Hermex Android — Privacy Policy

Applies to: the Hermex Android app distributed as com.hermex.android.

Developer: Brent Duarte

Last updated: 2026-07-17

Canonical URL: https://computerbyte.github.io/hermex-android/privacy/

1. Overview

Hermex Android is an Android client for the Hermes self-hosted AI server, developed in collaboration with Hermes WebUI. The app does not provide a hosted service of its own. It connects only to servers that the user (or someone on their behalf) has configured. The user is the operator of those servers and is responsible for understanding what those servers do with the data they receive.

The app itself:

Does not include advertising or marketing SDKs.
Does not include analytics, attribution, or telemetry SDKs.
Does not include crash-reporting SDKs.
Does not include any service that the app developer operates. There is no first-party backend, no account system, no user database, and no first-party push-notification service.

2. Data the app transmits to a user-configured server

When the user signs in to a server (manually or via a share-target / deep link), the app transmits to that server only what is necessary to make the user-selected feature work:

The user’s chat messages and the assistant’s responses streamed back.
File and image attachments the user explicitly chooses to send, together with any metadata the server requires to handle them (typically the file name and MIME type).
A server password the user enters during login. The password is sent to the chosen server for authentication but is not stored by the app. Any session cookie returned by the server may be stored for later requests.
The user-supplied Authorization header (session cookie or bearer token) that authenticates requests to that server.
Any custom HTTP headers the user has configured in the app’s settings for that server.
The active workspace, model, model provider, and profile identifiers the user has selected for the session (only if those features are enabled on the server).

Anything the server does with that data — including retention, logging, training on conversations, or onward sharing — is governed by the server’s privacy and terms policies, not this one. Hermex is not a party to that relationship.

3. Data the app stores on the device

The app stores the following data locally in Android private app storage:

Server connection settings — server URL, friendly name, and any per-server custom headers the user has configured. Server settings and custom headers use Android DataStore in the app’s sandbox. Custom headers, including a bearer token entered as a header value, are not separately encrypted at the application layer.
Authentication cookies — session cookies are encrypted using EncryptedSharedPreferences with a key protected by the Android Keystore. They are sent only to the server scope that created them.
Cached conversations and message history — for offline browsing and fast-scroll, the app may cache conversation content in a local Room database, isolated by server.
User preferences — theme, font size, and other UI options. Some of these may be stored in Android DataStore.

The app disables Android application backup. Selected attachment bytes are held in memory while they are uploaded; Hermex does not create its own durable local copy of the selected file. The receiving server may retain an uploaded attachment under its own policy.

Retention and deletion

The local conversation cache is pruned on startup to the 50 most recent sessions or 90 days, whichever removes more old sessions.
Sign out clears the selected server’s authentication cookie. It intentionally leaves the server entry, custom headers, and offline conversation cache available for later use.
Forget server removes that server’s configuration, authentication cookies, custom headers, and cached conversations from the device.
Clearing Hermex’s storage in Android Settings or uninstalling Hermex removes all app-local data.
Data retained by a user-configured server must be deleted through that server or its operator. Hermex and its developer cannot delete data held by an independently operated server.
Speech-recognition data, if processed by the device’s speech-recognition provider, is subject to that provider’s retention and deletion practices.

4. Permissions

Hermex may request or declare the following Android permissions to provide core functionality:

Internet (`INTERNET`)

Used to communicate with AI servers that you configure.

Hermex supports connections to both HTTPS servers and, where enabled by the application, HTTP servers. Because HTTP connections are not encrypted in transit, users should only connect to trusted servers when using HTTP.

Notifications (`POST_NOTIFICATIONS`)

Used to display notifications generated by the application.

Microphone (`RECORD_AUDIO`)

Used only when you choose to use voice input or speech recognition features. Speech recognition is provided by your device’s configured recognition service, which may process audio on-device or transmit it to its own servers according to its own privacy practices.

Foreground Service (`FOREGROUND_SERVICE` and `FOREGROUND_SERVICE_DATA_SYNC`)

Declared so Hermex can perform long-running tasks, such as maintaining active synchronization or streaming operations while the app is in use. These are normal Android permissions and are not runtime permissions that require user approval.

The app uses Android’s system document or photo picker for attachments and therefore does not request broad storage or media-library permission. It does not request location, contacts, SMS, call logs, camera, or device-identifier permissions.

5. Network Security

Hermex communicates only with AI servers that you explicitly configure.

The application supports secure HTTPS connections and may also permit HTTP connections, depending on your server configuration. HTTPS encrypts data in transit. HTTP does not provide transport encryption and should only be used with servers and networks that you trust.

All conversation data, attachments, and requests are transmitted only to the server that you choose to connect to. Hermex does not route your requests through developer-operated servers.

6. Custom HTTP headers

Advanced users can configure custom HTTP headers per server (for example, to send a reverse-proxy token). Any value the user puts in a custom-header field is sent verbatim to that server on every request. Header names and values are trimmed and invalid blank rows are discarded, but Hermex does not determine whether a header value is safe or appropriate for the selected server. Custom headers are stored in Android private app storage but are not separately encrypted at the application layer (see Section 3).

7. Microphone / voice input

If the user taps voice input and grants microphone permission, Hermex invokes Android’s installed speech-recognition service using the standard SpeechRecognizer API. Depending on the device and the selected recognition service, speech may be processed on the device or transmitted to that service’s provider. That processing is governed by the provider’s privacy policy and device settings.

Hermex receives the resulting text and places it in the message composer. The text is not sent to the user-configured Hermes server until the user sends the message. Hermex does not create a persistent audio recording, but it cannot control whether the installed speech-recognition service retains data.

If microphone permission is denied, voice input is unavailable; the rest of the app continues to work.

8. Notifications

If the user has granted POST_NOTIFICATIONS (Android 13+), the app posts notifications for chat events such as a long-running turn completing while the user is in another app. Notification content is taken from the local app state — the notification surface is rendered by the Android system, not by Hermex.

If POST_NOTIFICATIONS is denied, the app does not post notifications; everything else continues to work. The user can change this in the app’s settings or in Android Settings → Apps → Hermex → Notifications.

9. System file picker

When the user attaches a file, the app launches the Android system file picker (ACTION_OPEN_DOCUMENT or the photo picker). The app only sees files the user explicitly selects. It does not enumerate, read, or upload any other files on the device.

10. What this app does not do

It does not transmit user data to a backend operated by the Hermex Android developer.
It does not sell user data.
It does not create a user account with Hermex.
It does not provide account-creation, account-deletion, or account-recovery services directly. The user manages accounts (if any) on the server they configure.
It does not perform background tracking, location tracking, or device-identifier collection.
It does not run background analytics, advertising, or tracking services.

11. Children

The app is a general-purpose tool for connecting to a user-configured server. It does not target children as an audience.

12. International transfers

Because the app does not operate its own backend, international data transfers may occur when the user connects to a server outside their jurisdiction or when the device’s speech-recognition provider processes optional voice input elsewhere. Those transfers are governed by the configured server operator’s or recognition provider’s policies.

13. Changes to this policy

If the app’s data handling changes materially (for example, a new optional telemetry feature), this policy and the in-app privacy-policy link will be updated. The Play Store listing will reflect the new wording.

14. Contact

For privacy questions about the Hermex Android app, contact:

Developer: Brent Duarte

Email: brentduarte28@gmail.com

Subject line prefix: [Hermex Android privacy]

For privacy questions about the underlying Hermes server, contact the operator of the server the user is connecting to.

This policy is intended to remain publicly available at its canonical HTTPS URL. It should be reviewed whenever Hermex’s data handling changes.