Privacy Policy — OpenNVR Cam

1. Overview

OpenNVR Cam is the companion mobile app for OpenNVR, a self-hosted, local-first network video recorder. The app connects to an OpenNVR server that you run and control. The OpenNVR project does not operate a cloud service for this app and does not receive, store, or have access to your video, audio, images, or camera data.

2. Our privacy principle

OpenNVR is designed to be sovereign and local-first. Your data lives on your own devices and your own server. The app communicates only with the server you configure — we are not an intermediary, and your footage never passes through our infrastructure because we operate none for this app.

3. Information the app accesses on your device

The app requests the following permissions only for the features below, and only when you use them:

• Camera — to scan pairing QR codes and, optionally, to use your device as a camera source. Frames are sent only to your own OpenNVR server, never to us.
• Microphone — for the voice assistant ("talk to your cameras"). Audio is processed by your own OpenNVR server, not sent to us.
• Local network / Wi-Fi information — to discover and connect to your OpenNVR server on your network.
• Notifications — to deliver alerts (alarms and events) from your server. See "Push notifications" below.
• Device storage — to store app settings and cache snapshots or thumbnails locally on your device.

4. Information we collect

None. The app contains no analytics, no advertising, and no third-party trackers. We do not collect personal data, usage data, or device identifiers, and we operate no servers that receive your data.

5. Information you send to your own server

When you use the app, it sends requests — commands, questions, camera selections, and, for the voice assistant, audio — to the OpenNVR server you configured. That server is operated by you or your organization. How that data is stored and processed is governed by your own server configuration, not by us.

6. Push notifications

If you enable notifications, the app registers to receive push messages about alerts from your server. Depending on your setup this uses either a self-hosted / UnifiedPush provider you control, or, if enabled, Google's Firebase Cloud Messaging. Push messages contain minimal information (such as a short alert title and a reference); any footage is fetched from your own server over your authenticated connection.

7. Data sharing and sale

We do not share, sell, or rent any data. The app does not transmit data to the OpenNVR project or to any third party for our purposes. It communicates only with the server you specify and, if you enable it, the push provider you configure.

8. Data retention and deletion

We hold no data about you, so we have nothing to retain or delete. Recordings, events, and settings are stored on your device and your server, under your control. You can delete them at any time — including by uninstalling the app (which removes local app data) and by clearing data on your server.

9. Security

Communication between the app and your server relies on your own network security — local network, VPN, or a TLS reverse proxy — and the app supports authenticated connections to your server. Because there is no cloud intermediary, your video never passes through our systems.

10. Children's privacy

OpenNVR Cam is not directed to children under 13 (or the applicable age of digital consent in your region), and we do not knowingly collect data from children. As we collect no data at all, this holds by design.

11. Your rights and control

Because you host your own data, you retain full control over it. Requests concerning data held on your server should be directed to whoever operates that server (you or your organization).

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated date above.

13. Contact

Questions about this policy can be sent to contact@opennvr.org, or via the project at opennvr.org.