Privacy Policy
The Short Version
Your files never leave your hands. urVault backs up your photos and files to a server you own and operate — not ours. urVault Development never sees, stores, or has access to your files. We think that's how it should be.
What We Collect
urVault collects the minimum necessary to make the app work:
- Device Identifier — a random ID generated on your device the first time you open the app. Used to pair your device with your server and to verify your license or trial on that server. Stored on your device and your server only — urVault Development does not receive it.
- Pairing Token — a one-time authentication code used to verify your device with your server. Stored locally and on your server only.
The app maintains no user accounts and no cloud database of users, and sends no personal information about you to us. (If you choose to email us or submit a form on our website, we receive what you send — see "Information You Send Us" below.)
Information You Send Us (Website Forms)
If you contact us through a form on our website — a support request, a career application, or an enterprise inquiry — we receive the information you choose to provide. Depending on the form, this may include your name, email address, and message, and optionally your phone number, location, device, or app version. We use this only to respond to you (and, for job applications, to evaluate your application). Form submissions are delivered to us by email through a third-party email-delivery provider; we do not sell this information, use it for advertising, or add you to a marketing list. We keep these messages only as long as needed to handle your request.
Your Files Stay on Your Server
When you tap "Back Up Now," urVault reads your selected photos and files and sends them directly to the server (or servers) you set up — on your own hardware, on your own network, under your own control. If you add more than one backup location, your files are mirrored only to those servers you control. urVault Development has no connection to your server and cannot access, view, or recover your backed-up files under any circumstances.
How your files travel. On your own Wi-Fi, your phone sends files directly to your server. When you're away from home, urVault reaches your server through the internet using relay servers. A relay carries your files in transit and does not store them; no copy is kept. Because a relay closes and re-opens the secure connection as traffic passes through, files that are not end-to-end encrypted are technically readable at that moment — nobody looks, and nothing is retained. If you want zero-knowledge privacy even in transit, turn on end-to-end encryption in the app: your files are then encrypted on your phone with a key only you hold, before they leave the device, and no relay can read them.
The whole point of urVault: your data is stored on hardware you own.
Camera Access
The app requests camera permission exclusively to scan QR codes during the server pairing process. The camera is never used to capture photos or video, and no camera data is stored or transmitted anywhere.
Photo and Storage Access
urVault requests access to your photos, videos, and files so it can read and back them up. Files are stored only on your own server. When you're away from home they pass through a relay connection in transit (see "How your files travel" above); no copy is kept by urVault Development or anyone else. The app does not modify, delete, or share your files.
All files access (urVaultPro on Android). urVaultPro's Complete Backup copies every file on your phone, not just photos and videos. Android only lets an app see documents, downloads and other non-photo files if you turn on "All files access" for it, so urVaultPro asks for that permission and explains why first. It uses it for one purpose: reading your files so they can be backed up to your own server (storage computer) and restored to your phone. It does not change, delete or share your files, and nothing is sent to urVault Development. You can turn the permission off at any time in Android Settings; urVaultPro will then back up only photos and videos. urVault (our photo and video app) never asks for this permission.
No Analytics, No Ads, No Tracking
The urVault app contains no analytics SDKs, no advertising networks, no crash-reporting services, and no third-party trackers of any kind. We collect no analytics about how you use the app. (Checks for new versions are counted in aggregate, with no identifiers — see below.)
Our website (urvault.net) is served through a third-party hosting provider that may set basic cookies and collect standard traffic information — such as pages requested, browser type, and approximate region — to keep the site running, secure, and performant. This applies only to the website and is separate from the app; the app itself remains completely free of tracking.
Visit counter. Our website keeps a simple count of page visits so we know which pages people read and, when you arrive through one of our own links or QR codes, which channel brought you here, how many people reach each step of our START HERE setup guide, and how many visitors stay on a page for a few seconds or scroll down it. It stores only daily totals (for example, "download page: 12 visits, 3 from a QR code") — no cookies, no visitor IDs, no IP addresses, and no browser details. If your browser sends a Global Privacy Control or Do Not Track signal, the visit is not counted at all.
Other Connections the App and Server Make
Try a demo. If you use the in-app demo, the photos you choose are uploaded to a demonstration server we operate, so you can see urVault work before setting up your own. The demo server is wiped automatically on a short schedule. Don't use it for anything you would mind us holding briefly.
License activation. When you buy or activate a license, the app sends your store purchase receipt (or your license key) and a server-assigned device identifier to our license service so it can issue your license. No account, name, or email is required or stored.
Update checks. The app and the server check urvault.net for new versions. The server also sends a small version beacon — a random server ID, its version, and its edition — so we can see how many servers run which version. It contains no personal data and nothing about your files. Server owners can turn it off; see the server documentation.
Third-Party Open Source Libraries
urVault uses open source software components listed in Settings → About → Open Source Licenses. These components run locally on your device and do not independently collect or transmit data.
Children's Privacy
urVault is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect any information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has used the app, please contact us at privacy@urvault.net.
Your Rights
Because urVault Development does not collect your personal data, there is very little for us to act on — but you always have the right to request confirmation, correction, or deletion of any data we might hold. Contact us at privacy@urvault.net and we will respond within 30 days.
Changes to This Policy
If we update this policy, we will post the new version at https://urvault.net/privacy and update the effective date above. Material changes will be noted in the app on next launch. Continued use of urVault after an update constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.
Contact
urVault Development
privacy@urvault.net
https://urvault.net