LDP · Privacy
Privacy policy
LanternDrop moves files and text directly between your own devices on your local network. The developer never receives your files, your text or information about you.
This policy covers the LanternDrop apps for Windows, Android and iOS, made by KLOWZY. The Android and iOS apps are currently in preview testing.
In short
- No account, no sign-in, no cloud storage.
- No analytics, advertising, tracking or crash-reporting services in any of the apps.
- Your files and text go only to the device you connect to, over your local network.
- What the apps store (settings and a transfer history without file contents) stays on your device.
Your files and text
When you transfer something, it travels directly from one of your devices to the other over your local network — Wi-Fi, Ethernet or a hotspot. It is not sent to a server, ours or anyone else's, and the developer has no way to see it.
Between two LanternDrop apps the connection is encrypted with TLS (1.2 or 1.3), using a new key for each session. The QR code you scan, or the code you type, carries the other device's key fingerprint, so the app can check it is talking to the device you meant. A connection made with a typed code must also be approved on the other device.
The Windows app can also serve a page for a phone without the app, in the phone's web browser. That browser connection uses unencrypted local HTTP; the Windows app says so, and it should be used only on a network you trust.
Where received files go
| App | Location |
|---|---|
| Android | Downloads › LanternDrop, through the system's media store |
| iOS | Files › On My iPhone (or iPad) › LanternDrop |
| Windows | The folder you choose |
Received files are ordinary files on your device. You can move or delete them like any other file.
What is stored on your device
- Settings — the device name, theme, language and transfer options.
- Transfer history — for each transfer: the other device's name, the file names and sizes, the time and whether it succeeded. Never the contents of files or text. You can clear it in the app at any time; it is removed when you uninstall the app.
This information is not sent anywhere by LanternDrop. The Android app opts out of Android's app-data backup. On iPhone and iPad, the LanternDrop folder and settings are part of your own device backup (iCloud Backup or a computer) if you use one, like other apps' documents; that backup is controlled by you and Apple.
What the other device sees
During a transfer, the device you connect to receives your device's name (which you can change in Settings), its local network address, and the files and text you choose to send.
Permissions
| Permission | Used for |
|---|---|
| Camera | Only to scan a LanternDrop code. Images are processed on the device and not stored or sent. |
| Local network (iOS) | To connect to your other devices on the same network. |
| Photos and files | Only the items you pick in the system picker are read, and only to send them. |
| Notifications (Android) | To show a transfer's progress while LanternDrop is in the background. |
Every permission is optional: without the camera you can type the code instead.
Internet use
The Android and iOS apps make no internet requests. Links in the app (such as this page) open in your browser only when you tap them. The Windows app can check GitHub for a newer version — only when you ask, or when you turn on the automatic check. That request carries an ordinary product identifier and never includes files, file names or personal information. Transfers themselves never use the internet.
Children
LanternDrop is a general-purpose utility, not directed at children, and it collects no personal information from anyone.
Your choices and rights
Because the developer collects no personal data, there is nothing held by us to access, correct or delete. Everything LanternDrop keeps is on your device: clear the history in the app, delete received files, or uninstall the app to remove all of it.
Changes
If this policy changes, the new version is published here with a new effective date, and noted in the release notes of the app version it applies to.
Contact
Questions about this policy or about LanternDrop: see LanternDrop support for the ways to reach KLOWZY.