Privacy Policy

Handwriting to Text by AiTricker
Package: com.handwritingtotext.aitricker
Effective Date: June 26, 2026  |  Last Updated: August 17, 2026

1. Introduction

AiTricker ("we", "us", "our") operates the Handwriting to Text mobile application (the "App"), distributed on Google Play. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, with whom we share it, how long we keep it, and your choices and rights regarding your data.

By installing or using the App, you agree to the collection and use of information as described in this policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the App.

This policy, together with the Google Play Data safety section on our store listing, is intended to give you a complete account of our data practices. Where the Google Play Data safety section summarises what is collected and shared, this policy provides the full detail as required by the Google Play Developer Program Policy.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Anonymous Device Identifier

When you first open the App, a stable anonymous identifier is derived from your device by taking your device's Android ID (Settings.Secure.ANDROID_ID, a system-provided identifier that is different for each app-signing key + user + device combination) and passing it through a one-way SHA-256 cryptographic hash. Only the hashed value leaves your device. In the rare case Android ID is unavailable, a random UUID is generated on-device and stored in the App's local preferences as a fallback.

In addition, Firebase Authentication signs the device in anonymously on first launch. This creates a Firebase-issued anonymous user ID (UID) that we use as the primary server-side device identifier and to support Firebase App Check (Play Integrity) verification. This anonymous UID is not linked to your name, email, phone number, or any personal account. It is used solely for managing your scan, batch and flip book allowances, verifying purchases, and detecting refund and abuse patterns. If you uninstall the App, the local part of this identifier is removed from your device.

Under Google Play's Data Safety taxonomy, both of these identifiers fall under the Device or other IDs category and are declared accordingly.

2.2 Camera and Gallery Images (Temporary Processing Only)

When you scan handwritten or printed text, the captured or gallery-selected image is compressed on your device (resized to a maximum of 1500 px on the longest side and JPEG-compressed) and then sent over HTTPS to our Firebase Cloud Functions backend in the asia-south1 (Mumbai) region. Our server forwards the image to Google Gemini AI via Google Cloud Vertex AI for text recognition (OCR).

Batch scanning: If you use the batch scan feature (Premium/Pro plans), up to 20 images in one batch are sent to the server and processed sequentially through the same OCR pipeline. Each image follows the same no-retention rules as a single scan.

AI Insights: If you enable the AI Insights toggle in Settings, the same Gemini AI request may also generate a short contextual summary of the extracted text. This runs in the same request as OCR and follows the same no-retention rules described below.

2.3 Language Preference

Your selected OCR language (e.g., English, Hindi, French) is sent alongside each image so Gemini can produce more accurate text for that language. It is used only for the current request and is not stored permanently on our server.

2.4 Purchase Verification Data

If you upgrade to Premium, Pro, or the Pro Upgrade plan, the following purchase data is sent from the App to our server and then forwarded to the Google Play Developer API to verify that the purchase is genuine:

• Google Play purchase token
• Google Play product ID (e.g., premium_lifetime, pro_lifetime, pro_upgrade)
• The anonymous device ID the purchase is being applied to

After verification, we store the purchase token, product ID, order ID, verification timestamp, and the resulting tier (free / premium / pro) against your anonymous device ID. This information is required to (a) keep your tier active across device restarts, (b) prevent duplicate use of the same token on multiple devices, and (c) detect refunds so tiers can be downgraded automatically when Google refunds a purchase. The purchase token is shared only with Google's Play Developer API for validation — it is not shared with any other third party.

We do not receive or store your payment details (credit card number, billing address, bank information, etc.). All payment processing is handled entirely by Google Play under Google's Privacy Policy.

2.5 Usage Counters

To enforce plan limits and prevent abuse, we track the following counters against your anonymous device ID on our server: total scans used (Free plan), daily single scans, daily batch scan folders and pages, daily flip book folders and pages, and the date these counters were last reset. Daily counters reset at 12:00 AM IST (Asia/Kolkata). No personal information and no scan content are associated with these counters — only the numeric totals. PDF exports are created on your device and are not counted.

2.6 IP Address (Security Only)

Your device's IP address may be temporarily logged by our Firebase Cloud Functions backend for security and abuse-prevention purposes only — such as enforcing rate limits, detecting fraudulent purchase attempts, and investigating unauthorized API access. IP addresses are written to an internal abuse log tied to your anonymous device ID; they are not used for tracking, analytics, advertising, profiling, or any purpose beyond security. Abuse log entries are automatically retained for up to 90 days and then deleted.

2.7 Device-Integrity Signals (Play Integrity)

Every request the App makes to our server includes a Firebase App Check token issued by Google's Play Integrity API. The Play Integrity API evaluates whether your device is genuine and unmodified — such as whether the App binary was tampered with, whether Google Play Services is present, and the device recognition verdict (broadly, whether the device is a certified Android device). This attestation is performed by Google and the underlying signals are processed by Google under Google's Privacy Policy. Our server only sees the pass/fail verdict on the resulting App Check token — we do not receive or store the raw integrity signals.

3. Information Stored Only on Your Device

The following data is stored locally on your device only and is never sent to our servers:

• Scanned text results, scan history, and folders (local Room database)
• Image thumbnails of scanned pages (app's internal storage, max 300px, never uploaded)
• App settings — default language, crop toggle, auto-enhance toggle, AI insights toggle
• Translated text (ML Kit Translation runs entirely on-device)
• PDF files you export (stored in app's cache directory)
• Backup files — you can export all scans and folders as a JSON file to your device or cloud storage (e.g., Google Drive) using the Backup & Restore feature. Backup files are created locally and never sent to our servers. You control where the file is saved and shared.

4. What We Do NOT Collect

• We do not collect your name, email address, phone number, or any account credentials.
• We do not collect your location (fine or coarse).
• We do not access contacts, call logs, SMS, calendar, or microphone.
• We do not display advertisements and do not integrate any advertising SDK.
• We do not access the Google Advertising ID (AAID). The com.google.android.gms.permission.AD_ID permission is not declared in our app manifest.
• We do not use third-party analytics, attribution, or crash-reporting SDKs (e.g., Firebase Analytics, Crashlytics, Google Analytics for Firebase, Mixpanel, Amplitude, AppsFlyer are not present in the App).
• We do not store your scanned images on our servers.
• We do not read the text content of your scans on our servers beyond the transient OCR pipeline described in Section 2.2.
• We do not access files on your device beyond the specific images you select for scanning through the Android photo picker or camera.

5. How We Use Your Information

Data	Purpose	Stored on Server?
Anonymous Device ID	Scan quota management, purchase verification, tier tracking, abuse prevention	Yes (anonymous, derived from Android ID)
Camera/Gallery Image	OCR text recognition via Google Gemini AI — processed and immediately discarded	No — discarded after processing
Language Preference	Selecting OCR model for accurate text recognition	No — sent per request only
Purchase Token	Verifying in-app purchase with Google Play, detecting refunds	Yes — stored for ongoing purchase validation
Usage Counters	Enforcing plan limits (free scan limit, daily scan, batch and flip book allowances)	Yes (linked to anonymous ID)
IP Address	Abuse prevention and security logging only	Yes — in abuse log only, not for tracking

5.1 Data Safety Summary (Google Play)

To align with Google Play's Data Safety disclosures, here is a summary of the data categories the App collects, using Play Console terminology. This summary is intended to be consistent with the answers we submit in the Google Play Data safety form. If you notice any inconsistency between this policy and the store listing, please email us and we will correct it promptly.

Play Console Category	Collected?	Shared with 3rd Parties?	Purpose
Device or other IDs	Yes (hashed Android ID)	No	App functionality, fraud prevention
Photos and videos	Yes (ephemeral — not stored)	Google Gemini AI (processing only, no retention)	OCR text recognition
Purchase history	Yes (purchase token only)	Google Play Developer API	Purchase verification
App interactions	Yes (scan counters only)	No	Free-tier limit enforcement
Personal info (name, email, phone)	No	—	—
Location	No	—	—
Contacts	No	—	—
Financial info (payment details)	No (handled by Google Play)	—	—

6. Third-Party Services

6.1 Firebase (Google)

• Firebase Authentication — Anonymous sign-in only. Used to support App Check verification and to give the device a stable server-side identifier. No personal information is collected. Firebase Privacy.
• Cloud Firestore — Stores anonymous device data (tier, usage counters, purchase tokens, abuse-log entries) on Google Cloud servers in the asia-south1 (Mumbai) region. Data is encrypted at rest using Google-managed encryption keys and encrypted in transit via HTTPS/TLS. Server-side data is retained until you request deletion or until 24 months of continuous inactivity, whichever comes first.
• Cloud Functions for Firebase — Our OCR, batch, flip book, status, and purchase-verification endpoints run as Firebase Cloud Functions (region asia-south1).
• Firebase App Check (Play Integrity) — Verifies that API requests come from the genuine App, preventing unauthorized access. The Play Integrity API evaluates whether the App and device are genuine and unmodified. Attestation data is processed by Google and is not stored by us — we only receive the resulting App Check token verdict.

6.2 Google Gemini AI (Vertex AI) — Generative AI Feature

What it is: The App's core feature — converting handwriting images into text and optionally generating a short summary — is powered by Google Gemini AI, a generative AI model, accessed via Google Cloud Vertex AI.

What is sent: the compressed image and the language code you selected. Nothing else about you is sent.

How Google handles it: per the Vertex AI Generative AI Data Governance terms, Google does not use requests sent via Vertex AI to train Google's foundation AI models, and does not retain prompt or response data beyond the transient processing needed to serve the request (short-term caching only, and abuse logs).

What we do: we discard the image on our server immediately after the response is returned. We never store, review, or share your images. Only the recognized text (returned by Gemini) is delivered back to your device and saved locally — never uploaded to our server.

Limits of AI: Gemini is a generative AI model. Results are provided on a best-effort basis and may occasionally contain recognition errors or, in the case of AI Insights summaries, factual inaccuracies. Do not rely on the App for legal, medical, financial, or other high-stakes use without independent verification.

Opt-out: OCR is the App's core function, so opting out of Gemini processing means not using the scan feature. You can disable the optional AI Insights summary at any time from Settings → AI Insights.

6.3 Google Play Billing

In-app purchases (Premium, Pro, and Pro Upgrade plans) are processed entirely by Google Play. Google Play collects your payment information — we do not see or receive your payment details. We receive only a purchase token, product ID, and order ID for server-side verification with the Google Play Developer API. See Google Privacy Policy.

6.4 Google ML Kit (On-Device)

• ML Kit Translation — Translates scanned text between 20+ languages. Language models are downloaded to your device on demand and all translation happens locally on your device. No text is sent to Google or to us.
• ML Kit Language Identification — Detects the language of scanned text on-device. No text is sent to Google or to us.

See ML Kit Terms.

6.5 Google Play In-App Review

We use Google Play's In-App Review API to occasionally prompt satisfied users to rate the App on the Play Store. The review interaction is handled entirely by Google Play — we do not receive your review content, rating, or any personal data. See In-App Review documentation.

6.6 Sub-Processors (Summary)

All third-party services we rely on are provided by Google LLC or its affiliates. We do not use any independent third-party analytics, advertising, attribution, or crash-reporting SDKs.

7. Data Sharing

• We do not sell your personal information to any third party.
• We do not share your personal information with any third party for cross-context behavioural advertising, marketing, or profiling.
• We do not display advertisements in the App and do not use any advertising SDK.
• Under California's CCPA/CPRA, we do not "sell" or "share" personal information as those terms are defined by the statute.
• The only third-party recipients of data from the App are the Google-owned services listed in Section 6, which act as processors on our behalf (Firebase, Vertex AI, Play Billing, ML Kit on-device). Data is transferred to them only to the extent necessary to provide the core features of the App.
• We may disclose data if required by law, regulation, valid legal process, enforceable governmental request, or to protect rights, property, or safety.

8. App Permissions and In-App Disclosure

8.1 In-App Disclosure (What we tell you inside the App)

The first time the App needs to access your camera or gallery, Android displays a runtime permission dialog. Before or alongside that dialog, the App presents an in-app screen explaining what data is accessed, where it goes, and why — specifically: "Your image will be sent over an encrypted connection to our server and processed by Google Gemini AI to recognize text. The image is not stored on our server." This disclosure is shown in the normal flow of the App (not hidden in a menu) and is separate from any generic terms or privacy screens.

8.2 Permissions Requested by the App

Permission	Manifest Entry	Why it's requested	Data sent to server?
Internet	android.permission.INTERNET	Send images to our server for OCR, verify purchases with Google Play, download translation language packs from Google.	Yes — required for OCR and purchase verification
Camera	android.permission.CAMERA	Capture photos of handwritten or printed text for single scan and batch scan flows. The App also works without camera by picking images from your gallery.	Only the captured image, sent for OCR then discarded

These two are the only permissions the App declares, and each one is requested from you at the moment it is first needed.

Picking images from your gallery does not require a permission. The App opens the Android system photo picker, which is part of your device rather than part of the App. You choose the images; the picker then grants the App temporary read access to only those images. The App is never given access to your photo library, and it declares no photos, media or storage permission at all — so there is nothing it could read beyond the images you tap.

Files the App saves for you — exported PDF files and backup files — are written either inside the App's own private storage or to a folder you pick yourself through Android's system file picker. Neither route needs a storage permission either.

8.3 Permissions the App Does Not Request

• Advertising ID (com.google.android.gms.permission.AD_ID) — not declared. We do not read the Google Advertising ID.
• Location (fine or coarse) — not requested.
• Contacts — not requested.
• Phone / SMS / Call log — not requested.
• Microphone — not requested.
• Photos and media (READ_MEDIA_IMAGES, READ_MEDIA_VIDEO, READ_MEDIA_AUDIO, READ_MEDIA_VISUAL_USER_SELECTED) — not declared. Gallery images reach the App through the Android system photo picker instead, as described in Section 8.2.
• File and storage access (READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE, WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE, MANAGE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE) — not declared on any Android version. The App keeps its own files in private storage and uses Android's system file picker for anything you save or restore yourself.

9. Data Security

• All communication between the App and our server uses HTTPS with TLS 1.2+ encryption.
• Every API request includes a Firebase App Check token (Play Integrity), so only the genuine, unmodified App running on a genuine Android device can reach our backend.
• Requests are rate-limited server-side to protect against abuse.
• Our server runs on Firebase Cloud Functions on Google Cloud infrastructure with Google's platform-level security controls.
• Firestore data is encrypted at rest using Google-managed encryption keys.
• Images are processed in memory only and are never written to disk on our server.
• Release builds of the App have verbose network logging disabled and use R8/ProGuard obfuscation.
• Despite our safeguards, no method of transmission or storage over the internet is 100% secure. We encourage you to keep your device operating system up to date and to use device-level security (screen lock, biometric).

10. Data Retention and Deletion

Local Data (on your device)

• Delete individual scans anytime using the app's Trash feature.
• Items in Trash are automatically and permanently deleted after 30 days.
• Uninstalling the App removes all locally stored data (scans, thumbnails, settings, cached PDFs).

Server-Side Data

• Images: discarded immediately after OCR — not retained.
• Anonymous device ID, tier, and usage counters: retained while the device remains active. Automatically deleted after 24 months of continuous inactivity or on request.
• Purchase tokens and order metadata: retained while your paid tier is active so that we can (a) restore your purchase on reinstall, (b) detect Google Play refunds, and (c) prevent the same token being used to unlock multiple devices. Deleted on request as far as legally permitted (subject to any minimum retention required for tax, accounting, and fraud prevention obligations).
• Abuse log (IP addresses, App Check failure events, rate-limit hits): retained for up to 90 days, then automatically deleted.

How to Request Deletion

You can request deletion of all server-side data associated with your device at any time by emailing nonytoons2011@gmail.com from any email address, with the subject line "Data deletion request". We process valid deletion requests within 30 days and will confirm once done. If you refunded a purchase, we may retain the purchase token as an abuse-prevention record for up to 2 years after refund; all other data will still be deleted.

11. Children's Privacy

The App is not directed at children under 13 and is not designed for use by children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided personal information through the App, contact us at nonytoons2011@gmail.com and we will delete it promptly.

12. Your Rights

12.1 Everyone

• Access — Request a copy of the data linked to your anonymous device ID.
• Deletion — Request deletion of your server-side data as described in Section 10.
• Opt-Out at OS level — Revoke the camera permission in your device settings to disable in-app capture. Gallery picking needs no permission, so there is none to revoke; the system photo picker simply shows the App nothing unless you select it.
• Stop Use — Uninstall the App at any time to remove all local data.

12.2 Users in the European Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom, and Switzerland (GDPR / UK GDPR)

If you are located in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, the following legal bases apply to our processing of your data:

• Contract — providing the OCR, translation, folder, PDF export, and purchase-verification features you request (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR).
• Legitimate interests — abuse prevention, security logging, rate limiting, and App Check integrity verification, balanced against your privacy interests (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).
• Legal obligation — retention required for tax, accounting, or law-enforcement obligations (Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR).

You additionally have the right to:

• request rectification or erasure of your personal data;
• request restriction of processing or object to processing based on legitimate interests;
• request data portability (a machine-readable copy);
• lodge a complaint with your local Data Protection Authority.

Cross-border transfers: Firebase Cloud Functions, Firestore, and Vertex AI process your data in Google Cloud's asia-south1 (Mumbai) region. If you access the App from the EEA/UK/Switzerland, your data is transferred outside these regions to Google's infrastructure and is protected by Google's Standard Contractual Clauses and technical safeguards described at Google Cloud Data Processing Addendum.

12.3 Users in California (CCPA / CPRA)

California residents have the following rights:

• the right to know what categories of personal information we collect and how it is used;
• the right to delete personal information;
• the right to correct inaccurate personal information;
• the right to opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information — we do not sell or share your personal information for cross-context behavioural advertising, so there is nothing to opt out of;
• the right to non-discrimination for exercising these rights.

12.4 Users in India (DPDP Act, 2023)

If you are located in India, you can exercise your rights of access, correction, erasure, and grievance redressal under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. Our Grievance Officer can be reached at nonytoons2011@gmail.com.

To exercise any of the rights above, email nonytoons2011@gmail.com with the subject "Privacy request". We may ask a few non-identifying questions (approximate first-use date, tier purchased, order ID) to locate the correct server-side record for your device. We respond within 30 days.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in features, legal requirements, or Google Play policies. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page and, where required by law, notify you inside the App. Continued use of the App after the effective date of an update constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Older versions of this policy will not be maintained publicly; if you need a copy of a prior version, please email us at the address below.

14. Contact Us