Privacy Policy - Mini Gallery & Vault

Effective Date: July 27, 2026 Last Updated: July 27, 2026

This Privacy Policy describes how Mini Gallery & Vault ("we," "us," or "our") handles your information when you use our mobile application (the "App"). We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting it through our compliance with this policy.

1. Overview & Core Privacy Commitment

Mini Gallery & Vault is designed as a local-first, offline-capable media gallery and private vault application. We operate on a fundamental principle: your personal photos, videos, and private media belong strictly to you and remain stored locally on your device. We do not host external servers to store, backup, process, or analyze your personal media files.

2. Information We Access and How It Is Used

A. Device Photos, Videos, and Media Files

  • Permissions Used: READ_MEDIA_IMAGES, READ_MEDIA_VIDEO (Android 13+), READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE, WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE (Android 12 and lower).
  • Purpose: To index, display, edit (crop, filter), group, organize, and manage your local photos and videos, as well as to enable the Media Vault feature.
  • Storage & Encryption: When you move photos or videos into the Vault, they are transferred to a hidden local storage folder (.mini-gallery-vault) on your device with .nomedia protection and indexed metadata. These files never leave your device and are never uploaded to any remote server or cloud service.

B. Vault Security Data (PIN & Security Questions)

  • Data Held: Your Vault PIN and Security Question/Answer.
  • Purpose: To secure access to your hidden media files within the app.
  • Storage: PINs and security answers are obfuscated using standard cryptographic hashing (SHA-256) and stored strictly locally inside your device's private application preferences (SharedPreferences).

C. Application Preferences & Customization Data

  • Data Held: Favorites list, custom album tags, default view preferences (All Media / Albums), theme settings (Dark/Light mode), and grid layout configurations.
  • Storage: Stored locally on your device and never transmitted externally.

3. Third-Party Services and Analytics

While we do not directly collect personal data, the App integrates third-party SDKs provided by Google to support advertising, consent management, and in-app purchases:

A. Google Mobile Ads (AdMob)

  • Purpose: To display advertisements (Banner ads, Native ads) within the free version of the App.
  • Data Collected by AdMob: Device identifiers (Google Advertising ID / AAID), IP address, general location data, app performance data, and ad interaction data.
  • Link to Privacy Policy: Google Privacy Policy

B. Google User Messaging Platform (UMP)

  • Purpose: To gather and record user consent preferences regarding personalized advertising and cookies in compliance with GDPR (EEA/UK) and CCPA regulations.

C. Google Play In-App Billing

  • Purpose: To process optional purchases (e.g., "Remove Ads" lifetime feature).
  • Data Handling: All financial transactions, billing processing, and payment security are executed exclusively by the Google Play Store. We do not collect, view, or store credit card numbers, banking details, or financial accounts.

D. Google Play In-App Review & Update Services

  • Purpose: To prompt optional app rating dialogs and notify users of critical updates via Google Play Store API.

4. Data Sharing and Transfer

We do not sell, rent, trade, or transfer your personal media or personal data to outside parties. Third-party advertising partners (Google AdMob) may collect device identifiers as described in Section 3 solely to serve, measure, and optimize ad campaigns.

5. Security of Your Data

  • Local Storage Protection: Your vault items and application settings reside entirely on your physical device storage.
  • User Responsibility: Because your Vault media is stored locally in the .mini-gallery-vault folder, uninstalling the App without restoring your media will result in the loss of hidden files. We strongly advise restoring all hidden items before uninstalling the App or clearing app data.

6. Children's Privacy

Our App is not intended for or directed to children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal identifiable information from children. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us so we can take appropriate measures.

7. Your Data Rights & Controls

Under privacy regulations such as GDPR and CCPA, you have specific rights regarding your data:

  • Access & Deletion: Since all your photos, videos, and vault media reside locally on your device, you have complete and direct control to view, export, move, or permanently delete your files at any time.
  • Ad Personalization Consent: You can manage or revoke your advertising consent choices at any time via your device's Google Settings (Settings > Privacy > Ads) or via the in-app consent preferences screen.

8. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be published within this document with an updated "Last Updated" date. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically.

9. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or feedback regarding this Privacy Policy or the security of Mini Gallery & Vault, please contact us at:

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