legal
Privacy policy
Effective October 15, 2026
This policy explains what happens to your data when you use the Hidey app and this website. The short version: the photos, videos and files you hide are encrypted on your phone, and we don't run servers that store them.
Who we are
Hidey is made by Snowpex Technologies Private Limited (snowpex.com), an independent product studio based in India ("we", "us"). We decide how the limited personal data described here is used. You can reach us about privacy at privacy@hideyvault.com.
What stays on your phone
- The photos, videos, documents and notes you hide, encrypted with AES-256-GCM.
- Your PIN or password. It is never sent anywhere.
- Your settings, access log and intruder photos (Pro), stored inside the encrypted vault.
- Your fingerprint. Android checks it in secure hardware and only tells Hidey whether it matched. Hidey never receives fingerprint data.
Permissions the app uses
| Permission | Why Hidey needs it |
|---|---|
| All files access | To move the files you choose into the vault, remove the originals from your gallery, restore them later, keep the vault folder and find leftover copies. Hidey only reads the files involved in what you ask it to do. |
| Camera | Only for the Pro features you turn on: the secure camera and the intruder photo. Photos go straight into the encrypted vault. |
| Fingerprint | To unlock Hidey with your fingerprint, if you turn it on. |
| Internet | For ads on the free plan, crash reports and analytics, Pro purchases, backups to your Google Drive or S3 storage, and the private browser. |
Panic exit (Pro) also reads the phone's motion sensors to notice a shake or the phone being turned face down. Those readings stay on the phone and are not stored.
Your backups
If you turn on Google Drive backup, Hidey uses your Google account on your phone to upload your encrypted vault to a hidden app folder in your own Google Drive. We never receive these files. Google stores them under its own privacy policy, and they count toward your Google storage.
To make PIN reset through Google possible, a copy of your vault key is kept in the same hidden folder. Anyone who controls your Google account could therefore reset your PIN after a 24-hour wait. Turning on zero-knowledge mode (Pro) removes that copy and uses a recovery key that only you hold.
So that a reinstall doesn't cost you your vault, Hidey also keeps a small recovery record in Android's Block Store: your vault key, locked with your PIN (and with your recovery key, if you have one). When Google backup is on for your phone, Android includes it in your Google account's device backup. We never receive it, and Delete everything in Hidey removes it.
If you use S3-compatible storage (Pro), your encrypted vault is uploaded to the storage account you configure. Your storage credentials are kept encrypted on your phone.
Google user data
If you sign in with Google, Hidey gets:
- your Google account's email address, to show which account your backups use, and
- access to Hidey's own hidden folder in your Google Drive. Hidey can't see any of your other Drive files.
This happens on your phone. We don't receive your Google data, use it for ads, sell it or share it. Hidey's use and transfer of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.
Data processed by service providers
We use a small number of providers to run the app and this website. They never receive your files, file names, thumbnails, PIN or password.
| Provider | Purpose | Data involved |
|---|---|---|
| Google AdMob (free plan only) | Showing and measuring ads | Advertising ID and other device identifiers, IP address, general location derived from it, ad interactions |
| Google Firebase Crashlytics | Crash reports | Crash details, device model, Android version, app version, installation identifiers |
| Google Firebase Analytics | Usage statistics | App events such as screens opened and features used, device and app information, an app instance identifier |
| RevenueCat and Google Play Billing | Pro purchases and subscriptions | Purchase and subscription status, order numbers, a random app user ID |
| Google Sign-In and Google Drive | Backup and PIN reset, only if you turn them on | Your Google account's email address and Hidey's hidden Drive folder, used on your phone |
| Vercel | Hosting this website, cookie-free analytics | IP address, browser details, pages visited |
Ads and your choices
The free plan shows ads from Google AdMob. In the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, Hidey asks for your consent before showing personalised ads. Where the law gives you a choice, you can change it at any time in Settings → Ad privacy choices. You can also reset or delete your phone's advertising ID in Android's settings. Pro has no ads.
The private browser (Pro)
The private browser loads pages straight from the websites you visit. We don't see or log what you browse. Hidey clears the browser's cookies, cache and site storage every time it opens and closes, and keeps no browsing history. Files you save from it go straight into your vault.
When you contact us
If you email us, we use your email address and what you write to help you. We keep support emails for as long as we need them to handle your request, and no longer than two years.
This website
This website sets no cookies. It uses Vercel Web Analytics and Speed Insights, which count page views and measure performance without cookies. Vercel, our hosting provider, processes standard server logs, such as IP addresses, to deliver and protect the site. The cookie policy explains what is stored in your browser.
Why we process data
Where data protection laws such as the GDPR apply, we rely on:
- Contract: to provide Pro features you buy.
- Legitimate interests: to keep the app working and secure, for example through crash reports.
- Consent: for personalised ads, and for analytics where the law requires it.
In India, we process personal data under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023: with your consent, or where the Act allows processing without it, for example when you give us information so we can help you.
How long data is kept
- Your vault and backups: until you delete them. We never hold a copy.
- Crash reports: up to 90 days.
- Analytics: up to 14 months.
- Purchase records: as long as billing, tax and accounting laws require.
- Support emails: up to two years.
Requests from authorities
We can't decrypt your vault, and we hold neither your files nor your keys, so we have no vault contents to hand over. If the law requires it, we may disclose the limited data we do hold, such as purchase records.
Your rights
Depending on where you live, you can ask to access, correct, delete or export your personal data, and to object to or restrict how it is processed. In India, you can also nominate someone to exercise these rights for you if you die or become unable to.
Because we don't hold your files, you can delete most of your data yourself. See Delete your data. For anything else, email privacy@hideyvault.com. You can also complain to your local data protection authority. In India, that is the Data Protection Board of India, once you have raised the issue with us first.
Grievance officer
For concerns or complaints about how we handle personal data, write to our Grievance Officer at privacy@hideyvault.com. We reply within 30 days.
Children
Hidey is for adults aged 18 and over. It is not directed at children, and we don't knowingly collect personal data from them. If you believe a child has given us personal data, contact us and we will delete it.
Security
Encryption happens on your phone, keys are protected by your PIN or password and Android's hardware keystore, and backups are encrypted before upload. The security page explains the details and the limits.
International transfers
We are based in India, and our providers may process data in other countries, including the United States. Where required, they rely on safeguards such as standard contractual clauses.
Changes to this policy
If we change this policy, we will update the date at the top. Significant changes will also be announced in the app.
Contact
Snowpex Technologies Private Limited, India · snowpex.com. Privacy questions: privacy@hideyvault.com.