Privacy Policy

FoxShare Privacy Policy

Version 2026-10-08-r11

1. Operator and contact

FoxShare is maintained by the FoxShare development team, based in India. For support, privacy enquiries or a privacy grievance, email ugenapps@gmail.com and identify FoxShare in your message. This Privacy Policy explains how the app handles information. Version 2026-10-08-r11.

2. Files, permissions and local sharing

FoxShare accesses files you select or manage, including names, sizes, formats, paths and contents needed to display, transfer, save or delete them. Installed-app information is used locally to display shareable applications. Camera access scans connection QR codes; nearby Wi-Fi/Bluetooth and, on older Android versions, location permissions enable discovery. Notification and foreground-service permissions keep transfers visible and active. These permissions do not authorize uploading your files or installed-app list to Firebase. File contents are sent to the peer or browser you choose. Recipients can retain them independently of FoxShare.

3. Connection security limitations

Android phone-to-phone file transfers and local connection signaling require TLS with certificate-based peer authentication; failed TLS connections are closed rather than falling back to unencrypted signaling. One-tap discovery shares network passwords and session credentials with nearby Bluetooth GATT readers and reachable local-network UDP/NSD clients. TLS does not hide these discovery credentials or prove that an advertised peer key belongs to the person you intend to reach. Browser Share serves local HTTP downloads/uploads and WebSocket signaling using a session token and cookies; HTTP does not encrypt files or connection metadata in transit. Use a trusted local network and verify the recipient. We do not claim that all FoxShare traffic is encrypted or that all information stays on your device: enabled diagnostics, advertising, app configuration checks and email you send leave it.

4. Device identity, preferences and history

FoxShare stores your chosen device name, optional local profile details, a persistent Fox ID, trusted-peer records and transfer history on your device. Device identity and connection details are exchanged with peers as needed for discovery and pairing. We do not attach Fox IDs, profile details or peer identities to diagnostic events. History records may include file metadata and local saved-file locations. Auto-clear defaults to seven days and can be changed in Settings. Cleanup runs at app startup and through a daily Android background job independently of opening History; Android may delay jobs. Active transfers are excluded. Deleting history does not delete received files.

5. Automatic crash reports

Crash reports are enabled by default to identify crashes and improve reliability. You can disable them at App Settings → Crash reports without losing file sharing. Reporting uses Google Firebase Crashlytics. The SDK processes installation/session identifiers, crash timestamps, stack traces and exception messages, app/Android versions, device model and technical device/app state. Such reports are pseudonymous, not anonymous, and can contain personal information if an exception message includes it. We do not intentionally add filenames, contents, paths, contacts, app lists, network identifiers, tokens or user-written descriptions to reports. We do not set a user identity or add raw error strings to Crashlytics logs. Usage analytics is controlled independently; analytics breadcrumbs are not connected to Crashlytics. Turning crash reports off stops future automatic uploads and requests deletion of pending reports. The SDK may still buffer crash information locally while uploads are disabled. Reports are automatically submitted on a subsequent app launch only when reporting is enabled. Re-enabling resumes after a clean launch confirms pending reports from disabled sessions are gone. The SDK does not expose deletion completion, so clearing pending reports can require an additional restart; we retain the deletion marker and do not upload while deletion is unconfirmed. Disabling does not recall a report already sent or an upload already in progress.

6. Optional usage diagnostics

Usage diagnostics are off by default and enabled only when you select the optional onboarding checkbox or Settings switch. Turning the switch off stops analytics collection and clears local Analytics data. Enabled Google Analytics for Firebase receives connection, setup and transfer outcomes, transport and connection mode, sender/receiver role, card/QR/session entry point, diagnostic stage and schema version, retry/resume results, predefined failure categories and specific failure reasons and bucketed latency, duration, speed, file count and size, plus app/Android versions and coarse Wi-Fi Direct/Bluetooth capability flags. Firebase also processes automatic app-lifecycle/session events, app-instance identifiers and device/app metadata; network requests expose an IP address to the service, and Google may infer general location from it where location collection is enabled. These are pseudonymous improvement data, not a guarantee that only our custom event fields are processed. For Firebase Analytics, Advertising-ID collection, advertising storage, advertising user-data consent and personalization are disabled. Ad privacy choices for the separate advertising SDK are described below and do not change the usage diagnostics switch. We do not intentionally attach filenames, file contents, paths, contacts, app lists, network identifiers, tokens, free text, Fox IDs or profile/peer identities. Events are not collected by our application for later upload while the switch is off.

7. Support email and recipients

You can report a problem from Profile → Report a bug or from a transfer-error screen. The report form shows the full email draft before you open your email app. It contains your optional description and app/Android versions; a transfer-error report may also include a predefined failure category. You may optionally select one screenshot using the system image picker, preview it and remove or replace it before opening the email draft. Only that selected image is attached; no logs, other files or diagnostic reports are attached automatically. Screenshots can contain personal details and embedded image metadata; review or crop them before sharing. Sending an attachment discloses its contents and metadata to support and the email providers involved. Nothing is sent automatically; you can edit it and choose whether to send through your email provider. Sending reveals your email address and any information you include to support and the email providers involved. Written descriptions do not go to Crashlytics or Analytics. Google provides Crashlytics and Analytics; their processing terms differ. See https://firebase.google.com/support/privacy and https://policies.google.com/privacy. We use diagnostics for reliability and performance improvement, not advertising, sale of data or intentional cross-app profiling.

8. Retention, deletion and backups

Google states that Crashlytics retains crash stack traces, extracted minidump data and associated identifiers for 90 days before beginning removal from live and backup systems. It is not a promise of immediate deletion at exactly 90 days. Analytics retention depends on the Google Analytics property settings and the type of data. Aggregated reports may be retained separately from event/user data. We cannot currently promise a verified two-month limit; contact us about the current settings or a deletion request. We retain support correspondence as needed to handle the request and aim to delete it within 90 days after closure, unless a legal obligation or unresolved dispute requires longer. Android cloud backup and device migration exclude app-private databases, identifiers, trusted peers and preferences, including telemetry choices. Received files and backups you explicitly export to shared storage can remain after uninstall and must be removed separately. Disabling a switch does not erase previously uploaded server data; contact us about applicable deletion rights.

9. International processing and applicable rights

Diagnostic and advertising services and email providers may process information outside your country, including in the United States. Where applicable law requires safeguards for international transfers, those requirements apply to the processing described here. Depending on your location and the processing basis, you may have rights to information, access, correction, deletion, restriction, portability, objection, withdrawal of consent and complaint to a supervisory authority. Optional Analytics is based on your affirmative choice; turning it off withdraws that choice for future collection. Agreeing to Terms is not a substitute for any separate consent the law requires. Email ugenapps@gmail.com with a privacy request; identify the app, request and region, and provide only the minimum information necessary. We will verify identity proportionately, respond within applicable deadlines and explain any lawful limits. We cannot identify a particular pseudonymous report from your email address alone; we will explain available options without requesting your files. We may update this Privacy Policy at any time without prior notice where applicable law permits. The latest published version is available at https://sites.google.com/view/foxshare/privacy-policy. We will provide notice or request renewed consent when required by applicable law before the affected processing begins. The app opens our public Google Sites policy pages when available and offers the version included with the app as an offline copy. Viewing the public pages sends ordinary web-request information, such as your IP address and browser/device information, to Google; Google Sites processing is covered by Google's Privacy Policy. A later webpage update does not change your diagnostic settings or itself record renewed agreement or consent.

10. App configuration and required updates

FoxShare uses Google Firebase Remote Config to retrieve home-screen announcement content, advertising enable/placement/frequency settings and ad-unit identifiers, and, for Play-installed builds, the minimum supported app version and update message. These operational checks are independent of the optional usage diagnostics and crash-report switches. Firebase processes installation identifiers, country/language codes, time zone, platform and operating-system versions, app identifiers and SDK metadata to deliver configuration; network requests also expose ordinary connection information such as an IP address to Google. FoxShare sends no custom transfer, filename, profile or peer fields for configuration checks. Cached version rules can require an update before you can use the app. Google Play handles update approval, download, installation and restart. Directly installed APKs do not use the Play-only version gate. Banner dismissals are stored locally. Google Firebase and Google Play process these requests under their applicable privacy policies.

11. App announcements

After onboarding, FoxShare can send app news and updates through Firebase Cloud Messaging when Android notifications are allowed. There is no separate in-app announcement switch. Android notification permission and notification-channel settings control delivery. This is independent of optional usage diagnostics and crash reports. Firebase Cloud Messaging processes a registration token and Firebase installation/app/device metadata to deliver FoxShare news through the foxshare_announcements topic. The Firebase SDK manages token renewal; FoxShare does not log tokens, upload a token directory to our own server, or attach file, profile or peer information. Disabling notifications in Android stops local display and attempts to stop automatic registration, unsubscribe and delete the messaging token; network cleanup can be delayed while offline. Data-only announcements check onboarding, Android notification permission, expiry and version range before display, including queued messages. Received/dismissed announcement identifiers are stored locally with a bounded recent history to reduce repeated messages. Push delivery is best effort and may be delayed by Android or network conditions. In-app operational banners remain available independently of Android notification permission.

12. Optional advertising and ad privacy choices

FoxShare includes Google AdMob and the Google User Messaging Platform (UMP) with advertising disabled by default. We may enable the implemented advertising placements through Firebase Remote Config after account setup and required disclosures are ready, without an app update. When enabled, native advertisements may appear in Home, History or the ordinary file picker; an adaptive banner may appear in History; an occasional fullscreen advertisement may appear on Send or after closing the post-transfer summary once the sharing session has ended. Advertising is excluded from active connection/transfer and reverse-sharing screens. Unavailable ads are skipped without delaying navigation. Ad-enabled sessions may send Google an IP address, device/app and SDK information, app/device identifiers, diagnostics and ad requests, impressions and interactions for ad delivery, measurement and fraud prevention. This build does not request the Android advertising-ID permission; other SDK-supported identifiers can still be processed. UMP sends information needed to determine and present applicable ad privacy messages. Where required, the ad privacy message appears on idle Home before ad requests are permitted; Settings offers Ad privacy choices when required so you can revisit your choices. Ad permission is separate from optional usage diagnostics and crash reporting, and does not gate file sharing. Google may serve personalized, non-personalized or limited ads according to applicable choices and requirements; non-personalized ads do not necessarily mean no storage or identifiers. FoxShare does not provide file contents, filenames, contacts, installed-app lists, peer identities or connection credentials for advertising. Local ad counters and consent preferences persist until cleared or the app is uninstalled; Google processes transmitted advertising data under its policies and applicable retention practices. A remote disable requires the device to receive the configuration, and offline devices can retain an unexpired cached setting. See https://policies.google.com/privacy and https://support.google.com/admob/answer/6128543.