location or camera settings. - Re-editable originals. So that you can adjust a photo later, Gloa keeps a private copy of the unprocessed original, plus a small file recording the settings you used, in its own app storage. Other apps cannot read it. For photos you import, this copy is identical to the file you picked, so it keeps whatever metadata that file already had, which can include the location where it was taken. It stays inside Gloa's private storage and is not shared. These copies are capped at about 1 GB in total; when the cap is reached the oldest originals are removed automatically. Your finished photos are never removed.
- A photo index and app settings, such as the adjustments you last used on each photo, how many of your three free imports you have used, and whether you have unlocked Gloa Pro.
Deleting your data. Deleting a photo inside Gloa removes both the finished photo and its private original. Clearing Gloa's storage in Android Settings, or uninstalling the app, removes all private originals, the index and the settings. Photos already saved to your gallery stay there until you delete them yourself.
Android backup. If Android backup is turned on for your Google account, Android may back up Gloa's small settings file (your unlock status and free-import count) to your Google account, so they carry over if you reinstall. Your photos and re-editable originals are excluded from backup.
Permissions the app asks for
These are the permissions Android asks you to approve:
- Camera, to take photos with the in-app camera. Camera frames are processed on your device and are not recorded or sent anywhere except as the photos you choose to take.
- Photos / media access, to show your gallery so you can pick photos to import, and so Gloa can show the photos it saved. On Android 14 and later you can give access to selected photos only. On Android 9 and earlier, Gloa also asks for storage access, which older Android versions need in order to save photos.
Gloa does not ask for, and cannot access, your location, microphone, contacts or accounts.
Gloa also uses your phone's internet connection, which Android grants automatically without asking you. It is used only for the crash reports and Google Play requests described below.
Crash reports and app-start requests
Gloa uses Firebase Crashlytics, a service run by Google, so I can find and fix problems.
When the app is first opened, and from time to time afterwards, it contacts Google to register a random Firebase installation ID for this installation of the app, and to fetch Crashlytics' settings (this request includes the app's version number). This happens whether or not the app crashes. Gloa does not send session or usage events.
When Gloa crashes or hits a serious error, it sends a crash report the next time you open the app. A report contains:
- technical details of the error (which part of the code failed, and what the app was doing at that moment, for example "exporting" or "opening the camera");
- device and system details: phone model, Android version, available memory and storage, graphics chip model, and which camera (front or back) was in use;
- random installation identifiers created by Firebase (a Crashlytics installation ID and a Firebase installation ID). These identify one installation of the app, not you. They are not linked to your name, email, Google account or advertising ID.
Crash reports do not include your photos or their content. Because they contain technical error messages, they could in rare cases mention a file name or a location on your device.
As with any internet request, Google receives your device's IP address when a report is sent.
Google processes this data on my behalf as a data processor. Crash reports and their identifiers are kept for 90 days and then deleted. Google's handling of this data is described at https://firebase.google.com/support/privacy.
I use crash reports only to fix bugs. I rely on my legitimate interest in keeping the app working to process them. Gloa does not use Google Analytics, advertising identifiers or any other analytics or tracking.
Purchases
Gloa Pro is a one-time purchase made through Google Play. Google handles the payment, and I never see your card details, name or email address. Each time you open the app, Gloa asks Google Play which purchases your Google account holds, so it knows whether Pro is unlocked (including after a refund). When you buy or restore, Google Play gives the app a signed receipt for the purchase, which the app checks on your device to unlock Pro. It stores only a yes/no unlock flag. It does not send your receipt or any purchase details to me or to any server of mine. Separately, Google Play's billing library is a component made by Google, and it sends its own diagnostic events directly to Google. Those events go out with technical device details such as your phone model and manufacturer, Android version, language and country settings, time zone, network type and mobile operator code. I do not control or receive them. Google's privacy policy applies to the payment itself: https://policies.google.com/privacy.
Update checks
Gloa uses Google Play's in-app update service to check whether a newer version is available. This request goes between your phone and Google Play; I receive nothing from it.
What I do not do
- No accounts or sign-in.
- No ads, advertising IDs or tracking across apps or websites.
- No selling, renting or sharing of your information, apart from the technical data that Google's services receive, as described above.
- No servers of my own that receive your data.
Children
Gloa is not directed at children under 13 (or the minimum age of digital consent where you live), and I do not knowingly collect information from them. The only data the app sends anywhere is the technical data to Google described above.
Your rights
Depending on where you live (for example, the EU, UK or California), you may have rights to access, correct, delete or object to the processing of your personal data. Almost everything Gloa stores is on your own device, so you can view and delete it yourself as described above. For crash reports, I cannot link a report to you, because it contains no name or contact details, but you can email me and I will do what I reasonably can, such as deleting reports from your installation if you can help me identify them. You can also complain to your local data protection authority.
International transfers
The crash reports, installation IDs and other technical data described above are processed by Google, which may store and process them in countries other than yours, including the United States, under Google's standard data protection terms.
Changes to this policy
If the app starts handling data differently, I will update this policy and change the effective date above. I will highlight significant changes in the app or on the store listing.
Contact
TANG TSZ CHUN
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://gloafilm.com