Privacy Policy

PDFTools

This Privacy Policy explains how PDFTools (“we”, “us”, “the App”) collects, uses, and protects your information when you use our Android application.

1. Information we collect

1.1 Information collected by the App itself

PDFTools is a local PDF utility (merge, split, compress, convert, sign, preview, and related tools). We do not require you to register or sign in, and we do not proactively upload your personally identifiable information to our servers for an account system. Specifically:

• We do not require your name, mailing address, or government ID number as mandatory fields;
• Recent files metadata, favorites, history retention settings, theme/UI preferences, and similar options are primarily stored locally on your device (for example via Android SharedPreferences);
• Opening, merging, splitting, compressing, converting, signing, and exporting PDFs and related outputs are processed primarily on your device; we do not upload the content of your PDF files to our servers to provide these features.

If you open a PDF via system “Share”, “Open with”, App shortcuts, or similar flows from other apps, processing is governed by Android and those apps; we access only what is needed for the action you choose.

1.2 Information collected by third-party services

The App uses the following third-party services, which may collect certain information:

Firebase-related data is processed under Google’s privacy policy. For more information, see: https://policies.google.com/privacy

Overall statement (not used to directly identify you): Data collected through Firebase is generally processed in an aggregated or de-identified manner and is not used to directly identify individual users.

Note: We do not provide a user account system and do not operate servers for storing users’ personal data. Data processed via Firebase is subject to Google’s retention and security rules; retention periods follow Google’s policies.

2. Permissions requested by the App

To provide its features, the App declares or may use the following permissions (always refer to your device and the final merged application manifest). Opening and saving PDFs uses the system document picker and URI grants; broad “all files” storage permissions are not how we access your documents.

Permission	Purpose
android.permission.INTERNET	For Firebase Analytics and Crashlytics to transmit aggregated or otherwise processed usage and crash diagnostic data. This network access is not used to upload the content of your PDF files to our servers; we do not use this permission for uploading your personal file contents.
android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE	Allows checking network connectivity before sending analytics/crash or transport data (merged from Firebase / Google Play services dependencies).
android.permission.WAKE_LOCK	May hold a partial wake lock briefly so background measurement or transport jobs can complete (merged from dependencies).
com.google.android.gms.permission.AD_ID	Declares access to the advertising ID API where required by Google Play services / measurement components used alongside Firebase Analytics; we do not use your PDF content for advertising.
android.permission.ACCESS_ADSERVICES_ATTRIBUTION	Related to Android Privacy Sandbox / ad services APIs as merged from Google Play services dependencies.
android.permission.ACCESS_ADSERVICES_AD_ID	Related to ad-services access for advertising identifiers as merged from Google Play services dependencies.
com.google.android.finsky.permission.BIND_GET_INSTALL_REFERRER_SERVICE	Allows interaction with the Play Store install referrer service for install attribution (merged from measurement / Play-related components).
Signature permission for non-exported dynamic receivers	A signature-level permission entry merged for internal broadcast receivers (AndroidX / build tooling). It is not a runtime permission you toggle in Settings like camera or location.

Note: We request only permissions needed for core features. You may manage or revoke some capabilities in system settings; revocation may disable related features (e.g. completing an open/save flow for a chosen URI).

3. System share, “Open with”, and other services

When you use system “Share”, “Open with”, open a PDF from Files or another app, or trigger shortcuts, Android and the source app participate in the flow. We access URIs or paths only as needed for your chosen action; we do not assume separate privacy obligations for content originating from third-party apps or websites. If you follow external links or use third-party software, review their privacy policies.

The App does not provide online social-style content streams. If future versions add new online capabilities beyond Firebase analytics/crash reporting, we will update this Policy.

4. How we use information

We use information only for:

• Providing and improving PDF viewing and PDF tools (merge, split, compress, convert, sign, etc.);
• Improving performance and stability;
• Finding and fixing crashes and errors;
• Understanding aggregate usage to improve flows and UI.

5. Sharing and disclosure

We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information for unrelated marketing. Processing or disclosure may occur only when:

• Firebase: Technical and statistical data collected or processed by Firebase Analytics and Crashlytics is handled by Google under its privacy policy;
• Legal requirements: We may disclose information where required by law or by competent authorities.

6. Security

We take information security seriously. Core PDF operations are processed primarily on your device. When analytics and crash data are sent via Firebase, industry-standard measures (such as HTTPS, as implemented by Google) are typically used. We do not use the content of your PDFs for sale or for purposes inconsistent with this Policy. We do not transmit or store the contents of your personal PDF files on our servers.

7. Children

The App is not directed at children under 13 for marketing-related collection of identifiable personal information. If you are a parent or guardian and believe we have processed a child’s information, contact us and we will take appropriate steps as required by law.

8. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Updates will be posted on this page (or at the same link in the App), and the “Last updated” date will change. For material changes, we will provide notice as required by applicable law. Please review this Policy periodically.

9. Your rights

Where applicable law provides, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or restrict processing of your personal data. For information processed by Google through Firebase, see Google’s privacy and account tools. Where your device or Google offers options, you may also limit some collection by adjusting device settings, ads, or analytics preferences (subject to current system and Google options). You may uninstall the App at any time; uninstalling removes data in the App’s private directory per system rules but does not delete files you stored elsewhere.

10. Contact us

11. Consent

By using PDFTools, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the App.