SPoT Shield Privacy Policy
- SPoT Shield works entirely on your phone. Your messages and contacts are never uploaded to us or to anyone else.
- We have no servers, no user accounts, no advertising and no analytics.
- We do not sell, share or transfer your data.
1. Who we are
SPoT Shield is an SMS app for Android published by HCR Developers ("we", "us"). It replaces your phone's default messaging app and sorts incoming texts so that messages from people you know stay in your Inbox, while messages from unknown numbers go to a separate Fraud folder.
2. Information the app uses and why
To work as your messaging app, SPoT Shield needs access to some personal information. All of it is processed on your device only.
| Information | Why the app uses it | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|
| SMS and MMS messages (sender number, message text, date) | To show your conversations, receive new messages, send the messages you write, and keep messages from unknown numbers in the Fraud folder. | Stays on your phone, in Android's message store and in the app's private storage. |
| Contacts (names and phone numbers) | To show names instead of numbers and to keep messages from your saved contacts in your Inbox. Contacts are read when needed and are not copied into the app's storage. | Never leaves your phone. |
| Your trusted senders, blocked senders and filter keywords | To apply the filtering choices you make. | Stored in the app's private storage on your phone. |
| Notifications | To alert you when a message reaches your Inbox. Messages sent to Fraud do not trigger notifications. | Shown on your phone only. |
SPoT Shield does not collect your location, device identifiers, advertising ID, photos, files, browsing history or financial information, and it does not record calls.
3. What we do not do
- We do not upload your messages, contacts or settings to any server. The app has no server of its own.
- We do not include advertising, analytics or tracking software.
- We do not sell, rent or share your information with third parties.
- We do not use your messages to train software or build profiles about you.
4. Sending messages
When you send an SMS from SPoT Shield, it is delivered through your mobile network operator in the same way as any other SMS. Your operator's own privacy terms apply to that delivery.
5. Backups
If you have turned on Android backup for your Google account, Android may include SPoT Shield's app data (such as your Fraud folder, sender lists and keywords) in your device backup. That backup is created and stored by Google under your account, and we cannot access it. You can turn backup off in your phone's settings.
6. Data retention and deletion
Your data stays on your phone until you delete it. You can:
- Delete individual messages or whole conversations inside the app.
- Remove trusted or blocked senders and keywords in Settings.
- Delete all app data in Android Settings › Apps › SPoT Shield › Storage › Clear data, or by uninstalling the app.
Messages in your phone's main SMS store remain there if you switch back to another messaging app, just as with any SMS app.
7. Permissions
SPoT Shield asks for SMS permissions (read, receive and send SMS, receive MMS) because it is a default SMS app, contacts permission to recognise people you know, and notification permission to alert you to new messages. You can withdraw any permission at any time in Android Settings, or set another app as your default SMS app. Some features stop working without the related permission.
8. Security
Data stored by SPoT Shield is kept in the app's private storage, which Android protects from other apps. Because nothing is sent to us, there is no data in transit to our systems.
9. Children
SPoT Shield is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect information from children.
10. Changes to this policy
If the app's handling of information changes, for example if a paid subscription is added, we will update this policy and the effective date above before that change reaches users.
11. Contact
Questions about this policy or your data: Josepheckersen@gmail.com