AppLock Privacy Policy
In short:
- AppLock has no account and no servers. Your PIN, the apps you lock, your security log and intruder photos stay on your device and are never sent to us or anyone else.
- The free version shows ads from Google AdMob. Google collects some device data to show those ads, as described below.
- AppLock Premium removes ads. With Premium, the ad SDK is never started, so it collects nothing.
1. Who we are
This policy covers the AppLock app for Android and iOS ("AppLock", "we", "us"). AppLock lets you protect other apps on your device with a PIN, password, pattern or biometrics.
AppLock works without an account. We do not run any server that receives data from the app.
2. Data that stays on your device
AppLock stores the following only on your device. None of it is sent to us, to Google, or to anyone else, and the ad SDK cannot see it.
| Data | How it is stored |
|---|---|
| Your PIN, password or pattern | Only as a one-way hash protected by a hardware-backed key. The original is never stored. |
| The apps you lock and your settings | In encrypted app storage. |
| Security log (unlocks, failed attempts, setting changes) | In a local database. Older entries are deleted automatically after the period you choose in Settings. |
| Intruder photos (if you turn this on) | In the app's private storage. A photo is deleted together with its log entry. |
| Backups (only when you make one) | Encrypted with a password you choose and saved where you choose. Backups never include your PIN, your security log or intruder photos. |
AppLock reads the list of apps installed on your device only to let you choose which apps to lock. The list is not sent anywhere.
3. Ads (free version)
The free version of AppLock shows a banner and, at most, one full-screen ad per session. These ads are provided by Google AdMob, part of Google LLC.
What Google may collect
- Device identifiers, such as your device's advertising ID (Android) or IDFA (iOS, only if you allow tracking).
- Your IP address, which can indicate your approximate location.
- Information about how ads are shown and interacted with, such as views and taps.
- Diagnostic and performance information about the ad SDK.
Google uses this data to show ads, measure them, and prevent fraud. AppLock never gives the ad SDK your security log, intruder photos, your PIN, the list of apps you lock, or anything shown on your screen.
How Google uses this data is described in How Google uses information from sites or apps that use its services and in the Google Privacy Policy.
Your choices
- Consent: if you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, or a region with similar rules, AppLock shows Google's consent message before any ads load. You can change your choice at any time in AppLock under Settings → Ad privacy choices.
- iPhone: AppLock asks for permission before the advertising identifier can be used. If you decline, it is not used.
- Android: you can reset or delete your advertising ID in your device's settings, under Settings → Google → Ads (or Settings → Privacy → Ads, depending on the device).
- No ads at all: buying AppLock Premium removes ads, and the ad SDK is not started.
4. Purchases
AppLock Premium is a one-time purchase made through Google Play or the Apple App Store. Payment is handled entirely by Google or Apple under their own privacy policies. AppLock never sees your payment details. It receives only confirmation that the purchase is valid, and checks this on your device.
5. Permissions and why AppLock needs them
| Permission | Why |
|---|---|
| Accessibility service (Android) | To detect when a locked app is opened, so the lock screen can appear over it. AppLock does not read or record what is on your screen or what you type. |
| Usage access (Android) | To check that protection is working, and show you if it has stopped. |
| Notification access (Android, optional) | To hide notifications from apps you have locked, if you turn on notification hiding. AppLock looks only at which app a notification comes from; it never stores or sends notification content. |
| Display over other apps (Android) | To show the lock screen on top of a locked app. |
| See installed apps (Android) | To list your apps so you can choose which ones to lock. |
| Screen Time (iOS) | To block the apps you choose until you unlock them in AppLock. Apple does not share your app usage with us. |
| Camera (optional) | To take an intruder photo after repeated wrong attempts, if you turn that feature on. Photos stay on your device. |
| Biometrics (optional) | To unlock with your fingerprint or face. Your biometric data is handled by your device and never reaches AppLock. |
| Notifications | To show local alerts from AppLock, such as a placeholder for a hidden notification. These alerts never contain your data and are not sent anywhere. |
| Internet | Used only by the ad SDK (free version) and the store's purchase system. |
6. What we never do
- We do not sell your data.
- We do not use analytics or crash-reporting services.
- We do not upload your security log, intruder photos, credentials or locked-app list anywhere.
- We do not ask for your name, email address or any other contact details inside the app.
7. Keeping and deleting data
- On your device: security log entries, and the intruder photos attached to them, are deleted automatically after the keep period you choose in Settings. Uninstalling AppLock, or clearing its storage in your device settings, deletes everything it stored. Backup files you saved yourself stay where you put them until you delete them.
- Ad data: data collected by Google AdMob is kept and deleted according to Google's policies. You can reset or delete your advertising ID at any time, as described in section 3.
Because AppLock has no account and we hold no data about you on any server, there is no account to delete.
8. Security
Your credentials are stored only as hashes protected by your device's hardware-backed key store. Settings are kept in encrypted storage, and backups are encrypted with AES-256 using a password only you know. Ad traffic uses encrypted connections (HTTPS). No method of storage is perfectly secure, but AppLock is designed so that your security data never leaves your device.
9. Children
AppLock is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has used the free version and you want ad data removed, contact Google or reset the device's advertising ID as described above, or contact us.
10. Your rights
Depending on where you live (for example under the GDPR in the EU and UK, or the CCPA in California), you may have rights to access, correct or delete personal data, and to object to or limit its use. Since we do not hold personal data about you on any server, most of these requests concern the ad data Google processes; you can manage it through the choices in section 3 and through Google's own tools. You can also contact us with any request or question, and we will help.
Google may process ad data in countries other than yours, under its own safeguards.
11. Changes to this policy
If we change this policy, we will update it on this page and change the effective date at the top. If a change affects what data leaves your device, we will also tell you in the app before it takes effect.
12. Contact
Questions or requests about this policy: maximumunlimiteds@gmail.com