Privacy Policy

Overview

This Privacy Policy applies to ProbeShield ("we", "our", or "us"), the Android application and the website at probeshield.com. The app does not track your behaviour or usage in any way; the website can use Google Analytics, but only with your consent (see Section 7), and the app can send crash reports to Firebase, but only with your consent too (see Section 5). It always saves a crash report locally on your device, with nothing sent anywhere unless you've agreed to that.

We are committed to protecting your privacy. ProbeShield was built with a privacy first architecture. The app operates entirely on your device and has no dependency on external servers for its core functionality. A few supporting features do use our own server, and Section 6 describes each one.

Information We Do Not Collect

We want to be crystal clear about what we do not collect:

• Personal identification information (name, address, phone number)
• Network scan results or device data discovered during scans
• IP addresses, MAC addresses, or hostnames of scanned devices
• Your list of devices, your scan history, or your vulnerability findings
• Location data beyond what Android requires for WiFi access
• Device identifiers or advertising IDs
• Usage patterns, session data, or behavioral analytics
• Payment information of any kind

This describes the Android app's scanning feature specifically. The website separately offers a couple of optional, standalone lookup tools that do send a small, different category of technical data. That is covered honestly in Section 8, not hidden behind this section's claims about the app.

Information Stored Locally

ProbeShield stores the following data locally on your device only, using Android's secure local database (Room/SQLite):

• Scan history: list of previous scans with timestamps
• Discovered device records: IP addresses and device names on your network
• Risk scores and vulnerability findings per device
• Network history used for attack detection: the WiFi access points (BSSIDs) and the DHCP server and DNS settings seen on each network you scan, so the app can notice a rogue access point or DHCP server
• Names or trust labels you give to devices
• App settings and preferences you configure
• Your chosen app lock PIN (stored encrypted via Android Keystore)

This data is only accessible to ProbeShield on your device and is never transmitted to us. The on device virus and threat scan reads the list of apps installed on your phone (which is why the app declares Android's "query all packages" permission); that list is checked on your device and is never sent anywhere. When you uninstall the app, all locally stored data is permanently deleted from the device.

Android device backup. Android's own backup feature can copy an app's local data (for ProbeShield, your scan history and device records) to your Google account, and restore it when you set up a new phone. That is controlled by your Android settings (Settings → System → Backup), not by us; we cannot see or access it, and you can turn it off or delete the backup there. Your app lock PIN and Pro status are deliberately excluded from backup and device transfer. The in app "Export backup" and PDF report options only create a file that you choose where to send.

Network Scanning

ProbeShield scans only the local WiFi network your Android device is currently connected to. The app does not:

• Scan networks remotely or from a server
• Upload your scan results, device list, or scan history to any external service
• Share discovered device information with us or third parties
• Access the content of network traffic (packet inspection)
• Scan networks without the user initiating a scan manually

Crash Reports

If ProbeShield crashes, it always saves a short report on your device (the 10 most recent are kept; older ones are deleted automatically). A report contains the time of the crash, the app version, your Android version, your device's manufacturer and model, and the technical error details (a stack trace). It does not include your scan results, but technical error messages can occasionally mention details such as a network address, so please look a report over before you share it. When reports are waiting, Settings also shows a "Share crash report" option, which opens Android's share sheet so you can forward a copy yourself (for example, by email to us). This is separate from, and in addition to, the automatic reporting described below.

Automatic crash reporting (opt in). ProbeShield can also send the same information automatically to Google Firebase Crashlytics: the device model, Android version, app version, and stack trace described above, plus an installation identifier generated by Firebase (not tied to your name, email, or any account, since the app has none). This is off by default: right after you finish onboarding, the app asks once whether to turn it on, and you can change your answer anytime in Settings → About → Crash Analytics. Governed by Google's Privacy Policy and Firebase's own terms.

Third Party Services

ProbeShield uses a minimal set of third party services:

• Google Play Billing: The app connects to Google Play's billing service on startup to check available subscription products and restore any existing purchase. Google Play Billing may receive your device's product query and purchase history as part of this; ProbeShield never sees or stores your payment details. If you buy the optional Pro subscription (which unlocks PDF report export), the purchase is made through Google Play. Governed by Google's Payments Privacy Notice.
• Google Play in app review: Occasionally (for example after a clean scan) the app asks Google Play to show its standard rating prompt. Google Play handles the prompt; ProbeShield does not see your rating or review. Governed by Google's Privacy Policy.
• Cloudflare (Speed Test): Only when you run Speed Test in Network Tools, the app downloads a test file from speed.cloudflare.com, so Cloudflare sees your IP address as it would for any download. Ping, DNS Lookup, and Traceroute likewise contact only the host you ask them to. None of these run unless you start them.
• Google Forms: Used for voluntary user feedback submission. Governed by Google's Privacy Policy. Submitting feedback is entirely optional.
• Google Firebase Crashlytics: Off by default; only active if you opt in, once, right after onboarding (changeable anytime in Settings). See Section 5 for exactly what it sends. Governed by Google's Privacy Policy.

The app also makes a few requests of its own, to our own server (api.probeshield.com) rather than a third party, described next.

CVE and vendor advisory catalog sync (our own server). About once a week, on an unmetered connection (typically WiFi), the app asks api.probeshield.com (a server we operate) for any public vulnerability records (CVEs) added or changed since its last check, and for a second public catalog of known vulnerabilities by router brand and model, so the on device scanner can recognise newly published issues. Each request sends only a sync timestamp; no scan results, device information, or personal data are included or requested. Vulnerability matching itself (comparing something the scanner found against this catalog) always happens on your device, using the locally synced copy; our server never sees or receives what your scanner finds.

One incidental technical detail: as with any network request, our server briefly logs the IP address each request comes from. This is the same server side logging already described for the website tools in Section 8, including the same roughly 14 day automatic deletion. This is a byproduct of handling any request, not something CVE sync specifically asks for or uses; it's never linked to what your scanner finds or how you use the app.

Internet exposure check (our own server). A router port forward or UPnP mapping can make a device reachable from the internet, and nothing on your own WiFi can detect that. It takes a vantage point outside your network. So each time you run a scan (including scheduled background scans), the app asks api.probeshield.com whether the ports it found open are reachable from the internet. What is sent: a short list (at most 25) of port numbers. These are only the numbers, combined across your devices, with no indication of which device a port came from, and no IP addresses, MAC addresses, device names, findings, or other scan results. Our server then tries to connect to those ports on the public IP address your request came from, never an address supplied by the app, and replies open, closed, or filtered for each port. The app uses that reply on your device to flag a port that is exposed to the internet. The check is skipped on a VPN and gives no result on carrier shared (CGNAT) connections.

Requests carry a signature made with a key built into the app, so our server can tell they come from the app; the signature identifies the app, not you. Our server does not keep the port list or the results. For this check it records only a one way hash of your IP address and how many ports were sent. As with every request, the IP address the request came from is briefly logged, with the same roughly 14 day automatic deletion described above and in Section 8.

Public IP display (our own server). The Network Tools screen can show your public IP address. To do that the app sends an otherwise empty request to api.probeshield.com, which simply replies with the address it saw the request come from; nothing about your device or network is sent.

Our server, in turn, builds that catalog from the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology's public National Vulnerability Database (NVD), on its own periodic schedule, not per device. Because of this, NVD never sees your device's IP address or knows your device exists; only our server contacts NVD directly.

No advertising SDKs, tracking libraries, behavioural analytics platforms, or data brokers are integrated into the ProbeShield Android app. The one exception is the crash reporter above, which only ever sees crash data, never your scan results, device list, or how you use the app. The website is covered separately in Section 7.

Website and Analytics

This section covers the website at probeshield.com only. The Android app does not use Google Analytics or any similar analytics tool.

The website can use Google Analytics 4 (Google LLC) to count visits and see which pages are read, but only if you accept. When you first visit, a banner asks whether to allow analytics cookies. Until you accept, Google Analytics is not loaded and nothing about your visit is sent to Google. If you accept, Google Analytics may set cookies and collect technical information such as the pages you view, how long you stay, the site that referred you, your browser and device type, and your approximate location (derived from your IP address). We use this in aggregate to understand how the site is used and to improve it.

• Your choice: it is saved in your browser (local storage) so we don't ask again. You can change it at any time with "Cookie settings" in the page footer; choosing Decline stops analytics and removes the analytics cookies from your browser.
• Google Analytics is governed by Google's Privacy Policy, available at policies.google.com/privacy.
• The website is hosted on Cloudflare Pages. Like any web host, Cloudflare processes technical request data, such as your IP address, to deliver pages and protect the service.

The website has no accounts, sign in, or forms, and nothing you do in the app is linked to your visits to the website.

Website Tools (MAC Lookup & IP Lookup)

probeshield.com also offers a couple of small, free, optional tools, a MAC address vendor lookup and a public IP lookup, on the same minimal server (api.probeshield.com) the app uses for CVE catalog sync (Section 6). These two tools are separate from the Android app itself: they're used from your browser on the website, not from inside the app.

• MAC lookup sends only the first 6 characters of a MAC address (the manufacturer prefix), never the full address, which is truncated in your browser before anything is sent, so the part that identifies your specific device never leaves it.
• IP lookup shows you the public IP address your own browser is already connecting to the internet with. This is the same address any website you visit can already see, including this one by the normal act of loading the page. It sends no information beyond that: our server simply echoes back the address it saw your request come from.

These tools require no account and aren't linked to any app usage, Play Store purchase, or identity. Requests to them pass through Cloudflare, which provides DNS, reverse proxy routing, DDoS protection, and the tunnel connecting our server to the internet. As with any web request, Cloudflare processes technical request data (such as your IP address) to deliver and protect the service.

None of this affects the Android app's core scanning and vulnerability matching, which remain entirely on device as described throughout this policy. These two tools are separate, optional website utilities you choose to use in your browser, not something the app does on its own. (The app's own use of this same server, including catalog sync, the internet exposure check, and the public IP display, is described in Section 6.)

Data Security

We take security seriously. It is, after all, what ProbeShield is about. Security measures in place include:

• App lock with PIN or biometric authentication to prevent unauthorized access
• PIN stored using Android Keystore, never in plain text
• Local database not world readable, accessible only by the app
• No external API calls for core scanning functionality (the app's few supporting requests to our own server are described in Section 6)
• ProGuard/R8 code obfuscation on release builds

Children's Privacy

ProbeShield is not directed at children. In line with India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, we treat anyone under the age of 18 as a child, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children, track their behaviour, or serve them targeted advertising. We don't operate age verification or parental consent mechanisms because, as described throughout this policy, we don't collect personal data from any user, child or adult, in the first place. If you believe a child has provided personal information through our app or website, please contact us and we will take immediate steps to address it.

Your Rights & Grievance Redressal

If you are in India, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 gives you certain rights over your personal data as a "Data Principal." We honour these rights for every visitor, not only those the Act covers:

• Right to access: a summary of what personal data we hold about you and how it is being processed.
• Right to correction and erasure: ask us to correct inaccurate data, or erase data that is no longer needed for the purpose it was collected for.
• Right to grievance redressal: raise a complaint about how your personal data is processed and get a response from us before escalating elsewhere.
• Right to nominate: name another person to exercise these rights on your behalf if you die or become incapacitated.

In practice there is rarely anything to access or correct: as this policy describes throughout, we don't maintain accounts, profiles, or any ongoing store of personal data tied to you. The main case these rights apply to is the temporary abuse prevention server logs described in Section 8 (kept roughly 14 days, then deleted automatically). You can ask us to check whether a specific request of yours is in those logs and have it removed sooner.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may escalate to the Data Protection Board of India, the body the Act establishes to hear such complaints.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page and notify users via an in app notification on the next app launch following a material change.

Continued use of ProbeShield after a policy update constitutes your acceptance of the revised policy. We encourage you to review this page periodically.

Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or ProbeShield's data practices, please contact us: