Who we are
Arcafold is run by Deep Vasoya (“we”, “us”). This policy explains what information Arcafold handles when you use the website and app, and what we do with it. If anything here is unclear, write to deepvasoya08@gmail.com.
What we can’t see
Arcafold is end-to-end encrypted. Your password is turned into encryption keys on your device, and your password itself is never sent to us. The following are encrypted on your device before they are uploaded, and we have no way to decrypt them:
- your photos and their previews;
- photo details such as when and where a photo was taken, favorites, and which albums a photo is in;
- album names, your profile photo, and the records of who you share with;
- whether you have a private space, and anything in it.
Because we can’t read this content, we can’t search it, scan it, recover it for you, or hand it over in readable form to anyone.
What we collect and keep
Your account
- Email address and name, which you give us when you sign up. Your name is shown to people you share with.
- Your encrypted keyring: values derived from your passwords and recovery key that let your devices check a password and unlock your keys. They don’t reveal your passwords or keys.
- Storage used: the total size of the encrypted files you’ve stored, to enforce the 1 GB limit.
Your devices
For each signed-in device we keep a random session id, a general device description made from your browser’s user agent (like “Chrome on Android”, with no version or model), and when it was last used, rounded to the hour. You can see this list in Settings and sign any device out. Sessions expire after 30 days.
Your encrypted files
We store the encrypted photos and previews you upload, under random names, along with their sizes and when they were uploaded.
Face grouping
If you turn on face grouping, your device finds the faces in your photos and groups photos of the same person. This happens only on your device. What it finds, including the face data, is encrypted there before it’s stored, so we can’t read it. We keep only your answer to whether face grouping should start on, and the day you gave it. You can turn it off on any device in Settings, and delete all face data for a space there.
Smart search
Smart search lets you find photos by describing them. Your device works out what each photo shows, and that is encrypted there before it’s stored, so we can’t read it. It uses no face data. What you search for is read on your device too: it’s never sent to us or saved. It’s on unless you turn it off on a device in Settings, where you can also delete all search data for a space.
Security
To stop people guessing passwords, we count failed sign-in attempts for each email address together with a one-way hash of the internet (IP) address they came from. These counts are deleted after 15 minutes.
Invites
When you invite someone, we hold the encrypted invite until it’s accepted or cancelled, or for up to 7 days.
Google user data
This section covers the information Arcafold gets from Google when you choose Connect Google Photos to import photos. You sign in to Google, Google asks whether Arcafold may see the photos you pick, and you then pick photos in Google Photos.
Data accessed
Arcafold asks for one permission (OAuth scope) only, photospicker.mediaitems.readonly: to view the photos and videos you select in Google Photos, through the Google Photos Picker API. With it, Arcafold reads only the items you pick: each photo’s file, file name, file type and the date it was taken. It can’t see anything you don’t pick, and it can’t change or delete anything in your Google account. We don’t ask for your Google email address, profile, contacts or any other Google data.
Data usage
The photos you pick are used for one purpose: copying them into your Arcafold library or private space, because you asked to. Arcafold doesn’t use Google user data for ads, doesn’t sell it, doesn’t use it to build profiles, and doesn’t use it to train AI or machine learning models.
Data sharing
We don’t share, sell or transfer Google user data to anyone. Your device downloads each picked photo straight from Google; it never passes through our servers unencrypted, and no other service receives it. People can see an imported photo only if you share it with them in Arcafold, like any other photo.
Data storage and protection
Each imported photo is encrypted on your device before it’s uploaded, so we store it but can’t read it, the same as photos you upload yourself. Google’s sign-in (access) token is kept only in your device’s memory while the import runs. It is never sent to our servers, never written to your browser’s storage, and is forgotten when the import ends or you close the page.
Data retention and deletion
We keep no Google user data apart from the photos you chose to import, which stay in your account until you delete them (deleted photos are removed as described under “How long we keep information” below). The picking session with Google is ended as soon as the import finishes. You can remove Arcafold’s access to your Google account at any time at myaccount.google.com/connections, and ask us to delete your data at deepvasoya08@gmail.com.
Limited Use
Arcafold’s use and transfer to any other app of information received from Google APIs will adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.
What we don’t do
- We don’t show ads, and we don’t sell or rent your information.
- We don’t use analytics or tracking services, or third-party cookies.
- We don’t scan, analyze or train anything on your photos, including photos imported from Google Photos. Face grouping, if you turn it on, and Smart search run only on your device.
- We don’t keep per-request access logs of your use of the app. Our hosting provider still processes your IP address to deliver the service, as described below.
Cookies and storage in your browser
Arcafold uses one essential cookie to keep you signed in. It is only sent to Arcafold and can’t be read by scripts. Your browser also remembers a few preferences, such as when Arcafold should lock itself. Decrypted photos and keys are kept in memory only and are never saved in your browser’s storage.
How we use information
We use the information above only to:
- create and secure your account, and keep you signed in;
- store and deliver your encrypted files, and enforce storage limits;
- copy in the photos you pick from Google Photos, if you choose to;
- let you share with people you invite;
- prevent abuse, such as password guessing;
- contact you about your account or important changes to the service.
Where the law requires a legal basis, we rely on performing our contract with you (running the service you signed up for) and our legitimate interest in keeping it secure.
Who processes your information
Arcafold runs on Cloudflare, which hosts the app, its database and the encrypted file storage. The database and encrypted files are currently stored in Cloudflare’s Asia-Pacific region. Cloudflare processes your IP address and request details to deliver and protect the service, under its own privacy policy. We don’t use any other service providers to handle your data. If you import from Google Photos, your device talks to Google directly, under Google’s own privacy policy; that data doesn’t pass through us.
We will only disclose information if the law requires it. What we can disclose is limited to what this policy says we keep; we can’t provide your photos in readable form.
Sharing with other people
When you share your library or an album, the people you invite get the keys they need to see those photos. They can download copies, and if you stop sharing, we can’t remove copies they already saved. Only share with people you trust.
How long we keep information, and deleting it
We keep your account information for as long as you have an account. You can delete your account in Settings. That deletes your account, its sessions, and the photos in every space your device has the keys for when you delete it. Encrypted data we can’t link to you any more (for example, a private space whose password wasn’t entered) can’t be decrypted by anyone, and may stay in storage. Deleted data can also remain for up to 30 days in our backups and our provider’s, which hold the same encrypted data and are themselves encrypted.
Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, export or delete your personal information, and to object to or restrict how we use it. You can change your name and delete your account yourself in Settings, and download your photos at any time. For anything else, write to deepvasoya08@gmail.com. You can also complain to your local data protection authority.
Children
Arcafold has no minimum age. If you are under the age at which you can agree to this policy where you live, a parent or guardian must agree to it for you.
Changes to this policy
If we change this policy, we’ll update the date at the top, and tell you in the app or by email before significant changes take effect.
Contact
Questions or requests: deepvasoya08@gmail.com. See also our Terms of Use.