Privacy Policy

Last updated: September 19, 2026

This Privacy Policy describes how Screen Translate ("we", "our", or "the app") handles information when you use our Android application.

1. Information We Do Not Collect

We do not operate servers that receive your content. We do not collect, store, or transmit:

• Names, email addresses, or phone numbers
• Location data
• Contacts or call logs
• Photos, files, or media, other than the temporary screen capture described below
• Account credentials or passwords

2. Screen Capture and Text Recognition

The app uses Android's MediaProjection API to capture what is currently displayed on your screen. That image is:

• Processed on your device using on-device OCR (Google ML Kit) to extract visible text
• Used solely to produce a translation
• Never stored, logged, or sent to us
• Discarded as soon as the translation completes

3. Translation Engines

The extracted text is sent from your device directly to the translation engine you select. We are not an intermediary and never receive this text. Available engines:

• Google Translate — used by default, no key required
• DeepL, OpenAI, Google Gemini, Anthropic Claude — used only if you enter your own API key for that provider

Your text is handled by the provider you choose, under that provider's own privacy policy and your own account terms with them. Please review: Google, DeepL, OpenAI, Anthropic.

4. Context Option (AI Engines)

For the AI engines you may enable a context option. When it is on, text recognized elsewhere on the same screen is sent together with the sentence being translated, so the model can resolve pronouns and ambiguous words. This means more of the on-screen text leaves your device than with the option off.

The option is set per engine. The default is to include only the surrounding sentences; you can turn it off entirely, or extend it to the whole screen, in the engine's settings.

5. API Keys

API keys you enter are encrypted and stored only on your device. They are sent only to the provider they belong to, in order to authenticate your own requests. We never receive them.

6. Advertising

The app is free and supported by ads delivered through Google AdMob. To show a rewarded ad, the Google Mobile Ads SDK may collect and process data such as your advertising identifier, device information, and ad interactions. This is handled by Google under the Google Privacy & Terms.

In the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, we present a consent message before personalized ads are served, and you can change your choice at any time from the app's settings.

7. Firebase Services

The app uses the following Google Firebase services:

• Analytics and Crashlytics — anonymous usage statistics and crash reports used to fix defects and improve the app. These do not identify you personally and never include the text you translate.
• Remote Config — delivers configuration values to the app.
• App Check — verifies that requests come from a genuine install.

See Firebase Privacy and Security.

8. Text-to-Speech

Reading translations aloud uses the text-to-speech engine installed on your device. Whether that engine processes text on-device or in the cloud depends on the engine you have selected in Android settings.

9. Permissions

• Display over other apps — to show the floating translation overlay
• Screen capture — to read visible text via OCR for translation
• Internet — to reach the translation engine and serve ads
• Vibration — haptic feedback when text is detected
• Notifications — required for the foreground service indicator

10. Children's Privacy

Screen Translate is not directed at children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes will be reflected on this page with an updated "Last updated" date.

12. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, contact us at: handwritingdictionary@gmail.com