messages – sms & text

Privacy Policy

Messages – SMS & Text

Effective Date: 1 September 2026

Last Updated: 1 September 2026

1. Introduction

Messages – SMS & Text ("the app", "we", "us", "our") is an Android application for sending and receiving SMS and MMS messages. The app also includes an optional home screen, an optional after-call summary screen, message scheduling, an optional app lock, and other convenience features described in this policy.

This Privacy Policy explains what information the app can access on your device, what information leaves your device and where it goes, and what choices you have. It applies only to this app. It does not apply to your mobile network operator, your device manufacturer, or any other app installed on your device.

In summary: your messages and your contacts stay on your device. We do not operate a server, we have no user accounts, and we never receive, store, or transmit the content of your messages, your contact list, or the phone numbers you communicate with. The app does connect to a small number of third-party services, described in this policy, which receive technical and usage information.

We are based in India.

2. Information We Access and Process

This policy distinguishes carefully between three different things.

Accessed on your device means the app reads the information in order to make a feature work, and the information stays on your device.

Stored on your device means the app keeps a copy in its own storage on your device.

Transmitted off your device means the information is sent over the internet to a third-party service.

The following information is accessed on your device and is not transmitted off your device: SMS and MMS message content, sender and recipient phone numbers, contact names and contact phone numbers and contact photos, call log entries, phone call state, call notifications posted by your phone application, your app settings and preferences, and the list of applications installed on your device.

The following information may be transmitted off your device to third-party services: device and app technical information, your advertising identifier, your IP address, app instance and installation identifiers, crash diagnostics, in-app usage events, and an approximate location derived from your IP address for the optional weather display.

The app does not access precise location, the camera, the microphone, photos or media libraries, health data, calendar data, browsing history, clipboard content, or account and authentication information. The app does not read your device's IMEI, SIM serial number, phone number, or hardware serial number.

3. SMS and Messaging Data

Reading and writing messages is the core function of this app rather than a form of data collection.

When you set Messages as your default SMS application, Android delivers incoming SMS and MMS messages to it and allows it to send messages on your behalf. The app reads your messages from the system messaging database that Android maintains on your device, displays them as conversations, and writes messages you send back to that same database. This is the standard mechanism used by every Android messaging application.

Message content is not transmitted to us. We do not operate a server that receives messages, and the app contains no code that uploads message content, message metadata, or the phone numbers involved in a conversation to us or to any third party. The only place a message you send travels to is its recipient, through your mobile network operator, in the ordinary way. Your operator handles that transmission and its own privacy practices apply to it.

In addition to the system messaging database, the app maintains a small database of its own on your device. It stores a copy of a message only in the following cases.

Starred messages. When you star a message, its text, date, sender or recipient address, and conversation reference are saved so that the Starred screen can display it.

Scheduled messages. When you schedule a message, its text, the recipient's phone number, the recipient's display name, and the chosen send time are saved until the message is sent or cancelled.

Archived and blocked lists. Conversation references and blocked numbers are saved so that those lists persist.

All of this information is stored on your device only. It is not synchronised, uploaded, or shared.

We do not read your messages. Message content is never included in analytics events, crash reports, advertising requests, or any other network traffic the app generates. This is enforced in the app itself: the analytics and crash reporting components accept only a fixed set of non-sensitive values, and message text is not among them.

4. Contacts Information

With your permission, the app reads your device's contact list in order to look up three things: a contact's display name, their phone number, and their photo.

This information is used to display a conversation under a person's name and picture instead of a bare phone number, to let you select a recipient when composing a message, and to identify the person shown on the after-call screen. In order to match an incoming number against your saved contacts, the app compares numbers on your device after normalising them, so that the same person is recognised whether their number is saved with a country code, with spaces, or with a leading zero.

Your contact list is not uploaded. The app does not copy your contacts into its own storage, does not send them to us, and does not send them to any third-party service. Contact details are read when a screen needs them, held in memory while that screen is open, and then discarded. The only exception is the recipient display name saved together with a scheduled message, as described in section 3, which remains on your device.

The Contacts permission is optional. If you decline it, the app continues to function and conversations are shown with phone numbers instead of names.

5. Phone and Call Information

The app includes an optional after-call screen, which is a short summary shown when a call ends, offering to call the number back or send it a text message. To provide this feature, the app accesses the following information on your device.

Phone state, so that the app knows when a call starts and when it ends. The app is notified of the call state only. It does not listen to, record, or have any access to the audio of your calls.

Call log, from which the app reads the phone number of the most recent call. Android does not provide the caller's number to applications that are not your default phone application, so reading the call log is how the after-call screen determines which number the call involved. Only the phone number is read. The app does not build or retain a history of your calls.

Placing a call, which occurs only when you tap the call button on the after-call screen. The app asks Android to dial that number, and the call itself is placed by your phone application.

None of this information is transmitted off your device. Call numbers, call times, and call history are not sent to us, are not included in analytics events or crash reports, and are not shared with advertising services. The after-call screen can be turned off in the app's settings.

6. Notifications

With your permission, the app posts notifications for new messages, for scheduled messages that have been sent, and while a call is in progress. Message notifications are generated on your device from messages that are already on your device.

The app can also request notification access, which is a separate permission that you grant in your device's system settings and which remains off unless you choose to turn it on. On some devices the phone state signal alone is not reliable enough to detect that a call has ended, so the app observes the ongoing call notification posted by your phone application and uses its appearance and removal as a call-started and call-ended signal.

When notification access is granted, Android makes all notifications visible to the app. The app is written to act only on call notifications, and to take only the phone number from them. It does not read, store, or transmit the content of your other notifications, such as messages from other applications or emails. The call number it takes remains on your device only, for as long as the call and the resulting after-call screen last.

You can revoke notification access at any time in your device settings, and the app will continue to work using its other call detection methods.

7. Device and Technical Information

The third-party services described in sections 8 and 9 receive technical information about your device and your use of the app. Depending on the service, this may include your device model and manufacturer, screen characteristics, operating system version, language and region settings, app version and build information, network connection type, your IP address, an approximate location such as a city or country derived from that IP address, the advertising identifier assigned by Google Play, app instance and installation identifiers assigned by Firebase, events describing how you use the app such as which screens are opened, and diagnostic information if the app crashes.

8. Advertising

The app is supported by advertising and uses the Google Mobile Ads SDK, also known as AdMob. No other advertising network, mediation partner, or advertising technology provider is integrated into the app.

The app may display banner advertisements, including collapsible banners, native advertisements, interstitial advertisements, and app open advertisements, depending on the screen and on the configuration retrieved through Firebase Remote Config. Where an advertising placement is disabled in that configuration, the app makes no advertising request for it at all.

When an advertisement is requested, Google receives the information needed to select and measure that advertisement. This may include your device's advertising identifier, your IP address, device and app information, an approximate geography derived from your IP address, and your interactions with advertisements such as impressions and clicks. Google processes this information as an independent controller under the Google Privacy Policy and the AdMob policies, which are available on Google's website. Advertising requests do not include your messages, your contacts, your phone numbers, or your call information.

The app uses Google's User Messaging Platform, a certified consent management platform, to obtain consent where consent is required, for example in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. Where a consent form applies to you, it is shown before advertising is loaded, and the app does not request advertisements until the consent process has been completed and permits it. Your choices determine whether the advertisements you see are personalised or non-personalised.

Where a consent form was shown to you, you can change your choices again through the privacy options available in the app's settings. On any device, you can also reset or delete your advertising identifier, or opt out of advertising personalisation, in your device's Google settings.

9. Firebase and Analytics Services

The app uses three Google Firebase services. Information sent to these services is processed by Google in accordance with the Firebase Privacy and Security documentation and the Google Privacy Policy, both available on Google's website.

Firebase Analytics records how the app is used, so that we can understand which features are working and where users encounter difficulty. Events are limited to app behaviour, for example that a screen was opened, that a permission step was completed, that a message was sent, or that an advertisement was requested. Events carry an app instance identifier together with standard device and app information, and Google derives an approximate geography from the IP address of the request. Analytics events never contain message content, contact names, phone numbers, or the identity of anyone you communicate with. Where an event needs to describe something, it uses a fixed label such as the name of a screen or a feature.

Firebase Crashlytics reports crashes and serious errors so that they can be identified, diagnosed, and fixed. A crash report contains the stack trace of the failure, the device model, the operating system and app version, the state of the app at the time of the failure, and a Crashlytics installation identifier. Crash reports do not contain your messages, your contacts, or your phone numbers.

Firebase Remote Config retrieves configuration settings from Google, for example whether a particular feature or advertising placement is enabled. Fetching configuration sends app and device information, including an app instance identifier and your IP address, to Google. It does not send any personal information from your device.

The app also uses the Google Play Install Referrer service. When the app first runs, it asks the Google Play Store for the referral information associated with your installation, and uses that information on your device to decide which version of its first-run experience to show. This referral information is read on your device. It is not transmitted to us and is not included in analytics events.

The optional home screen includes a weather display. In order to show local weather without requesting a location permission, the app sends a request to the service ipwho.is, which returns an approximate city and coordinates derived from the IP address the request originates from, and then sends those coordinates to the service Open-Meteo, which returns the weather forecast. This means that your IP address is visible to those two services, and that an approximate location, typically at city level, is derived from it and sent to the weather service. Both are independent third parties with their own privacy practices. No identifier, account, message, contact, or precise location is included in these requests. The result is cached on your device so that the requests are not repeated frequently, and no request is made when your device is offline. The app does not request the Android location permission and has no access to GPS or precise location.

10. How We Use Information

We use information for the following purposes only.

To deliver messaging, which includes sending, receiving, displaying, organising, searching, starring, archiving, blocking, and scheduling messages.

To identify people, by matching phone numbers against your saved contacts so that conversations and calls display a name and photo.

To provide call features, by detecting when a call ends and offering to call back or reply.

To notify you about new messages and about scheduled messages that have been sent.

To secure the app, through the optional app lock.

To improve the app, by understanding usage patterns and diagnosing crashes and stability issues.

To display advertising, which funds the app, subject to your consent choices.

To configure the app, by enabling or disabling features remotely.

We do not use your information to build a profile of you, to make automated decisions about you, or for any purpose unrelated to operating the app.

11. Data Sharing and Third-Party Services

We do not sell personal information, and we do not share personal information for cross-context behavioural advertising in exchange for payment.

Message content, contact details, phone numbers, and call information are never disclosed to any third party by the app.

The following are the only third-party services to which the app transmits information. Each of them processes that information under its own privacy policy.

Google Firebase Analytics, for usage analytics. It receives usage events, an app instance identifier, device and app information, and your IP address.

Google Firebase Crashlytics, for crash reporting. It receives crash diagnostics, an installation identifier, and device and app information.

Google Firebase Remote Config, for app configuration. It receives an app instance identifier, device and app information, and your IP address.

Google AdMob, for advertising. It receives your advertising identifier, your IP address, device and app information, and your interactions with advertisements.

Google User Messaging Platform, for consent management. It receives the device and app information needed to determine and record your consent status.

Google Play Install Referrer, for install attribution read on your device. The app sends nothing to this service; it reads the referral value from Google Play.

ipwho.is, for the approximate location used by the optional weather display. It receives your IP address.

Open-Meteo, for the weather forecast used by the optional weather display. It receives approximate coordinates and your IP address.

Because these services are operated by providers outside India, information transmitted to them may be processed on servers located in other countries.

We may disclose information where we are legally required to do so, or where it is necessary to protect our rights or the safety of others. Because we do not receive or hold your messages, contacts, or phone numbers, we are not able to produce them.

12. Data Storage and Retention

We do not operate servers that store your content. There are no user accounts and there is no cloud synchronisation. Everything the app stores, it stores on your device.

Your messages reside in the Android system messaging database, which belongs to the device and is shared with whichever application is your default SMS application.

The app's own database holds starred messages, scheduled messages, archived conversations, and blocked numbers, as described in section 3.

App settings are stored in the app's private preferences. These include your theme and layout choices, notification settings, whether the after-call screen is enabled, your home screen arrangement, your app lock setting, the cached weather reading, consent values recorded by the consent management platform, and internal flags the app uses to remember what it has already shown you.

Caches hold temporary data such as images displayed in the app.

Data stored on your device is retained until you delete it, clear the app's data, or uninstall the app. We do not set a retention period, because we hold nothing to retain.

The app also includes a message backup feature. When you use it, the app writes a backup file containing your messages into your device's Downloads folder. This file remains on your device unless you move, share, or upload it yourself. Because it is saved in a shared folder rather than in the app's private storage, it can be read by other applications that have access to your files, and it may be included in any cloud service you use to back up that folder. You should delete the backup file from your Downloads folder when you no longer need it.

The app permits Android's standard backup and restore. If you have backup enabled for your device, Android may include the app's own data, meaning its settings and its database of starred and scheduled messages, in the backup stored in your Google account, and may restore it when you set up a new device. That backup belongs to you and is governed by Google's terms. We have no access to it. You can control it in your device's backup settings.

Information sent to the third-party services listed in section 11 is retained by those services in accordance with their own policies. Firebase Analytics data is retained for the period configured for the project, Crashlytics retains crash reports for a limited period, and Google retains advertising data under its own policies. We do not control those retention periods.

13. Data Security

We take measures that are reasonable and appropriate to the way the app works.

The app's own database and preferences are held in the app's private storage area, which Android protects from other applications.

Access to messages, contacts, the call log, and notifications is controlled by Android's permission system and requires your explicit grant.

Network requests that the app makes to third-party services use HTTPS.

An optional app lock, using your device PIN, pattern, password, or fingerprint, can be enabled to restrict access to the app. Biometric verification is performed by Android. The app receives only the result and never has access to your fingerprint or any other biometric data.

Sensitive information is deliberately excluded from analytics events, crash reports, and log output.

Please note that the backup file described in section 12 is a plain file in your Downloads folder and is not encrypted by the app.

No method of storage or transmission is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. The security of your device also depends on your own device lock, the other applications you install, and keeping your device software up to date.

14. Data Deletion

Because your data is stored on your device, you can delete it yourself at any time.

You can delete individual messages and entire conversations within the app.

You can remove starred, archived, blocked, and scheduled items from their respective screens.

You can delete backup files from your Downloads folder, or from within the app's backup screen.

You can remove everything the app has stored by clearing the app's storage in your device settings, under Apps. This removes the app's database, its settings, and its caches. Your messages will remain in the Android system messaging database, which is shared with other messaging applications and is not removed by clearing this app's data.

Uninstalling the app removes the app and all of its private data from your device. Backup files that you saved to your Downloads folder will remain, and Android system backups of the app's data are governed by your Google account settings.

To limit information held by the third-party services listed in section 11, you can reset or delete your advertising identifier and opt out of advertising personalisation in your device's Google settings, and you can change your consent choices through the privacy options in the app's settings where those options apply to you.

Because we do not operate a server and do not hold user accounts, there is no account for us to delete and no server-side copy of your information for us to remove.

15. Children's Privacy

The app is a general-purpose messaging application intended for a general audience. It is not directed to children, and it is not designed or marketed for use by children.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. Because we operate no servers and hold no user data, we do not receive personal information from any user, including children. If you believe that a child has used the app in a way that raises a concern, please contact us using the details in section 22.

16. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights over your personal information under laws such as the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 in India, the General Data Protection Regulation in the European Economic Area, the UK General Data Protection Regulation, or state privacy laws in the United States. These rights may include the right to access your personal information, to correct it, to delete it, to receive a copy of it, to object to or restrict its processing, and to withdraw consent that you have previously given.

In practice, for this app, these rights work as follows.

Messages, contacts, and call information are stored on your device and remain under your control. You do not need to ask us for access to them or for their deletion, because you can view and delete them directly, as described in section 14.

Advertising and analytics information is processed by Google. You can exercise your choices through the privacy options in the app's settings where a consent form applies to you, and through your device's Google settings, including by resetting or deleting your advertising identifier.

Consent given for advertising can be withdrawn or changed at any time using the privacy options in the app's settings, where those options apply to your region.

Requests to us can be sent to the email address in section 22. We will respond as required by applicable law. Where we do not hold the information you are asking about, we will tell you so and, where we are able, direct you to the party that does.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority, or with the Data Protection Board of India where that applies to you.

17. Permissions

The following are the privacy-relevant permissions the app declares, and the reason each one is needed. Android will ask you for the sensitive permissions at the moment they are needed, and you can review or revoke them at any time in your device settings.

READ_SMS is used to read the messages on your device so that conversations can be displayed and searched.

RECEIVE_SMS is used to receive incoming text messages and notify you about them.

SEND_SMS is used to send the messages you write, including scheduled messages.

WRITE_SMS is used to save sent messages, mark messages as read, and delete messages that you choose to delete.

RECEIVE_MMS and RECEIVE_WAP_PUSH are used to receive multimedia messages.

READ_CONTACTS is used to display conversations and calls under a saved contact's name and photo, and to choose recipients. This permission is optional.

READ_PHONE_STATE is used to detect when a call starts and ends, for the after-call screen. It gives no access to call audio.

READ_CALL_LOG is used to read the phone number of the most recent call, so that the after-call screen knows which number the call involved.

CALL_PHONE is used to place a call when you tap the call button on the after-call screen.

POST_NOTIFICATIONS is used to show notifications for new and scheduled messages.

USE_FULL_SCREEN_INTENT is used to show call-related screens while your device is locked.

SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW is used to display the after-call summary over the screen you are on when a call ends.

Notification access is optional and is granted in your system settings. It is used to detect calls on devices where the phone state signal alone is unreliable, as described in section 6.

FOREGROUND_SERVICE and the related foreground service type permissions are used to keep call detection running reliably while a call is in progress.

USE_BIOMETRIC is used for the optional app lock. Biometric data is handled entirely by Android and is never available to the app.

SCHEDULE_EXACT_ALARM, USE_EXACT_ALARM, and RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED are used to send scheduled messages at the time you chose, including after your device restarts.

INTERNET, ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE, ACCESS_WIFI_STATE, CHANGE_NETWORK_STATE, and CHANGE_WIFI_STATE are used to connect to the services listed in section 11 and to check whether a connection is available.

AD_ID is used to access the Google advertising identifier for advertising, subject to your consent and your device settings.

VIBRATE is used to vibrate for notifications.

SET_WALLPAPER and SET_WALLPAPER_HINTS are used to change the wallpaper from the optional home screen.

REQUEST_DELETE_PACKAGES is used to start Android's uninstall screen when you choose to uninstall an application from the home screen. The uninstallation itself is performed by Android.

WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE is used to save a backup file to your Downloads folder. It is declared only for Android 9 and older versions, where it was required in order to write there.

Device administrator access is optional and is requested only if you use the home screen's lock-screen gesture. It is used solely to turn the screen off. It is not used to access, monitor, or control anything else.

18. Default SMS Application

Android allows only one application at a time to be the default SMS application. That application is the only one permitted to receive incoming messages, write to the messaging database, and mark messages as read.

The app asks you to make it your default SMS application because sending and receiving messages is not possible without that role. Granting the role allows the app to deliver its core messaging features. It does not give the app access to anything beyond messaging, and the app does not use the role to read data unrelated to your messages.

You can change your default SMS application at any time in your device settings. If you do, the app will no longer receive messages.

19. Launcher and System Features

The app includes an optional home screen that you may choose to use in place of your device's existing home screen. It is entirely optional and is not enabled unless you select it.

When you use it, the app reads the list of applications installed on your device, together with their names and icons, so that it can display them for you to open. This list is read from Android on your device, is used only to draw the home screen, and is not transmitted to us or to any third party.

The home screen also stores your own arrangement, meaning which applications you have placed where, your wallpaper choice, and your preferred search engine, in the app's private storage on your device. If you use the search box, the app opens your chosen search engine in your browser with the words you typed. From that point onwards the search is handled by that search engine and by your browser, under their own privacy policies. The weather display on the home screen is described in section 9.

20. Third-Party Links

The app can open other applications and websites, such as a search engine when you use the home screen's search box, the Google Play Store, a map application for an address, a browser for a link contained in a message, or your phone application in order to place a call. Once you leave the app, the privacy policy of that application or website applies. We are not responsible for their content or their practices, and we encourage you to read their policies.

21. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes to the app, changes to the services it uses, or changes in legal requirements. The revised policy will be posted at this address with an updated effective date. Where a change materially affects how your information is handled, we will make reasonable efforts to inform you within the app. Continuing to use the app after an update means that you accept the revised policy.

22. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, or about how the app handles your information, please contact us.

Developer/Company Name: Bheem Tech Tools

Email: rameshrabadiya5226@gmail.com

Location: India

We aim to respond to privacy enquiries within 30 days.

This Privacy Policy applies to the Android application Messages – SMS & Text, distributed through Google Play.