AscentPrivacy policy
In short
- There is no Ascent account. We do not receive your browsing history, bookmarks, passwords, downloads or the pages you read.
- Text is sent for translation only when you translate, and only to the translation service you chose.
- The app uses Firebase Analytics to count how features are used. The events never include page addresses, page text or translations.
- We do not sell personal data.
"Ascent", "the app", "we" and "us" mean the Ascent browser and the Ascent Reader built into it, published by RL Tools.
What stays on your phone
Browsing history, bookmarks, open tabs, site settings, cookies, cached pages, downloads, saved videos, reader library and reading progress, and saved passwords, addresses and payment methods are stored on your device, in the app's private storage or in the folders you choose. They are not uploaded to us.
Saved passwords are encrypted with AES-256 using a key generated inside Android's keystore, which does not leave the device. Showing, copying or exporting a password requires your fingerprint, face or screen lock.
Text inside pictures is recognised on your device, using Google's ML Kit text recognition. The picture is not sent anywhere to be read.
What leaves your phone, and why
| When | What is sent | To whom |
|---|---|---|
| You visit a site or search | What any browser sends: your requests, cookies for that site, your IP address | The site, and the search engine you chose |
| You translate a page or its pictures | The text of the page, or the text recognised in its pictures, and the languages | The translation service selected in Translate settings: Google Translate (the default), MyMemory, or, if you add your own key, DeepL, OpenAI, Anthropic or Google Gemini. Their own privacy policies apply to what they receive. |
| Ad and tracker blocking updates | A request for each filter list: the public lists about every three days, Ascent's own list a few times a day. The requests carry no cookies and nothing about you or what you browse | The list publishers (EasyList, AdGuard, Peter Lowe's list) and, for Ascent's own list, this site |
| You open the Chrome Web Store or install an extension | Requests to the store, as on any browser | Google. Installed extensions follow their own policies. |
| You use Ascent Reader | Requests to the sources, extension repositories and trackers you add; tracker sign-in happens on the tracker's own page | Those sites and services |
| A recogniser for a new script is first needed | A download of ML Kit's language model | Google Play services |
Analytics
Ascent uses Google Firebase Analytics to understand which features are used, so we know what to improve. Firebase collects an app-instance identifier, device and app information (such as model, Android version, app version, language and approximate region derived from IP address), and events we define. Our events record things like "a page was translated", with the target language and whether pictures were included, and whether one of Ascent's own ads was requested, shown or skipped. They never contain the addresses you visit, page content, what you typed, or translations.
Analytics data is processed by Google under the Google Privacy Policy and kept for the retention period set in Google Analytics. It is not used to identify you personally.
Advertising
Ascent is free and shows full-screen ads from Google AdMob: sometimes when you come back to the app, and at most one every fifteen minutes when you open a link or switch tabs. They are not shown in incognito tabs, over a fullscreen video, or while you are typing an address.
To serve and measure these ads, AdMob, and the ad networks Google's mediation uses for Ascent — at present AppLovin, Unity Ads and Liftoff Monetize — may collect your device's advertising ID, IP address, and information about the ads shown to you and how you interact with them. In the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, Ascent requests no ads and collects no analytics until you have answered Google's consent form, and your answer decides what is collected; you can change it later in Settings → Privacy and security → Ads in Ascent. You can reset or delete your advertising ID, or opt out of personalised ads, in Android's settings under Google → Ads. See how Google uses information from sites and apps. The pages you visit, what you type and your translations are never shared with advertisers, and the ad blocker's filtering of websites is unaffected by Ascent's own ads.
Permissions
- Camera, microphone, location: requested only when a website asks for them, and used only for that site, as Chrome does.
- Notifications: for download progress, saved videos, media playback, reader updates, and sites you allow to notify you.
- Photos, files and folders: through Android's own pickers, only for the items you choose. Downloads and saved videos are written to shared folders without access to your other files.
- Fingerprint and face: through Android's biometric prompt, which tells the app only whether you were verified.
Your choices and deleting your data
- Translation runs only when you ask for it or turn on automatic translation, and "Show original" turns it off.
- Delete browsing data in Settings → Delete browsing data; delete passwords in Settings → Passwords.
- Private (incognito) tabs keep nothing after they close, and their translations are not cached.
- Uninstalling Ascent removes everything it stored in its private storage. Files you saved to shared folders remain until you delete them.
- Because we hold no account and cannot link analytics to you, we have no personal data to return or delete on request. If you have a question about analytics data, contact us and we will help.
Children
Ascent is a general-purpose web browser and is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.
Changes and contact
If this policy changes, the new version will be published on this page with a new date. Questions and privacy requests: support@rltools.app.