# Privacy Policy — File Manager

_Last updated: 2026-10-15_

## Summary

File Manager lets you browse and manage the files **on your own device**, entirely
offline. The app does **not** collect, transmit, sell or share any of your data. It has no
network access at all: it declares no `INTERNET` permission and contains no analytics, no
advertising and no crash-reporting SDK. It is sold once through Google Play; the purchase
is handled entirely by Google Play, never by the app (see [Purchases](#purchases)).

## What the app accesses

| Data | Why | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|
| Your files and folders | To show them and to carry out the actions you ask for (open, copy, move, rename, delete, compress, extract) | Never leaves your device |
| File metadata (name, size, folder, modified date) | To sort, search, measure storage usage and show details | Never leaves your device |
| The folder you grant (only in the fallback mode) | To browse a folder you picked yourself, when "All files access" is declined | A permission reference is stored by Android on this device |

## What the app does NOT do

- It does **not** have the `INTERNET` permission, so it cannot send data anywhere.
- It does **not** collect analytics, crash reports, advertising identifiers or location
  data.
- It does **not** contain advertising SDKs or third-party trackers.
- It does **not** create accounts and does **not** ask for your name, email or phone
  number.
- It does **not** upload, back up or sync your files.

## Permissions and what they mean

| Permission | Purpose |
|---|---|
| `MANAGE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE` ("All files access") | Required for the app's core purpose: browsing and managing files anywhere on the device. Google Play only allows this permission for apps whose core purpose needs it — file managers are one of the accepted cases — and the app must be granted it by you in Android Settings. If you decline, the app still works, but only in a folder you pick. |
| Read media (`READ_MEDIA_IMAGES` / `READ_MEDIA_VIDEO` / `READ_MEDIA_AUDIO`, `READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE` on older Android) | To show thumbnails and to open images, audio and video. |
| `READ_MEDIA_VISUAL_USER_SELECTED` | Supports Android 14's "selected photos only" partial access. |
| `WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE` (Android 10 only) | Used only to write files you ask for on that older Android version. |
| Notifications (`POST_NOTIFICATIONS`) | Optional. Shows progress while a long copy, move, delete or extraction is running. Denying it changes nothing except that the progress bar is not shown. |
| Foreground service (`FOREGROUND_SERVICE`, `FOREGROUND_SERVICE_DATA_SYNC`) | Keeps a long file operation running while the app is in the background, so a move is not cut in half. |

## Deleting files

Files are deleted only when you ask, and deleting asks for confirmation first. Where Android
provides its own delete dialog for media files, the app hands the request to the system and
Android performs that deletion.

For everything else the app **moves** the item into a hidden `.plainfiles-trash` folder on the
same volume instead of erasing it, and keeps it there for 24 hours so a mistake can be undone.
Those items are still on your device and still count against your free space until they expire;
the app removes them by itself after that. The **Trash** screen, in the app's menu, lists what
is still there and puts it back where it came from. The app never touches anything you did not
select.

## Data retention and deletion

The app stores a small amount of data in its own private storage:

- your view preferences (list or grid, sort order);
- any folder permission you granted through the system picker;
- a small index of what is currently in the trash — file names, the folder each item came
  from, its size and when it was deleted — so that a deletion can be put back even after the
  app has been restarted.

None of it leaves your device. Uninstalling the app, or clearing its storage in Android
Settings, removes all of it. One thing worth knowing: clearing the app's storage forgets *what
is in the trash*, but the trashed files themselves stay on your volume until they expire, or
until you move them back by hand.

The app does not keep a second copy of your files. The trash holds the originals by moving
them, so nothing is duplicated and no extra space is used beyond the items themselves.

## Purchases

The app is **sold once through Google Play**. There is no subscription and there is nothing
to buy inside the app.

Google Play processes the payment and holds the payment details. The app contains no
payment code and never receives them, because it has no network access of any kind (see
above). Refunds, order problems and any question about a charge are handled by Google Play,
and the developer can be reached at the address below.

## Children

The app is a general-purpose utility and is not directed at children. It collects no
personal data from anyone.

## Changes

If this policy changes, the updated version will be published at this address with a new
"last updated" date.

## Contact

Questions about this policy: **softwareapp.hb@gmail.com**.