The short version: your scanned documents never leave your phone. Scanning, text recognition and every export happen on your device, and DocuScan has no accounts or servers of its own. To keep the app free, it shows ads from Google AdMob and uses Google Firebase to measure usage and report crashes. Those services collect some device and usage data — never your documents or their text. We don't sell your data.
1. Information we collect
We (the developer) don't run servers, don't offer accounts, and never receive your documents. DocuScan doesn't ask for your name, email address or phone number. The app does include Google services that automatically collect limited data from your device (see section 6):
- Device and app information — device model, operating-system version, app version, language, and approximate country or region (derived from your IP address).
- Identifiers — your device's advertising ID and app-instance identifiers.
- Usage data — app interactions such as screens opened and session length, plus ad impressions and clicks.
- Crash diagnostics — stack traces and the device's state when the app crashes.
This data does not include your scans, imported files, recognized text, or anything else in your documents.
2. Your documents and images
Photos you capture and documents you import are stored locally in the app's private storage on your device. Files you export (PDF, Word, text, images, CSV) are saved to your device's Downloads or Pictures folders. DocuScan never uploads these files on its own.
3. On-device processing
Edge detection, cropping, image enhancement, text recognition (OCR), barcode/QR reading and PDF generation all run locally on your device using on-device libraries (Google ML Kit and the Android Document Scanner). The contents of your scans are not sent to us or to any third party for processing. Google ML Kit may download optional language models on first use and may send anonymous performance and usage metrics about these features to Google — never your images or the text it recognizes.
4. Permissions we request
- Camera — to capture document scans and to read QR codes and barcodes. Used only while you are scanning.
- Biometric / device credential — optional, only if you enable App Lock or the hidden vault. Authentication is handled by Android; DocuScan never sees your fingerprint, face data, or PIN.
- Storage / Downloads — to save the files you export and to import files you select.
- Internet and network state — used by Google AdMob, Firebase and Play services to load ads, send usage statistics and crash reports, and download optional OCR language models. DocuScan never sends your documents over the network.
- Advertising ID — used by AdMob to show and measure ads. You can reset or delete it in your device settings (see section 7).
5. Sharing and exports
A file leaves DocuScan only when you explicitly share or export it — for example through Android's share sheet, by opening it in another app, or by sending it to a printer. You choose the destination each time. Once a file reaches another app or service, that app's own privacy policy governs what happens next.
6. Third-party services
DocuScan uses the following Google services. Each processes data under Google's Privacy Policy.
- Google AdMob (advertising) — shows banner, full-screen and app-open ads, using your advertising ID, IP address and device information to deliver, measure and limit ads. Where the law requires it (for example in the EEA and UK), you're asked for consent before personalized ads are shown.
- Google Firebase Analytics (usage measurement) — records app usage, such as screens viewed and session length, so we can improve the app.
- Google Firebase Crashlytics (crash reporting) — sends crash reports so we can fix bugs. Crash data is kept for 90 days.
- Google ML Kit and Play services (on-device scanning and text recognition) — see section 3.
Learn more about how Google uses data from apps that use its services.
7. Your choices
- Ad consent — if you're in a region where consent is required, you're asked when you first open the app. You can change or withdraw your choice at any time in Settings → Privacy choices.
- Advertising ID — reset or delete it in your device's ad settings (Settings → Privacy → Ads, or Settings → Google → Ads, depending on your device).
- Your documents — delete any document in the app at any time. Uninstalling DocuScan removes everything stored inside the app; files you exported to Downloads or Pictures stay until you delete them.
8. Data security
Your documents remain in the app's private, sandboxed storage. You can add a further layer of protection with a biometric App Lock, a biometric-gated hidden vault, and AES-128 password protection on exported PDFs. Data sent to Google's services is encrypted in transit. As with any device, keeping your phone's own screen lock and software up to date is the strongest protection.
9. Children's privacy
DocuScan is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children.
10. Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, we will update the effective date above and, for material changes, note it within the app. Continued use after an update means you accept the revised policy.
11. Contact
Questions about privacy in DocuScan? Reach the developer at [email protected].