Privacy Policy

Last updated: 8 August 2026

Relay ("the app") is an Android app that forwards incoming SMS messages to destinations you configure. It runs entirely on your device. We operate no servers and we receive none of your data.

This policy is written to be accurate rather than reassuring. Relay does transmit message content off your device — to the destinations you choose — and this document says so plainly.

Who we are

Relay is developed and published by an individual developer.
Contact for privacy questions: mohd0109@gmail.com

What Relay accesses

Data	Why	Where it goes
Incoming SMS content and sender (`RECEIVE_SMS`)	To evaluate each message against the forwarding rules you wrote	Stored in a local database on your device. Sent onward only to destinations you configured, and only when one of your rules matches.
Sending SMS (`SEND_SMS`)	To deliver a forward when you chose an SMS destination	Sent by your device, over your mobile carrier, to the number you entered. Standard carrier SMS charges apply.
Contacts (`READ_CONTACTS`, optional)	To display sender names instead of bare numbers, and to support the "sender is in my contacts" rule condition	Never leaves the device. Denying this is supported — the app degrades gracefully.
Notifications (`POST_NOTIFICATIONS`)	To alert you when a forward fails and needs attention	Local to the device.
Network access (`INTERNET`)	To deliver email forwards	Used only to connect to the SMTP server or Gmail account you configured.

Relay is not your device's default SMS app and does not replace your messaging app. It does not read your existing message history — only messages that arrive while it is installed and enabled.

What we do NOT do

We operate no backend server. There is no Relay account, and no message ever reaches us.
We include no analytics, telemetry, advertising SDK, or crash-reporting SDK.
We do not sell, share, or license your data to anyone.
We do not use your message content for advertising, profiling, model training, or any purpose other than executing the forwarding rules you wrote.

Where your data goes when you forward

This is the part that matters most, so it is stated explicitly.

When a message matches one of your rules, Relay sends its content to the destination recorded in that rule:

SMS destination — delivered by your carrier to the phone number you entered. Your carrier can see it, exactly as with any SMS you send.
Email destination — delivered over an encrypted TLS connection to the SMTP server you configured (for example Gmail, Outlook, or your own mail host), or via the Gmail API if you signed in with Google. That mail provider can see the message, under their privacy policy, not ours.

You choose these destinations. Relay forwards nothing until you create a rule, and a fresh install with no rules forwards nothing at all.

Data stored on your device

Held in the app's private storage (/data/data/com.relay.smsforwarder/), which other apps cannot read:

Forwarding rules, conditions, destinations, schedules and message templates
Received messages that matched a rule, plus the forwarding job and per-attempt history shown in the activity log
Email account settings (address, SMTP host, port)

SMTP passwords are stored in EncryptedSharedPreferences, encrypted with a key held in the Android Keystore. They are never written in plain text and are excluded from config export.

Android cloud backup is disabled for the app (android:allowBackup="false"), so none of this is copied to Google Drive.

Google user data (optional Gmail sign-in)

If you connect a Gmail account using "Sign in with Google", Relay requests only the https://www.googleapis.com/auth/gmail.send scope. Because Google requires this to be spelled out, here is exactly how Relay accesses, uses, stores and shares Google user data:

Accesses — the gmail.send scope, which permits sending mail on your behalf and grants no read access to your mailbox, plus your email address so the app can show which account is connected.
Uses — solely to deliver a forwarded SMS to the email destination you configured. It is used for no other purpose.
Stores — the connected email address is stored locally on your device. The access token is not stored: Relay re-fetches a short-lived token silently at send time, and no refresh token is retained.
Shares — with no one. Google user data is never transmitted to us (there is no backend), and is never sold, licensed or shared with any third party. It is not used for advertising, profiling, or training any model.

Relay's use of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. You can revoke access at any time at myaccount.google.com/permissions, or by removing the account inside Relay.

Retention and deletion

The activity log has a configurable retention period, and a metadata-only mode that stores which rule matched without keeping message bodies.
You can clear the log at any time from within the app.
Uninstalling Relay deletes everything. Android removes the app's entire private storage directory, including the database and the encrypted credentials.

Because we hold no copy of your data, there is nothing for you to request from us and nothing for us to delete on your behalf.

Children

Relay is not directed at children and is rated for users 18 and over.

Changes to this policy

Material changes will be reflected here with an updated date, and noted in the app's release notes on Google Play.

Contact

mohd0109@gmail.com