Privacy Policy
In short: our apps don't ask you to create an account, and we don't sell your personal information. To run the apps, show ads and fix crashes, we collect a small amount of technical data, such as an app-specific device identifier, your country, how you use the app and crash reports. Google services such as AdMob and Firebase also process data on our behalf. Your favorites and settings stay on your phone. Apps made for young children collect less data and show only child-appropriate ads.
This policy explains what information the mobile apps published by Software Flare Pvt. Ltd. ("Software Flare", "we", "us") collect, why we collect it, and the choices you have. It applies to every app we publish on Google Play under the Software Flare developer account (each an "App", together the "Services"). Not every App has every feature, and our apps for young children follow the stricter rules in section 11. Where a section only applies to Apps with a certain feature, it says so. Section 10 describes WallFlare in detail.
By using an App you agree to this policy. If you don't agree, please don't use the App.
1. Information we collect
We don't ask for your name, phone number, contacts or precise location, and you don't need an account to use our Apps.
Information collected automatically
- App-specific device identifier. A random or one-way hashed identifier that is unique to the App on your device. We create it on your device so our server can recognise the install. It is not your phone number or IMEI, and the raw Android ID never leaves your phone.
- Device and app details. Device manufacturer, model, the device name set in your phone's settings, Android version, app version and language. We use these to keep the service compatible and to tell devices apart in our support and admin tools.
- Approximate country. A two-letter country code taken from your mobile network, SIM or language settings. It is used for country-based content such as "trending in your country". We don't collect GPS or precise location.
- App activity. Actions such as opening screens, searches you type inside the App, items you view, download, share or favourite, and settings you change. We use this activity to run counters and rankings, and to understand which features are useful.
- Diagnostics. Crash reports and performance data, such as stack traces, device state and app version, so we can find and fix bugs.
- Network data. Like any internet service, our servers and our service providers receive your IP address and basic request details when the App connects. Server logs are kept for security and abuse prevention.
Information you choose to give us
- Reports and feedback. If an App lets you report content, we receive the reason you pick, any message you write, and the item you reported.
- Emails. If you contact us, we receive your email address and whatever you include in your message.
Information that stays on your device
Favourites, preferences, history lists and similar settings are stored locally on your phone and are not uploaded to us, unless a section of this policy says otherwise. Some of this data is excluded from Android backup, such as device identifiers and sign-in tokens, so it isn't copied to a new phone.
2. How we use information
- To provide the App's features, such as loading content, keeping download and favourite counters, and ranking trending items.
- To show ads and measure them, and to limit how often ads appear (see section 4).
- To verify and restore purchases (see section 5).
- To send notifications you have allowed (see section 6).
- To understand usage and improve the Apps, using aggregated analytics.
- To detect crashes, abuse, fraud and security problems.
- To review reported content and answer your messages.
- To meet legal obligations.
Where the GDPR or similar laws apply, our legal bases are: performance of the service you asked for; our legitimate interests in running, securing and improving the Apps; your consent, where it is required (for example for personalised ads and notifications); and legal obligations.
We do not sell your personal information. We share it only as described in this policy.
3. Third-party services
Our Apps use the following services. Each one processes data under its own privacy policy.
| Service | What it's used for | Data it may process |
|---|---|---|
| Google Play Services | Core Android services, in-app updates and in-app reviews | Device identifiers, app version |
| Google AdMob and the User Messaging Platform | Showing ads and collecting ad consent | Advertising ID, IP address, device information, ad interactions |
| Firebase Analytics | Usage statistics | App-instance ID, app activity, device information, approximate location derived from IP |
| Firebase Crashlytics | Crash and error reports | Crash traces, device state, app-specific identifier |
| Firebase Cloud Messaging | Push notifications | Push token, app-instance ID |
| Google Play Billing | In-app purchases | Purchase token, product and order details. We never receive your card or payment details. |
We may also use hosting and infrastructure providers to run our servers. They process data only on our instructions. We may disclose information if the law requires it, to protect our rights or users' safety, or as part of a merger or sale of our business.
4. Advertising and consent
Our free Apps are supported by ads served by Google AdMob, which may use your device's Advertising ID and similar technologies.
- In the EEA, the UK, Switzerland and other regions where it is required, the App shows Google's consent form before personalised ads are shown. You can change your choice at any time with the App's "Ad privacy choices" option, where available.
- To reset or delete your Advertising ID, or to opt out of personalised ads across apps, open Android Settings → Privacy → Ads (the exact name varies by phone).
- Rewarded ads are always optional. You choose to watch one in exchange for an in-app benefit.
- Buying an ad-free upgrade, where offered, stops ads in that App.
5. In-app purchases
Payments are handled by Google Play. To activate and protect your purchase, the App sends the purchase token and product ID, together with the app-specific device identifier, to our server. Our server checks them with Google. This lets us restore your purchase and move it to a new phone when you ask, and lets us prevent fraud. We never see or store your payment card details.
6. Notifications
If you allow notifications, Firebase Cloud Messaging gives the App a push token, which we store on our server linked to the app-specific device identifier. If you turn notifications off in the App, we remove the token from our server. You can also turn notifications off in Android settings at any time.
7. Device permissions
Apps ask only for the permissions their features need. Typical permissions are:
- Internet and network state. To load content and to respect "Wi-Fi only" options.
- Notifications (Android 13 and newer). Asked for at run time; you can refuse.
- Set wallpaper. Only in Apps that apply wallpapers.
- Storage (Android 12L and older only). To save images you choose to download. Newer Android versions don't need this permission.
- Advertising ID and billing. Used by the Google services described above.
Our Apps don't access your contacts, camera, microphone, SMS or precise location.
8. Retention, security and international transfers
- We keep data only for as long as we need it. Device records and push tokens are kept while the App is in use and are removed after a long period of inactivity. Purchase records are kept for as long as the purchase is valid and for as long as the law requires. Aggregated statistics, which don't identify you, may be kept longer.
- Google services keep data according to their own policies. For example, you can set Firebase Analytics data to expire on a schedule.
- All traffic between the Apps and our servers is encrypted with HTTPS. We protect our servers with reasonable technical and organisational measures. However, no method of transmission or storage is 100% secure.
- We and our service providers may process data in countries other than yours. Where the law requires it, we use appropriate safeguards for these transfers, such as the standard contractual clauses that Google applies.
9. Your choices and rights
- Without asking us: turn off notifications; change your ad consent; reset your Advertising ID; clear the App's data or uninstall the App, which deletes everything stored on your phone.
- On request: depending on where you live (for example under the GDPR, UK GDPR or California CCPA/CPRA), you may have the right to access, correct or delete your data, or to object to or restrict how we process it. You can also withdraw consent at any time. Email us at info@softwareflare.com. Because we don't use accounts, tell us the App's name. If you can, include the device model or the date you reported something, so we can find the right records.
- You can also complain to your local data protection authority.
10. WallFlare: app-specific details
WallFlare (com.softwareflare.wallflare) is a wallpaper app. In addition to the sections above, this is how it handles data:
- Device registration. On first launch the App registers with
wallflare.softwareflare.com. It sends a one-way hash of the Android ID combined with the App's package name, the platform, the app version, and the device manufacturer, model, device name and Android version. The server returns an access token, which the App keeps on your phone and sends with later requests. - Country. A two-letter country code is sent with some requests to show trending wallpapers and tags for your country.
- Counters. When you download, share or favourite a wallpaper, the server counts it against the wallpaper so that rankings like "Popular" and "Most loved" work.
- Search. The words you search for are sent to our server to find matching wallpapers. The search term is also logged as an analytics event so we can see which wallpapers people look for.
- Reports. If you report a wallpaper, we receive the wallpaper, the reason you chose, your optional message and the device identifier. A reported wallpaper is hidden on your device.
- Stored only on your phone: favourites, auto-wallpaper settings and history, download and share allowances, and display preferences.
- Auto wallpaper. If you turn it on, the App downloads and applies wallpapers in the background on the schedule you choose, optionally only on Wi-Fi. It doesn't need location or any extra data.
- Saved and shared images. Downloads are saved to your Pictures/WallFlare folder. When you share, the image is copied to the App's private cache and handed to the app you pick.
- Ads and Premium. WallFlare shows AdMob ads. It gives you a few free downloads and shares each day; watching an optional rewarded ad adds more. The one-time "remove ads" purchase is verified on our server as described in section 5.
- Staff accounts. A hidden login exists only for Software Flare staff who moderate content. It is not available to the public. When staff log in, their email address, sign-in token and the device details listed above are linked to their staff account, so the phone can receive moderation alerts.
11. Children and apps for kids
Most of our Apps, including WallFlare, are not directed at children under 13, or under the minimum age in your country. We don't knowingly collect personal information from children in those Apps. If you believe a child has given us personal information in one of them, contact us and we will delete it.
Apps made for young children
Some of our Apps are designed for young children, for example Little Kiddy Learn (com.softwareflare.little.kiddy.learn). For those Apps, which we mark as child-directed on Google Play, the following rules replace the general rules in this policy wherever they conflict:
- No accounts and no personal details. The App doesn't ask a child or parent for a name, email address, phone number, photo or precise location.
- Ads made for children. These Apps show ads, and the ads are chosen to be appropriate for children. They are served only through Google-certified ad networks that follow Google Play's Families policy. We mark ad requests as child-directed, so ads are not personalised and the Advertising ID is not used for ad targeting.
- Limited analytics. We collect only what is needed to keep the App working and to fix crashes, such as crash reports and basic app-version information. We do not use data from the App for personalised advertising or profiling.
- Parental gate. Anything that leaves the App, such as links to the web or to other apps, or any purchase, is behind a parental gate.
- No selling or sharing for personalised ads. We don't sell children's information or share it with third parties for personalised advertising.
Parents and guardians can contact us at info@softwareflare.com to ask what data an App holds, or to have it deleted. Tell us the App's name and the device model so we can find the record.
Where the sections above describe ad consent forms, personalised ads, notifications or device identifiers, they do not apply to the child-directed Apps listed in this section.
12. Changes to this policy and contact
We may update this policy as our Apps change. We will post the new version on this page and update the effective date above. If the changes are significant, we will also let you know in the App where appropriate.
Questions or requests? Contact Software Flare Pvt. Ltd. at info@softwareflare.com.