PRIVACY POLICY

App: File Explorer - Gold
Developer: AJ Developers Team
Effective Date: August 25, 2026
Contact: aj.developers.team@gmail.com

File Explorer ("the App", "we", "us") is a file management app for Android. This Privacy Policy explains what data the App accesses, how it is used, and your choices.

1. Summary

File Explorer - Gold is built to work entirely on your device. We do not operate any backend server that receives, stores, or processes your files, photos, videos, or documents. All media editing —  trimming, cropping, compressing, joining, converting, and similar tools for video and audio — runs locally on your device; your media files are never uploaded anywhere for this purpose. We do not use advertising SDKs, analytics SDKs, or third-party trackers. The only data that ever leaves your device is what you explicitly choose to back up to your own Google Drive account.

2. Permissions We Request and Why

The App requests All files access / Storage permissions, including MANAGE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE, READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE, and WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE, because these permissions are required for the core functions of a file explorer. They allow you to browse, open, move, copy, rename, and delete files and folders that you choose to manage.

The App may request READ_MEDIA_IMAGES, READ_MEDIA_VIDEO, and READ_MEDIA_AUDIO to show and allow you to manage your media in the Images, Videos, and Audio sections.

The App uses Internet and network-state access only for Google Sign-In and for uploading files that you explicitly choose to back up to your own Google Drive. No other network requests are made by the App.

The App may request REQUEST_INSTALL_PACKAGES and REQUEST_DELETE_PACKAGES to allow you to install APK files that you open and to trigger Android's own uninstall confirmation screen from the APK Manager and Clean Storage tools.

Wallpaper access is used only when you tap "Set as wallpaper" on an image.

Write Settings access is used only when you choose to set a ringtone.

Notifications (POST_NOTIFICATIONS), WAKE_LOCK, FOREGROUND_SERVICE, and FOREGROUND_SERVICE_MEDIA_PLAYBACK permissions are used to keep audio playing and show playback controls when you background the App during music or audio playback.

FOREGROUND_SERVICE_MEDIA_PROCESSING keeps a video or audio export running — using the Video Editor or Audio Editor tools (trim, crop, compress, join, convert, speed, volume, rotate, flip, extract audio, split) — if you leave the App while it's processing. Related to this, REQUEST_IGNORE_BATTERY_OPTIMIZATIONS may be used to ask you to exempt the App from battery optimization so that OEM battery managers don't kill a long export partway through; this is optional and only requested when an export is in progress.

Picture-in-picture is supported for video playback when your device allows it, so video keeps playing in a small floating window if you leave the player. No data is transmitted for this feature.

Usage Access, through PACKAGE_USAGE_STATS and granted manually via Android system Settings, is optional. It powers the "Delete Unused Apps" tool in Clean Storage, which reads app last-used dates and storage sizes so you can decide what to remove. The App works without this permission; that feature simply shows less detail.

You can grant, deny, or revoke these permissions at any time from Android Settings. Denying a permission may disable the related feature.

3. Data We Do Not Collect

We do not collect, transmit, or sell your personal files, browsing history within the App, contacts, location, or device identifiers to any server we operate. We do not embed advertising networks or analytics or tracking libraries in the App. The App may read basic on-device information — such as your Android version, device model, and installed-app list (for Clean Storage tools) — but only to decide which features and permissions apply to your device; none of this is transmitted anywhere.

4. Google Sign-In and Google Drive Backup (Optional)

If you choose to use the optional Backup feature, the App uses Google Sign-In to authenticate you and, separately, requests the restricted drive.file scope for Drive access. drive.file means the App can only see and manage files it creates itself, inside a single app-created folder named "File Explorer Gold Backup" in your Google Drive. It cannot see, read, or modify any other files already in your Drive.

As part of standard Google Sign-In, Google provides the App with basic account info (such as your email address) so it can show that you're signed in. This is used only for that purpose, is not displayed elsewhere in the App, and is never sent to us or any server we operate.

Your Google credentials (password) are handled entirely by Google's own sign-in flow. We never see or store your password.

The Backup feature currently only uploads files you select — it does not read, list, or download any other content from your Drive. Files you back up are uploaded directly from your device to your own Google Drive account and are governed by Google's Privacy Policy:

Google Privacy Policy

You can revoke the App's Drive access at any time through your Google Account permissions page and delete backed-up files directly from your Google Drive.

5. Safe Folder

The Safe Folder feature lets you move selected files into a hidden, PIN-protected area of the App's own private storage, inaccessible to other apps and to the regular file browser. The PIN is salted, hashed with SHA-256, and stored locally on your device only — never transmitted anywhere, and never stored or recoverable in plain text. After several incorrect PIN attempts, the App enforces a short cooldown before letting you try again, entirely on-device, to slow down guessing.

Files placed in Safe Folder are physically moved there and remain on your device; we have no access to them and no ability to view or retrieve them remotely. Because the PIN is never stored or transmitted in recoverable form, if you forget it we cannot reset or recover it for you. The App does offer a "Forgot PIN" option, but using it permanently deletes the PIN together with every file currently inside Safe Folder — there is no way to recover those files afterward, on our end or yours, so this should only be used as a last resort.

While any Safe Folder screen (the PIN entry gate, the file list, or a viewer opened from within it) is open, the App enables Android's secure-flag screen protection, which blocks screenshots and screen recording and hides the content from the recent-apps switcher. This protection is specific to Safe Folder and is turned off again as soon as you leave it.

6. Media Editing Tools

The Video Editor and Audio Editor tools (trim, crop, compress, join, convert, speed, volume, rotate, flip, extract audio, split, and similar operations) process your files entirely on-device using a local media-processing engine. Files you edit are never uploaded to us or to any third party as part of this feature.

7. Data Storage and Retention

All App data, including settings, Safe Folder metadata, cached thumbnails, and similar local data, is stored on your device using local storage mechanisms. This data is removed when you clear the App's storage or cache, as applicable, or uninstall the App. Google Drive backups persist in your own Google Drive until you delete them.

8. Children's Privacy

The App is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

9. Security

We rely on Android's app sandboxing and permission model, local salted SHA-256 hashing with an on-device lockout for Safe Folder PINs, and secure-flag screen protection while Safe Folder is open, to protect your data. However, no method of storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

10. Third-Party Services

The only third-party service integrated into the App is Google, through Google Sign-In and the Google Drive API. These services are used solely for the optional backup feature described above. We do not share data with any other third party.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be reflected by updating the "Effective Date" above. Continued use of the App after changes constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

12. Contact Us

Questions about this Privacy Policy? Contact us at aj.developers.team@gmail.com.