PharunePharune Privacy Policy
Last updated: 16 October 2026
The short version
- No account and no sign-up.
- No tracking, no advertising and no analytics.
- Your checks happen on your phone. The messages, screenshots and photos you check are not uploaded to us.
- Your history stays on your phone. We can't see it, and you can delete it at any time.
- We only receive something if you choose to email it to us. You see the email first and press Send yourself.
Who we are
Pharune is provided by Paul Acheson (trading as Pharune) ("we", "us"), based in the United Kingdom. We are the data controller for the small amount of personal data described in "Feedback emails" below.
Contact: support@pharune.com
What happens on your phone
Pharune is designed to work without sending your information anywhere. Everything in this section is stored only on your device. We have no access to it.
| What | Why | How long it's kept |
|---|---|---|
| Text you paste or type in to check | To check it for signs of a scam | In your history until you delete it (see below) |
| Screenshots and photos you choose to check | To read the text in them. Text recognition runs on your phone using Apple's or Google's built-in on-device technology. | If Keep screenshots with history is on (Help → Settings), a compressed copy is saved with the check. Otherwise the image isn't kept. |
| Your check history (text, result, date, optional screenshot copy) | So you can look back at past checks | Your last 100 checks. Older ones, and their images, are deleted automatically. |
| Trusted contact (a name and optional phone number) | So you can send a suspicious message to someone you trust in one tap | Until you remove it (Help → Trusted contact) |
| Evidence report details (references, amounts, notes) | To include in the PDF report you create | With the check, until you delete it |
To delete it: use Clear history in the History tab, Delete saved screenshots in Help → Settings, or remove the trusted contact. Deleting the app removes everything.
Permissions. Pharune asks for access to your photos only when you choose a screenshot to check, and to your camera only when you take a photo. It only reads the image you pick. It does not access your contacts, messages, email, location or microphone.
When information leaves your phone (only when you choose)
Feedback emails
If you tell Pharune a result was wrong, or choose "Send this example", your own email app opens a draft addressed to feedback@pharune.com. It contains:
- the text of the message you checked, with your own address lines ("To:", "Cc:") removed;
- what you said it really was (scam, genuine or not sure);
- Pharune's result, and the app and engine versions.
Screenshots are never attached. You can edit or delete anything before sending, and nothing is sent unless you press Send.
If you send it, we receive the email, your email address and anything personal left in the text.
- Why we use it: to improve how accurately Pharune detects scams. Our lawful basis is your consent, given by choosing to send the email. You can ask us to delete it at any time.
- What we do with it: we turn it into an anonymised test example, removing names, numbers, addresses and anything else that could identify you. We use that example to test and improve Pharune.
- How long we keep it: we delete the original email within 90 days. Anonymised examples contain no personal data and may be kept.
- Who processes it: email to pharune.com is forwarded by Cloudflare (email routing) to a mailbox provided by Google (Gmail). These providers may process data outside the UK under appropriate safeguards.
Sharing you start yourself
When you use Share, Copy, Ask your trusted contact (WhatsApp or Messages) or Create evidence report, the information goes directly from your phone to the app and people you choose. We don't receive a copy. What happens next is governed by those apps' own privacy policies.
Links and phone numbers in the app
Reporting links (for example to the NCSC or Report Fraud) open those organisations' websites. Their privacy policies apply.
What we don't do
- We don't sell or share your data.
- We don't use advertising or advertising identifiers.
- We don't include analytics or tracking tools.
- We don't build profiles of you.
- Pharune does not currently send any data to our own servers. If we add an optional online feature, such as checking links against scam blocklists, we'll update this policy first and explain exactly what is sent.
Apple and Google may give us anonymous, aggregated statistics (such as download numbers and crash reports) if your device settings allow it. We can't identify you from these.
Children
Pharune is not aimed at children under 13, and we don't knowingly receive their personal data.
Your rights
Under UK data protection law you can ask us to access, correct or delete the personal data we hold about you (in practice, only feedback emails you've sent us). You can also object to how we use it, or ask us to restrict it. Email support@pharune.com and we'll respond within one month.
If you're unhappy with how we've handled your data, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office: ico.org.uk, 0303 123 1113.
Changes to this policy
If we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top. If a change affects what data leaves your phone, we'll tell you in the app before it takes effect.