Scan Flex
Privacy Policy
This policy explains how the Scan Flex Android app ("the app", "we", "us") handles information. Scan Flex is published by andxor. If you have a question about this policy, write to andrei.bialiuski@gmail.com.
In short
- Your scans and PDFs stay on your phone. They leave it only when you share them, back them up to a folder you choose, or switch on the optional cloud assistant.
- Text recognition, search, automatic naming and sorting, smart actions, translation and on-device summaries all run on your device.
- The app uses Google services for analytics, crash reports, performance data, notifications and ads. These collect device and usage data as described below.
- We do not sell your personal information.
1. Your documents
Documents you scan, import, create or edit in Scan Flex are stored in the app's private storage on your device, together with the text recognised in them, their folders, tags, dates and reminders. This data never leaves your device unless you choose to send it somewhere: by using Share, Save to Device or Print, by setting up a backup folder, or by switching on the optional cloud assistant (section 2). When you share, save or print, the document goes to the app or service you pick, and that app's own privacy policy applies.
The following features process your documents on the device only:
- Document scanning uses the Google ML Kit document scanner provided by Google Play services. The camera images are processed on your device and the result is handed to Scan Flex.
- Text recognition (OCR) and search use Google ML Kit on-device text recognition. The recognised text is stored in a local database so you can search inside your documents.
- Automatic naming and sorting reads that text on your device to suggest a name, a folder and a date.
- Text & actions uses Google ML Kit on-device entity extraction to find phone numbers, addresses, dates, amounts and similar items. The first time you use it, the app downloads the language model from Google; your document text is not sent.
- Translation uses Google ML Kit on-device translation. Language packs are downloaded from Google the first time you need them; your text is not sent.
- Summaries and questions run on your device with Google's on-device AI model (Gemini Nano, provided by Android's AICore service) where your device supports it; your text is not sent. The optional cloud assistant is described in section 2.
- Password protection encrypts the PDF on your device. We never see or store your password and cannot recover it.
Backup. If you choose a backup folder in Settings, the app copies your documents into that folder. The folder can be on your device or provided by a cloud storage app you have installed (for example Google Drive). In that case the copies are stored by that provider under its privacy policy. We do not receive them.
Your preferences (theme, language and similar settings) are also stored only on your device.
2. Optional cloud assistant (Premium)
Premium subscribers can switch on the cloud assistant to get summaries and answers for documents that are too long or in a language the on-device model does not support. It is off by default. The app asks for your permission before the first request, and you can switch it off at any time in Settings.
When it is on and you ask for a summary or an answer, the app sends the following over an encrypted connection to our server: the recognised text of that document (or the relevant pages), your question, the language, and your Google Play purchase token to confirm your subscription. Our server passes the text and question to an AI service provider acting on our behalf to generate the reply and returns the reply to the app. We do not store the text, questions or replies, and we do not use them to train AI models. The provider processes them only to generate the reply and under a contract that does not allow it to use them for its own purposes. Nothing is sent while the cloud assistant is off.
3. Information collected automatically
Scan Flex includes the following Google services. They collect information from your device when you use the app and send it to Google, which processes it for us or, for advertising, as described in section 4.
| Service | What it collects | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Google Analytics for Firebase | App interactions (screens viewed, features used), app version, device model, operating system version, language, approximate location derived from the IP address (country or region), and an app instance ID. | To understand how the app is used and improve it. |
| Firebase Crashlytics | Crash and error reports: stack traces, device model, operating system and app version, free memory and disk space, and an installation identifier. | To find and fix crashes and bugs. |
| Firebase Performance Monitoring | Timing of app start, screens and network requests, with device and app version information. | To keep the app fast and reliable. |
| Firebase Cloud Messaging | A messaging token that identifies the app installation. | To be able to deliver notifications from us. |
| Google Mobile Ads (AdMob) | Advertising ID, IP address, device and app information, and ad interactions (views and clicks). | To show ads, measure them and prevent ad fraud (see section 4). |
| Google Play (in-app review, in-app updates, billing) | Purchase and subscription status, and whether an update or review prompt was shown. | To offer updates, ratings and Premium purchases. |
This information is not used to identify you by name. It never includes the content of your documents. Error reports describe what went wrong in the app; we do not deliberately include document content in them.
4. Advertising
The free version of Scan Flex shows ads, provided by Google AdMob, for example after a PDF tool finishes. Google and its partners may use your device's advertising ID and other information listed above to show ads that are more relevant to you, to limit how often you see an ad and to measure ad performance. Depending on where you live, you may be asked for your consent to personalised ads, and you can change that choice later.
You can reset or delete your advertising ID at any time in your device settings (on most devices: Settings › Privacy › Ads, or Settings › Google › Ads). You can learn more about how Google uses information from apps that use its services at policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites and manage ad personalisation at adssettings.google.com.
5. Purchases
If you buy Scan Flex Premium, the payment is handled by Google Play. We receive only what we need to unlock Premium, such as the product you bought, the purchase token and whether the subscription is active. We never receive your card or other payment details. Google's privacy policy applies to the payment.
6. Permissions
- Internet and network state: for analytics, crash reports, ads, purchases and downloading the language models described in section 1, and for the optional cloud assistant.
- Notifications (optional): to remind you about dates you set on your documents, such as a bill's due date. Reminders are scheduled on your device.
- Storage (older Android versions only): to save a copy of a document where you choose.
The document scanner and the photo picker are provided by Android and Google Play services, so Scan Flex itself does not need access to your camera or your whole photo library.
7. How long data is kept
- Documents, recognised text, folders, tags, reminders and settings stay on your device until you delete them, clear the app's data or uninstall the app.
- Analytics data is kept for the retention period set in our Google Analytics settings, at most 14 months.
- Crash reports are kept by Firebase Crashlytics for 90 days.
- Advertising data is kept by Google according to its own policies.
- Cloud assistant requests are not stored by us once the reply has been returned.
8. Legal bases (EEA and UK users)
Where the GDPR or UK GDPR applies, we rely on: your consent for personalised advertising, for the cloud assistant and for any other processing that requires consent; our legitimate interests for analytics, crash reporting and performance monitoring, which help us keep the app working and improve it; and the performance of a contract for Premium purchases.
9. Your choices and rights
- Delete any document in the app, or delete all app data with Settings › Apps › Scan Flex › Storage › Clear data, or by uninstalling the app.
- Reset or delete your advertising ID in your device settings, and turn notifications off in the app's system settings.
- Depending on where you live (for example the EEA, the UK or California), you may have the right to access, correct, delete or port personal information, to object to or restrict its processing, and to withdraw consent. Because we do not hold your documents and the analytics data is not linked to your name, most requests are best handled by clearing the app's data. For anything else, contact us at andrei.bialiuski@gmail.com and we will respond within 30 days. You can also complain to your local data protection authority.
10. International transfers and security
The Google services listed above may process data on servers outside your country, including in the United States, with safeguards such as the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses. Data sent to these services is encrypted in transit. Your documents are stored in the app's private storage on your device, which other apps cannot read.
11. Children
Scan Flex is not directed at children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has provided personal information through the app, contact us and we will help remove it.
12. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy when the app changes. The effective date at the top shows when it was last updated. If a change significantly affects how your information is handled, we will point it out in the app or in the release notes.