Privacy Policy
1. Data the app handles
| Data | Where it is kept | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Camera frames and finished videos | On your device: the app's private storage while recording, then your gallery
(Movies/Time2Timelapse) |
Making the timelapse |
| Recording settings, schedules and session records (start time, interval, frame counts) | On your device, in the app's private storage | Resuming and finishing recordings, schedules |
| Google account email address (only if you turn on backup) | On your device | Showing which account the backup is connected to |
| Video parts, small thumbnails and the recording catalog (part times, frame counts) (only if you turn on backup) | Your Google Drive, area reserved for this app (appDataFolder) |
Backup, and watching or exporting from your other devices |
| Device status: the device name you choose, phone model, app version, battery level and charging state, free storage, temperature level, warnings, recording progress (only if you turn on backup) | Your Google Drive, area reserved for this app | Showing how the camera is doing on your other devices |
| Activity records: export, trash, restore and delete actions, and requests sent between your devices (only if you turn on backup) | Your Google Drive, area reserved for this app | Keeping every device in sync and showing what happened |
We do not collect: your name, phone number, location, contacts, microphone audio or advertising identifier. The app does not record sound. Crash reports and usage statistics are described in section 3.
2. Optional Google Drive backup
- Backup is off until you turn it on in Settings → Backup and choose a Google account.
- The app asks for two permissions only:
drive.appdata— an area of your Drive reserved for this app, which only this app can read and write and which doesn't appear in your Drive file list (the app cannot see any of your other Drive files), andemail— your address, shown in the app so you know which account is connected. - Sign-in is handled by Google Play services on your device. Files go directly between your device and Google over an encrypted connection (HTTPS); they never pass through a server of ours.
- Uploads use Wi-Fi by default. Mobile data is used only if you allow it.
- Any device where you open Time2Timelapse with the same Google account and turn on backup can see, export, move to trash or delete these recordings, except those of a device you have hidden. A hidden device and its recordings are not shown in the app on your other devices at all, and their screen lock cannot reveal them; only the hidden device itself can make them visible again. Hiding is not encryption: the backup remains in your Google account.
- Backups use your Google Drive storage quota.
3. Crash reports and usage statistics
The app can send two kinds of technical data to Google's Firebase services. Each one has its own switch in Settings → Privacy and can be turned off at any time, separately. Neither one ever includes your photos, videos, file names, location or Google account, and the app has no ads and does not use the advertising ID.
Crash reports. If "Send crash reports" is on (Settings → Privacy, on by default), the app sends a technical report to Firebase Crashlytics when it crashes, freezes or a recording ends with an error: where the error happened, phone model, Android and app version, and the last screens and steps in the app. We use it, based on our legitimate interest, to keep long unattended recordings reliable. Reports never include photos, videos, file names, location or your account. You can turn this off at any time; turning it off deletes reports that haven't been sent.
Usage statistics. These are off until you agree: after your first saved video the app asks once whether you want to share them, and nothing is sent if you choose "Don't allow" or close the question. We rely on your consent, which you can withdraw at any time. If "Share usage statistics" is on (Settings → Privacy), the app sends anonymous usage data to Google Analytics for Firebase: which screens and features are used, recording settings (for example resolution and interval) and how recordings end (completed, stopped, error type, rough duration). It is linked to a random app-instance ID, not to your name, account or advertising ID. Photos, videos, file names, location and your Google account are never sent. Google processes this data on our behalf; it is kept for 14 months. You can turn it off at any time; turning it off also deletes the analytics ID on your phone.
This is separate from the Google Drive backup: your recordings and backup data never go to Firebase.
4. Google API Services User Data Policy
Time2Timelapse's use and transfer to any other app of information received from Google APIs will adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. In particular:
- Data from your Google Drive is used only to provide the backup and viewing features you see in the app.
- It is not sent to the developer or to any third party, it is not used for advertising, and it is not sold.
- No person reads it. It stays between your devices and your Google account.
5. Device permissions
| Permission | Used for |
|---|---|
| Camera | Capturing frames |
| Notifications | The recording notification and warnings (battery, storage, temperature, backup) |
| Foreground service, wake lock | Keeping a long recording running with the screen off |
| Alarms and reminders, run at startup | Starting scheduled recordings on time, also after a restart |
| Internet, network state | The optional backup (checking for Wi-Fi before uploading), and sending crash reports and usage statistics if they are on |
6. Keeping and deleting data
- On your device: finished videos are in your gallery; delete them like any other video. The app's working files are removed once a video is saved (with backup on, after every part has been uploaded). Uninstalling the app removes all of its private data.
- In your Drive: in the app's Backups screen you can move recordings to the trash; they are permanently deleted after 30 days or when you empty the trash.
- Everything at once: open Google Drive settings on the web → Manage apps → Time2Timelapse → Options → Delete hidden app data.
- Remove access: myaccount.google.com/permissions → Time2Timelapse → Remove access. In the app, Settings → Backup → Disconnect stops backup on that device.
- Crash reports and usage statistics: turn them off in Settings → Privacy. Turning off crash reports deletes reports that haven't been sent; turning off usage statistics deletes the analytics ID on your phone. Usage statistics are kept for 14 months. For other requests, contact us at the address below.
7. Children
The app is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect data from children.
8. Your responsibility when recording
Timelapses may capture people or private places. Please follow the laws where you record and respect the privacy of others. See also our Terms of Use.
9. Changes
This policy may be updated from time to time. The current version is always published on this page, with the date of the last update above.
10. Contact
Questions or requests: sehappdev@gmail.com