Shmerling Apps

Downabit privacy policy

Last updated: 25 September 2026

Downabit is an app for Android TV, Google TV and Amazon Fire TV, made by Shmerling Apps ("we", "us"). This policy explains what information the app uses, where it goes, and the choices you have. It applies to every version of Downabit, including those installed from Google Play and the Amazon Appstore.

In short: Downabit does not send any of your personal data to us. It shows no ads and contains no analytics, crash reporting or tracking. Your files go only where you send them.

1. Your Telegram account

Downabit is a Telegram client. When you sign in, the app connects directly to Telegram's servers using Telegram's official library (TDLib). If you sign in with a phone number, the number and the login code are sent to Telegram, not to us. If you sign in with a QR code, no phone number is entered at all. Your Telegram session is stored only on your TV, in storage that other apps cannot read.

Downabit reads only the private channel it creates for you (called "Downabit" unless you rename it) and the files you post there. It does not read your chats, contacts or other channels. Telegram's own privacy policy applies to your Telegram account: https://telegram.org/privacy.

2. Your files

Files move directly from Telegram to the destination you choose: the TV's own storage, a USB drive, a network share or NAS on your home network, a WebDAV server, Google Drive or Dropbox. We never receive, see or store your files. Files you save stay under your control at the destination you chose; when you delete a file in Downabit, it is deleted there.

3. Storage and cloud accounts

When you connect a network share, a WebDAV server, Google Drive or Dropbox, the address, user name, password or access token are stored only on your TV and are used only to reach that destination. Google Drive and Dropbox are linked through their own sign-in pages on your phone; Downabit gets access to its own "Downabit" folder there. Their privacy policies apply to those services: Google, Dropbox.

4. Speed test

Once a day, and when you press "Test now", Downabit measures your internet speed by downloading test data from public speed-test servers (Cloudflare, Netflix's fast.com and Hetzner) and a file from your own Telegram channel. Like any internet request, these servers see your IP address. No personal data is sent with the test.

5. Subscriptions and payments

Subscriptions are sold and billed by Google Play or the Amazon Appstore. We do not receive your card or billing details. The app asks the store whether your subscription is active and remembers the answer on the TV so it keeps working briefly when the store cannot be reached. Store privacy policies apply to purchases: Google, Amazon.

6. Permissions the app asks for

  • Internet and network state: to reach Telegram and your destinations, and to find shares on your home network.
  • Notifications and a foreground service: to show download progress and keep a download running when you leave the app.
  • Photos, videos and music (media): to list, play and delete the files in Downabit's own Download/Downabit folder, including files saved before the app was reinstalled. The app reads only that folder.
  • Storage (older Android versions only): to save into the Download folder and onto USB drives.
  • All files access (Amazon and directly installed versions only, optional): to show archives and documents saved before a reinstall. It is never asked for at start and can be left off.
  • Install apps: used only when you press "Install" on an app file you downloaded; Android asks you to confirm every install.

7. What we collect

We collect nothing. Downabit has no account with us, no analytics, no advertising identifier, no crash reporting and no server that receives your data. We do not sell, rent or share personal data, because we do not have any.

8. Security

Connections to Telegram, Google, Dropbox and the speed-test servers are encrypted in transit. Connections to a network share or WebDAV server on your own network use the security that server offers. Sign-in details are kept in the app's private storage on your TV.

9. Keeping and deleting your data

Everything Downabit stores stays on your TV until you remove it. Log out in Settings > Account & channel to remove your Telegram sign-in; disconnect a destination in Settings > Cloud & network; uninstall the app to remove everything it stored. Files you saved stay at their destinations until you delete them. See how to delete your data for the full steps, including how to delete a Telegram account.

10. Children

Downabit is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect information from anyone.

11. Changes to this policy

If this policy changes, the new version is published on this page with a new date. Material changes are also described in the app's release notes.

12. Contact

Questions about privacy: support@shmerling.app.