Grifel — Privacy Policy
Effective 20 October 2026. Developer: Appingale LLC, 30 N Gould St, Ste N, Sheridan, WY 82801, USA. Contact: support [at] grifel.app.
Grifel is a PDF app for Android, iPhone and iPad. It opens, annotates, fills, signs, organizes, compresses and protects documents on your device. This policy explains what leaves your device, why, and how to turn it off. It covers both versions; where the iPhone and iPad version works differently, it says so.
Your documents stay on your device
- Files you open, their text, your comments, form data, signatures and document passwords are processed only on your device. We do not upload them and we cannot see them.
- A document leaves your device only when you share it yourself, for example with “Send a copy” or “Print”.
- Saved signatures are stored encrypted on the device. On Android, a password is kept only if you choose “Remember on this device”, protected by the Android Keystore. On iPhone and iPad, a document password is used only while the document is open and is not saved.
- Document names and content are never part of analytics or crash reports.
What is sent, and to whom
| Data | When | Why | Processed by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anonymous usage events: which screens and tools are used, sizes and counts in ranges (for example “10–50 pages”), app version, language, whether Premium is active; subscription purchases and renewals (product and price, without payment details); approximate location (country or region), which Google derives from the masked IP address. | On Android, only if analytics is on. In the EEA, the UK and Switzerland it is off until you allow it; elsewhere it is on and you can turn it off. The iPhone and iPad version has no analytics. | Understand which features help and fix confusing parts. | Google Firebase Analytics |
| Crash reports: stack trace, device model, Android version, app version, an installation identifier. | On Android, only if crash reports are on. Same rules as analytics. The iPhone and iPad version has no crash reporting. | Find and fix crashes. | Google Firebase Crashlytics |
| Diagnostic data of on-device machine learning: device and app information, performance metrics, detected document language. | On Android, when you scan a document or read aloud (language detection). The iPhone and iPad version does not use ML Kit. | Lets Google keep these on-device features working. | Google ML Kit (terms) |
| Purchase and subscription status. | When you buy, restore or manage Premium. | Unlock Premium and show your plan. | Google Play on Android, the App Store on iPhone and iPad (payment details are handled by Google or Apple and never reach us) |
| Text being read aloud. | On Android, only if you pick a voice marked “needs internet”. Voices on the device work offline. | Speech synthesis. | The text-to-speech service of your device (for example Google) |
We do not sell your data, we do not show ads and we do not use advertising identifiers. Your documents are never used to train models.
On iPhone and iPad
- The iPhone and iPad version has no analytics, no crash reporting and no advertising code, and needs no account. It makes no network requests of its own: prices, purchases and the status of Premium come from the App Store, which is part of iOS.
- Scanning a paper document uses the document scanner built into iOS. The pages become a PDF in My files; the app keeps no separate copy of the pictures.
- Reading aloud uses the voices installed on your device, and iOS recognizes the document's language on the device. The text is not sent anywhere. While Grifel reads, the system's playback controls (Lock Screen and Control Center) show the document's name, the page number and a small picture of the first page.
- Saved signatures are encrypted while the device is locked. Saved signatures and earlier versions of documents (up to 5 per document, kept for 30 days) are excluded from iCloud backups and backups to a computer.
- My files is the app's own folder, which the Files app shows under On My iPhone (or On My iPad) › Grifel. Like your other files, it is included in iCloud backups and backups to a computer if you use them.
- If you allowed it in iOS (Settings → Privacy & Security → Analytics & Improvements → Share With App Developers), Apple may share crash data and statistics about the use of Grifel with us. This is Apple's feature, not part of the app; you can turn it off there at any time.
Your choices
- On Android, turn analytics and crash reports on or off in Settings → Privacy. The change applies at once. The iPhone and iPad version has neither, so there is nothing to turn off.
- Deleting the app deletes everything it stored on the device, including signatures and document versions. On iPhone and iPad this includes the documents in My files; documents you opened from other places stay where they are.
- No account is needed, so there is no profile with us to delete. To ask about data sent by analytics or crash reports, or to have it deleted, write to support [at] grifel.app. Analytics data is kept for up to 14 months and crash reports for up to 90 days.
Permissions
On Android:
- Files: through the Android file picker and the photo picker, only the files you choose. The app does not ask for access to all files.
- Notifications: to show progress of long operations, reading-aloud controls and the reminder before a free trial ends.
- Biometrics: only if you turn on app lock.
- Internet: used by the Google services listed above; the app's own features work offline.
On iPhone and iPad:
- Camera: to scan a paper document or take a photo of your signature. iOS asks the first time.
- Photos: only to add pages you export as images to your photos (“Save to Photos”). iOS asks for permission to add photos, which does not let the app see your library.
- Files and pictures: through the iOS file picker and photo picker, or when you open a file in Grifel from another app; only the files and pictures you choose. No permission is needed for this.
- Face ID: only if you turn on app lock; iOS asks the first time. iOS checks your face, fingerprint or passcode, and the app learns only whether unlocking succeeded.
- Notifications: not used.
- Internet: iOS has no separate internet permission; the app makes no network requests of its own.
Children
The app is not directed to children under 13 and does not knowingly collect their data.
Your rights
Depending on where you live (for example under the GDPR or the CCPA/CPRA) you can ask for access to, correction or deletion of personal data, and object to processing. Write to support [at] grifel.app; we answer within 30 days. You can also complain to your data protection authority.
Changes
If this policy changes, the new version is published here with a new effective date, and important changes are shown in the app.