1. Introduction and Scope
This Privacy Policy ("Policy") is issued by mscmn2k ("we," "us," or "our"). It governs the data practices for our mobile application, Storage Cleaner: ByteClean (the "App"), and all related services (the "Services").
About ByteClean: ByteClean is a phone storage cleaning and AI-powered photo management application that enables users to organize, clean, and optimize photos, videos, and storage space on their mobile devices. The application provides features including but not limited to Storage Cleaner (junk and cache file removal), AI-powered tools (Similar Photo detection, Duplicate Photo detection, and AI Enhance Image), Media management (Videos, Screen Recording, and Swipe-based sorting), Media Compressor, and a Secret Space for private file storage. This Privacy Policy explains how we handle your data to provide this service.
This Policy is a legally binding agreement. By downloading, installing, or using our Services, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to the data practices described herein. If you do not agree with this Policy, you must not use the Services.
For the purposes of applicable data protection laws, such as the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we are the Data Controller of your Personal Data.
2. Our Privacy Commitment
Our approach to privacy is founded on the following core principles:
- Transparency: We are committed to being open and clear about how we handle your data, especially in the context of our AI-powered features.
- Purpose Limitation: We will only collect and process your data for the specified, explicit, and legitimate purposes articulated in this Policy.
- Data Minimization: We adhere to the principle of collecting only the data that is strictly necessary to provide and improve our services.
- Responsible AI: We are committed to the ethical use of artificial intelligence. A core tenet of this commitment is that we do not use your personal content to train our AI models.
- Security by Design: We integrate robust security measures to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of your Personal Data.
- Local-First Processing: Our core storage-cleaning features, including Similar Photo detection and Duplicate Photo detection, are processed locally on your device. Where a feature (such as AI Enhance Image) uses cloud-based processing, this is disclosed in Section 4.3 below.
3. Data We Collect and Process
3.1 User-Provided Content (Processed On-Device or via Third-Party AI, Depending on Feature)
This is the data ByteClean accesses to enable the App's core AI-powered features. We have engineered our systems to treat this data with the highest level of privacy.
What we collect — Images and Videos: Photographs, videos, screenshots, and screen recordings already stored in your device's photo gallery or local storage, which the App scans to identify similar photos and duplicate photos (the "Similar Photo" and "Duplicate Photo" features), and any image you select for "AI Enhance Image" processing ("User Media").
How and why we process it: Similar Photo detection and Duplicate Photo detection are performed entirely locally on your device hardware; we do not transmit, store, or process this data on our servers. AI Enhance Image works differently: when you choose to enhance a specific image, that image is sent to a third-party AI provider for cloud-based processing as described in Section 4.3, and only the image you actively select is sent, never your full gallery.
3.2 Technical & Usage Data (Collected Automatically for Service Operation and Advertising)
To ensure our App functions correctly, to resolve technical issues, and to support our advertising-based model, we automatically collect certain technical data.
- Device and Network Information: Your IP address, device manufacturer and model, operating system version, screen dimensions, time zone, network state (e.g., Wi-Fi), and system language.
- Application and Advertising Identifiers: Your device's advertising identifier (e.g., Google Advertising ID on Android), the App's version, and unique device identifiers.
- Usage and Interaction Data: Information about your interactions with the Services, such as app launches, features used, time spent on pages, and clicks. This also includes information about your interaction with advertisements shown to you.
3.3 Communications Data (Voluntarily Provided)
When you voluntarily contact us for customer support or to provide feedback, we collect your email address and the content of your communications. This data is used exclusively to respond to your inquiries.
4. Our Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Transparency in our use of AI is a cornerstone of our commitment to you.
4.1 AI Functionality
The core AI functionality of our App is to analyze your existing photos and videos to identify similar or duplicate content, and to enhance image quality, helping you manage and optimize your device storage.
4.2 No Training on Your Data
We state unequivocally that your User Media is not used to train or improve our AI models, or any third-party AI model. Your content is your own, and we do not use it for model development.
4.3 Third-Party AI Providers — AI Enhance Image
To power the AI Enhance Image feature, we send the specific image you select to Google's Gemini API for cloud-based processing. This is the only feature in the App that transmits User Media off your device; all other AI-powered features (Similar Photo detection, Duplicate Photo detection) remain fully on-device as described in Section 3.1. Data sent to Google's Gemini API is processed according to Google's API Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, and is not used by Google or us to train AI models on your personal content.
5. Purposes and Legal Bases for Data Processing
We only process your Personal Data when we have a valid legal basis for doing so under applicable data protection laws like the GDPR.
| Purpose of Processing | Categories of Data Used | Primary Legal Basis and Justification |
|---|---|---|
| To Provide Core Storage-Cleaning and Photo-Management Functionality | User Media | Performance of a Contract. We process this data to fulfill our core service of detecting similar or duplicate photos and enhancing the quality of images you select, as requested through the App. The processing is ephemerally essential to deliver the result. |
| To Maintain and Improve the Services | Technical & Usage Data | Legitimate Interest. We have a legitimate interest in analyzing usage data to resolve technical issues, fix bugs, and inform the development of new features, ensuring our App functions correctly and provides an optimal user experience. |
| To Enable and Personalize Advertising | Technical & Usage Data (primarily Advertising Identifiers) | Consent and/or Legitimate Interest. Where required by law (e.g., in the European Economic Area), we rely on your consent to provide personalized advertising. In other jurisdictions, processing data for contextual advertising relies on our legitimate interest in funding our free Services. |
| To Ensure Security and Prevent Fraud | Technical & Usage Data | Legitimate Interest. We have a legitimate interest in processing data to monitor for malicious activity, prevent fraud, and protect the security and integrity of our Services. |
| To Comply with Legal Obligations | All relevant data categories as required | Legal Obligation. We may be required to process your Personal Data when necessary to comply with a legal requirement, such as responding to lawful requests from government authorities. |
6. Third Party Services and Partner SDKs
We integrate third-party Software Development Kits (SDKs) to provide and maintain the full functionality of our Services, including analytics and advertising. These partners may collect data directly from your device and typically act as independent "Data Controllers." We strongly encourage you to review their privacy policies to understand their data practices. Our primary partners include:
- Google (Gemini API, AI Content Generation, AdMob & Firebase) — https://policies.google.com/privacy
- Meta (Facebook Audience Network & Analytics) — https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/
- AppLovin — https://www.applovin.com/privacy/
- Adjust — https://www.adjust.com/terms/privacy-policy/
- AppsFlyer — https://www.appsflyer.com/legal/privacy-policy/
- Vungle — https://vungle.com/privacy/
- InMobi — https://www.inmobi.com/privacy-policy/
- Pangle — https://ad.oceanengine.com/union/media/privacy
- Mintegral — https://www.mintegral.com/en/privacy/
- Unity — https://unity3d.com/legal/privacy-policy/
- IronSource — https://developers.is.com/ironsource-mobile/air/ironsource-mobile-privacy-policy/
- In-App Purchases (RevenueCat) — https://www.revenuecat.com/privacy/
7. Application Permissions and Their Purposes
Our App requests only the minimum permissions necessary to provide its features. You are in complete control of these permissions and can manage them at any time through your device's settings menu. This section explains exactly which permissions the App may request and why we need them.
| Permission Name | Why We Need It |
|---|---|
android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE | Required to access photos, videos, and other files stored on the device (Android 12 and below) so the App can scan junk/cache files, detect similar or duplicate photos, display video files, compress media, and move selected files into the protected Secret Space. |
android.permission.READ_MEDIA_IMAGES | Required on Android 13+ to access the photo library so the App can detect similar/duplicate images, let users quickly review photos via the swipe interface, compress image file sizes, and move selected photos into Secret Space. |
android.permission.READ_MEDIA_VIDEO | Required on Android 13+ to access the video library so the App can list videos and screen recordings, compress video file sizes, and support the swipe-based review interface. |
android.permission.POST_NOTIFICATIONS | Used to send notifications to the user, such as reminders to clean junk files, alerts when storage is low, or a summary when a scan/cleaning task has completed. |
android.permission.INTERNET | Required for network communication, including sending images to our cloud-based AI provider for the AI Enhance Image feature, syncing email data for Email Cleaner, loading advertisements, and processing in-app purchases/subscriptions. |
android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE | Used to check the device's network connectivity status before attempting to send data to our servers (e.g., for AI Enhance Image processing) or load advertisements. |
com.google.android.gms.permission.AD_ID | Allows access to the Google Advertising ID so the App can deliver and measure the performance of personalized advertisements through our third-party ad partners. |
android.permission.ACCESS_ADSERVICES_AD_ID | Part of Android's Privacy Sandbox (Android 13+). Allows the App to access the advertising ID for ad delivery and measurement in compliance with the new Privacy Sandbox APIs. |
android.permission.ACCESS_ADSERVICES_ATTRIBUTION | Part of Android's Privacy Sandbox. Allows the App to use the Attribution Reporting API to measure ad conversions without relying on cross-app tracking identifiers. |
android.permission.ACCESS_ADSERVICES_TOPICS | Part of Android's Privacy Sandbox. Allows the App to use the Topics API to support interest-based advertising in a privacy-preserving way. |
android.permission.ACCESS_ADSERVICES_CUSTOM_AUDIENCE | Part of Android's Privacy Sandbox. Allows the App to participate in the Custom Audience (Protected Audience) API used for remarketing and audience-based ad delivery. |
android.permission.WAKE_LOCK | Keeps the device's processor awake while long-running tasks such as storage scanning or media compression are in progress, preventing the process from being interrupted. |
com.google.android.c2dm.permission.RECEIVE | Required by Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) to receive push notifications, such as cleaning reminders or promotional/subscription-related messages. |
com.android.vending.BILLING | Required to process in-app purchases and subscriptions for premium features through Google Play Billing. |
com.google.android.finsky.permission.BIND_GET_INSTALL_REFERRER_SERVICE | Allows the App to retrieve install referrer data from the Google Play Store, used to measure which marketing campaign or source led to the app installation. |
com.samsung.android.mapsagent.permission.READ_APP_INFO | Automatically included by our analytics/attribution SDK to support install referrer detection on Samsung devices distributed via the Galaxy Store. |
com.huawei.appmarket.service.commondata.permission.GET_COMMON_DATA | Automatically included by our analytics/attribution SDK to support install referrer detection on Huawei devices distributed via Huawei AppGallery. |
android.permission.RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED | Allows the App to restart any scheduled scans or cleaning reminders automatically after the device reboots. |
android.permission.FOREGROUND_SERVICE | Allows long-running tasks (such as scanning storage or compressing large media files) to run as a foreground service with a visible notification, ensuring the task is not killed by the system. |
com.ai.cleaner.cleanstorage.cleanduplicated.DYNAMIC_RECEIVER_NOT_EXPORTED_PERMISSION | Automatically added by the AndroidX Core library to comply with Android 13's broadcast receiver export requirements on older OS versions. It is a self-referential, signature-level permission restricting a dynamically registered broadcast receiver to the app itself. It is not used to access personal or sensitive data. |
android.permission.USE_FULL_SCREEN_INTENT | The app uses this permission to display feature reminders on your lock screen at scheduled times, including but not limited to swiping to delete unwanted photos, cleaning up similar photos, cleaning up duplicate photos, and compressing heavy media files to save storage space. This permission only controls how a notification is displayed; it does not collect, read, or share any personal data. You can turn these notifications off anytime in your device Settings (Special app access → Full screen notifications) or via the app's notification settings. |
8. International Data Transfers
We operate globally, and your Personal Data may be transferred to, stored in, and processed in jurisdictions outside your country of residence, where our third-party partners operate. We ensure that all such transfers comply with applicable data protection laws by using legally-recognized transfer mechanisms like Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs).
9. Your Privacy Rights and Choices
You have rights concerning your Personal Data, subject to limitations provided by law.
9.1 Opt-Out of Personalized Advertising
You can limit ad tracking by resetting your device's advertising identifier through your device settings (e.g., on Android: Settings → Privacy → Ads). This will limit, but not eliminate, the ads you see.
9.2 Formal Rights Requests
Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the right to Access, Rectify, or Erase the Personal Data we hold about you. Because we do not store your User Media (except transiently for AI Enhance Image requests, see Section 4.3), erasure requests will primarily apply to Technical Data and Communications Data associated with you. To exercise any of your rights, please submit a formal request to the email address provided in Section 14.
10. Data Retention
- We retain Technical & Usage Data for up to 24 months from the date of collection, or until it is no longer necessary for the purposes described in Section 5, whichever is earlier.
- We retain Communications Data (the content of your support inquiries and correspondence with us) for up to 24 months following the resolution of your inquiry, to allow us to handle any follow-up questions or complaints.
- Advertising identifiers are controlled directly through your device's operating system settings; we do not separately retain them beyond your active use of the Services.
- Notwithstanding the periods above, we may retain data for a longer period where required to comply with a legal obligation, to resolve disputes, or to enforce our agreements, and we will securely delete or anonymize data once it is no longer needed for these purposes.
11. Jurisdiction-Specific Provisions
11.1 For Residents of the European Economic Area (EEA), UK, and Switzerland (under GDPR)
You have the rights detailed in Section 9, as well as the right to data portability and the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. The legal bases we rely on are detailed in the table in Section 5.
11.2 For Residents of California (under CCPA/CPRA)
You have the right to know what personal information is collected, to delete it, and to opt out of the "sharing" of your personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. Our use of third-party advertising SDKs may be considered "sharing." You can exercise your right to opt out by managing your device's advertising ID as described in Section 9. We do not "sell" your data for monetary consideration.
11.3 For Users in Other Jurisdictions
Depending on the data protection laws that apply to you (including, among others, Brazil's LGPD, Canada's PIPEDA, the UK and EEA frameworks referenced above, South Korea's PIPA, Australia's Privacy Act, and other applicable national or regional data protection laws), you may have similar rights to access, correct, delete, restrict, or object to the processing of your Personal Data, and to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in Section 14, and we will respond in accordance with the law that applies to you.
12. Strict Compliance with COPPA & Children's Privacy
12.1 Not Directed at Children
The ByteClean App and all related Services are strictly intended for a general audience and are not directed to children under the age of 13 (or 16 in certain jurisdictions such as the EEA/UK).
12.2 No Collection from Minors
We rigorously comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and equivalent global regulations. We do not knowingly solicit, collect, or maintain personally identifiable information from anyone under the age of 13.
12.3 Enforcement and Deletion
If we become aware that a child has provided us with Personal Data, we will take steps to delete such information immediately. If you are a parent or guardian and you are aware that your child has provided us with Personal Data, please contact us immediately.
13. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will provide notice through the App or by other means to allow you to review the changes before they become effective. Your continued use of the Services after a revision becomes effective constitutes your acceptance of the updated terms.
14. Contact Information
For any questions, concerns, or requests relating to this Privacy Policy, please contact us:
- Developer: mscmn2k
- Support Email: ngocnam.dev@gmail.com