Privacy Policy — Soil
Summary
Soil does not collect, transmit, or sell any personal data. Soil is a local web host: it runs entirely on your device, storing and serving files ("Plants") from a webroot that lives in the app's own private storage. Nothing you create or store in Soil is sent to the developer or to any third-party server.
What Soil does on your device
- Renders a launcher and your installed Plants (static HTML/JS/CSS web apps)
in an in-app WebView, served from
https://localhost. - Optionally runs a local HTTP/WebDAV server so you can manage your Plant files from another device on the same local network (e.g. your PC or Mac). This server is off by default and only runs while you explicitly enable it in the app.
- Optionally exposes the webroot to Android's system file picker (Storage Access Framework), so file managers on your own device can browse, open, create, delete, or rename files inside Soil — with no extra permission grant beyond what Android's file picker itself requires.
Data we collect
None. Soil has no account system, no analytics, no advertising SDK, and no crash-reporting SDK, and no backend server operated by the developer. The app does not know who you are and has no way to identify you.
Data that stays on your device or your local network
- Plant files you create, install, or edit are stored in the app's private app storage on your device. They are never uploaded anywhere by Soil.
- LAN server credentials. If you turn on the local HTTP/WebDAV server and set an optional username/password to protect it, that credential is saved in the app's local settings on your device only. It is used solely to authenticate connections to the local server and is never sent to the developer or any third party.
- Local network traffic. When the local server is enabled, it accepts connections only from devices on your local network (e.g. your home Wi-Fi) to let you transfer or edit files. Soil does not relay this traffic through the internet or through any server the developer controls.
Permissions Soil requests, and why
| Permission | Purpose |
|---|---|
INTERNET | Required by Android to open a listening network socket for the local HTTP/WebDAV server. Soil does not use this to send your data to remote servers. |
FOREGROUND_SERVICE, FOREGROUND_SERVICE_SPECIAL_USE | Keeps the local server running reliably while you have it turned on, with a persistent notification so you know it's active. |
POST_NOTIFICATIONS | Shows the "server running" notification required by the foreground service above. |
Soil requests no storage, camera, microphone, location, or contacts permission. File access is handled through Android's Storage Access Framework and the app's own private storage, not broad storage permissions.
Third parties
Soil does not integrate any third-party analytics, advertising, or data collection SDK. If a future version adds a feature that reaches the internet beyond your local network (for example, installing a Plant from a public GitHub repository), this policy will be updated first to describe exactly what is fetched and why, and no such feature transmits data about you to the developer.
Children's privacy
Soil is not directed at children and does not knowingly collect any data from anyone, including children, because it collects no data at all.
Changes to this policy
If Soil's data practices change, this document will be updated and the "Effective date" above will reflect the change. Continued use of the app after an update constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.