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PhotoLens

Privacy policy

Your photos never leave your device.

This is not a policy promise. It is an architectural reality. The application contains no code capable of transmitting your photos or descriptions to any external destination.

Application Name: PhotoLens Developer / Operator: Susant Swain Contact Email: info@susantswain.com Effective Date: May 8, 2026 Last Updated: May 8, 2026

THIS PRIVACY POLICY EXPLAINS HOW PHOTOLENS HANDLES — OR, MORE PRECISELY, DOES NOT HANDLE — YOUR PERSONAL DATA. PLEASE READ THIS DOCUMENT CAREFULLY. BY DOWNLOADING, INSTALLING, OR USING THE PHOTOLENS APPLICATION, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ AND UNDERSTOOD THIS PRIVACY POLICY. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH THIS POLICY, PLEASE DO NOT USE THE APPLICATION.

1. Introduction and Overview

1.1 Who We Are

PhotoLens is a mobile photo gallery application developed by Susant Swain, an independent developer based in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. PhotoLens is designed specifically to assist individuals who are blind or have low vision, as well as any user who wants to understand the visual content of their photographs through clear, natural language descriptions generated entirely on their own device.

1.2 Purpose of This Policy

This Privacy Policy describes our practices regarding the collection, use, storage, sharing, and protection of your information in connection with your use of the PhotoLens application. It applies to all versions of the Application distributed through the Google Play Store or any other authorized channel and governs all interactions between you and the Application.

1.3 Our Fundamental Commitment

The foundational design principle of PhotoLens is simple and unwavering: your photos never leave your device. Unlike the vast majority of AI-powered applications, PhotoLens does not send your photographs, metadata, usage data, or any personally identifiable information to any external server, cloud service, or third party — including the Developer. Everything happens locally, on your device, under your complete control.

This is not merely a policy promise. It is an architectural reality. The Application contains no code, module, or integration capable of transmitting your photos or descriptions to any external destination.

1.4 Applicability

This Privacy Policy applies to all users of the Application, regardless of their location, device model, operating system version, or the manner in which they access and use the Application's features. It does not apply to any websites, services, or applications operated by third parties, even if linked to or from the Application.

2. Definitions

For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, the following terms shall have the meanings set out below:

"Application" or "App" means the PhotoLens mobile application for Android, including all features, interfaces, content, and updates released by the Developer.

"Developer" or "We" or "Us" means Susant Swain, the individual developer and operator of the PhotoLens Application, reachable at info@susantswain.com.

"You" or "User" means any individual who downloads, installs, accesses, or uses the Application in any manner.

"Device" means the Android smartphone, tablet, or other compatible hardware on which the Application is installed and operated.

"Personal Data" means any information that identifies or can reasonably be used to identify a natural person, whether directly or indirectly, including but not limited to name, email address, device identifiers, IP address, location data, and biometric identifiers.

"User Content" means photographs, images, videos, and any associated metadata (such as EXIF data, GPS coordinates, and timestamps) stored on the User's Device and accessed by the Application solely for the purpose of providing its described functionality.

"On-Device Processing" means all computation, analysis, and inference performed exclusively on the User's Device hardware, without any data being transmitted externally.

"AI Model" means the Google Gemma 4 open-weight multimodal model (E2B and E4B variants), executed locally on the User's Device through the LiteRT-LM inference framework.

"AI-Generated Description" means any textual output produced by the Application as a result of analyzing a photograph using the on-device AI Model.

"Support Communication" means any message, query, feedback, bug report, or other communication that a User voluntarily initiates with the Developer through email, WhatsApp, or Telegram.

"Third-Party Component" means any software library, framework, SDK, or runtime developed by a party other than the Developer and incorporated into the Application, including the LiteRT-LM framework and Gemma 4 model.

"Sensitive Personal Data" means photographs or image content that may depict or reveal racial or ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs, health or medical conditions, biometric features, financial circumstances, minors, private residences, intimate relationships, personal documents, or any other inherently private subject matter.

3. Our Core Privacy Principle: On-Device Only

3.1 The Architecture of Privacy

PhotoLens is architected from the ground up around a single, non-negotiable principle: your data does not leave your device. This is not a feature toggle, a privacy mode, or an opt-in setting. It is the only way the Application operates.

When you open a photograph in PhotoLens and generate a description, the following occurs entirely within your Device:

  1. The Application reads the selected image from your local device storage.
  2. The image data is passed to the Gemma 4 AI Model, which is stored and executed locally on your Device's GPU or NPU.
  3. The AI Model analyzes the image and produces a textual description.
  4. The description is displayed on your screen.

At no point in this process does any data leave your Device. There are no API calls to external servers. There is no logging of your activity. There is no analytics beacon. There is no background upload. The Developer receives nothing.

3.2 No Internet Required

The Application's core functionality — including AI-powered photo description — does not require an active internet connection. The Gemma 4 model weights are stored locally on your Device after installation. This offline capability is itself a structural guarantee of your privacy: a system that does not need the internet to function cannot send your data over the internet when performing its primary function.

3.3 Verifiable Privacy

Because PhotoLens does not use analytics SDKs, advertising frameworks, or data collection tools, technically sophisticated users may verify these claims by examining the Application's network traffic using standard network inspection tools. The Application will produce no outbound data connections during normal photo browsing and description generation operations.

4. Information We Do NOT Collect

We believe in full transparency. The following is an explicit and comprehensive list of the types of data and information that PhotoLens does not collect, store, transmit, or process on any external system:

4.1 Your Photographs and Images

We do not collect, copy, upload, transmit, or store any photographs or images from your Device. Your photos are read from your local storage only at the moment of processing and are never sent beyond your Device.

4.2 AI-Generated Descriptions

The textual descriptions generated by the Application in response to your photographs remain on your Device. They are not transmitted to the Developer or any third party. We have no visibility into what descriptions are generated or what photographs you choose to process.

4.3 Photo Metadata

Photographs stored on modern smartphones contain rich metadata, including GPS location coordinates, timestamps, device model information, camera settings, and more (commonly stored as EXIF data). PhotoLens does not extract, transmit, or store this metadata externally. Any metadata read from a file during processing stays on your Device.

4.4 Usage and Behavioral Data

We do not collect any information about how you use the Application. This includes:

  • Which features you access or how frequently;
  • How many photos you have processed;
  • How long you spend in the Application;
  • The sequence of screens you navigate;
  • Whether and how often you use the regenerate function;
  • Your accessibility settings or screen reader configuration;
  • Errors, crashes, or performance issues encountered during use.

4.5 Device Identifiers

We do not collect your Device's Android Advertising ID, Android ID, IMEI, serial number, MAC address, or any other hardware or software identifier unique to your Device.

4.6 Location Data

We do not collect your real-time or historical location. We do not access your Device's GPS, network-based location, or IP-based location for any purpose.

4.7 Personal Identity Information

We do not collect your name, email address, phone number, date of birth, gender, or any other personally identifying information through the Application itself.

4.8 Biometric Data

Although photographs may contain images of faces and other biometric features, the Application does not perform facial recognition, extract biometric templates, or create biometric profiles of any individual depicted in your photographs.

4.9 Financial or Payment Data

PhotoLens is provided free of charge. No in-app purchases, subscriptions, or payment processing occur within the Application. We do not collect any financial or payment information.

4.10 Contacts or Communications

We do not access your Device's contact list, call logs, messages, social media accounts, or any other communications data.

4.11 Clipboard Data

We do not access or read the contents of your Device's clipboard.

4.12 Microphone or Camera

We do not access your Device's microphone or camera hardware. PhotoLens works exclusively with photographs already stored in your gallery.

5. Information You Voluntarily Provide to Us

While the Application itself collects no data, you may choose to contact us for support, feedback, or accessibility reporting. In such cases, limited information is involved.

5.1 Support Communications

If you contact us at info@susantswain.com, via WhatsApp at +91 98615 74469, or via Telegram at @susantswain, you may share:

  • Your name or a name you choose to use;
  • Your email address or phone number, as required by the communication channel;
  • A description of your issue, question, or feedback;
  • Any screenshots or additional information you choose to attach voluntarily.

5.2 How We Use Support Communications

We use the information in Support Communications solely for the following purposes:

  • To respond to your specific inquiry, question, or bug report;
  • To investigate and address accessibility issues or functional defects you have reported;
  • To improve future versions of the Application based on your feedback, without linking improvement decisions to your identity.

We do not use information from Support Communications to:

  • Build a profile of you as an individual;
  • Send you marketing communications;
  • Share your information with any third party, except as required by law;
  • Analyze behavioral patterns across multiple users.

5.3 Retention of Support Communications

Support messages are retained only for as long as necessary to address the relevant issue and for a reasonable period thereafter in case of follow-up. We do not maintain a permanent database of user support communications. Upon your request, we will delete any Support Communication records we hold about you to the extent reasonably practicable.

5.4 No Obligation

You are never required to contact us. All support channels are entirely voluntary. Your use of the Application in no way obligates you to provide any information to us.

6. Device Permissions We Request and Why

The Application requests a limited set of device permissions. The following describes each permission, why it is requested, and how it is used.

6.1 READ_MEDIA_IMAGES / READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE

Purpose: This permission allows the Application to read photographs stored in your Device's media library or external storage so they can be displayed in the gallery and passed to the on-device AI Model for description generation.

Scope of Use: The Application reads image files from your storage only when you actively browse your gallery or request a description. It does not perform background scanning, indexing, or copying of your photos. It does not access any files other than image files in your media library.

What We Do Not Do With This Permission: We do not use this permission to upload, transmit, back up, or share your photos with any external party. The permission is used exclusively for the local, on-device operation of the Application's gallery and description features.

6.2 No Other Permissions

PhotoLens does not request any of the following permissions, which are commonly requested by other applications:

  • ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION or ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION (location access);
  • CAMERA (camera hardware access);
  • RECORD_AUDIO (microphone access);
  • READ_CONTACTS (address book access);
  • INTERNET (network access for core functionality);
  • BLUETOOTH or NFC (wireless communication);
  • SEND_SMS or READ_CALL_LOG (communications access).

The Application's narrow permission footprint is a deliberate privacy design decision.

6.3 Revoking Permissions

You may revoke the media storage permission at any time through your Device's application settings. If you revoke this permission, the Application will no longer be able to display your photos or generate descriptions, as access to photos is the core function of the Application.

7. How the On-Device AI Works

7.1 Overview of the AI Pipeline

Understanding how the AI works helps illustrate why your data remains private. The following is a plain-language description of the AI processing pipeline:

  1. Model Storage: Upon installation or at first launch, the Gemma 4 model weights are downloaded (if not already bundled) and stored locally on your Device's internal storage.
  2. Image Input: When you request a description of a photo, the Application reads the image data from your local storage and prepares it as input to the model.
  3. Local Inference: The image and any associated prompt are processed by the Gemma 4 model running on your Device's hardware (GPU or NPU). This computation occurs entirely within your Device.
  4. Output Generation: The model produces a textual description, which is displayed to you on screen.
  5. No External Communication: At no point in this pipeline is any data transmitted over a network connection. No API call is made. No server receives anything.

7.2 Thinking Mode and Chain-of-Thought

The Application may optionally display the AI Model's intermediate reasoning — its "thinking" — before presenting the final description. This chain-of-thought output is generated locally in the same manner as the final description and is displayed only on your screen. It is not stored, logged, or transmitted.

7.3 Model Limitations and Privacy

The Gemma 4 model may produce descriptions that reference details visible in a photograph, including the appearance of people, readable text in images, location cues, or other personally identifiable visual information. Because the model runs entirely on your Device and its output is displayed only to you, this does not constitute a disclosure of your data to any third party. You remain the sole recipient of any generated description.

7.4 Model Weights Privacy

The Gemma 4 model weights stored on your Device are read-only inference artifacts. They do not learn from, memorize, or retain information from your photographs. Each inference session is independent. The model has no memory of previously processed images.

8. Third-Party Components and Their Privacy Implications

8.1 Google Gemma 4 Model

The AI capabilities of PhotoLens are powered by the Gemma 4 open-weight model developed and published by Google LLC. The model is integrated into the Application as a local, offline component. The use of the Gemma 4 model within PhotoLens does not involve any communication with Google's servers. Google does not receive your photos, your descriptions, or any usage data as a result of your use of PhotoLens.

The Gemma 4 model is subject to Google's Gemma Terms of Use and applicable open-weight model licenses. The Developer's integration of this model is governed by those terms. You may review Google's relevant policies at Google's official documentation.

8.2 LiteRT-LM Inference Framework

The LiteRT-LM framework (formerly MediaPipe LLM Inference), developed by Google LLC, is the runtime used by the Application to execute the Gemma 4 model on-device. LiteRT-LM is used as a local, embedded dependency. It does not transmit data to Google or any other external party as part of its operation within PhotoLens.

8.3 Android Operating System and Google Play Services

PhotoLens is distributed through the Google Play Store and operates on Android devices. As an Android application, it is subject to the permissions and policies enforced by the Android operating system and, where applicable, Google Play Services. Google may collect certain information about application installations, updates, and crash reports at the platform level, independent of the Application itself. This data collection is governed by Google's own Privacy Policy and is outside the Developer's control.

8.4 Communication Platforms

If you contact us through WhatsApp or Telegram, those communications are subject to the privacy policies of WhatsApp LLC (a Meta company) and Telegram FZ-LLC respectively. The Developer encourages you to review those policies to understand how your data is handled on those platforms. The Developer has no control over data processing performed by those third-party communication services.

8.5 No Advertising Networks

The Application does not incorporate any advertising SDK, ad network, or monetization framework that involves the collection or sharing of user data. No behavioral profiling or interest-based advertising is associated with the Application.

8.6 No Analytics Frameworks

The Application does not incorporate Firebase Analytics, Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Amplitude, Crashlytics, Sentry, or any other third-party analytics or crash-reporting service that transmits user behavior data to external servers.

9. Data Storage and Security

9.1 Local Storage Only

All data associated with your use of PhotoLens — including the Gemma 4 model weights, any cached AI-Generated Descriptions, and application preferences — is stored exclusively on your Device in the Application's private storage sandbox, as provided by the Android operating system.

9.2 Android Storage Isolation

Android's application sandbox architecture ensures that data stored in the Application's private storage cannot be accessed by other applications on your Device without explicit user permission or system-level access. The Developer does not have the ability to access or read data from your Device's private application storage.

9.3 No External Servers

The Developer does not operate any servers, databases, or cloud infrastructure in connection with the PhotoLens Application. There are no servers to secure, breach, or subpoena. The absence of external data storage is itself the strongest possible security measure for your personal data.

9.4 Device Security

The security of data on your Device depends on your Device's own security measures, including your lock screen, encryption settings, and physical security. The Developer strongly recommends that you:

  • Enable full-device encryption on your Android device (enabled by default on most modern Android versions);
  • Use a strong PIN, password, or biometric lock screen;
  • Keep your Android operating system and applications updated;
  • Be cautious about granting other applications broad storage permissions that might allow them to access your photos.

9.5 No Passwords or Authentication Credentials

PhotoLens does not require you to create an account or provide authentication credentials. There is no password to protect, no account to compromise, and no authentication database to breach.

9.6 Security of Support Communications

If you contact us for support, the security of those communications depends on the platform used. Email communications are transmitted and stored subject to the security practices of the email providers involved. We encourage you to avoid including sensitive personal information in support communications where it is not necessary to describe your issue.

10. Children's Privacy

10.1 Not Directed at Children

The Application is not directed at or intended for children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect any personal information from children under the age of 13 through the Application.

10.2 Structural Protection

Because the Application collects no personal data from any user by design, children's privacy is protected at the architectural level. There is no mechanism by which a child's data could be collected or transmitted through the Application's normal operation.

10.3 Parental Guidance

While PhotoLens does not collect data, it does access the device's photo gallery, which may contain family photographs. Parents and guardians are encouraged to supervise the installation and use of applications, including PhotoLens, on devices used by children. Photographs of minors contained in a family gallery may be displayed and described by the Application, as they would be in any photo gallery app.

10.4 Contact Regarding Children

If you believe that a child under the age of 13 has contacted us in a support capacity and inadvertently provided personal information, please contact us at info@susantswain.com and we will promptly delete any such information from our records.

11. Sensitive Content and Special Categories of Data

11.1 Photographs Are Inherently Personal

Photographs are among the most personal and sensitive categories of digital content. They may depict family members, private locations, health conditions, religious observances, intimate relationships, personal documents, or financial records. The Developer recognizes the highly sensitive nature of photographic content.

11.2 Why On-Device Processing Matters for Sensitive Content

Many photo AI services require users to upload their photographs to external servers. This creates substantial privacy risks, particularly for photographs containing sensitive content. PhotoLens eliminates this risk entirely by processing all photographs locally on your Device. No matter how sensitive the content of a photograph, it is never exposed to any external party through the Application.

11.3 Responsibility for Sensitive Content

While PhotoLens does not expose your sensitive photographs to external parties, you remain responsible for the overall security of your Device and the photos stored on it. You should take appropriate steps to secure your Device and to manage access to your photo library, particularly if it contains sensitive content.

11.4 Faces and Biometrics

The Application may generate descriptions that reference the presence, approximate age, gender expression, or appearance of people depicted in photographs. This is purely descriptive text output from the AI Model and is displayed only to you. The Application does not build biometric profiles, perform facial recognition for identification purposes, or create any persistent records linking individuals to their appearance.

11.5 Special Categories Under Data Protection Law

Under certain data protection frameworks (such as the EU General Data Protection Regulation), photographs that allow the identification of individuals are classified as personal data. Photographs revealing racial or ethnic origin, health data, religious beliefs, biometric data used for identification, and other categories are classified as special categories of personal data. Because PhotoLens does not transmit or process any photographs on external systems, it does not create special-category data processing obligations under such frameworks in relation to the Developer.

12. International Users

12.1 Indian-Based Developer

The Developer is located in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. To the extent any personal information is provided to the Developer through Support Communications, it is handled in India and subject to Indian data protection law, including the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDPA) and any applicable rules made thereunder.

12.2 No Cross-Border Data Transfers Through the App

Because the Application does not collect or transmit user data, there are no cross-border data transfers associated with your use of the Application itself. The Application's on-device-only architecture means your photos never cross any geographic boundary.

12.3 Users in the European Economic Area (EEA)

If you are located in the EEA and subject to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), please note the following:

  • PhotoLens does not collect personal data through the Application, and therefore the GDPR's requirements regarding lawful basis for processing, data subject rights, and data protection impact assessments are not triggered in relation to the Application's core functionality.
  • If you contact us for support and voluntarily provide personal information, that information is processed for the legitimate purpose of responding to your inquiry.
  • You have the rights described in Section 13 below, in addition to any rights available to you under the GDPR.

12.4 Users in the United States

If you are located in the United States, various state privacy laws (such as the California Consumer Privacy Act, CCPA) may apply to the processing of your personal information. Because PhotoLens does not collect personal data through the Application, the substantive obligations of such laws are not triggered in relation to the Application's core operation.

13. Your Privacy Rights

13.1 Overview

Because PhotoLens does not collect your personal data through the Application, many privacy rights that typically apply to data-collecting services are not applicable in the conventional sense. However, we are committed to respecting your privacy rights in all dimensions of our relationship with you.

13.2 Right to Know

You have the right to know what personal information the Developer holds about you. Given that the Application collects no personal data, the only personal information the Developer may hold is information contained in Support Communications you have voluntarily initiated. You may contact us at any time to request confirmation of what information, if any, we hold about you.

13.3 Right to Access

You may request access to any personal information we hold about you (limited to Support Communication records). We will respond to such requests within a reasonable timeframe and at no cost to you.

13.4 Right to Deletion

You may request the deletion of any personal information we hold about you. We will honor such requests to the extent reasonably practicable, subject only to any legal obligations requiring us to retain certain records.

13.5 Right to Correction

If you believe that any personal information we hold about you is inaccurate, you have the right to request its correction. Please contact us with details of the correction required.

13.6 Right to Object

You have the right to object to any processing of your personal information. Given the limited nature of data we hold, this right is most likely to arise in the context of Support Communications.

13.7 Right to Withdraw Consent

To the extent any processing of your personal information is based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before withdrawal.

13.8 Data Portability

You may request a copy of any personal data we hold about you in a structured, commonly used format.

13.9 How to Exercise Your Rights

To exercise any of the rights described in this Section 13, please contact us at:

We will acknowledge your request promptly and aim to fulfill it within 30 days. No fee is charged for exercising your privacy rights.

14. Data Retention

14.1 Application Data (On-Device)

All data generated by your use of the Application — including cached descriptions, model outputs, and preferences — is stored on your Device. This data remains on your Device until you clear the Application's data, uninstall the Application, or factory reset your Device. The Developer has no control over this data and cannot access, retrieve, or delete it remotely.

14.2 Support Communications

Support Communication records are retained for the duration necessary to resolve the reported issue and for a reasonable period thereafter (generally no more than 12 months) in case of follow-up. After this period, communications are deleted. You may request earlier deletion at any time by contacting us.

14.3 No Long-Term Retention Policy Required

Because the Application collects no personal data, the Developer does not maintain a data retention schedule for Application-derived user data. The only retention question is in relation to voluntary Support Communications, addressed in Section 14.2 above.

15. Accessibility and Privacy

15.1 The Intersection of Accessibility and Privacy

PhotoLens serves a community of users — particularly those who are blind or have low vision — for whom the nature of their photographs and the descriptions generated from them may carry special personal significance and sensitivity. Photographs of family, health-related content, or private environments described by an AI tool are deeply personal. We designed the on-device processing model precisely to ensure that accessibility does not come at the cost of privacy.

15.2 TalkBack and System Accessibility Services

The Application is designed for full compatibility with TalkBack, Android's built-in screen reader. TalkBack is a system-level service operated by Google and is subject to Google's own privacy practices. PhotoLens does not pass any information about your photographs or descriptions to TalkBack beyond what is rendered on screen as part of the normal accessibility tree. The text of AI-Generated Descriptions may be announced by TalkBack as you navigate the Application, which is the intended behavior.

15.3 Accessibility Feedback Privacy

When users contact us to report accessibility issues, we treat such communications with the same care as any Support Communication. We do not require you to disclose your disability status, diagnosis, or specific assistive technology configuration in order to receive support, though you may voluntarily share such information to help us better understand the issue.

16. Changes to This Privacy Policy

16.1 Right to Update

We reserve the right to update or modify this Privacy Policy at any time. Changes may be made to reflect updates to the Application's functionality, changes in applicable law, evolution of privacy best practices, or changes in the Third-Party Components integrated into the Application.

16.2 Notification of Material Changes

When we make material changes to this Privacy Policy, we will notify you by updating the "Last Updated" date at the top of this document and, where practicable, by displaying a notice within the Application. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your information.

16.3 Effect of Continued Use

Your continued use of the Application after the effective date of any updated Privacy Policy constitutes your acknowledgment of and agreement to the revised policy. If you disagree with the changes, you must stop using the Application and uninstall it from your Device.

16.4 Archive of Previous Versions

Previous versions of this Privacy Policy may be made available upon request by contacting us at info@susantswain.com.

17. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests relating to this Privacy Policy, your privacy rights, or the manner in which the Application handles your information, please do not hesitate to reach out to us through any of the following channels:

Developer Name: Susant Swain

Email: info@susantswain.com (Please note that email responses may take up to 2 business days due to high-volume inquiries. For faster responses, please use WhatsApp or Telegram.)

WhatsApp: +91 98615 74469

Telegram: @susantswain

We are committed to resolving all privacy-related inquiries promptly and thoroughly. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may have the right to lodge a complaint with the data protection authority in your jurisdiction.

This Privacy Policy was last updated on May 8, 2026 and is effective as of that date.