> cat simshift/privacy.md
Privacy policy.
How the SIM Shift app handles data: what stays on the phone, what, in a few cases, leaves the device, and how to delete everything.
In short
- No account, no login.
- Schedules, SIM names, number lists and the call log stay on your device. The developer does not receive or see your data: there is no SIM Shift server that collects or syncs it.
- The app has no ads, no profiling and no usage analytics or crash reporting services.
- The app does not read the phone number of your SIMs or the IMEI, and does not copy your contacts.
- The version downloaded from bn-dev.it connects to the Internet only to look for and download updates. Section 05.
- The Google Play version does not access the Internet.
- Android's automatic backup is turned off for this app. You can make your own backup: a file the app saves wherever you choose. Section 06.
01 — Controller
Data controller and contact
Massimo Greco — Italy
e-mail: mg [at] bn-dev.it
or the site's contact form (in Italian)
The data you enter in SIM Shift stays on your device, so the controller has no access to it and does not process it. The controller only processes the data you send yourself by writing to the contact address (your e-mail address and the content of your message). It is used to reply to you and kept for as long as needed to handle your request.
02 — What it does
What the app does
SIM Shift decides, call by call, whether your phone should ring. It does so through Android's call screening service: when a call comes in, Android gives the app the caller's number and the app answers whether to let it ring, silence it or reject it, based on each SIM's schedule, the number lists and the rules you have set. It does not record conversations and has no access to audio.
03 — Data on the phone
Data the app keeps on the device
- the schedules of each SIM (time slots per day) and the actions chosen for out-of-hours calls;
- the nicknames you give your SIMs, together with some technical data used to recognise them: internal SIM identifier, position (slot), carrier name, whether it is an eSIM;
- the lists of numbers and prefixes, allow list and block list, shared or per SIM, with any notes you write;
- the app's settings;
- the log of screened calls: for each call the number, date and time, SIM, reason for the decision and action taken. Filtered calls (silenced or rejected) are logged and, only if you turn on «Also log calls that were let through» in the settings, also those allowed to ring. Older entries are deleted automatically after the number of days chosen in Settings, from 30 to 365;
The first test versions also wrote a diagnostic file, which could contain the caller's number: this feature has been removed and the app deletes the old file by itself when it updates.
All this data is kept in the device storage reserved for SIM Shift, which other apps cannot read. It is never sent to the developer or to third parties.
04 — Permissions
Permissions requested
| Permission | Why |
|---|---|
Phone state (READ_PHONE_STATE) | To get the list of installed SIMs and find out which SIM a call is ringing on. The app does not read the SIM's phone number or the IMEI. |
Contacts (READ_CONTACTS) | To know whether the caller is in your contacts, for the rules on numbers not in contacts, and to show the contact's name instead of the number in the log. The name is looked up on the spot, when you open the log, and is not saved: your contacts are neither copied nor stored. Without this permission the log shows only numbers. |
| «Caller ID & spam app» role | The Android role that lets one app at a time screen incoming calls. You grant it yourself in Android's settings and can revoke it at any time. |
Versions downloaded from bn-dev.it also request the two permissions described in section 05. SIM Shift does not request access to Android's call history, SMS, location, microphone, camera or photos.
Hidden or unknown numbers do not reach the call screening service: Android does not pass them to the app, so they cannot be filtered.
05 — Internet
When the app connects to the Internet
It depends on how you got the app.
Version downloaded from bn-dev.it
| Connection | When | What the app sends |
|---|---|---|
| Update check | At startup and when you choose to check | None of your data: it reads a small file from the site (latest.json) with the latest version number. |
| Update download | Only if you accept | None of your data: it downloads the package from the site. |
To connect, the app uses the INTERNET permission. To install the update it uses REQUEST_INSTALL_PACKAGES and hands the package to Android's installer, which always asks for your confirmation; Android also asks you, once, to allow the app to install packages.
The app sends the site no installation count and nothing you have set in it.
As with any website, for technical reasons the server receives the IP address and the standard request information, and the hosting provider may record them in its system logs, kept according to its own retention periods. Legal basis: legitimate interest in server security. The controller does not use them to identify who uses the app.
Google Play version
The Google Play version has no permission to use the Internet and does not connect to any server: it does not look for updates (the store takes care of that) and sends no count. Processing by the store is governed by Google's terms.
06 — Backup
Backup and data transfer
SIM Shift is excluded from Android's automatic backup to your Google account and from automatic data transfer to a new phone: schedules, lists and log are not copied anywhere unless you decide so.
The backup you make. From the Backup page in the settings you can save a copy of your data in a .zip file: SIM names and recognition data, schedules, lists, the call log (with numbers) and settings. The app saves the file on the phone, in the folder you choose; if you turn on automatic backup, it is updated every time the app is closed. SIM Shift does not send it to anyone: if you choose a folder synced with a cloud service (for example Google Drive) or share it with «Share backup», from then on the file is handled by that service or by whoever receives it. The backup contains phone numbers: store and share it with care. With «Restore backup» you load it again, even on a new phone.
07 — Deletion
Retention and deletion
Data stays on the device until you delete it. You can do so:
- with «Delete all data» in Settings, which brings the app back to its first launch (the role and permissions belong to Android: you remove them from its settings);
- by clearing SIM Shift's data from Android's settings;
- by uninstalling the app.
08 — Security
Security and children
Data is kept in the device storage reserved for the app; its protection also depends on the device, so we recommend using a screen lock. SIM Shift is not aimed at children and does not carry out profiling or targeted advertising.
09 — Rights
Your rights
Under Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR) you can request access to the personal data concerning you, its rectification or erasure, the restriction of processing, and object to processing, by writing to the e-mail address or using the contact form given in section 01.
The controller does not hold the data kept in SIM Shift, because it is only on your device: to view, change or delete it you can use the app's own functions described in section 07.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Italian data protection authority (Garante per la protezione dei dati personali) or with the supervisory authority of the country where you live.
10 — Changes
Changes to this policy
This policy may be updated to reflect changes to the app, to the way it is distributed or to the law. The version in force is always published at this address, with the date of the last update at the top. If the versions differ, the Italian text prevails.