Debrowse — Privacy Policy

Last updated: 2026-10-02

Debrowse is an Android app that opens links other apps hand off — an app's login flow, a QR-code restaurant menu, a link from an email — via Android's Custom Tabs, without pulling in a general web browser. It has no address bar, search, or browsing UI of its own: its browsing view only opens when another app hands it a link.

Data we collect

Debrowse does not collect or transmit any personal data. Nothing the app records leaves your device. Specifically:

• No analytics or crash-reporting SDKs are included.
• No accounts, sign-in, or user profiles exist within the app.
• The app has no backend server of its own — it does not transmit any data anywhere.

Data stored on your device

Debrowse keeps the following on your device only:

• Usage statistics. Which websites you opened, or tried to open, through Debrowse, how often, and how long you spent on them. Only the website's host name (such as shop.example.com) is recorded — never full addresses, paths, or page content. Statistics are on by default and are kept for up to 90 days: anything older is deleted the next time you use Debrowse. You can turn them off by opening Debrowse from your home screen and going to Statistics; turning them off deletes all recorded statistics.
• Site settings. The sites you have blocked and the permission decisions you have made for individual sites. You can review and remove these by opening Debrowse from your home screen and going to Sites.
• Reminders. If you turn on reminders, whether Debrowse is your default browser and which other browsers are installed on your phone (their app identifiers, such as com.android.chrome), so Debrowse can tell you when this changes. Reminders are off by default. Turning them off, on the Debrowse home screen, deletes this record.

This data is never transmitted, is excluded from device backups, and is removed when you uninstall the app.

Device permissions

• Location. Debrowse asks for location permission only when a website you opened requests your location, and then asks you to allow or disallow that site. Your location is passed only to sites you allow; Debrowse itself does not record or transmit it.
• Notifications. Debrowse may ask for notification permission when a download starts, only to show its progress, and when you turn on reminders, only to tell you when Debrowse is no longer your default browser or another browser is installed.
• Camera and microphone. Requests from websites for the camera or microphone are denied; the app does not request these permissions.

Data handled by websites you visit

When another app opens a web page through Debrowse (for example, a bank or payment provider's login page), that page is rendered directly and may set cookies or otherwise handle data according to its own privacy policy. Debrowse does not inspect, modify, or forward this data anywhere beyond rendering the page itself.

Some apps are built around their own website. When such an app opens that website, Debrowse fetches the website's public app verification file (/.well-known/assetlinks.json) from the website itself, to check that the app and the website belong together before showing it without the toolbar. This request contains no personal data, and nothing about it is stored beyond the running app. As in Chrome, the website is also told the name of the app that opened it.

Data handled by Google Play Services

As with any app distributed through Google Play, Google Play Services and the Google Play Store may collect data (such as installation and diagnostic information) independently of the app itself, governed by Google's own Privacy Policy. This is not data Debrowse collects or has access to.

Changes to this policy

If Debrowse's data practices change in the future, this page will be updated to reflect them accordingly.

Contact

Questions about this policy can be directed to debrowse@kuenzle.org.