Sift privacy policy
Last updated: 2 November 2026 · App: Sift (ai.lazycode.sift) · Developer: Lazycode
Your photos go only where you send them. Sift shows each new photo in a notification and moves the ones you approve into a folder on your phone. It has no cloud storage of its own.
What Sift reads on your phone
Sift reads the photos and videos in the folders it watches (the Camera folder by default). It uses them to show you a preview in the notification and to move the ones you approve into the Sift folder. It also reads basic details such as date taken, size and, for videos, length.
To power rules, best-of-burst and the people guard, Sift runs small checks on your phone, for example whether a photo looks like a receipt or a screenshot, whether it is blurry, whether it contains people, and whether it is nearly identical to the one before it. These checks run on your phone and their results are not sent to us.
Sift keeps its own records (your decisions, rules, modes and settings) in the app's private storage on your phone.
Permissions and why Sift asks for them
| Permission | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Photos and videos | Lets Sift see new photos and videos. Sift asks for access to all of them, because partial access cannot see new items. |
| Media location access | Lets Android move files for Sift without asking about each one. Sift does not use or store the location in your photos. |
| Media management (special access, granted in system settings) | Lets Sift move approved photos and videos into the Sift folder without a confirmation dialog for every item. Without it, Android may ask you to confirm moves. |
| Notifications | Shows the Upload, Skip and Album notification, digests and mode reminders. This is the core of the app. |
| Foreground service and start at boot | Keeps a small background service running so Sift hears about new photos, and restarts it after your phone reboots. Android shows an ongoing notification while it runs. |
| Network access | Lets Firebase send the usage stats and crash reports described below. |
Usage stats and crash reports
Sift uses two Google Firebase services. Both are on by default and you can switch each off in Settings › Help improve Sift (Share usage stats, Send crash reports). Your choice applies immediately and is remembered.
- Firebase Analytics records app interactions, for example whether a decision was Upload, Skip or Album and whether it came from a notification, a rule or a mode; which setup steps were finished; and whether a move succeeded. Values are coarse categories or buckets. It also records device and app identifiers, such as a Firebase installation ID, plus phone brand and Android version.
- Firebase Crashlytics records crash logs and diagnostics: what failed, a stack trace, the phone brand, Android version and which setup state the app was in.
Sift never puts photo content, file names, folder paths or locations in any event or crash report. We use this data only to find and fix problems and to see which features are used. It is not used for advertising and we do not sell it. Google processes it under Firebase's privacy terms.
Where your photos go
When you tap Upload, Sift moves the photo or video into the Sift folder on your phone (Pictures/Sift). If you tap Album, it goes into a named folder inside it. Skipped items stay where they were. Sift never deletes your photos or videos.
Backing up the Sift folder is done by the app you choose, such as Google Photos, OneDrive, Dropbox or Google Drive. Once your backup app uploads a file, that app's own privacy policy applies to it.
How long data is kept
- On your phone: Sift's records stay until you clear the app's data or uninstall it. Files in the Sift folder stay until you delete them.
- Crash reports: Firebase Crashlytics keeps them for 90 days.
- Usage stats: kept in Firebase Analytics for no longer than 14 months.
Ads, purchases and sharing
Sift shows no ads and has no purchases. We do not sell personal information. The only third party that receives data from Sift is Google, through Firebase, as described above.
Accounts and deleting your data
Sift has no account or sign-in. The page sift.lazycode.ai/delete explains how to remove Sift's records from your phone and how to ask us to delete usage stats and crash reports.
Children
Sift is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child's data has reached us, email us and we will delete it.
Changes
If this policy changes, we will update this page and the date at the top.
Contact
Questions? Email soumya@lazycode.ai. Developer: Lazycode developer page.