Privacy Policy: My Photo Backup

What the app does

My Photo Backup copies photos and videos from your iPhone's photo library to a destination you pick. After it has checked that the copy is intact, it can also delete the originals from your phone. It only does that when you ask, and iOS asks you to confirm. The app does not edit, analyze, or share your photos with anyone. It has no social features and no feed.

There is no server, and no account with us

This app has no backend, no servers, and no user accounts of its own. There is no "My Photo Backup account." The app runs on your iPhone. Where your data goes depends on the destination you set up, which is covered next.

Where your photos and videos go, by destination

Today the app supports three kinds of destination. Where your data goes is different for each.

For Dropbox, your photos and videos leave your iPhone and are stored by Dropbox, in the cloud, under your account. That is different from the Mac and network-drive destinations, where your files stay on your own devices and network. You choose the destination when you set the app up, and you can see and change it at any time in Settings.

What we ask Dropbox for, and why

When you connect Dropbox, the app sends you to Dropbox's own sign-in page and asks for permission. The app asks for four permissions:

• Write files (files.content.write): to upload your photos and videos.
• Read files (files.content.read): to download what it just uploaded and compare it with the original, so it can confirm the copy is intact before it offers to delete anything.
• Read file information (files.metadata.read): to list folders and read file checksums.
• Read basic account information (account_info.read): to get your Dropbox account ID and email address, which the app shows on screen so you can tell which account is connected.

The app is registered with Dropbox as a "Full Dropbox" app, so it can see your whole Dropbox. This lets you pick any existing folder as the backup folder. The permission is broader than what the app does with it. In practice, the app works inside the backup folder you choose.

We, the developer, never receive your Dropbox password, your permission token, or your files. The connection is between your iPhone and Dropbox's servers.

What is stored on your iPhone

• Your Mac or network-drive password, if you use that kind of destination, is stored in your iPhone's Keychain, readable only on this device after you have unlocked it once since it started (kSecAttrAccessibleAfterFirstUnlockThisDeviceOnly). It is not included in iCloud Keychain, so it does not sync to your other devices.
• Your Dropbox sign-in token, if you use Dropbox, is stored the same way: in the Keychain, on your iPhone only, never synced to iCloud, never sent to us.
• Destination settings. The app saves the details of your destination in the app's settings on your iPhone: for a Mac or network drive, the server name, share name, and username (not the password); for Dropbox, your account ID, your email address, and the backup folder you chose. It also saves your backup settings: which albums to back up, folder naming, and the optional schedule.
• A backup record. To skip photos it has already copied, and to prove a copy is intact before any delete, the app keeps a small database on your iPhone. For each photo or video it holds a fingerprint of the file (a checksum), the original file name, the file size, the media type, the creation date, the album name, the folder it was copied to, and the result. It also keeps a history of past backups: when each ran, how many items were copied, skipped, or failed, and why. This database holds no photo or video content. It does not hold Apple's photo-library identifiers.
• Temporary copies. While a photo or video is in flight, the app writes a temporary copy in its own storage on your iPhone, then removes it.

The app's storage on your iPhone is visible in the Files app under "On My iPhone", because the app turns on iOS file sharing. That includes the backup record. It stays on your device and is not sent anywhere.

Your Mac or network-drive password and your Dropbox token only leave your iPhone to sign in directly to your Mac, your network drive, or Dropbox.

Permissions the app asks for

• Photos. The app reads your photos and videos so it can copy the originals to your backup. It also asks for permission to change your library, which it uses to delete the originals once you have approved a delete.
• Local Network. The app finds Macs on your wifi and connects to your Mac or network drive. iOS asks you the first time. If you say no, you can still type your Mac's name or address by hand.
• Notifications (optional). If you turn on reminders, the app schedules a reminder on your iPhone to tell you a backup is due. It is a local notification. It does not come from a server, and it contains no photo data.

What we do not collect

• No analytics.
• No advertising or tracking of any kind, and no advertising identifiers.
• No crash reporting or diagnostics service of our own. If you have chosen in iOS settings to share analytics with app developers, Apple may pass us anonymous crash reports. That is Apple's setting, and you can turn it off in Settings > Privacy & Security > Analytics & Improvements.
• No outside software development kits (SDKs) except one library for the file-sharing connection to your Mac or network drive (AMSMB2). It moves bytes from your phone to the destination you chose, and it reports nothing to anyone.
• The app makes no network connection to us. The only internet connections it makes are to Dropbox (to sign in and to move your files) and to Apple (for purchases).
• The app reports nothing about how you use it. Apple gives developers aggregate App Store figures, such as downloads and sales, which identify no one.

Purchases

The app is free to download and lets you back up a limited number of photos and videos each month. A one-time in-app purchase removes that limit. Purchases are handled entirely by Apple through StoreKit. The app checks on your iPhone, with Apple, whether you have bought it. We do not see your payment details, and Apple's own privacy policy governs that transaction.

Children's privacy

This app is not directed at children and does not collect information from anyone. It has no age-gating because it has nothing to collect. Everything described above applies equally regardless of the user's age.

Data deletion

Because we never receive or store your photos, videos, or any personal data on any server of ours, there is nothing for us to delete on your behalf. To remove data related to this app:

• Delete your backed-up photos from your Mac, network drive, or Dropbox the same way you would delete any other file there, since it is your own storage.
• Revoke the app's access to your Dropbox account in Dropbox's own connected-apps settings.
• For a Mac or network drive, use "Forget" in the app's Settings, which deletes the stored password. Do this before deleting the app, because iOS can keep saved passwords after an app is deleted.
• For Dropbox, revoking the app's access in Dropbox (above) makes the stored sign-in token useless.
• Delete the app from your iPhone. That removes its settings and its backup record.

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes, the "Last updated" date at the top will change. If the change is significant (for example, if a new destination or a new kind of data flow is added), we will say so plainly on this page.

Contact

Questions about this policy or the app can be sent to hello@niamoslabs.com.

This policy is published at https://niamoslabs.com/photobackup/privacy.