Privacy Policy

Introduction

ScamRadar ("we," "our," or "the App") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how ScamRadar handles your information when you use our Android application.

Core Privacy Principles

• 100% On-Device Processing. All scam detection and analysis is performed locally on your device using the Gemma 4 AI model via LiteRT. Your text messages, emails, voicemails, and screenshots are never transmitted to any external server for processing.
• No Account Required to Scan. ScamRadar does not require you to create an account, provide an email address, or submit any personal information to use the core scanning features. An account (email/password or Google Sign-In) is only required if you choose to set up or join a Family pod.
• No Cloud Backend. ScamRadar operates without a backend server. There is no server that receives, stores, or processes your message content.

Information We Do NOT Collect

• Message content (texts, emails, voicemails, or screenshots you scan)
• Personal identification information (name, email, phone number)
• Contact list or address book data
• SMS messages or call logs
• Location data
• Full message content in community reports (only sanitized, redacted summaries)

Anonymous Analytics

ScamRadar uses Firebase Analytics to collect anonymous, aggregated app usage data to help us improve the app:

• Scan events: When a scan is started or completed (verdict type only — no message content)
• Feature usage: Which features are used (Library, History, Share Card)
• Crash reports: Via Firebase Crashlytics (stack traces, device model, OS version — no message content)
• Performance traces: Via Firebase Performance Monitoring (app start time, screen render times, classifier latency by tier — no message content)
• Device info: Device model, OS version, app version (standard Firebase collection)

All analytics data is anonymous and cannot be linked to you personally. We never log, transmit, or store the content of any message you scan.

Community Scam Reports

ScamRadar allows users to anonymously report scams to a community feed:

• On-device generated ID: Community Reports use a random ID generated and stored on your device (not your account) to identify a submission for spam prevention. No email, phone number, or personal information is associated with this ID.
• Client-side sanitization: Before any report is submitted, the app strips all personal information, full message content, and identifying details. Only a sanitized scam type and redacted summary are sent.
• Firebase Firestore: Anonymous reports are stored in Firestore, a serverless database. Reports contain no personal data and cannot be traced back to you.
• Reporting is optional. You can use all scanning features without ever submitting a community report.

Accounts & Family Sync

ScamRadar offers optional family protection features, which require creating an account:

• Account creation: Setting up or joining a Family pod requires signing in with an email address and password, or with Google Sign-In. This is the only ScamRadar feature that requires an account. We use Firebase Authentication to manage sign-in; your email address is used solely for authentication and is not shared with third parties or used for marketing.
• Family groups: You can create or join a family group using a shareable code or QR code. Family group membership is stored in Firebase Firestore, keyed to your account ID and a member label you choose (not your email or name).
• Family plan status: If you host a pod, a flag reflecting whether your Family subscription is currently active is stored on the pod so member coverage can be granted or revoked automatically — no billing details are stored in Firestore.
• Scan sharing: When enabled, scam verdicts can be shared with your family group. Only the verdict type (e.g., "Likely Scam") and a redacted summary are shared — never the full original message.
• Care Mode: An optional simplified interface for elderly users. Care Mode settings are stored locally on the device. Auto-share to family is opt-in and can be disabled at any time.
• Camera usage: Camera is used solely for scanning QR codes to join a family group. No photos or video are recorded or stored.
• Family data: Family group data in Firestore contains your account ID, a member label, a live subscription-active flag (organizer only), and redacted verdict summaries — no full messages.

Advertising

ScamRadar uses Google AdMob to display advertisements. AdMob may collect device identifiers and usage data to serve personalized or non-personalized ads. This is governed by Google's Privacy Policy.

We display three ad formats:

• Banner ad — anchored to the bottom of the app and visible on browse screens (Library, History, Settings).
• Interstitial ad — a full-screen ad shown after every 3rd scan result is viewed (never before or during a scan).
• Native ad — an in-feed ad styled to match the Scam Library grid layout.

You may see a consent prompt regarding ad personalization as required by applicable law (e.g., GDPR, CCPA).

Data Storage

Local Data Stored On Your Device

• Scan history: Your last 50 scan results (verdict + redacted metadata) are stored locally using Room database. This data never leaves your device.
• AI model file: The Gemma 4 model (~2.6 GB) is downloaded to your device's internal storage during onboarding. It is stored in the app's private directory and is deleted when you uninstall the app.
• User preferences: Theme preference (light/dark), onboarding completion status, Care Mode settings, family group membership, streak data, and similar settings stored via DataStore.
• Achievement data: Trust score, quiz streaks, and achievement badges are stored locally and never synced to any server.

You can delete your scan history at any time from within the app (History screen → Clear All) or by clearing app data in Android Settings.

Data We Never Store

• The full text content of scanned messages
• Audio recordings or voicemail files
• Screenshots or images you scan
• Any data on external servers

Permissions

We never request: SMS access, contacts, location, or call logs.

Live Shield and Notification Access

If you enable Live Shield, ScamRadar uses Android's Notification Listener API to read the text of incoming notifications (for example, messaging-app previews) entirely on-device, so it can flag likely scams in real time. Notification content is processed locally by the on-device model, is never transmitted off your device, and is not stored beyond what's needed to show you the Live Shield alert and, if you choose to keep it, your local scan history. Live Shield is off by default and only activates after you explicitly grant notification access; you can revoke access at any time from Android Settings → Notification access, which immediately stops ScamRadar from receiving notification content.

All runtime permissions are requested in-context with a plain-language explanation of why the permission is needed.

Third-Party Services

Google AdMob

• Serves advertisements within the app
• Ad formats used: banner, interstitial (after every 3rd scan), and native in-feed ads
• May collect device advertising identifiers
• Privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy

Firebase Analytics, Crashlytics & Performance Monitoring

• Collects anonymous app usage statistics
• Reports app crashes to help us fix bugs
• Measures app performance and stability (start time, render time, classifier latency) to help us improve responsiveness — no message content is included in performance traces
• Privacy policy: https://firebase.google.com/policies/analytics

Firebase Firestore, Authentication & Google Sign-In

• Stores community scam reports (keyed to an on-device random ID) and family group data (keyed to your account)
• Firebase Authentication (Email/Password and Google Sign-In) is used only for Family pod account creation and sign-in; not required for scanning
• Google Sign-In shares your Google account's name, email, and profile photo with ScamRadar solely to create your account — nothing further is requested
• All Community Report data is sanitized client-side before writing to Firestore (no full messages, no personal data)
• Privacy policy: https://firebase.google.com/policies/firestore · https://policies.google.com/privacy

Firebase App Check

• Uses Google Play Integrity to verify that requests come from a genuine, unmodified copy of the app
• Protects community report endpoints from abuse
• No personal data is transmitted through App Check

Google LiteRT / Gemma 4

• On-device AI model running entirely locally
• No data is sent to Google or any server
• Model is downloaded from HuggingFace once during onboarding

Android WebKit / Safe Browsing

• Used for URL scanning feature: a hardened off-screen WebView captures page content for analysis
• Google Safe Browsing checks URLs against known threat lists before any page is loaded
• Page content is processed entirely on-device via OCR and never uploaded

Children's Privacy

ScamRadar is a general-audience utility app. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. Since we do not collect personal information from any user, our services are inherently COPPA-compliant.

Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the following rights:

• Right to access: Request a copy of any data we hold about you (minimal — only anonymous analytics)
• Right to deletion: Delete all local data by clearing the app's data in Android Settings or using the in-app "Clear History" function. If you created an account for Family pod, delete it anytime from Settings → Account → Delete account.
• Right to opt out of personalized ads: Adjust through the Google Ads Settings page or the consent prompt in the app
• Right to data portability: Export your scan history from the app's History screen

To exercise any of these rights, open an issue on our GitHub repository.

Data Retention

• Local scan history: Stored until you delete it manually or uninstall the app
• Anonymous analytics: Retained by Firebase for approximately 60 days, then automatically aggregated/deleted per Google's standard retention policies
• Ad data: Governed by Google AdMob's data retention policies

International Users

ScamRadar is available worldwide. All processing occurs on your device, so your data does not cross international borders. Anonymous analytics data is processed by Firebase under Google's standard data processing terms, which comply with GDPR and other applicable regulations.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any material changes by:

• Updating the "Last updated" date at the top of this page
• Posting a notice within the app for significant changes

Continued use of the app after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Contact

If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or ScamRadar's data practices:

GitHub: https://github.com/chartmann1590/ScamRadar/issues

We will respond to all privacy-related inquiries within 30 days.

CCPA Disclosure

ScamRadar does not "sell" personal information as defined by the CCPA. We do not share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. The anonymous analytics we collect fall under the CCPA's "deidentified information" exemption.

Google Play Data Safety

As declared in our Google Play Data Safety form:

• Data collected: Anonymous app interaction events (scan started/completed, feature usage), crash reports, and anonymous app performance traces (no message content). Community scam reports keyed to an on-device random ID (sanitized, no personal data). If you create a Family pod account: your email address (or Google account name/email/photo), used only for sign-in and Family pod membership. Advertising ID (for AdMob ad serving; can be opted out of via Android Settings → Ads).
• Data shared: Advertising ID only, shared with Google/AdMob for ad serving. No other data is shared.
• Data encrypted in transit: Yes (Firebase default, AdMob HTTPS)
• User can request deletion: Yes (in-app or by clearing app data)
• Message content: Not collected, not shared, not stored on any server
• Notification content (Live Shield): Processed entirely on-device when Live Shield is enabled; not collected, not shared, not stored on any server

This privacy policy is effective as of July 12, 2026 (rev. 5).