FileArk — Privacy Policy

FileArk, by CS Software Studio · Last updated: 14 September 2026

Your files stay yours. Browsing, searching, indexing and storage analysis all happen on your device. FileArk never uploads your files, their names or their paths to us. The one feature that uses a server of ours — Ark Drop over the internet — relays files it cannot read, because they are end-to-end encrypted with a key our server never receives.

What FileArk does with your files

FileArk is a file manager, so it reads and writes the files you point it at. That access exists only to show you your files and to do what you ask with them — copy, move, rename, delete, compress, extract, search or send.

Nothing is uploaded to us. No file, file name or folder path is sent to us, except as unreadable encrypted data when you use Ark Drop over the internet (below).
Search runs locally. The search index is built and stored on the device and is never transmitted.
The app list is never shared. The app manager reads which apps are installed so it can show them to you and back up an APK you choose. That list is never transmitted and is never used for advertising or analytics.
Cloud and network locations are yours. If you add a Dropbox or OneDrive account, an S3-compatible bucket, or an SMB, FTP, SFTP or WebDAV server, FileArk talks to that service directly, on your behalf. Files go between your device and that service; they do not go through us. Sign-in tokens and passwords are stored encrypted on the device.

Ark Drop

On your local network

When you send files by QR code on the same Wi-Fi, the receiving device downloads them directly from your device over your local network. Nothing passes through any server.

Over the internet

When you choose Over the internet, your device and the receiver's browser both connect to a relay operated by us on Cloudflare, because two devices on different networks cannot usually reach each other directly.

End-to-end encrypted. Your device creates a new random key for every session. The key travels only inside the link you share, in the part after the #, which browsers do not send to servers. File contents, file names and folder names are encrypted with that key. The relay forwards the encrypted data and cannot read it.
Nothing is stored. The relay does not keep files. Data passes through it while it is being transferred.
What the relay does see: the IP addresses of the two ends, which it needs to carry the connection; how much data passes and when; and that a session exists. To limit abuse, it counts sessions per IP address using a one-way hash with a key that changes every day, and discards that count the next day.
Deleted automatically. A session and everything about it — its link, its counters, its verification data — is deleted when you stop it, after 15 minutes without activity, or after 24 hours at the most.
An honest limit: the receiver's page is served by the same relay. End-to-end encryption in a web page depends on that page being the genuine one, which is true of any encrypted service used through a browser.

Cloudflare, Inc. provides the infrastructure the relay runs on, as our processor.

What is collected, and by whom

This is everything collected by the services FileArk uses:

Data	Collected by	Why	Can you turn it off?
Device and other identifiers (advertising ID)	Google AdMob (Google Play version) · Liftoff Monetize (Amazon Appstore version)	To show ads: a rewarded ad you can choose to watch, and a banner or native ad on some screens	Yes — personalised ads need your consent; you can also reset or limit the advertising ID in your device settings
App interactions (which screens and features are used)	Google Analytics for Firebase	To understand which features are worth improving	Yes — see Requesting deletion of your data
Crash logs and diagnostics	Firebase Crashlytics	To find and fix crashes	Yes — same as above
Purchase history	Google Play Billing, or Amazon Appstore In-App Purchasing	To know whether you bought Pro, so it stays unlocked	Only if you buy; there is no purchase record otherwise
IP address and transfer size, for Ark Drop over the internet	Our relay, on Cloudflare	To carry the transfer and to limit abuse	Only used when you start a session over the internet; deleted within 24 hours

All of it travels encrypted (HTTPS). None of it includes readable file names, paths or contents. On Amazon Fire devices, the Amazon Advertising ID is used instead of any other identifier, and FileArk turns off advertising-ID collection in Firebase Analytics there.

What is never collected

Readable file names, folder paths or file contents.
Photos, videos, documents or audio.
The list of apps installed on your device.
Your location, precise or approximate.
Contacts, calendar, messages.
Your name, email address or any identity. FileArk has no account and no sign-in of its own. Cloud accounts you add sign in with their own provider.

Consent and advertising

In the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, FileArk asks for your consent before the advertising SDK is initialised — not after. If you decline, the app keeps working in full; where a free alternative depends on an ad, you can buy Pro instead.

FileArk shows a rewarded ad you can choose to watch to unlock a Pro feature for a while, and a banner or native ad on some screens. There are no ads while a transfer is in progress, none on TV, and none at all with FileArk Pro.

Permissions, and why each one exists

Permission	What it is for
`MANAGE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE` — all files access	To list, move, copy and search files across your storage. A file manager cannot manage files without it: the document picker returns one file at a time and cannot enumerate or move folders, and the media store only sees photos, video, audio and downloads.
`QUERY_ALL_PACKAGES`	For the app manager: to list installed apps, show their size and back up an APK you choose. The list never leaves the device and is never used for advertising or analytics.
Media permissions (Android 13+)	So the Library tab still works if you prefer not to grant full file access.
Network access	For the cloud accounts and network locations you set up yourself, for Ark Drop on your local network, and for Ark Drop over the internet through the encrypted relay.
Foreground service and notifications	To keep a copy, a move or an Ark Drop session running with the screen off, and to show its progress. Denying notifications does not stop the operation.

Children

FileArk is not directed at children under 13 and does not knowingly collect data from them.

Your choices

Decline advertising consent when FileArk asks, on first launch in the EEA, the UK and Switzerland, or change it later in FileArk's settings. The app works in full either way.
Reset or limit your advertising ID in your device settings (Google → Ads on most Android devices; Privacy → Advertising ID on Amazon Fire devices). It is controlled by the device, not by FileArk.
Use Ark Drop on your local network if you prefer that nothing passes through any server.
Ask for your data to be deleted — see Requesting deletion of your data below.
Uninstalling removes everything local: the search index, your settings, saved connections and the recycle bin all live on the device and go with the app.

Requesting deletion of your data

FileArk has no account, so there is nothing to close. What exists is the analytics and crash data held for your installation, and you can have it deleted.

Ask for it to be deleted. Email magisperez73@gmail.com with the subject FileArk data deletion request. No account details are needed — say which device you used and roughly when. Requests are actioned within 30 days.
Or just uninstall. Everything FileArk keeps locally — the search index, your settings, favourites, saved connections and the recycle bin — is deleted with the app.
To stop further collection, decline the consent prompt, or reset your advertising ID in your device settings, as described under Your choices.

What gets deleted, and what is kept

Data	On request	Otherwise
App interactions (Google Analytics for Firebase)	Deleted within 30 days	Expires automatically on Google's retention schedule for Firebase Analytics
Crash logs and diagnostics (Firebase Crashlytics)	Deleted within 30 days	Expires automatically on Google's retention schedule for Crashlytics
Advertising ID (Google AdMob or Liftoff Monetize)	Not held by FileArk — reset or delete it yourself in your device settings, which takes effect immediately	Governed by the ad network's retention
Ark Drop over the internet: session data, IP addresses, transfer size	Already gone — nothing outlives the session	Deleted automatically when the session ends, and within 24 hours at the most
Purchase of FileArk Pro (Google Play or Amazon Appstore)	Kept. It is your order record, held by the store, and it is what keeps Pro unlocked. FileArk cannot delete it; refunds and order history are handled by the store	Kept by the store as part of your account's order history
Files, file names, folder paths, the app list, location	Nothing to delete — none of it is ever collected in readable form. It stays on your device and goes when you uninstall

Apart from the short-lived Ark Drop relay sessions described above, FileArk keeps no copy of anything on servers of its own, so outside the services listed here there is nothing to delete.

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes, the date at the top changes with it, and material changes will be announced in the app's release notes on Google Play and the Amazon Appstore.

Contact

Questions about privacy, or a data deletion request: magisperez73@gmail.com

FileArk · es.cs.fileark · CS Software Studio