ListenLock privacy policy

Last updated: 30 October 2026

ListenLock is a free, open-source Android app that reads PDFs, e-books, documents and pictures of pages aloud. It is published on Google Play by the developer TelosMind Labs. In short: ListenLock does not collect, store on any server, or share any information about you. Everything it does happens on your phone.

What stays on your phone

The books and documents you open (PDF, EPUB, Word, OpenDocument, RTF, web pages, Markdown and text files), their text, and any pages read with OCR (text recognition).
Pictures you pick for Read pictures or take with Point and read. Pictures are chosen with Android's photo picker, so the app sees only the ones you pick, never the rest of your gallery.
Text you send to ListenLock from another app: text you share to it, text you select and read with Read aloud, and copied text. The clipboard is read only when you tap Read copied text.
Your library, reading positions, bookmarks, notes and settings, and for Listening stats how long and how many words you listened in each hour of each day, with the book and language heard (never the page or the words themselves). Clear stats forgets them.
Audio from the microphone, only when you use a feature that listens: voice commands and practice features turn speech into text on the phone and keep no recording; a voice note you record is saved in the app on your phone until you delete it. No audio is ever sent anywhere.
The app's own logs. They leave the phone only if you choose Share logs in Settings and pick where to send them.

ListenLock has no account, no ads, no analytics and no crash-reporting service, and no server of its own: it never uploads anything. Android's cloud backup and its phone-to-phone transfer are both turned off for the app, so its data does not reach Google's backup either.

Your files, your responsibility

Because nothing is kept anywhere but your phone, nobody else holds a copy, and nobody can recover it for you.

Backups (Settings, Back up and restore) are one unencrypted file with your library, notes and voice notes, saved where you choose. Wherever you put it (a cloud drive, a computer, a chat), it is covered by that place's own terms, and anyone who can open it can read it.
Exports (talking books, clips, notes) are saved in your phone's shared folders or sent with the share sheet to an app you pick. Other apps with access to those folders can read them.
Sync through a folder (library menu) writes your reading places, bookmarks, highlights and notes, and copies of your books if you leave that on, as plain files into a folder you pick, so your other devices can read them there. ListenLock itself sends nothing anywhere: if that folder belongs to a cloud app (Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive or another), that app uploads the files under its own terms, and anyone it shares the folder with can read them. Stopping sync leaves the folder and its files for you to keep or delete.
If you lose your phone or uninstall the app without a backup, your library and notes are gone.
The books you open are your own; you are responsible for having the right to use them.

To keep the app private on a shared or lost phone, turn on App lock (your fingerprint, face or phone screen lock opens it) and Hide app content (no screenshots, screen recording or recent-apps preview) in Settings, under Privacy and security. ListenLock keeps no password of its own; Android checks the unlock and tells the app only that it worked.

What ListenLock downloads

When you choose to download a voice, a text-recognition model or another language pack, ListenLock fetches the file over HTTPS from GitHub (github.com and its download servers, such as raw.githubusercontent.com). Each file is checked against a fingerprint built into the app before it is used. These requests carry only the file's address and the app's name, never anything about you or your documents. Like any web request, GitHub sees your IP address, under GitHub's own privacy statement.

When you tap Read a web page, choose to read a link you shared to ListenLock, or tap Download in Free book catalogues, ListenLock fetches that one page or book over HTTPS, straight from the website you chose (one of the free catalogues listed in the app, such as Project Gutenberg). The request carries only the address, the app's name and the file types it can read: no cookies, no account, and nothing about you or your other books. That website sees your IP address, under its own privacy policy. A web page is kept only as its article, a text book in your library; nothing is fetched in the background or ahead of time. Nothing else in the app uses the internet.

Languages without a downloaded voice can be read by your phone's own text-to-speech engine. ListenLock only uses that engine's voices that work offline, so the text stays on the phone.

Google Play

If you install ListenLock from Google Play, Google may share anonymous install statistics and crash reports with the developer, as it does for every Play app, under Google's privacy policy. These never include your documents.

Permissions

Notifications: to show the playback controls and the progress of long jobs.
Microphone: only for voice commands, voice notes and listening features you use.
Internet: only for the downloads described above.
Photos: none; Android's photo picker hands the app only the pictures you choose.
Fingerprint and face: only if you turn on App lock; Android shows the prompt and checks it.

Children

ListenLock is not directed at children under 13 and collects no data from anyone.

Changes and contact

If this policy changes, the new version is posted on this page with a new date. The full history is public in the source repository. Questions: email support@telosmindlabs.com or open an issue at github.com/skm0078/audora/issues.