Zenvut
Privacy Policy
Effective Date: September 1, 2026
Zenvut is a personal offline-first note-taking application designed with a strong local-first privacy architecture. All core functionality operates locally on the user’s device without requiring internet access, cloud accounts, or registration.
The App allows users to create, edit, organise, search, pin, archive, restore, and permanently delete notes with rich text formatting including per-character text colour, highlight, background colour, font size, and shadow styling, as well as alignment controls, lists, live word count, and undo support. Notes may also include optional photo or voice-recording attachments, added by capturing a new photo, choosing an existing photo, recording audio, or choosing an existing audio file. Notes can be protected in a Vault using PIN or biometric authentication, including built-in Decoy Vault behaviour.
Zenvut supports encrypted local backups (.znv, AES-GCM), backup restoration, PDF export, Android printing, theme and accent customisation, and category-based organisation with optional on-device smart categorisation.
The App also includes a Smart Planner that locally detects actionable tasks and schedules on-device reminders with recurring reminders, pre-alerts, priority-based notifications, and an optional alarm clock mode. Reminders are automatically rescheduled after device restart.
Zenvut also includes an optional local Wi‑Fi companion feature, Open in Browser, that lets a user view and edit notes from a web browser on another device connected to the same Wi‑Fi network, using a pairing code or QR code. This feature is off by default and must be started manually by the user (see Section 6.10).
Zenvut does not require and does not support:
• User accounts or registration
• Login credentials stored by the developer
• Cloud accounts of any kind
• Email addresses provided to the developer (the App can open a user-initiated feedback draft addressed to support.zenvut@gmail.com, but does not transmit email automatically)
• Subscription accounts
Users interact with the App entirely without providing personal identity information to the developer.
Zenvut does not include, use, or integrate:
• Third-party advertising networks or SDKs
• Analytics SDKs or behavioural tracking systems
• Advertising identifiers (Google Advertising ID or similar)
• Session recording, heatmaps, or third-party crash-reporting SDKs
• User profiling or interest-based targeting
The developer does not sell, rent, or share user notes, content, or personal information with any third party for commercial purposes.
To function, Zenvut stores the following data locally on the user’s device. This data is stored locally on the user's device using app-private storage mechanisms, including a local SQLite database and Android Shared Preferences. None of it is transmitted to the developer or to any external server.
Note titles, body text, categories, formatting information (bold, italic, underline, bulleted, alignment, and style ranges including per-character text colour, highlight colour, background colour, font size, and shadow), creation timestamps, update timestamps, deletion timestamps, and content hashes.
Note titles, note content, categories, formatting information, and related metadata are stored locally on the user’s device as part of the App’s local storage architecture. Security-sensitive operations such as protected content handling, Vault access, and encrypted backups use Android security mechanisms including Android Keystore–backed encryption where applicable. Encryption keys used for these protected operations are generated and managed locally by the Android operating system and do not leave the device.
Notes may include optional photo or audio attachments that the user chooses to add. Attachment files are copied into app-private local storage on the device and are not transmitted to the developer or any external server. Attachment files are encrypted at rest using the same Android Keystore–backed AES-GCM mechanism used for note titles and body text.
Zenvut supports encrypted. znv backups created through 1-Tap Backup and optional scheduled Auto Backup. Backup files contain active non-deleted notes, including archived or Vault notes where applicable. Backups use AES-GCM with a key derived from the backup PIN through PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256 with 160,000 iterations. The encrypted backup data includes a format version number, an app identifier, the backup creation timestamp, and the sending device's model name (obtained from the Android Build.MODEL API, e.g. "Pixel 8") inside the encrypted backup payload. The device model is used only to label backup history entries (for example, to show which device a restored backup originated from) and is not a persistent advertising or hardware identifier.
If a note being backed up includes photo or audio attachments, the corresponding attachment files are bundled into the backup archive alongside the encrypted note data. Attachment files are decrypted from their on-device encryption and re-encrypted independently using AES-GCM with a key derived from the backup PIN (the same PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256 method described above) before being written into the archive, so that both the note data and any attachments require the backup PIN to read. When a backup is restored, attachment files are decrypted using the backup PIN and re-encrypted for storage on the restoring device.
If the user selects a custom folder through Android’s system folder picker, the App stores a persistent folder permission and writes auto_backup.znv to that location. If no usable custom folder is available, the App stores the encrypted backup in app-internal storage. If the selected folder belongs to an external provider such as Google Drive, that provider may synchronise or process the encrypted file under its own privacy policy. The developer cannot access the file through Zenvut.
When the Auto Planner feature is enabled, the App stores reminder records locally on the user’s device using the App’s local storage architecture. Reminder data includes the associated note identifier, reminder title, scheduled time, optional pre-alert time, completion or expiry status, pause state, recurrence pattern, group identifier, and priority level. This data is processed and stored entirely on-device and is never transmitted externally.
The App uses Android Alarm Manager APIs to schedule on-device reminder alarms. Where supported by the device and Android system configuration, pre-alert reminder notifications may be scheduled approximately 2 hours before the task time when possible, or approximately 30 minutes before when less time remains. When Planner Alarm Mode is enabled, the App schedules alarms using Android’s AlarmClockInfo API, which plays a looping alarm ringtone and displays a persistent notification with a Stop action until dismissed by the user. On Android 14 and above, the App requires the USE_FULL_SCREEN_INTENT permission to display the full-screen alarm overlay when Planner Alarm Mode is active. This permission is checked at runtime and the user is directed to system settings to grant it. If the permission is not granted, the alarm clock overlay will not appear and alarms will be delivered as standard notifications instead. High-priority reminders (marked as urgent) are delivered through a dedicated high-importance notification channel and display an “⚠ URGENT” prefix in the
notification title. Reminder maintenance and cleanup operations may be performed periodically using Android Work Manager to help manage reminder history and expired reminder records. Auto Planner detection is performed only on eligible active Home notes (non-archived, non-locked, and non-deleted) using local task-detection logic designed to identify actionable tasks and date or time references. Active reminders are automatically rescheduled after device restart through Android’s BOOT_COMPLETED broadcast receiver.
Reminder delivery timing may vary depending on Android version, battery optimization settings, device manufacturer restrictions, and system scheduling behaviour. Zenvut cannot guarantee exact delivery times under all Android environments. The Auto Planner relies on local text-detection logic to identify actionable tasks and date or time references within note content. The accuracy and behaviour of this detection depend on the wording, phrasing, and structure of the text written by the user. Certain note content, including ambiguous language, uncommon date
or time formats, informal phrasing, or text that does not conform to patterns recognised by the detection logic, may cause the Auto Planner to behave in unexpected ways. This may include, but is not limited to, reminders not being scheduled when the user expected them to be, reminders being scheduled at a time the user did not intend, or reminders firing at an unreasonable or unexpected time. The App does not guarantee that the Auto Planner will correctly interpret all note content, and users should verify that reminders have been scheduled as intended after entering note content.
Reminder notifications generated by the App are displayed through Android’s system notification framework. Depending on device settings, Android version, wearable devices, accessibility services, notification history features, companion apps, or third-party notification-sync software, notification content may be stored, mirrored, synchronised, logged, displayed, or otherwise processed outside the App by Android system components or third-party services selected or enabled by the user.
Zenvut does not control, monitor, access, transmit, or manage how Android, device manufacturers, wearable integrations, accessibility services, notification readers, AI assistants, calendar integrations, automation tools, productivity services, or third-party applications process notifications after Android delivers them to the operating system.
Some third-party systems may analyse, duplicate, transform, synchronise, or generate reminders, calendar events, tasks, suggestions, or related actions based on Android notifications. Any such behaviour occurs independently outside the control, responsibility, and data-processing scope of Zenvut.
Some Android devices and Android versions may also support notification history or notification logging features that retain previously displayed notifications locally on the device. Notification previews shown outside the App may expose limited reminder text or note titles depending on Android lock-screen settings.
Android behaviour may vary across manufacturers, Android versions, custom ROMs, accessibility services, notification systems, wearable integrations, and third-party software, and Zenvut cannot guarantee identical privacy behaviour across all Android environments.
Zenvut does not automatically transmit data to the developer or any developer-operated server. However, if the user explicitly enables Auto Backup, the App periodically writes an encrypted. znv backup to app-internal storage or to the user-selected document-provider folder. An external provider may synchronise that encrypted file independently.
Zenvut does not automatically collect, transmit, upload, or share any of the following:
• Note content or note metadata
• Personal information of any kind
• Device identifiers, IMEI, or advertising identifiers
• IP addresses
• Location data
• Contacts, messages, photos, audio, or voice recordings
• Usage patterns or in-app behaviour
• Crash reports or diagnostic data
• Automatic transmission of user data over the internet
Zenvut does not require broad file-storage access, Contacts, or Location for normal operation, and does not hold the Android Photos/Media Library permission. Three features are entirely optional and user-initiated, and are the only reasons the App ever requests Camera, Microphone, or Internet-related permissions: capturing a photo for a note attachment, which is handled by the device’s default camera app via an Android sharing intent (this action does not require Zenvut to hold the Camera permission); recording a voice-note attachment, which requests the Android Microphone (RECORD_AUDIO) permission only when the user taps "Record"; and the Open in Browser local Wi‑Fi companion feature (Section 6.10), which requests the Camera permission only if the user chooses to scan a pairing QR code, and requests Internet and Wi‑Fi-state access (INTERNET, ACCESS_WIFI_STATE) only to run its local web server and show the device’s local network address. If any of these permissions is denied, the corresponding feature is unavailable but all other App functionality is unaffected. Core app data is stored locally on your device unless you intentionally export, print, share, copy, or transfer it. When importing backups, exporting files, or selecting save locations, Zenvut uses the Android system file picker and does not require broad storage access.
If users enter note content using voice typing, speech-to-text, or a third-party keyboard, audio processing is handled by that keyboard or operating system service; Zenvut itself does not access, collect, store, process, receive, or transmit that microphone audio, voice recordings, or speech data. Separately, if a user chooses to record an optional voice-note attachment using the App's built-in recorder (see Section 6.9), that recording is captured and stored locally by Zenvut as described in that section.
The App is designed so that all core note, vault, planner, reminder, backup, and categorisation functionality operates locally on-device without requiring internet connectivity. The only feature that uses networking at all is the optional, user-started Open in Browser companion mode described in Section 6.10, which operates solely over the local Wi‑Fi network.
Zenvut requests only the Android permissions required for the App’s on-device and local-network functionality, depending on Android version and which features are used. These may include:
• Biometric or fingerprint authentication support for Vault unlocking
• Notification permission support for reminder alerts
• Exact alarm scheduling (SCHEDULE_EXACT_ALARM) for time-sensitive planner reminders. On Android 12 and above, the user is prompted to grant this in system settings; if not granted, the App falls back to approximate alarm scheduling
• Vibration support for reminder alerts
• Boot-completed handling to restore reminders after device restart
• Battery optimization exemption request (REQUEST_IGNORE_BATTERY_OPTIMIZATIONS) to help ensure reliable delivery of planner reminders and, where Auto Backup is enabled, background Auto Backup/Sync operations. The user is directed to system battery settings to grant this; it is optional, and if not granted, reminders or background sync may be delayed by the device's standard battery optimization behaviour, but all other App functionality is unaffected
• Full-screen intent permission (USE_FULL_SCREEN_INTENT, Android 14 and above only) to display the alarm clock overlay screen when Planner Alarm Mode is active. This permission is checked at runtime; if not granted, alarms are delivered as standard notifications
• Microphone access (RECORD_AUDIO), requested only when the user taps "Record" to add an optional voice-note attachment to a note. If denied, this specific feature is unavailable; all other functionality is unaffected
• Camera access (CAMERA), requested only if the user opens the QR scanner to pair the optional Open in Browser feature (Section 6.10) using a QR code instead of typing the pairing code. The camera preview is used only to detect the QR code; no photos or video are captured, stored, or transmitted. If denied, pairing by QR code is unavailable, but pairing by typed code and all other App functionality are unaffected
• Internet and local Wi‑Fi-network access (INTERNET, ACCESS_WIFI_STATE), used only to run the optional Open in Browser local web server and to display the device’s local network address on that screen (Section 6.10). These permissions are not used for cloud storage, remote servers, analytics, or any connection to the developer, and Open in Browser must be started manually by the user each time it is used
Zenvut does not request advertising identifier access, contact access, or location access, and does not use the Camera, Microphone, Internet, or Wi‑Fi-state permissions for anything beyond the specific optional features described above. Optional photo attachments are still captured through the device’s default camera app via an Android sharing intent, which does not require Zenvut to hold the Camera permission. AndroidX Work Manager separately merges the following support permissions into the APK: WAKE_LOCK, ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE, and FOREGROUND_SERVICE; ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE is a library dependency of AndroidX Work Manager and is not used by Zenvut on its own to access the internet or any external network.
Security-sensitive operations within the App, including Vault-related protection features and encrypted backup functionality, use AES-GCM encryption backed by Android security mechanisms where applicable. Encryption keys used for these protected operations are generated and managed locally on the device. Where AES-GCM encryption is used, a unique initialisation vector (IV) is generated for each encryption operation and stored alongside the encrypted data as required for decryption.
Encrypted backup files use AES-GCM with a key derived from the user’s backup PIN using PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256 with 160,000 iterations and a 16-byte random salt. The salt and IV are stored within the backup file alongside the ciphertext. The raw backup PIN is never stored on the device or transmitted anywhere.
The backup PIN is verified on-device using a stored PBKDF2-derived hash and salt. The verification uses MessageDigest.isEqual() for constant-time comparison to help reduce timing-attack risks. The raw PIN is never persisted.
To support scheduled and 1-Tap backups without requiring the PIN to be entered each time, Zenvut may store a recoverable encrypted copy of the default Auto Backup PIN. This value is protected locally using Android Keystore-backed encryption and is not transmitted to the developer. This is separate from the Vault PIN verification hash and salt.
Biometric authentication (such as fingerprint or face unlock, where supported by the device) for the Vault is handled entirely by Android biometric system services and the Android Biometric Prompt framework. Zenvut does not collect, receive, store, process, or transmit fingerprint data, face data, biometric templates, or any biometric information. Biometric data is managed exclusively by Android system services.
When the user selects Send Feedback, Zenvut asks the installed email application to prepare an email draft addressed to support.zenvut@gmail.com. The draft includes the App version, device manufacturer and model, Android version, and any text entered by the user. The App does not send the email automatically. If the user sends it, the email application and email provider process the message under their own privacy practices.
The App uses the Google Play In-App Review API to occasionally prompt users to rate the App on Google Play. This API is provided by Google and operates through Google Play services on the device. The App does not control or receive any rating or review data submitted by the user; Google’s own privacy policy governs how Google Play processes this interaction. The prompt is shown at most once per app version, triggered after milestone usage events such as opening the App, saving a note, completing a backup, or exporting a PDF. No note content, personal data, or usage patterns are transmitted as part of this interaction. The App stores integer event counters and the last app version code in app-private Shared Preferences locally on the device solely to control when the prompt appears.
Zenvut applies the Android FLAG_SECURE window flag when a Vault-related screen is active, including the Vault, Vault Settings, Vault Recycle Bin, Backup PIN screen, and locked note editor. When FLAG_SECURE is active, screenshots, screen recording, and recent-apps previews of those screens are suppressed by Android. The flag is cleared automatically when the user navigates away from these screens.
The Smart Category Engine analyses note text locally using keyword-based scoring across four categories (Personal, Work, Ideas, and Tasks) and an adaptive learning layer. Keyword scoring awards higher weight to title words than body words. When a user manually corrects a category, the engine records only words longer than three characters in Android Shared Preferences to improve future suggestions for that user. A confidence gap check is applied: if the score difference between the top two candidate categories is less than one point, the engine conservatively retains the existing category rather than suggesting a change. No note content, category data, learning data, reminder data, or derived analysis results are transmitted externally. Analysis is skipped for notes exceeding 60 words to maintain performance.
The Smart Task Detector locally analyses eligible active Home notes (non-archived, non-locked, and non-deleted) to identify actionable tasks with recognised date or time references. Detection is skipped for note bodies exceeding 100 words. Notes containing priority keywords such as “urgent”, “asap”, or “critical” result in high-priority reminder records. The Reminder Manager uses Levenshtein distance–based title similarity (allowing up to 30%-character difference) to match detected reminders to existing records when group identifiers are absent, preventing duplicate reminders when note content is lightly edited. Detected tasks and reminder data remain stored only on-device, and recurring reminders automatically generate new local alarm entries after completion or expiry.
The Vault supports a Decoy mode. When a PIN is entered and confirmed but does not match the real vault PIN, the App displays a set of placeholder notes instead of the actual vault contents. This is an entirely on-device mechanism. No real vault data is exposed or transmitted when Decoy mode is active. Decoy Vault content is generated locally on-device and is separate from the user’s protected vault content.
When Dead Man’s Vault is enabled and the user-defined inactivity period (in months) elapses without the App being opened, the App automatically performs a Vault Reset on the next launch. This permanently deletes all vault-locked note records from device storage without moving them to the Recycle Bin, and clears the Vault PIN verification hash, salt, and biometric settings. This action is irreversible. The inactivity period and last activity timestamp are stored locally in app settings. No data is transmitted externally as part of this process.
Notes may optionally include photo or audio (voice-recording) attachments. Capturing a photo is handled by the device's default camera app via an Android sharing intent; recording audio uses the App's built-in voice recorder, which requests the Microphone (RECORD_AUDIO) permission only when the user taps "Record." Selecting an existing photo uses the Android system Photo Picker, and selecting an existing audio file uses the Android system file picker; neither requires broad storage permissions. Attachment files are copied into app-private local storage on the device and are never transmitted to the developer or any external server. Attachment files are encrypted at rest using the same Android Keystore–backed AES-GCM mechanism used for note titles and body text, and are re-encrypted with a backup-PIN-derived key when included in a backup archive, as described in Sections 4.1 and 4.3. When a note is permanently deleted, whether through the Recycle Bin, Auto Delete Bin, Reset Vault, or Dead Man's Vault, its attachment files are deleted from device storage as part of that same operation. The developer has no access to attachment files at any point.
Open in Browser is an optional, off-by-default feature, started manually by the user, that lets notes be viewed and edited from a web browser on another device connected to the same local Wi‑Fi network. When started, the App runs a small embedded web server on the device itself (port 8080, falling back to 8081 or 8082 if needed), reachable only at the device’s local network address. To connect, the user opens that address in a browser on the same network and either types a randomly generated pairing code shown on the device or scans a QR code shown in the browser using the App’s built-in scanner.
The QR scanner requests the Camera permission only for this purpose, using on-device Google ML Kit barcode detection to read the pairing code from the camera preview; no photo, video, or image data is captured, stored, or transmitted, and camera access can be avoided entirely by typing the pairing code instead. Once paired, note content and any attachments needed to display a note are sent to the paired browser over the local network so they can be viewed and edited there; edits made in the browser are sent back and saved to local device storage, in the same way as edits made directly in the App.
All communication in Open in Browser stays directly between the device and the paired browser on the local network. It is never routed through the developer or any external or cloud server, and no note content, attachments, or pairing information are transmitted to the developer at any point. The Internet permission (INTERNET) is used only to run this local server and is not used to connect to the internet at large or to any developer-operated service. The Wi‑Fi-state permission (ACCESS_WIFI_STATE) is used only to read and display the device’s own local network address on the Open in Browser screen, not to determine or transmit device location. This local connection uses standard web protocols (HTTP and WebSocket) without an additional layer of encryption beyond that provided by the Wi‑Fi network itself, so the feature should only be used on trusted, private Wi‑Fi networks, and the pairing code should be treated as sensitive while the server is running. Stopping the server, or closing the App, ends the session immediately and stops all further data transmission.
As described in Section 5, Zenvut does not automatically transmit data to the developer. When Auto Backup is enabled with a default backup PIN configured, the App may automatically perform a Smart Sync after actions such as saving, archiving, restoring, or deleting a note, or emptying the Recycle Bin: it reads the existing encrypted backup file, merges note records using a last-updated-at comparison, reconciles deletion history, and writes an updated backup. This happens entirely between the device and the user-selected backup location; no data is sent to the developer. If that location is a third-party provider such as Google Drive, the provider’s own privacy policy applies to the encrypted file.
The following actions occur only when initiated by the user:
• Export notes as PDF files using the Android file picker
• Print notes through the Android Print Manager
• Copy note content using the Android clipboard system
• Create encrypted local backup files (. znv, AES-GCM) in user-selected locations
• Import local backup files selected by the user
Exported or printed content may optionally contain locally generated watermark-style labels, overlays, or identifiers depending on app functionality or user-selected settings. Clipboard contents may also become temporarily accessible to Android system services, accessibility services, clipboard managers, or other installed applications depending on device configuration.
Once content is exported, copied, printed, shared, synchronised, uploaded, or transferred outside the App, it may become subject to the privacy practices, retention policies, accessibility rules, and security measures of third-party services, cloud providers, keyboards, wearable devices, notification-sync systems, printer services, clipboard managers, or other software selected or installed by the user. The developer is not responsible for third-party handling of exported content, and users are solely responsible for reviewing content before distributing it outside the App.
Notes moved to the Recycle Bin remain stored locally until restored or permanently deleted. If Auto Delete Bin is enabled, eligible non-vault notes may be automatically permanently deleted after 30 days. Vault notes removed through “Reset Vault” may be permanently deleted immediately without entering the Recycle Bin. Permanent deletion also removes any photo or audio attachment files associated with the deleted notes; see Section 6.9 for details. The developer has no access to deleted notes at any point.
Zenvut is provided free of charge on an “AS IS” and “AS AVAILABLE” basis without warranties of any kind, express or implied.
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the developer makes no representations or guarantees regarding:
• Availability, reliability, or continuous operation
• Compatibility with any specific device or Android version
• Protection against every possible security threat, device compromise scenario, or attack vector
• Stability or freedom from bugs
• Data preservation or backup integrity
The App may experience unexpected behaviour including crashes, bugs, import or export failures, reminder failures, accidental note deletion, backup issues, or data loss. Users are solely responsible for maintaining their own backups and verifying exported data.
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the developer shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from or related to:
• Use of the App
• Inability to use the App
• Lost, corrupted, or unrecoverable notes
• Backup or import failures
• Device or operating system malfunctions
• Security issues caused by the device, Android OS, or third-party software
• Data loss of any kind
Users use the App entirely at their own discretion and risk.
Users are solely responsible for:
• Maintaining secure, up-to-date backups of their notes
• Verifying the integrity of exported and imported backup files
• Protecting their devices, PINs, and biometric credentials
• Using the App lawfully and for its intended purpose of personal note-taking and productivity
Zenvut is designed without account systems, analytics systems, advertising SDKs, or automatic personal-data collection mechanisms. Because the App operates entirely offline and does not include account systems, user registration, or automatic data transmission, the developer does not maintain personal user databases of any kind.
This Privacy Policy may be updated periodically to reflect changes in the App’s features or applicable legal requirements.
Updated versions will replace previous versions within the App or in the app store listing. Continued use of the App after an update constitutes acceptance of the revised Privacy Policy.
This Privacy Policy and the use of Zenvut shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of India.
To the extent permitted by applicable law, legal matters relating to the App or this Privacy Policy should generally be handled under the laws and jurisdiction of Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
By using the App, users agree to submit to the jurisdiction of such courts.
For privacy-related questions or concerns, please contact the developer:
Developer: Arnab Roy
Email: support.zenvut@gmail.com
By installing or using Zenvut, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy, including the following:
• The App is provided free of charge
• Core app data is stored locally on your device unless you intentionally export, print, share, copy, or transfer it
• The developer does not collect, transmit, or have access to your notes or personal content
• Use of the App is at your own discretion and risk
• Continued use of the App constitutes acknowledgement of this Privacy Policy.
Thank you for using Zenvut.