Messages - Privacy Policy
Contents
The short version
- Your text messages, contacts and call history are read and stored only on your phone. We do not upload them to our servers or share them with anyone.
- Backups are saved as a file on your phone. We never receive them.
- The app shows ads. Google and its ad partners use your advertising ID and device information to show and measure ads, based on the consent you give.
- We use Google Firebase to understand how the app is used, find crashes and send notifications.
- If you choose to grant Usage access, information about which apps you use and the apps installed on your phone is shared with Apptopia for market research. You can turn this off at any time.
- You can contact us at infinityapps606@gmail.com to ask about or delete your data.
1. Who we are
Messages - SMS Messenger (the "App") is developed and published by Infinity Lab Apps ("we", "us", "our"). This Privacy Policy explains what information the App accesses, collects, uses and shares, why, and the choices you have. It applies to the App on Google Play and to any updates of it.
For questions about this policy or your data, write to infinityapps606@gmail.com. This address also serves as our contact for privacy requests and grievances.
2. Data that stays on your device
To work as your SMS app, the App needs access to some of the most personal information on your phone. All of the following is processed only on your device. We do not collect it, store it on our servers or share it with third parties.
- Text and multimedia messages (SMS and MMS): to show, send, receive, search, sort, schedule, block and back up your messages. The App also detects one-time passwords (OTPs) on your phone so you can copy them with one tap.
- Contacts: to show names and photos in your conversations and to let you choose recipients.
- Call information: the number, time and duration of your most recent call, used only to show the after-call screen (see section 6).
- Photos, videos and camera: only when you choose to attach a picture or take a photo to send.
- Backups: when you tap "Back up now", your messages are saved as a file in the Download/messages folder on your phone. The file never leaves your device unless you move or share it yourself.
- Message translation: translation and language detection run on your device using Google ML Kit. The App downloads translation models from Google, but the text you translate is not sent anywhere.
- Your settings: quick replies, signature, blocked numbers, starred and archived conversations, scheduled messages, theme and language.
If you uninstall the App or clear its data, the information it stored on your device is deleted. Your messages remain in your phone's own message storage, which belongs to Android, not to the App.
3. Data we collect and share
The App sends the following information off your device. Most of it is collected by the third-party services listed in section 8, which act on our behalf or as independent controllers under their own privacy policies.
| Data | Why we use it | Shared with |
|---|---|---|
| App interactions (screens opened, features used, buttons tapped), app version, session counts | Analytics: to understand how the App is used and improve it | Google (Firebase Analytics) |
| Crash logs and diagnostics (stack traces, device model, Android version, performance data) | To find and fix crashes and slow screens | Google (Firebase Crashlytics, Performance Monitoring) |
| Device and app identifiers (Firebase installation ID, Android ID, push token) | To deliver notifications, load remote settings and count active installs | Google (Firebase Cloud Messaging, Remote Config, In-App Messaging), iZooto, our notification service |
| Advertising ID, IP address, device information, approximate location derived from your IP address, ad interactions | To show, limit, measure and personalize ads (personalization only with consent where required), and to prevent ad fraud | Google AdMob and its mediation partners (see section 8) |
| Language, country (from your device settings), date and app version, sent with the Android ID | To choose which in-app messages and notifications to show | Our notification service (operated for us) |
| Install source (for example, the store or ad campaign that led to the install) | To measure which campaigns bring users | Google Play Install Referrer, Samsung Galaxy Store (on Samsung devices), Google (Firebase Analytics) |
| Apps you use and for how long, list of installed apps and their versions, device model and manufacturer, language, SIM and network country, an install ID | Market research, only if you grant Usage access (see section 5) | Apptopia, Inc. |
| Anything you include in an email to us | To answer support and feedback requests | No one |
We never send the content of your messages, your contacts or your call history to Firebase, to advertisers or to any other third party. Analytics events record that a feature was used (for example, that an OTP was copied), never the message itself.
The App does not request access to your precise location. Ad and analytics services may infer an approximate location, such as your city or country, from your IP address.
4. Advertising and consent
The App is free and supported by ads. Ads are served by Google AdMob, which may use other ad networks (mediation partners) to fill an ad. These services may collect your device's advertising ID, IP address, device information and information about the ads you see and tap. They use it to deliver ads, limit how often you see the same ad, measure ad performance, prevent fraud and, if you agree, show ads based on your interests.
- Consent: if you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Switzerland, or in a US state with consumer privacy laws, the App shows Google's consent message before any ads are requested. You can change your choice at any time in the App under Settings → Privacy & ad choices.
- Advertising ID: you can reset or delete your advertising ID in your phone's settings (usually Settings → Google → Ads or Settings → Privacy → Ads). After you delete it, ads are no longer personalized with it.
- We do not give advertisers your messages, contacts or call history.
5. App usage insights (Apptopia)
The App may ask you to grant Usage access, an Android setting that lets an app see which apps you use. Granting it is optional, and the App works fully without it.
If you grant Usage access, the App starts the Apptopia Panel SDK, provided by Apptopia, Inc., a mobile market-research company. The SDK periodically collects:
- the apps you use and how long each one is open (app usage statistics)
- the list of apps installed on your phone and their versions
- your device model and manufacturer, language, and the country of your SIM card and mobile network
- an identifier for this install of the App, and your IP address when data is sent
This data is sent to Apptopia's servers. Apptopia combines it with data from many other users to produce aggregated statistics about how apps are used, which it provides to its business customers. It does not include the content of your messages. Apptopia processes this data under its own privacy policy.
Depending on where you live, this may be considered a "sale" or "sharing" of personal information. To stop it, turn off Usage access for the App in Settings → Apps → Special app access → Usage access. Collection stops as soon as access is turned off. To ask Apptopia to delete data already collected, contact Apptopia as described in its privacy policy, or write to us and we will pass your request on.
6. After-call screen
After a phone call ends, the App can show a short summary with quick actions, such as messaging the caller, your recent chats and backup. To do this, it uses your phone state and call log to find the number, time and duration of the call that just ended, and your contacts to show the caller's name. This information is used only on your device to draw the screen. It is not stored by us, not uploaded and not shared. The App never records calls or accesses call audio.
You can turn the after-call screen off at any time in the App under Settings → After-call screen.
7. Permissions the App requests
Android asks you before the App can use most of these. You can review or revoke them at any time in your phone's settings, although some features will stop working without them.
| Permission | What it is used for |
|---|---|
| SMS and MMS (read, send, receive) and default SMS app role | Showing, sending and receiving your messages |
| Contacts | Showing names and photos, choosing recipients |
| Phone and call log | Dual SIM support and the after-call screen |
| Camera | Taking a photo to attach to a message |
| Notifications | Alerting you to new messages |
| Display over other apps | The after-call screen, quick-reply pop-ups and chat bubbles |
| Alarms and reminders (exact alarms) | Sending scheduled messages on time |
| Usage access (optional) | App usage insights shared with Apptopia (see section 5) |
| Internet and network state | Ads, analytics, notifications, translation models and MMS |
| Run at startup, foreground service, full-screen notifications | Restoring scheduled messages after a restart, completing backups, showing incoming-message and after-call screens |
| Advertising ID | Showing and measuring ads (see section 4) |
8. Third-party services
These companies may receive the data described in section 3. Each processes it under its own privacy policy:
- Google (Firebase Analytics, Crashlytics, Performance Monitoring, Remote Config, Cloud Messaging, In-App Messaging; Google AdMob and User Messaging Platform; ML Kit; Google Play services and Install Referrer): Google Privacy Policy, how Google uses data from apps, Firebase privacy
- Meta Audience Network: Meta Privacy Policy
- AppLovin: AppLovin Privacy Policy
- ironSource (Unity): Unity Privacy Policy
- Mintegral: Mintegral Privacy Policy
- Pangle: Pangle Privacy Policy
- Liftoff (Vungle): Liftoff Privacy Policy
- Moloco: Moloco Privacy Policy
- InMobi: InMobi Privacy Policy
- iZooto (push notifications): iZooto Privacy Policy
- Apptopia (only with Usage access): Apptopia Privacy Policy
- Samsung Galaxy Store install referrer (Samsung devices only): Samsung Privacy Policy
We may also disclose information if required by law, to protect the rights and safety of our users or others, or as part of a merger or sale of the App, in which case this policy continues to apply to your information.
9. How we protect your data
- Data the App sends over the internet is encrypted in transit (HTTPS/TLS).
- Messages, contacts and call information are processed on your device and kept in the App's private storage, which other apps cannot read.
- We collect only the data listed in this policy and limit access to the people who need it to run the App.
- We require our service providers to protect the data they receive.
No method of storage or transmission is completely secure. Backup files in your Download folder are readable by apps you give file access to, so keep them safe if you move or share them.
10. Retention and deletion
- On your device: kept until you delete it in the App, clear the App's data or uninstall it. Backup files stay in your Download/messages folder until you delete them.
- Analytics: Google keeps Firebase Analytics data for the retention period set in our account, no longer than 14 months.
- Crash reports: kept by Firebase Crashlytics for up to 90 days.
- Notification service: request data is kept only as long as needed to deliver notifications and protect the service, and no longer than 90 days.
- Advertising partners and Apptopia: kept according to each company's own privacy policy.
To delete your data: email infinityapps606@gmail.com with the subject "Delete my data". Because we do not ask for your name or account, include the App's install details if you can (open Settings → About in the App). We will delete what we hold and ask our service providers to do the same, and reply within 30 days. You can also reset your advertising ID and uninstall the App at any time.
11. Your choices and rights
Wherever you live, you can:
- change ad consent in Settings → Privacy & ad choices
- reset or delete your advertising ID in your phone's settings
- turn off Usage access to stop app usage insights
- turn off the after-call screen in Settings → After-call screen
- revoke any permission in your phone's settings
- ask us for a copy of your data or ask us to delete it
European Economic Area, United Kingdom and Switzerland
We process your data based on your consent (personalized ads, Usage access), our legitimate interests in running, securing and improving the App (analytics, crash reports, non-personalized ads), and the need to provide the App you asked for. You have the right to access, correct, delete, restrict or object to processing of your data, to data portability, and to withdraw consent at any time without affecting processing that already happened. You can also complain to your local data protection authority.
United States
Residents of California and other states with consumer privacy laws have the right to know what personal information we collect, to request its deletion or correction, and to opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information, including for targeted advertising. Use the in-app ad choices, delete your advertising ID or turn off Usage access to opt out, or email us. We will not discriminate against you for exercising these rights.
India
Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, you may request access to, correction or erasure of your personal data, withdraw consent, and nominate another person to exercise these rights. Send requests and grievances to infinityapps606@gmail.com. We will acknowledge them and respond within the time the law requires.
12. Children
The App is not directed at children under 13 (or the minimum age of digital consent in your country, such as 16 in parts of the EEA), and we do not knowingly collect their personal information. If you believe a child has provided personal information through the App, contact us and we will delete it.
13. International transfers
Our service providers may process data in countries other than yours, including the United States, where data protection laws may differ. Where required, these transfers are protected by safeguards such as the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses.
14. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy when the App or the law changes. We will post the new version at this address and change the "Last updated" date above. If a change materially affects how we use your data, we will tell you in the App before it takes effect.
15. Contact us
Infinity Lab Apps
App: Messages - SMS Messenger
Email: infinityapps606@gmail.com