Privacy Policy

Last updated: November 1, 2026

The app named Ciphergrove here was called Cryptomere before version 2.0. Only the name changed; this policy applies to both.

Developer: Radioactive Coding LLC, an Iowa limited liability company, United States.
Contact: privacy@radioactivecoding.com

1. The short version

Ciphergrove is an encrypted vault that works on your device. The photos, videos, documents, notes and other files you put in it are stored only on your phone, encrypted. We do not have an account system, we do not receive your files, and we cannot read them. The free version shows ads provided by Google, described in section 4.

2. What stays on your device

  • Your files, their names, folders, tags, thumbnails and the vault database are stored on your device only, encrypted with keys that are protected by your phone’s secure hardware and by your PIN or biometrics.
  • Your recovery code is created on your device and shown to you once. We never see it.
  • The built-in browser keeps your logins (cookies), bookmarks and browsing history encrypted inside the vault, only while the vault is open, and you can turn history off or clear it at any time. It does not save cache or form data. In a private session it keeps nothing at all.
  • Server addresses, logins and passwords you add for backups are stored on your device, encrypted with the vault key, and are removed by a panic wipe.
  • If you set up a second vault, it is stored separately on your device and encrypted in the same way. The details shown for a photo (location, camera) are read on your phone from the file in your vault and are never sent anywhere.
  • The app keeps a log of failed unlock attempts (the time and the method used: PIN, recovery code or fingerprint). It never contains a PIN or any secret, stays on your device, and you can clear it at any time.
  • The app remembers, on your device only, the date of your last backup and integrity check so it can remind you to back up. Printing a recovery sheet uses your phone’s own print system; nothing is sent to us.

3. When data leaves your device

  • Only when you ask. You can export or share a file, create an encrypted backup file, or transfer a folder or your vault to another phone. Transfers go directly between the two phones over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi and are encrypted. They do not pass through our servers.
  • Backups and archives to a place you choose. If you add a server (WebDAV, SFTP or a Windows share), a folder, an SD card or a USB drive, Ciphergrove sends the encrypted backup file there, and, if you choose Archive to server, the encrypted copy of the files you select. The place is one you control. Nothing goes to us or through our servers, and we cannot read it. The place’s owner can see that the data exists, when it was written and how big it is. Ciphergrove checks a server’s fingerprint when you add it and refuses a different server at that address. A backup can only be opened with your recovery code.
  • Wi-Fi transfer with a computer. If you choose Transfer with a computer, the app starts a small web server on your phone for up to 30 minutes. A computer on the same Wi-Fi network opens the address shown on the phone and types the 6-digit code shown there; after five wrong codes the server stops. Files you send or fetch go directly between your phone and that computer. They do not pass through our servers or the internet, and they are encrypted on the phone as soon as they arrive. The connection uses HTTPS with a certificate the phone creates for that session, so your browser will show a warning that you confirm by comparing the fingerprint on the screen. Files you send to the computer are decrypted as they leave the phone and are saved wherever your browser saves downloads.
  • The built-in browser. When you browse or download, the websites you visit receive the usual information any browser sends, such as your IP address and browser type. Files you download are saved into your encrypted vault.
  • “Open with”. If you open a file that Ciphergrove can’t display in another app, a temporary decrypted copy is given to the app you choose. Ciphergrove deletes that copy when you return to it, when the vault locks, and at the next start.

4. Ads and purchases (Google)

  • The free version shows banner ads from Google AdMob. AdMob may collect and use your device’s advertising ID, approximate location derived from your IP address, how you interact with ads, and diagnostic information, to show and measure ads and to prevent fraud. This data goes to Google and is subject to Google’s privacy policy. No file names, file contents or vault data are shared with the ad service.
  • In the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, a consent form from Google asks for your choice before ads are requested. You can change it later in Settings → Ad privacy options. You can also reset or delete your advertising ID in your phone’s settings.
  • If you buy a subscription (ad-free, or Ciphergrove Pro, which includes ad-free), the ad service is switched off for your account. Whether you have one is checked with Google Play on your phone; we do not run an account system or receive that information. Payments are handled entirely by Google Play. We do not receive your payment details.

5. Permissions

  • Internet: for the built-in browser, ads and the subscription.
  • Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Nearby devices and (on Android 12 and older) location: only to find and connect to another phone for a transfer. We do not collect or store your location.
  • Local network (Wi-Fi) access: used only while Transfer with a computer is open, so a computer on your own network can reach the phone. Nothing is sent over the internet for this.
  • Notifications, foreground service and keeping the phone awake: so a backup or archive keeps running, and tells you how it ended, if you leave the app. Nothing sensitive is shown on the lock screen.
  • Access to one folder you pick: for a backup place or file storage on an SD card or USB drive. Android’s folder picker grants access to that folder only.
  • Biometrics: to unlock the vault, if you choose that option.
  • Advertising ID: used by the ad service in the free version, as described in section 4.

6. Security

Files and the database are encrypted with AES-256. Keys are protected by your phone’s secure hardware and your PIN. Screenshots and the recent-apps preview are blocked inside the app. No system is perfectly secure, and we cannot recover your files if you lose both your unlock method and your recovery code. See How Ciphergrove protects you for what it does and doesn’t protect against.

7. Your choices and rights

Because we do not hold your files or an account about you, there is nothing for us to export or delete. You can delete everything by clearing the app’s data or uninstalling the app. Depending on where you live (for example the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or California), you may have rights over data that Google holds about you through its ad services. Use Google’s privacy tools for that.

8. Europe, the UK and Switzerland (GDPR)

Who is responsible. Radioactive Coding LLC, an Iowa limited liability company in the United States (privacy@radioactivecoding.com), is the developer of Ciphergrove. Because we do not receive or store your files or any account data, we generally do not act as a controller of personal data about you. Google is the controller of the data its ad and payment services collect, under its own privacy policy.

What we process. Your vault, recovery code, backup history and settings are processed only on your device, under your control. We do not run servers that receive them and we do not use analytics or tracking tools of our own. The only data that leaves your device without a direct action from you is what Google AdMob and Google Play collect in the free version, as described in section 4.

Legal bases. For ads: your consent, requested through Google’s consent form before any ad is requested; you may withdraw it at any time in Settings → Ad privacy options. For purchases: performance of the contract with you, handled by Google Play. For email you send us (for example support requests): our legitimate interest in answering you, and we keep it only as long as needed to do so.

Your rights. You have the right to access, correct, erase, restrict or object to the processing of your personal data, to data portability, and to withdraw consent at any time without affecting earlier processing. For data we hold (only emails you send us), write to privacy@radioactivecoding.com and we will respond within one month. For data held by Google, use Google’s privacy tools.

International transfers. Ciphergrove itself transfers nothing to us. Google may process ad and payment data outside your country under its own safeguards (such as standard contractual clauses). Emails you send us are processed in the United States.

Complaints. You can complain to your local data protection authority, for example the authority in your EU member state, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office, or the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner.

Automated decisions. We make no decisions about you by automated means.

9. Children

Ciphergrove is not designed for children under 13 (or the minimum age in your country), and we do not knowingly collect data from them.

10. Changes to this policy

If we change this policy we will update the date above and, for significant changes, tell you in the app or in the store listing.

11. Contact

Questions about privacy: privacy@radioactivecoding.com.