Your privacy matters

Privacy Policy

What information Messages by OzarksMade uses, where it stays, and what we never do with it.

Last updated: July 26, 2026

Messages by OzarksMade is a text‑messaging app for Android. It sends and receives SMS and MMS messages, and can optionally work alongside Google Messages to show your RCS chats. This policy explains what information the app uses, where that information stays, and what we never do with it. In this policy, "Messages", "the app", "we", "us", and "our" refer to Messages by OzarksMade; "you" and "your" refer to the person using the app.

Your messages stay on your device

Your conversations (the text of your messages, along with any photos and videos) are stored by Android on your phone, in the same system message storage that other texting apps use. Messages reads and writes them there so it can show your conversations. We do not upload, copy, transmit, or send the content of your messages to any OzarksMade server, and we cannot read your messages.

Information the app accesses on your device

To work as a messaging app, Messages asks permission to use the following, and only for the purposes described:

  • SMS and MMS messages: to send, receive, and display your text conversations.
  • Contacts: to show names and photos for the people you message, and to let you start new conversations.
  • Phone number and phone state: to send and match messages to the correct SIM and number.
  • Notifications: to alert you to new messages.

This information is used on your device to provide the app's features. It is not sent to us.

Google sign‑in and Google Messages

If you choose to connect Google Messages (Companion Mode), the app opens Google's own sign‑in page so your phone can pair with Google Messages. Signing in is handled entirely by Google; we never see, receive, or store your Google password. The pairing keys created during this process are stored only on your device and are used only to communicate with Google Messages on your behalf. Connecting is optional, and you can disconnect at any time in the app's settings.

RCS chat details and backups

To display RCS chats correctly (blue chat bubbles, delivery and read receipts, and reactions), the app keeps a small record of this information on your device. This record does not contain the text of your messages. You may optionally back this record up to a folder you choose (for example, a folder in your own cloud drive). That folder and everything in it remain under your control; the backup is never sent to us, and backup is turned off until you turn it on and select a folder.

Anonymous usage statistics

To understand how many devices are actively using Messages and to help us reproduce and fix problems that only happen on certain phones, the app periodically sends a small, anonymous statistics report to our own server. This report contains: a random identifier that is generated on your device, the app's version and release channel, your device model, and your Android version. The random identifier is not your phone number, your Google account, or any hardware or advertising ID, and it is reset if you reinstall the app or clear its data. The report never includes your messages, contacts, phone number, location, or any other personal information. These are our own first‑party statistics; they are not shared with advertisers or other third parties.

Information we do not collect

We do not sell your information. We do not display advertisements. We do not include third‑party advertising trackers. We do not collect your messages, contacts, location, or activity for our own use or to build a profile of you. Aside from the anonymous usage statistics described above, we do not track how you use the app.

Connections to OzarksMade servers

The app may contact OzarksMade servers to check whether an app update is available, to send the anonymous usage statistics described above, and to load pages like this one. These requests do not include the content of your messages or your personal information.

Security

Because your messages stay on your device, they are protected by your device's own security, such as your lock screen and device encryption. We recommend keeping your device locked, encrypted, and up to date. No method of storage or transmission is perfectly secure, and messages you send travel over your carrier's network like any other text message.

Children's privacy

Messages by OzarksMade is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect information from them.

Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will post the updated version on this page and change the date at the top. Your continued use of the app after an update means you accept the revised policy.

Contact us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, you can reach us through the "Contact us" option in the app's settings, or at ozarksmade.net.