Privacy policy template for mobile apps (free, with placeholders)

This is a full privacy policy template for a mobile app. Every bracket is a placeholder: replace it with your own details or delete it. Sections marked OPTIONAL apply only if your app does that thing. If you would rather answer questions than edit, the app privacy policy generator writes the same policy with only the sections you need.

How do I use this template?

1. Copy the template below into a text editor.
2. Replace every bracket, such as [App name], with your own details.
3. Delete each OPTIONAL section that does not apply, and the OPTIONAL label from those that do.
4. Check it against your app: every permission, SDK and data flow should appear, and nothing should appear that the app does not do.
5. Publish it on a public web page, not a PDF, and link to it from your store listing and from inside the app.

What does the full template say?

Privacy policy for [App name]

This privacy policy explains how [Developer or company name] ("we", "us") handles information in the [App name] app: what the app collects, why, who receives it, how long we keep it and the choices you have.

Last updated: [date]

Information we collect

[Choose one of the two versions below.]

[VERSION A, no collection] [App name] does not collect personal information. There is no account, the app does not send your content to us, and it contains no third-party analytics or advertising code. Your content and settings stay on your device.

[VERSION B, collection] We collect:

• [OPTIONAL] Account details: your [email address / name / username / phone number] when you create an account.
• [OPTIONAL] Content you create, such as [notes, photos, workouts], stored on our servers so it syncs and can be restored.
• [OPTIONAL] Usage information: screens opened, features used, app version, device model and an installation identifier.
• [OPTIONAL] Diagnostics: crash reports with technical details of the error.
• [OPTIONAL] Advertising data: device type, approximate location from your IP address, ads seen and tapped and, where allowed, your advertising ID.
• [OPTIONAL] Purchase records from the app store: product, date and subscription status. We do not receive your card details.

Apple, Google and your device maker also collect information through the operating system and app stores under their own policies, and share aggregate statistics with us that do not identify you.

How we use information

We use it to [run your account / sync your content / fix crashes / understand how the app is used / show ads / deliver purchases], and for nothing else. We do not sell your personal information.

Device permissions

The app asks for these permissions, only when you use a feature that needs them. You can turn each one off in your device settings at any time.

• [OPTIONAL] Camera: to [purpose].
• [OPTIONAL] Location ([approximate / precise]): to [purpose]. [OPTIONAL: The app uses location in the background to [purpose].]
• [OPTIONAL] Photos and files: to [purpose].
• [OPTIONAL] Microphone, contacts, calendar, health data, Bluetooth, notifications: [purpose for each].

[Data from these permissions stays on your device. / When a feature needs to send this data, it sends only what that feature needs.]

Third-party services

[OPTIONAL] The app uses these providers. Each receives only the information it needs and protects it at least as well as this policy does:

• [Provider name], for [analytics / crash reporting / advertising / sign-in / payments / maps / notifications]. Privacy policy: [link]

[If none: The app contains no third-party analytics, advertising or tracking code.]

Purchases [OPTIONAL]

Payments are handled by [Google Play / the App Store] under their own terms. To cancel a subscription, use [Google Play > Payments & subscriptions / Settings > your name > Subscriptions on iPhone]. Deleting the app does not cancel it.

Children

[CHOOSE ONE] [App name] is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their personal information; if we learn we have, we delete it. / [App name] is directed at children under 13. We follow COPPA: we ask a parent for verifiable consent before collecting personal information, collect only what the app needs, show no behavioral advertising, and let parents review or delete their child's information and refuse further collection by writing to [contact email].

Keeping and deleting information

We keep information [until you delete your account / for [period]], then delete it or make it anonymous, except records the law requires us to keep. Data on your device is removed when you uninstall the app.

[OPTIONAL] You can delete your account in the app under [Settings > Account > Delete account]. To ask us to delete your information without the app, email [contact email] with the subject "Delete my data" [or use [web form link]]. We respond within 30 days.

Security

[OPTIONAL: Data sent between the app and our servers is encrypted in transit (HTTPS).] We limit access to the people who need it. No system is completely secure; if a breach affects you, we will tell you as the law requires.

Where information is processed

We store information in [country]. [OPTIONAL: Some providers process it in other countries, including the United States. For transfers from the EU or UK, we rely on adequacy decisions or the Standard Contractual Clauses.]

Your rights and choices

You can ask us for a copy of your information, or to correct or delete it, by emailing [contact email].

[OPTIONAL, EU and UK] Under the GDPR you can also restrict or object to processing, receive your data in a portable format, withdraw consent, and complain to your data protection authority. [Developer or company name] is the controller. Our legal bases are [contract / legitimate interests / consent / legal obligation].

[OPTIONAL, California] Under the CCPA you can know, delete and correct your personal information, opt out of its sale or sharing, and not be treated differently for using these rights. [We do not sell or share personal information. / To opt out of sharing for advertising, email [contact email].]

Changes to this policy

We update this policy when the app or the law changes, and change the date above. If a change affects how we use information we already hold, we will tell you in the app first.

Contact us

[Developer or company name], [postal address], [phone number, required for apps directed at children], [contact email].

What should I check before I publish?

• The developer name matches your store listing exactly.
• Every SDK in your build appears in Third-party services, including ones bundled with a framework.
• Your Google Play Data safety form and Apple App Privacy answers say the same things.
• The deletion instructions work without reinstalling the app.
• The page loads without a login, in every country, and is not a PDF.

When is a template not enough?

A template covers the common cases. Talk to a lawyer if your app handles health, financial or biometric data, is aimed at children, operates in a regulated field, or sells data to anyone. For more help, see the Google Play requirements, the App Store requirements and the worked examples.