Last updated: September 18, 2026
MetaForge ("the App", "we", "us", or "our") is an Android application for viewing, editing, organizing and exploring photo and video metadata.
This Privacy Policy explains how information is accessed, processed, stored and transmitted when you use MetaForge.
MetaForge is designed with a privacy-first approach. Core photo and metadata processing takes place locally on your device.
MetaForge does not upload your photos or videos to our servers for metadata processing.
Some optional features require an internet connection and may communicate limited information with third-party services. These situations are explained below.
MetaForge may access photos and videos that you select or that are available through Android media permissions you grant to the App.
Core functionality may include:
viewing EXIF and other metadata;
editing photo metadata;
changing photo capture dates and times;
correcting gallery order;
editing, adding or removing GPS metadata;
copying or transferring metadata;
renaming files based on capture date;
exporting metadata;
applying camera or device information;
using metadata presets;
processing multiple files with bulk tools; and
saving edited files.
These operations are performed locally on your device.
Your photos and videos are not uploaded to MetaForge servers for these operations.
Metadata such as GPS coordinates, timestamps, camera information and EXIF fields normally remains on your device unless you deliberately use an optional online feature that requires specific information to be transmitted.
MetaForge includes optional Photo Insights features that use information already stored in your photos.
These features are separate from the App's metadata-editing tools and do not consume App credits.
Current Photo Insights may include:
Photo Timeline;
Weather Memory;
My Photo Passport; and
Same Place, Different Years.
Most Photo Insights processing occurs locally on your device.
Photo Timeline uses GPS coordinates and capture timestamps already stored in your photographs to organize photos by place and time.
The analysis of your photo metadata is performed locally.
If an interactive online map is displayed, Google Maps Platform may be used to render the map. The Google Maps SDK may process technical and usage information as described later in this Privacy Policy.
Your photographs themselves are not uploaded to Google Maps simply because they are displayed or represented on a map.
My Photo Passport uses GPS coordinates stored inside your photographs to group photos by country.
Country matching and photo grouping are performed locally on your device.
MetaForge does not need to upload your photographs, GPS history or country history to provide this feature.
Same Place, Different Years compares photo GPS coordinates and capture dates to identify photographs taken near the same location during different years.
This matching and grouping is performed locally on your device.
Your photos, coordinates and resulting location groups are not uploaded to our servers for this feature.
Weather Memory is an optional online feature.
It uses a photograph's GPS location and capture date/time to estimate the historical weather conditions when the photograph was taken.
This feature requires communication with an external weather-data service and is described in more detail below.
MetaForge may use NASA POWER (Prediction Of Worldwide Energy Resources) to provide historical weather estimates.
When you request Weather Memory for a photograph, the App may transmit information necessary to perform the lookup, including:
the photograph's GPS latitude;
the photograph's GPS longitude;
the photograph's capture date;
the photograph's capture time, where available; and
technical network information necessary to complete the request, such as the device's IP address.
The photograph itself is not transmitted to NASA POWER.
MetaForge does not send the complete EXIF metadata of the photograph to NASA POWER.
The information sent is limited to the data required to perform the requested historical weather lookup.
Weather Memory provides a historical weather estimate based on NASA POWER meteorological data. It should not be interpreted as an exact weather-station observation at the precise location of the photograph.
NASA may process technical request information according to NASA's own privacy policies and service practices. NASA states that its online services may log technical information including IP address, operating system, access date/time and requested resources.
Weather results may be cached locally on your device so MetaForge does not need to repeatedly request the same historical information.
You can choose not to use Weather Memory while continuing to use MetaForge's other features.
Some photographs contain GPS coordinates inside their metadata.
MetaForge can use these coordinates for features such as:
viewing or editing photo location metadata;
Photo Timeline;
My Photo Passport;
Same Place, Different Years; and
Weather Memory.
These coordinates describe where a photograph was taken.
They are different from the current live location of your phone.
MetaForge does not require access to your device's current GPS location merely to read location coordinates already stored in your photographs.
Unless otherwise clearly explained inside the App, MetaForge does not use your device's live location for these Photo Insights features.
MetaForge may use Google Maps Platform to display interactive maps for location-based photo features.
According to Google, the Maps SDK for Android may automatically process information including:
IP address;
device and request metadata;
operating system information;
device model and related technical information;
Maps SDK version information;
crash information and stack traces;
crash metrics;
a pseudonymous Maps SDK identifier; and
certain map interaction information, such as map panning or zooming, depending on how the map is used.
Google states that this information is used to maintain, measure and improve Google services and the Maps SDK.
MetaForge does not provide Google Maps with access to your complete photo library.
The contents of your photographs are not uploaded to Google Maps simply because the App displays an interactive map.
Google processes information according to its own privacy policies and terms.
MetaForge may display advertisements and may offer rewarded advertisements.
For example, a user may choose to watch a rewarded advertisement in exchange for additional App usage or credits.
Advertising may be provided through Google AdMob and the Google Mobile Ads SDK.
Google states that the Google Mobile Ads SDK may automatically collect and share information including:
IP address;
user interactions with the App or advertisements;
app launches;
taps;
video views;
diagnostic and performance information;
Android Advertising ID, where available and permitted;
App Set ID; and
other applicable device or account identifiers.
This information may be used by Google for purposes including:
advertising;
advertising measurement;
analytics;
fraud prevention;
security; and
compliance.
Google states that information transmitted by the Mobile Ads SDK is encrypted in transit using TLS.
The IP address processed by advertising services may be used to estimate the general or approximate location of a device.
MetaForge does not send your photographs, photo EXIF metadata or photo GPS coordinates to AdMob for advertising purposes.
Advertising data is handled by Google according to Google's own privacy policies, advertising policies and user privacy choices.
Depending on your country, device, advertising settings and applicable laws, advertising services may provide privacy controls relating to personalized advertising and advertising identifiers.
Users may also manage certain advertising privacy settings through their Google account or Android device.
Where required by applicable law and supported by the App's advertising configuration, users may be presented with advertising-related privacy or consent choices.
A user's advertising choices do not give advertisers access to the contents of that user's photo library through MetaForge.
MetaForge may provide optional subscriptions, purchases or paid features.
Payments are processed through Google Play Billing.
MetaForge does not receive or store your full payment-card information.
Google Play may process information necessary to:
complete a purchase;
verify a transaction;
manage subscriptions;
restore purchases;
prevent fraud; and
provide billing functionality.
MetaForge may store information locally that is necessary to determine whether purchased or subscribed features are available, such as purchase or entitlement status provided by Google Play.
MetaForge does not use an independent subscription-management service such as RevenueCat.
MetaForge may store information locally on your device to provide App functionality.
This may include:
metadata presets and profiles;
App preferences;
settings;
usage or credit counters;
purchase or subscription status;
Photo Insights indexes;
cached photo metadata required for Photo Insights;
locally calculated country information;
Same Place grouping information;
cached historical weather results; and
other information necessary for App functionality.
This information normally remains on your device.
Local App data can generally be removed by:
clearing MetaForge's App storage; or
uninstalling the App.
Photos or files that you intentionally save to your gallery or another storage location may remain on your device after MetaForge is uninstalled until you delete them yourself.
MetaForge does not operate a backend service that stores your photo library.
MetaForge does not maintain a server-side copy of:
your photographs;
your videos;
your complete photo library;
your complete EXIF database;
your Photo Passport history;
your Same Place photo groups;
your contacts;
your private messages;
your passwords; or
your payment-card information.
Limited information may still be transmitted directly to third-party services when required for features such as:
historical weather;
map rendering;
advertising; or
Google Play Billing.
Those services are described in this Privacy Policy.
Depending on your Android version and the features you use, MetaForge may request or use Android permissions or system access.
Used to allow you to select, inspect, edit, organize and save supported media.
Some Photo Insights features may require access to multiple photos in order to analyze your photo library.
Where supported by Android, MetaForge may require permission to access unredacted location information stored inside media files.
This is used to read GPS metadata already embedded inside your photographs.
It does not mean that MetaForge is tracking the current location of your phone.
On older Android versions, storage permission may be required to open or save supported files.
Internet access may be used for:
Google Play Billing;
Google AdMob and rewarded advertising;
interactive Google Maps;
NASA POWER historical weather requests; and
other clearly identified online functions.
Internet access is not used to upload your complete photo library to MetaForge servers for metadata processing.
MetaForge does not require your phone's current physical GPS location merely to use GPS information already stored inside photographs.
If a future feature requires current-device location, MetaForge will request the appropriate permission and provide an explanation before that access occurs.
MetaForge may use the following third-party services.
Used to process subscriptions and in-app purchases.
Used to provide advertisements and rewarded advertisements.
Google may process advertising identifiers, IP addresses, interactions, diagnostics and related technical information.
Used to provide interactive maps for photo-location features.
Google Maps may process IP address, request/device metadata, crash information, SDK identifiers and certain map interactions.
Used to provide historical weather estimates when the user requests Weather Memory.
For a Weather Memory request, the photograph's GPS coordinates and capture date/time may be transmitted to NASA POWER.
The photograph itself is not transmitted.
Each third-party provider processes information under its own privacy policies and terms.
Using one of these services does not provide that service with unrestricted access to the user's entire photo library.
MetaForge does not maintain a server-side copy of your photo library.
Information stored locally by MetaForge remains on your device until it is:
deleted by you;
removed by clearing App storage; or
removed when MetaForge is uninstalled,
except for files that you intentionally save elsewhere on the device.
Third-party providers may retain technical, advertising, billing or request-related information according to their own policies and legal obligations.
MetaForge does not control the retention policies of third-party services such as Google or NASA.
MetaForge is designed to minimize the amount of information transmitted away from your device.
Core photo and metadata operations are performed locally.
Optional internet-based functionality uses secure network connections such as HTTPS/TLS where supported by the provider.
No method of electronic transmission or storage can be guaranteed to be completely secure.
You control which photos and videos you use with MetaForge and which optional features you choose to activate.
You may:
choose not to use Weather Memory;
choose whether to use Photo Insights;
manage Android permissions through your device settings;
manage advertising privacy choices where available;
clear locally stored MetaForge information;
uninstall the App;
manage subscriptions and purchases through Google Play; and
contact us regarding privacy-related questions.
Core metadata-editing functionality does not require you to use Weather Memory.
Users located in the European Economic Area, United Kingdom and other jurisdictions may have rights under applicable data-protection laws.
Depending on the circumstances, these may include rights relating to:
access;
correction;
deletion;
restriction;
objection; and
other rights provided by applicable law.
Most photo and metadata information processed directly by MetaForge exists only locally on the user's device.
Because MetaForge does not maintain a server-side copy of that local information, we normally cannot access, retrieve or delete data that exists only on your device.
Information processed independently by third-party services is subject to the respective provider's privacy practices, legal obligations and user controls.
Privacy-related questions may be submitted using the contact information below.
MetaForge is not specifically designed or marketed as an application for children.
MetaForge does not operate a service designed to collect or store children's photographs or photo libraries on our servers.
If the target audience of MetaForge or applicable legal requirements change, this Privacy Policy and relevant App practices will be updated accordingly.
With the user's permission, MetaForge may use Google Analytics for Firebase to understand how App features are used and to improve the App.
MetaForge may record limited usage events such as which feature was opened, which type of operation was performed, whether an operation succeeded or failed, and whether and how many App credits were consumed.
These analytics events do not include photographs, videos, audio files, filenames, file paths, Android content URIs, EXIF values, audio-tag values, photograph GPS coordinates, photograph timestamps or other contents of the user's media files.
Google Analytics for Firebase may process technical and pseudonymous information including an app-instance identifier, App version, device and operating-system information, App lifecycle information, a masked IP address and approximate location derived from that address. It may also automatically process information relating to in-app purchases and subscriptions.
Analytics information is used only to measure feature usage, understand credit consumption, identify reliability problems and guide future App improvements.
Analytics collection is disabled unless the user permits it. Users can change their analytics preference in the App's privacy settings. Refusing analytics does not prevent use of the App's core functionality.
MetaForge does not assign an account identifier or other directly identifying information to analytics events. Google processes analytics information according to its own privacy policies and applicable data-processing terms.
Analytics event-level data is retained for up to 14 months.
We may update this Privacy Policy when:
App functionality changes;
Photo Insights features change;
new online services are introduced;
third-party SDKs change;
service providers change; or
legal or regulatory requirements change.
The date at the top of this page will be updated when material changes are made.
Users are encouraged to review this Privacy Policy periodically.
If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or MetaForge's privacy practices, contact:
Email: next.gen.items@gmail.com
This Privacy Policy applies to the MetaForge Android application.