Privacy Policy

Last updated: May 21, 2026

1. Overview

Photo Together App ("we", "our", "the App") is committed to protecting your privacy. This policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, the third-party services we use, and your rights regarding your data.

2. Information We Collect

We collect the minimum information necessary to provide our service:

Account Information: Display name, email address, and user ID when you register or sign in via Google or Apple. Display names are also exchanged with your friends via our message broker so they can identify you.
Subscription Information: Purchase tokens from Google Play or Apple App Store to verify your subscription status. We do not have access to your payment details.
Push Notification Token: A Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) device token associated with your account so we can deliver push notifications when you have unread messages.
Abuse Reports: When you submit a report from inside the App, we store the report content (your user ID, the reported user's ID, a preview of the reported message, your reason text, and a timestamp) so our moderation team can act on it.
Album Metadata: When you create or join an album, we store its identifier, name, owner ID, and last-activity timestamp on Firestore so the album appears on all of your signed-in devices. The photos and videos inside the album are never synced to our servers—only the metadata that lets your devices list the album.

3. Permissions We Request

The App requests the following device permissions only when needed for a feature you actively use. Granting them is optional; declining only disables the corresponding feature.

Camera: Used to scan QR codes when adding a friend.
Photo Library (read): Used to let you pick an avatar image or pick photos to share inside an album.
Photo Library (write): Used to save photos and videos you receive from friends into your device's Photos app, when you enable that option.
Notifications: Used to alert you to new messages when the App is in the background.

4. Information Stored Temporarily on Our Servers

The App is peer-to-peer by design, but a small message broker (MQTT) is used to bridge offline scenarios:

Friend requests and connection metadata (such as peer-to-peer connection tickets) are stored on our broker so they can reach a recipient who is offline.
Text messages that cannot be delivered peer-to-peer (because the recipient is offline) are queued briefly on the broker and deleted once delivered.
Photos and videos are never sent through the broker. They travel only peer-to-peer between devices.

5. Third-Party Services and SDKs

The App integrates the following third-party services. Each operates under its own privacy policy:

Firebase Authentication, Firestore, Cloud Messaging (Google LLC) — used for sign-in, account data, and push notifications. Privacy info.
Firebase Analytics (Google LLC) — collects aggregated, anonymized usage events (such as screen views and feature usage) so we can understand how the App is used and improve it.
Google AdMob (Google LLC) — serves the rewarded video ads inside the App. AdMob may collect your device advertising identifier, approximate (IP-based) location, device information, and ad-interaction data. You can control consent for personalised ads via the "Ad Privacy Settings" entry in the App. AdMob privacy info.
Google & Apple sign-in services — used only when you choose to sign in with the corresponding provider, and only to obtain your email address and a stable user identifier.
Apple App Store / Google Play billing — used to process subscription purchases. We never receive your credit card or payment account data.

6. Information We Do Not Process

Photo and video contents: Your media is transferred directly between devices using peer-to-peer technology. We never store, access, decrypt, or scan your photos and videos on our servers.
Precise location: The App does not request or use GPS-level location. (Note: ad networks listed in Section 5 may infer an approximate location from your IP address.)
Contacts: We do not access or upload your device's contact list.
Microphone: The App does not record audio.

7. How We Use Your Information

To create and manage your account.
To verify your subscription status.
To facilitate peer-to-peer photo sharing connections between you and your friends.
To deliver push notifications about unread messages.
To review and act on abuse reports submitted from inside the App.
To send password reset emails when requested.
To serve ads and measure their performance (subject to your consent where applicable).

8. Data Sharing

We do not sell, rent, or share your personal information with third parties, except:

With the service providers listed in Section 5, only to the extent each provider needs to perform its function.
With Google and Apple, for subscription verification purposes.
With law-enforcement authorities when required by law or in response to a valid legal request.

9. Data Security

We use industry-standard security measures including HTTPS / TLS encryption in transit and secure password hashing at rest. Peer-to-peer media transfers use QUIC with TLS. Server-side data is hosted on Google Cloud and Firebase under Google's security controls.

10. Data Retention

Your account information is retained as long as your account is active. Offline-message queue entries are deleted as soon as they are delivered (or after a short expiry if delivery fails). Abuse-report records are retained for as long as needed for moderation review and any required regulatory or law-enforcement preservation. You may request account and data deletion at any time by contacting us.

11. Children's Privacy

The App is not intended for children under 13. We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. We will notify users of significant changes through the App or by email.

13. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this privacy policy, please contact us at:

Email: theblackdog739@gmail.com

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