OwnPDF / Privacy Policy
OwnPDF Privacy Policy
Effective date: 24 October 2026 · Version: 1.0
This policy explains how the OwnPDF app ("OwnPDF", "we", "us") handles information. OwnPDF is published by Provantic Technologies Private Limited, Prestige Atlanta, Koramangala, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560034, India (the "Publisher"). If you have a question, write to provantict@gmail.com.
The short version
- Your PDFs, scans, photos, signatures and passwords are processed only on your phone — including scanning, compression, form filling and text recognition (OCR). We never upload them and we have no servers that receive them.
- You don't create an account. We don't ask for your name, phone number, email or location.
- On first launch we ask your year of birth and keep only your age group. Users under 18 never see ads and OwnPDF never starts the ad software for them.
- Adults see ads from Google AdMob in the free version, never while reading or editing. You can turn off personalised ads, and Pro removes ads.
- Pro is an optional one-time purchase through Google Play. We never see your payment details.
- Delete everything at any time with Settings → Delete all my data, or by uninstalling the app.
1. What stays on your phone
| Information | Why | Where it is kept | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
| PDFs and images you open in OwnPDF, share to it or scan | To show and edit them | A copy in the app's private storage, which other apps cannot read | Until you delete the file, use "Delete all my data" or uninstall |
| Files OwnPDF creates (merged, compressed, signed, filled, searchable and other new PDFs) | So you can open, share and save them | App-private storage | Same as above. Your original file is never changed |
| Files list: file name, size, page count, date, star, and the page you last read | To show your files and reopen a PDF where you left off | App-private storage | Same as above |
| Private Files | Your encrypted folder | App-private storage, encrypted with AES-256. The key is held in your phone's secure hardware (Android Keystore) and works only after your fingerprint or screen lock | Until you delete them or use "Delete all my data". We cannot recover them |
| Saved signature (Pro, only if you choose to save it) | To sign faster next time | Encrypted with the same Keystore key as Private Files | Until you use "Delete all my data" or uninstall |
| Temporary working copies (for example a PDF another app hands to OwnPDF, or page images used for OCR) | To process a task | App cache | Deleted after the task, and any leftovers within a day |
| Your age group: under 13, 13–17, or 18 and over (not your birth year) | To protect minors (no ads for under-18s) | App-private storage | Until you use "Delete all my data" or uninstall |
| Settings: theme, language, app lock, personalised-ads choice, onboarding, and a cached Pro status with the date it was last checked | To remember your choices | App-private storage | Same as above |
None of this is sent to us. We cannot see it, and we cannot recover it for you if you delete it.
No cloud backup. OwnPDF switches off Android's automatic backup and device-to-device transfer for its data, so your documents are not copied to Google Drive or another phone through the app.
Screens with Private Files cannot be screenshotted or recorded, and they lock again when you leave the app.
Copies outside the app are yours to control. Files you save to your phone, pages you export as JPG (saved to Pictures › OwnPDF) and files you share with other apps are outside OwnPDF.
2. Information we do not collect
We do not collect your name, email, phone number, contacts, precise or approximate location, usage analytics, or any account information, and OwnPDF has no account system. OwnPDF does not ask for storage, media, camera or location permission: you pick files with Android's own file and photo pickers, which give the app only what you choose, and scanning uses Google's document scanner or your camera app. Fingerprint and screen-lock checks are handled by Android; OwnPDF never receives your fingerprint or PIN. Passwords you type to open or lock a PDF are used once on the phone and never stored.
3. Services provided by Google
OwnPDF uses software development kits (SDKs) from Google, which act under Google's privacy policy: policies.google.com/privacy. How Google uses information from apps that use its services: policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.
Google AdMob (advertising) and Google User Messaging Platform (consent)
This applies only if you told OwnPDF you are 18 or older and you do not have Pro. For anyone under 18, OwnPDF never initialises the Google Mobile Ads SDK and never requests an ad.
To show ads, measure them and prevent fraud, the Google Mobile Ads SDK collects and shares with Google: device and other identifiers (the Android advertising ID and app set ID); IP address, used to estimate your general location; app interactions such as ad views and taps; and diagnostic information. Google encrypts this data in transit. Ads never receive the content of your documents.
Your choices:
- Settings → Personalised ads off: Google shows only non-personalised ads, based on general context such as the app and rough location.
- In the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and regions where Google shows a consent or privacy message, you see Google's form first. Change your choice any time at Settings → Ad privacy.
- Reset or delete your advertising ID in Android Settings → Privacy → Ads.
- Pro removes all ads.
Ad formats: a banner on the screen shown after a task finishes, and rewarded ads you choose to watch to use a Pro tool once (for example password lock, OCR or watermark). Ads are never shown while you read, edit or fill a document, and never outside the app.
Google Play Billing
Pro is bought through Google Play. Google processes the payment and tells the app whether you own Pro; we never receive your card, bank, name or email details. Google Play's terms and privacy policy apply to the purchase. We do not currently run a server to verify purchases; if we start, we will update this policy first and send only the purchase token, which does not identify you.
Google ML Kit (document scanner and text recognition)
Scanning and text recognition run entirely on your phone; your pages are never sent to Google. The document scanner is provided by Google Play services. To keep ML Kit working, Google receives limited technical information: device model and operating system, the app's package name and version, a per-installation identifier that does not identify you, performance and error data, and the feature's settings. Google uses this for diagnostics and usage analytics and does not share it with third parties.
4. How we use information
Only to provide the app's features on your phone, to show ads to adults and respect their choices, to unlock Pro, and to protect minors. We do not sell your personal information, and we do not build profiles of you.
5. Children
OwnPDF is a general-audience tool and is not directed at children. On first launch we ask your year of birth with a neutral question and keep only your age group. Indian law treats everyone under 18 as a child, so for anyone under 18 OwnPDF shows no ads, never initialises the ad software, and makes the tools that adults unlock with an ad free to use. Their documents are processed only on the phone. Purchases on Google Play are subject to Google's family and payment controls. A parent or guardian with a concern can contact us — and "Delete all my data" removes everything the app stored on that phone.
6. Your rights
Everyone. Your documents stay on your phone, so you already control them: view and delete files in the app, delete everything with Settings → Delete all my data, or uninstall. You can contact us with any question or complaint.
India (Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023). You may ask about the processing of your personal data, ask for correction or erasure, withdraw consent as easily as you gave it, nominate another person to exercise your rights, and raise a grievance with our Grievance Officer (section 11). If you are not satisfied with our response, you may complain to the Data Protection Board of India.
EEA, UK and Switzerland (GDPR / UK GDPR). You may access, correct, erase, restrict or object to processing, and withdraw consent at any time through Settings → Ad privacy. Personalised advertising is based on your consent. You may complain to your local data protection authority. Google acts as an independent controller for the advertising data its SDK collects.
United States (including California, CCPA/CPRA, and other state laws). We do not sell personal information for money. Showing personalised ads may count as "sharing" for cross-context behavioural advertising under some state laws. To opt out, turn off Settings → Personalised ads; where Google shows a US state privacy message you can also use Settings → Ad privacy. We will not discriminate against you for using your rights.
For Google's data, use the choices in section 3 or myaccount.google.com/data-and-privacy. We will help if you contact us.
7. Where data is processed
Your documents never leave your phone through OwnPDF. Google may process the advertising, billing and diagnostic data described in section 3 in India or other countries, under Google's privacy safeguards.
8. Security
Files are kept in Android's app-private storage and removed when you uninstall. Private Files and the saved signature are encrypted with AES-256-GCM under a hardware-backed key that requires your fingerprint or screen lock. PDF passwords use AES-256. Every edit is written to a new file and checked before it is saved, so a failed task never damages your original. Because we hold no copy of your data, there is no OwnPDF database that could be breached. If we learn of a security incident affecting your personal data, we will notify you and the authorities as the law requires.
9. Translations
The app is available in several languages. This English policy is the governing version.
10. Changes to this policy
If we change this policy, we will update the effective date and show the new version in the app and on this page. If a change affects how your personal data is used, we will tell you in the app before it takes effect.
11. Contact and Grievance Officer
Publisher: Provantic Technologies Private Limited, Prestige Atlanta, Koramangala, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560034, India
Email: provantict@gmail.com
Grievance Officer (India): Premkumar R — provantict@gmail.com. We acknowledge complaints within 24 hours and aim to resolve them within 15 days.