The short version
Renewly has no accounts and no sign-in. The documents you scan or import, their details and your family list are stored only on your phone, encrypted. We (Forge Apps, the developer) never see them and keep no copy. Reading the expiry date from a scan happens on your phone. Nothing leaves your phone unless you choose to share a document, turn on sync to your own Google Drive, or add renewals to your calendar. No ads, no analytics, no tracking.
1. Information the app handles
| What | Why | Where it is kept |
|---|---|---|
| Document photos and PDFs you scan or import | So you can keep and view your documents | Only on your phone, encrypted |
| Document details: name, type, document number if you add it, issue and expiry dates, notes, renewal checklists, older versions | To track expiry dates and remind you | Only on your phone, encrypted |
| Family members, vehicles and homes you add (names and relationships) | To organise documents by person | Only on your phone, encrypted |
| Emergency card (blood group, allergies, insurer, emergency contacts), only if you fill it in | To show it quickly in an emergency | Only on your phone, encrypted |
| Text read from your documents | To find expiry dates and to let you search inside documents | Read on your phone, stored only on your phone |
| Settings (reminder times, language, theme, app lock) | To make the app work the way you chose | Only on your phone |
| Renewly Plus purchase | To unlock Plus | Handled by Google Play; we do not see your payment details |
We do not sell your information, and we do not use it for advertising.
2. Reading your documents
When you scan or import a document, Renewly reads its text on your phone using Google ML Kit's on-device text recognition, to find the expiry date and document type. The images and text are not uploaded for this. You check the details before anything is saved.
3. Sync between phones (Renewly Plus, off until you turn it on)
If you turn on sync, Renewly stores an encrypted copy of your vault in the hidden app-data area of your own Google Drive, so your other phones (and family phones you pair) can stay up to date. It is encrypted on your phone before upload with a key only your phones hold, so Google and we cannot read it. We do not run a server for this and receive nothing. Signing in to Google Drive is handled by Google under its own terms. You can turn sync off and remove the copy at any time in Settings → Backup & sync.
4. What else can leave your phone, only when you choose
- Safe sharing: when you share a document, Renewly makes a copy with a watermark (who it is for, why, and the date) and opens Android's share sheet. You pick where it goes; that copy is then handled by the app or person you sent it to.
- Calendar: if you turn on "Add renewals to calendar", expiry and reminder dates are written to the calendar on your phone. If that calendar syncs to an online account, it is handled by that account's provider.
- Feedback: if you send feedback, it goes from our website's contact form or your email app, with what you choose to write.
5. Third-party services
- Google Play for downloading the app and for the Renewly Plus purchase.
- Google ML Kit (on-device text recognition): runs on your phone; your documents are not sent to Google for this.
- Google Drive, only if you turn on sync: stores the encrypted copy in your own account.
Renewly contains no advertising, analytics or tracking SDKs.
6. Permissions
- Camera: to scan documents, only while the scanner is open.
- Notifications: for renewal reminders, worked out and scheduled on your phone.
- Biometrics: only if you turn on app lock; the fingerprint or face check is done by Android and Renewly never receives it.
- Calendar: only if you turn on calendar export.
- Internet: only for sync and for the Google Play purchase.
7. How your data is protected
Your documents and details are stored in an encrypted database and encrypted files in Renewly's private storage, with the key kept in Android's secure Keystore. App lock adds a fingerprint, face or PIN check, and screenshots and the recent-apps preview are blocked by default. Your recovery key lets you restore your vault on a new phone; we do not have it and cannot recover it for you. Android's device backup is turned off for Renewly, so your vault is not copied to Google by it. The emergency card, if you fill it in, can be shown from the lock screen without unlocking: only put in it what you are happy for someone holding your phone to see.
8. How long we keep it
Your data stays on your phone until you delete it in the app or uninstall Renewly. If you use sync, the encrypted copy stays in your Google Drive until you turn sync off and remove it, or delete it from your Google account. We hold no copy, so there is nothing for us to keep.
9. Your choices
- Edit, rename or delete any document, person or detail in the app at any time.
- Delete everything at once in Settings. See Delete your data.
- Turn sync, calendar export, app lock and reminders on or off in Settings.
10. Children
Renewly is meant for adults managing their family's documents, including documents for their children. It is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect information from children.
11. Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, the new version will be posted on this page with a new "Last updated" date. If a change affects what leaves your phone, the app will tell you.
12. Contact
Renewly is made by Forge Apps. For privacy questions or requests, email support@forgeapps.in with "Renewly privacy" in the subject.