The short version
- Photo Recovery & Data Restore works on your device. It scans your phone’s storage for deleted or hidden photos, videos, audio files and documents, and restores the files you choose. Scanning, previewing and restoring all happen on your device; your files are never uploaded.
- We do not run accounts or servers for the App, and we do not receive your files, photos, screen content or messages.
- The App is supported by ads. Our advertising partners collect device, usage and advertising data, including your device’s Advertising ID unless you have deleted it.
- Optional purchases are handled by Google Play. We never receive your payment details.
This Privacy Policy explains how the Photo Recovery & Data Restore app for Android (package com.firefly.recover.file.photo.restore, the “App”) collects, uses, shares and protects information about you.
1. Who we are
The App is developed and published by Firefly Team (“we”, “us”, “our”), the developer named “Firefly-Team” on the App’s page in Google Play. For the purposes of data protection laws such as the EU and UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we are the controller of the personal data described in this policy.
You can reach us at any time at elflyhight@gmail.com.
2. What the App does on your device
- Scanning. When you start a scan, the App reads the folders and files in your device’s storage (and SD card, if you have one), including caches, thumbnails and trash folders, to find photos, videos, audio files and documents that may still be recoverable.
- Preview and restore. The App shows previews of the files it finds. Files you choose to restore are copied back to a folder in your device’s storage, where your gallery and file manager can see them.
- Your files stay on your device. We do not upload, view or store your files, file names or scan results on any server. Scan results are kept on your device only while the App needs them.
- No root access. The App works only with storage that Android lets it access with your permission.
3. Information collected automatically
When you use the App, our advertising and analytics providers listed in Section 9 automatically collect:
- Device and app information: device model, Android version, App version, language, country or region, network type and similar technical data.
- Identifiers: your device’s Advertising ID (unless you have deleted it), app-set and installation IDs, and IDs generated by advertising SDKs. These relate to your device; they do not tell us your name.
- Advertising data: which ads were requested, shown and tapped, and related measurement data.
- Usage data: which screens and features you use and for how long, and similar events. Usage data does not contain your files or screen content.
- Diagnostics: crash and performance information collected by these SDKs.
- Approximate location derived from your IP address by advertising partners, used to show the right consent message and to serve and measure ads.
What we do not collect: the App does not access your contacts, call logs, SMS, calendar or precise location, and does not read the content of other apps on your screen.
4. Device permissions
| Permission | Why the App asks |
|---|---|
| All files access / storage | To scan your storage for deleted photos, videos, audio and documents, and to save the files you restore. Without it the App cannot scan. |
| Photos and videos, music and audio | On newer Android versions, to find and restore media files. |
| Internet | To load ads and to check your purchase with Google Play. Granted automatically on install. |
You can review or withdraw permissions at any time in Settings › Apps › Photo Recovery & Data Restore › Permissions (and, for special access such as “Display over other apps” or “Modify system settings”, in Settings › Apps › Special app access).
5. How we use information
If you are in the European Economic Area (EEA), the United Kingdom or Switzerland, the table also shows our legal basis under the GDPR.
| Purpose | Data used | Legal basis (EEA/UK) |
|---|---|---|
| Provide the App’s features on your device | The permissions and on-device data described in Sections 2 and 4 | Performance of our contract with you (our Terms) |
| Show ads that keep the App free | Identifiers, device info, approximate location, advertising data | Consent for personalised ads and for accessing information on your device where required; legitimate interests for non-personalised ads, frequency capping and fraud prevention |
| Understand how the App is used, fix crashes and improve it | Usage data, diagnostics, device info | Legitimate interests; consent where required |
| Unlock and restore purchases | Purchase status from Google Play | Performance of our contract with you |
| Answer support requests | Your email, message and attachments | Legitimate interests |
| Keep the App safe, prevent fraud and abuse, and meet legal obligations | Any of the above, as needed | Legitimate interests; legal obligation |
We do not sell your personal information for money. We do not make decisions based solely on automated processing that have legal or similarly significant effects on you.
6. Advertising
The App shows ads from Google AdMob, which may also fill ads through other ad networks (“mediation”). Advertising partners may collect the data described in Section 3 to serve ads, limit how often you see an ad, measure performance and prevent fraud, and, if you allow it, to show personalised ads.
- Consent. Where the law requires it (for example in the EEA, the UK and Switzerland), the App asks for your consent before personalised ads are shown. You can change your choice by clearing the App’s data (Settings › Apps › Photo Recovery & Data Restore › Storage › Clear data) and choosing again when the App restarts.
- Advertising ID. Reset or delete it in your device settings (usually Settings › Privacy › Ads, or Settings › Google › Ads).
Ads are provided by third parties. We do not control their content or the websites and apps they link to.
7. In-app purchases
The App offers optional paid features through Google Play Billing. Google processes your payment; we never receive your payment card details. The App receives only the status of your purchase (for example, that an upgrade is active) so it can unlock the feature. Purchases are tied to your Google account and can be restored on another device signed in to the same account.
9. Third-party services we use
| Provider | Purpose | Privacy policy |
|---|---|---|
| Google AdMob | Advertising, ad mediation | policies.google.com/privacy · How Google uses data from apps |
| Google User Messaging Platform | Consent management | policies.google.com/privacy |
| Google Firebase (Analytics, Crashlytics) | Usage statistics, crash reporting | firebase.google.com/support/privacy |
| Google Play | App distribution, payments (Google Play Billing) | policies.google.com/privacy |
10. Data retention and deletion
| Data | Where it is kept | How long |
|---|---|---|
| App settings and on-device data described in Section 2 | Your device | Until you delete them, clear the App’s data or uninstall the App |
| Advertising data | Our advertising partners | According to each partner’s own policy |
| Usage and diagnostic data | Google Firebase | Event-level analytics data up to 14 months; crash reports about 90 days |
| Support emails | Our mailbox | As long as needed to handle your request, and then up to 24 months, unless you ask us to delete them sooner |
The App has no user accounts, so there is no account to delete. Uninstalling the App removes the data it stored in its own storage.
11. Your choices and controls
- Permissions: allow or withdraw them in your device settings (see Section 4). Some features stop working without the permission they need.
- Ads: delete or reset your Advertising ID, and change your consent choice as described in Section 6.
- Local data: clear the App’s data or uninstall the App to remove what it stored.
12. Your privacy rights
Depending on where you live, including under the GDPR, the UK GDPR, Vietnam’s personal data protection laws and U.S. state privacy laws, you may have the right to access, correct, delete or export your personal data, to restrict or object to certain processing, to withdraw consent at any time, and to complain to your local data protection authority.
How to make a request. Email elflyhight@gmail.com with the subject “Privacy Request” and the App name. The App has no user accounts and we do not receive your files, so most data described here is either on your device or held by our partners under device identifiers that we cannot link to you. Where you need to exercise rights over data held by a partner, we will help you contact them. We will respond within the time the law requires.
U.S. state privacy laws. We do not sell personal information for money. Allowing ad partners to collect identifiers and usage data for personalised advertising may count as a “sale” or “sharing” under some state laws. To opt out, decline personalised ads in the consent message where shown or delete your Advertising ID. We will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights.
13. Children
The App is not directed to children under 13, or under the minimum age required in your country to consent to data processing (for example, 16 in some EEA countries). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.
14. Security
Data the App stores in its own storage is protected by Android’s app sandbox. Network requests made by the App and its SDKs use encrypted connections (HTTPS). No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.
15. International transfers
We and our service providers may process information in countries other than the one where you live, including the United States. Where the law requires it, these transfers rely on appropriate safeguards such as the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses or equivalent mechanisms.
16. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time, for example when we add features or partners. We will change the “Last updated” date above and, when changes are significant, give notice in the App or in the store release notes. If you keep using the App after an update, the updated policy applies.
17. Contact us
If you are in the EEA or UK and believe we have not handled your data properly, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.