EDIVIPLegal
Privacy Policy — EDIVIP
EDIVIP (“we,” “our,” or “us”) is an Android application that helps you take passport, visa and ID photos for many countries and prepare your US Diversity Visa application pack on your phone. This privacy policy explains what data we collect, why we need it, how we use it, and your rights regarding your information.
Summary
We collect only the data necessary to provide the app’s features. Your photos, your application and your passport details stay on your device. The one exception is a second opinion: if you use it, a small watermarked copy of one photo is shared through a link you send. We do not sell your personal data.
1. Permissions we request and why
Camera
Why we need it: The core feature of EDIVIP is taking or selecting a photograph and checking it against the published requirements for your country and document. We use your device’s front-facing camera to capture a selfie and check head size, eye position, and centering.
What we do with it: The photo is processed on your device. It is not sent to our servers, except the small watermarked preview you choose to share for a second opinion (see Section 2.3).
When we ask: We request camera permission when you first try to use the camera or import a photo from your gallery.
Internet
Why we need it: EDIVIP needs internet access to:
- Let you sign in with Google or with a link sent to your email
- Create a second-opinion link, where this feature is available (see Section 2.3)
What we do with it: All internet traffic is encrypted (HTTPS). Without this permission, you cannot sign in or use the second opinion.
Contacts
If you use the Friends feature or invite a friend, the app asks to read your contacts. They are read on your phone only and are never uploaded.
Storage (write to Photos / Pictures)
Why we need it: After you validate a photo, you can save it to your device’s photo gallery (for example, in a VisaPhotos folder). On Android 9 and below, the system requires explicit storage permission for apps to write files to shared storage.
What we do with it: We write only the visa photo you chose to save. We do not read or modify other files on your device. On Android 10 and above, we use the modern MediaStore API, which does not require this permission.
When we ask: We request storage permission only when you tap Save Photo on the result screen, and only on Android 9 or lower.
Advertising ID
Advertising ID: lets Google’s ad service recognise your device for ads. You can reset or delete it in Android settings.
2. Data we collect and how we use it
Your DV application
EDIVIP prepares your application pack on your phone. You submit your entry yourself on the official website. Any official fees are paid only to the U.S. government. EDIVIP does not submit anything for you. Nothing about your application (your answers, passport details, passport scan or application photos) is sent to EDIVIP. It stays on your phone unless you share the pack yourself.
2.1 Data stored only on your device
| Data | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Photos you capture or import | Processed for validation; stored temporarily until you save or discard them |
| Your DV application: your answers, passport details, the passport page scan and the photos in it | Stored privately in the app on your phone so you can return later |
| Your application pack (a PDF, the photo files and, unless you turn it off, the passport page image) | Made on your device. It leaves your device only when you share it, email it to yourself or save it with an app you choose |
| Confirmation numbers (with the name and year of birth) | Kept on your device after you note that you submitted |
| Validated photos you save locally | Written to your gallery (Pictures/VisaPhotos) or internal app storage |
None of this is sent to EDIVIP.
2.2 Data sent to our servers
| Data | Why |
|---|---|
| Your sign-in identifier, email and name (Google or email-link sign-in) | To identify you and secure your account |
| Push token | So the app can receive notifications |
| Second opinion, where this feature is available and only if you create a link: your first name, a small watermarked preview and your confirmation that you are 18 or older | To show the people you ask (see Section 2.3) |
Advertising
EDIVIP is supported by advertising. To save a print-ready photo without a watermark, you can choose to watch a short rewarded video ad. The app may also show a labelled ad while your photo is being processed.
A labelled ad during processing appears only in app versions that include it and only when that feature is turned on.
Ads are provided by Google AdMob (Google LLC) through the Google Mobile Ads SDK. When the app requests or shows an ad, Google and its advertising partners may collect and use:
- your IP address and the approximate location it implies;
- device identifiers, including your Android advertising ID and an app-set ID;
- device and app information, such as model, operating system and version, language and app version;
- how you interact with ads, and diagnostic information.
Google uses this information to deliver and measure ads, to prevent fraud and abuse, and, where you allow it, to personalise ads. Google describes how it uses information from apps that use its services at https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.
Your photos never go to advertisers. Your photos stay on your device and are never sent to Google AdMob or any advertiser.
Your choices
In the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, the app asks for your choice before showing ads, using Google’s consent form. You can change your choice at any time in the app under Settings, “Ad privacy options”.
In some US states, the app also offers a choice to opt out of the sale or sharing of your data for advertising, under Settings, Ad privacy options.
On Android, you can reset your advertising ID or opt out of ad personalisation in your device’s Settings (Google, then Ads).
You can also manage Google’s ad settings at https://adssettings.google.com.
If you decline consent where it is required, the app does not show you ads, so you cannot unlock the clean sheet by watching an ad. You can still save the photo with the watermark.
Where the law requires your consent for ads, that consent is our legal basis, and you can withdraw it at any time. Google processes this data in the United States and other countries under its own terms and privacy policy.
2.3 Second opinion
Where this feature is available, you can ask people you choose whether a photo looks like you. You start it by creating a link in the app.
- When you create a link, we store a small watermarked copy of your photo and the first name you type. They are kept for up to 14 days, or until you stop sharing, and then deleted.
- The people you send the link to see only your first name and that copy. Their replies carry no name, account or other identity.
- You must be 18 or older to ask for a second opinion. Anyone who opens the link can report the photo, and a link is turned off after 3 distinct reports.
- The rating page (edivip.com/r/…) keeps a random key in the browser of the person rating (localStorage), so the same browser cannot vote twice. It sets no cookies and uses no analytics. It loads the photo from Google Cloud Storage through a link that works only for a short time.
2.4 Data we do not collect
- We do not sell your personal data. We do not share your photos, contacts, form data or account details with advertisers. The app shows ads through Google AdMob, which collects limited device and usage data to serve and measure those ads, as described in “Advertising” above.
- We do not track you across other apps or websites for advertising.
- We do not use your photos to train machine learning models.
3. Security
- Encryption in transit: All data sent over the internet uses HTTPS (TLS).
- On your device: Your application and passport details are stored privately in the app on your phone. Saved drafts of your application details, including passport details, are encrypted on your phone.
- Access control: Your online data is protected by security rules so only you (and, where applicable, our server functions) can access it.
4. Data retention
- On-device data: Your drafts, application pack and confirmation numbers stay on your device until you erase them (Settings, “Erase data on this phone”) or uninstall the app.
- Online data: Your account data is kept while your account exists. Second-opinion previews and first names are deleted after 14 days or when you stop sharing. To delete your account and online data, see Section 5.
5. Your rights
- Access: You can view and manage your data in the app (for example drafts, saved photos, and settings).
- Correction: You can edit your drafts at any time.
- Deletion: In the app, Settings, “Delete my account” deletes your online data (your profile, second-opinion links, previews and ratings) and your sign-in. Settings, “Erase data on this phone” removes the application pack, drafts and confirmation numbers from your phone. You can also follow our account deletion page or write to us at the email in Section 8.
- Opt-out: You can revoke permissions (for example Camera or Contacts) in your device Settings at any time. Some features will stop working if you do.
- Data portability: We can provide your data in a standard format upon request.
Data that Google holds about ads is controlled by Google. To access or delete it, use Google’s privacy tools (https://myaccount.google.com) or your device’s advertising ID settings.
6. Children’s privacy
EDIVIP is not intended for users under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe we have done so, please contact us and we will delete it. Ads are served for a general audience. Where the second opinion is available, you must be 18 or older to create a link. The people you ask can report a photo, including one that shows a child, and a link is turned off after 3 distinct reports.
7. Changes to this policy
We may update this privacy policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by updating the “Last updated” date at the top of this page. Continued use of the app after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
8. Contact us
If you have questions about this privacy policy or your data, please contact us at edivip86@gmail.com.
9. Third-party services
EDIVIP relies on Google Firebase for sign-in, its database and server functions, storage of second-opinion previews where that feature is available, notifications and remote app configuration (Firebase Remote Config), as well as Google AdMob (Google Mobile Ads SDK) and Google’s User Messaging Platform, which shows the consent form. When you submit your entry on the official US government website, its own privacy policy applies. Each provider has its own privacy policy. We encourage you to review them, including Google Cloud and the US Department of State.
10. Earlier versions of EDIVIP
Earlier versions of EDIVIP offered a submission service, which has been discontinued. If you used it, you can write to us at edivip86@gmail.com to ask for your data to be deleted.