PicFrame Privacy Policy

1. About PicFrame and this policy

PicFrame is a photo frames, collage and photo editing app for Android, published by Sorted Systems (“we”, “us”). This policy explains what PicFrame does with information on your phone and what, if anything, leaves it. It applies to the PicFrame app for Android (package in.sortedsystems.picframe).

With PicFrame you can:

• put a photo in a frame, or several photos in a collage, using the built-in template library (with search and favourites);
• edit with cut-outs (background removal), backgrounds, filters, text and stickers/decorations;
• take a new photo with your camera, or choose existing photos from your device;
• export a finished picture (Standard or HD) to your gallery, keep it in My creations, and share it to another app;
• optionally set a display name and profile picture, which are shown only inside the app.

This policy is based on an audit of PicFrame version 1.0.0 as released, including its source code, its Android manifest and permissions, and the third-party libraries compiled into the release build.

2. What data PicFrame accesses

“Accesses” below means the app reads or creates the information on your phone. That is different from “transmits” (sends it off your phone). Most of what PicFrame accesses is never transmitted.

PicFrame also does not access your microphone, phone calls, SMS, calendar, health data, or other apps’ data.

3. Your photos, step by step

Throughout, your photos are accessed locally by the app on your phone. None of these steps uploads or transmits a photo to a remote server.

Choosing photos

PicFrame uses Android’s system photo picker (or, where that is not available, the system file chooser). You choose the photos. PicFrame receives only those photos and is never given access to your whole photo library. To open a chosen photo reliably, the picker component makes a temporary copy in PicFrame’s private cache folder. On some older Android versions, the photo picker itself is provided by Google Play services as part of Android.

Taking a photo

When you choose Camera, PicFrame asks your phone’s camera app to take a picture and save it into a file in PicFrame’s private cache folder. PicFrame does not use the camera directly and does not request the camera permission.

Editing, frames, templates and collages

Frames, collage layouts, decorations, fonts and preview photos are all built into the app. Applying a template, filter, text, sticker or background happens on your phone. Nothing is downloaded or uploaded while you edit.

Background removal

The Cutout tool separates a person from the background on your phone using Google ML Kit (see section 4). The photo is not uploaded. The resulting cut-out mask is saved in PicFrame’s private storage so it does not have to be computed again.

Saving and exporting

When you export, PicFrame saves:

• the finished picture in its private My creations folder, together with a private copy of the original photo (and of each collage photo), so you can edit it again later;
• a small edit-history file describing your edits (for example the template, text and adjustments you used, the export size and the date). This file also stores a fingerprint (an MD5 hash) of the original photo, used only to match it with its saved cut-out mask;
• a copy of the finished picture in your phone’s gallery, in an album called “PicFrame”.

Sharing

When you tap Share, Android’s share sheet sends the finished picture to the app you choose (for example a messaging or social app). The sharing component keeps a temporary copy in PicFrame’s cache while it hands the picture over. What happens to the picture after that is governed by the app you chose, not by this policy.

Deleting

See Deleting your data for exactly what is removed when you delete a creation, clear the app’s storage or uninstall.

4. Background removal (Google ML Kit)

Provider

Google LLC

Library

Google ML Kit Selfie Segmentation (com.google.mlkit:segmentation-selfie 16.0.0-beta6), used through the Flutter plugin google_mlkit_selfie_segmentation 0.11.0

Purpose

To separate a person from the background when you use the Cutout tool

Where it runs

On your phone. The segmentation model is bundled inside the app, and PicFrame starts ML Kit only when you use background removal.

Your photo

Cutout processing is performed on your device. Your photo is not sent to Google, Sorted Systems or anyone else, and it is not part of the diagnostics described below.

Google describes ML Kit like this: “ML Kit’s processing happens on-device … It also works while offline and can be used for processing images and text that need to remain on the device.”

Diagnostics sent by ML Kit

Although the image processing happens on your device, the ML Kit library sends Google technical information about its own operation. According to Google’s ML Kit data disclosure, ML Kit collects the following for diagnostics and usage analytics:

• device information, such as manufacturer, model, operating system version and build, and available machine-learning hardware accelerators;
• application information: package name and app version;
• for features bundled in the app, such as PicFrame’s: “per-installation identifiers that are not intended to uniquely identify a user or physical device”;
• performance metrics such as latency, API configuration such as image format and resolution, input and output sizes, and feature version;
• event types (such as feature initialisation, detection and resource release) and error codes.

Google states that ML Kit encrypts this data in transit using HTTPS and does not transfer it to third parties. It is sent when your phone has an internet connection. PicFrame’s own features do not need a connection.

5. Network communications

PicFrame’s own code contains no networking. It does not call any API, download images, or send data to Sorted Systems, and all editing features work without an internet connection. The table lists every network destination found in the release build.

These options hand you over to other apps on your phone; PicFrame itself sends nothing:

• Rate this app / Rate us opens the PicFrame page in the Google Play Store app or your browser.
• Share app opens Android’s share sheet with a short message and a link to the Play Store page.
• Email us opens your email app with our address and the subject “PicFrame support”. Nothing is sent unless you send the email.

The preview photos and all templates are bundled in the app (see Pexels preview photos), so PicFrame does not contact Pexels or any image service.

6. Third-party components

PicFrame is built with Google’s Flutter framework. Its third-party components fall into three groups. Only the first group sends any data off your device.

6.1 Runtime SDK that processes and transmits data

Google ML Kit is the only component in the released app that sends data off your device. It sends technical diagnostics, never photos (see section 4).

6.2 Supporting libraries (run on your device, transmit nothing)

These libraries work only on your phone. They do not send data anywhere, and none of them is a third party that receives your data.

Content bundled inside the app, with no runtime connection: preview photos from Pexels (see section 7); decorations from Google’s Noto Emoji (Apache License 2.0); fonts under the SIL Open Font License (Poppins, Montserrat, Oswald, Playfair Display, Dancing Script, Caveat, Anton, Bebas Neue, Lobster, Pacifico, Noto Sans, Noto Sans Devanagari and Noto Sans Gujarati); and the templates, frames and collage layouts made for PicFrame.

6.3 Build-time and test-only dependencies (not in the app)

These tools are used only to build and test PicFrame. They are not included in the app you install, and none of them handles your data: flutter_launcher_icons, change_app_package_name, flutter_lints, flutter_test, integration_test and flutter_driver.

7. Pexels preview photos

The sample people and scenes you see in template previews (for example on Home and in the Library) are photographs from Pexels, used under the Pexels license.

• PicFrame bundles 283 of these photos inside the app. The publisher selected and downloaded them while making the app.
• PicFrame does not use the Pexels API and makes no Pexels search or API request. It does not connect to Pexels at all.
• Pexels does not receive your photos, your creations, or any information about you or your device from PicFrame.
• When you use a template, your own photo replaces the preview photo. Preview photos are never combined with your data or sent anywhere.

8. Permissions

These are all the permissions in PicFrame’s final Android manifest. “Runtime” permissions need your approval on screen; “normal” permissions are granted automatically when the app is installed.

Not requested: camera, reading your photo or media library, location, contacts, microphone, phone, SMS, calendar, notifications, or the advertising ID permission. Photos come through the system photo picker, and photos you take come from your camera app; neither needs a permission.

You can review or withdraw the storage permission at any time in Android’s settings. PicFrame keeps working, but saving to the gallery on Android 10 and older will not.

9. Local storage

Everything PicFrame stores is on your phone. Nothing is stored on a server.

PicFrame does not use a database, an account sync service or cloud storage. It does not encrypt its stored files itself; they are protected by Android’s app sandbox (see Security).

10. Accounts and payments

PicFrame does not have accounts. There is no registration, login, password, email verification, Google or Apple sign-in, social login or authentication token. The optional display name in Profile is stored only on your phone.

PicFrame is free. It has no in-app purchases or subscriptions, contains no billing library, and does not ask for or process payment information.

11. Advertising, analytics and tracking

The released PicFrame app contains none of the following: Google AdMob or Google Mobile Ads, Meta Audience Network, Firebase Analytics, Firebase Crashlytics, Sentry, Amplitude, Mixpanel, AppsFlyer, Adjust, or any other advertising, analytics, attribution or tracking SDK. PicFrame does not show advertising, does not use the Android advertising ID, does not fingerprint your device, and does not track you across apps or websites.

The only usage information that leaves your device is the Google ML Kit diagnostics described in section 4, which Google collects for its own diagnostics and usage analytics of ML Kit.

12. Identifiers

13. Diagnostics and crash reports

• PicFrame’s own analytics: none. PicFrame has no analytics of its own and does not record how you use the app.
• Third-party SDK diagnostics: Google ML Kit sends Google the diagnostics described in section 4.
• Crash reporting: PicFrame includes no crash-reporting SDK. Separately from PicFrame, if you have allowed your phone to share usage and diagnostics data with Google, Android may send Google Play reports about app crashes and freezes. We see those only as aggregated statistics in Google Play Console. You can change this in your phone’s settings.
• Performance diagnostics: only those collected by ML Kit, such as processing time.

14. Who receives data

• Sorted Systems receives nothing from the app. We only receive what you choose to email us at info@sortedsystems.in.
• Google receives the ML Kit diagnostics described in section 4. If you use Android device backup, Android backs up app data to your Google account, as explained in section 9.
• Apps you choose receive the pictures you share with them.

We do not sell personal information, and we do not share it for advertising.

15. Security

• Local processing. Editing and background removal run on your phone, so your photos are not exposed to a network.
• App-private storage. PicFrame’s files and settings are kept in its private storage, which Android’s app sandbox protects from other apps. PicFrame does not add its own encryption to these files.
• Encrypted transport. The only data sent off your device, Google ML Kit’s diagnostics, is sent over HTTPS, according to Google.
• No accounts and no server. There are no passwords to protect, and Sorted Systems keeps no server-side copy of your data.
• Permission controls. The only runtime permission PicFrame requests is storage access on Android 10 and older, which you can withdraw in Android’s settings.

No method of storage or transmission is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee the security of your phone or of third-party services.

16. Data retention

Because PicFrame’s data stays on your device, you and your device decide how long it is kept.

17. Deleting your data

Delete one creation

Open My creations, tap the picture, then Delete. This deletes the finished picture, PicFrame’s copy of the original photo and the edit-history file. It does not necessarily remove every related file: copies of collage photos and saved cut-out masks may remain in PicFrame’s private storage. Clear storage (below) removes any remaining app data.

Delete your profile name or picture

Open Profile, edit your profile, and clear the name or remove the photo.

Delete temporary files

Android → Settings → Apps → PicFrame → Storage → Clear cache.

Delete everything PicFrame stored

Android → Settings → Apps → PicFrame → Storage → Clear storage (or Clear data), or uninstall PicFrame. This removes all creations, copies, masks, edit history, your profile and your settings.

Exported pictures

Pictures you exported are in your gallery (album “PicFrame”). PicFrame does not delete them; delete them in your gallery or Photos app.

Device backups

To remove PicFrame data from your Android device backup, manage or delete it in your phone’s backup settings or your Google account.

What we can and cannot delete

Sorted Systems holds no PicFrame data about you, so there is nothing on our side to delete, except emails you have sent us, which we will delete on request. Google ML Kit diagnostics are held by Google and governed by Google’s policies; we cannot delete them for you.

18. Children

PicFrame is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children, and the app does not send personal information to us from anyone. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has emailed us personal information, contact us at info@sortedsystems.in and we will delete it.

19. Your rights (India and elsewhere)

India

Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, you may ask for information about how your personal data is processed, ask for it to be corrected or erased, and raise a grievance. Because PicFrame keeps your data on your device, you can view, correct and delete most of it yourself in the app. For privacy questions or grievances, contact Sorted Systems at info@sortedsystems.in. Google ML Kit diagnostics are governed by Google, but we will help where we can.

EU, EEA and UK

You may have rights to access, correct, delete and port your personal data, to restrict or object to its processing, and to complain to your data protection authority.

California and other US states

We do not sell personal information or share it for cross-context behavioural advertising.

Everywhere else

Your local law may give you similar or additional rights. Contact us and we will help where we can.

We reply to privacy requests within 30 days.

20. Third-party services and links

• Google ML Kit data disclosure: developers.google.com/ml-kit/android-data-disclosure
• Google ML Kit overview: developers.google.com/ml-kit
• Google Privacy Policy: policies.google.com/privacy
• Android photo picker: developer.android.com/training/data-storage/shared/photopicker
• Pexels license: pexels.com/license

Third-party services have their own privacy policies, which we do not control.

21. Open-source software

PicFrame uses open-source software and third-party libraries, including Flutter, Android Jetpack (AndroidX) and the plugins listed above, as well as Noto Emoji artwork (Apache License 2.0) and fonts under the SIL Open Font License. Their respective licenses and notices continue to apply.

22. Application information

App name

PicFrame

Publisher

Sorted Systems

Package (application ID)

in.sortedsystems.picframe

Version

1.0.0 (version code 1)

Minimum Android version

Android 7.0 (API level 24)

Target Android version

API level 36

Platform

Android, distributed through Google Play

Build

Release build

Download size depends on your device and on how Google Play delivers the app.

23. Changes to this policy

If a future version of PicFrame changes how it handles information, for example by adding an online feature, we will update this policy before releasing that version and change the “Last updated” date. For significant changes we will also tell you in the app.

24. Contact

Questions, requests or complaints about privacy:

Sorted Systems
info@sortedsystems.in