Privacy Policy

Effective 8 November 2026

Rooteus is an SSH client for Windows and Android ("Rooteus", "the app", "we"). This policy explains what data the app handles, where it goes, and the choices you have. The short version: Rooteus has no servers and no user accounts of its own. Your data stays on your devices, and when you turn on sync, it is encrypted on your device before it is stored in your own Google Drive.

1. Data stored on your device

The app stores the following only on your device:

Saved hosts (names, addresses, ports, usernames, groups, port-forwarding settings).
Your vault: saved passwords, private keys, key passphrases and AI provider API keys. The vault is encrypted with a key derived from your master password (Argon2id) using XChaCha20-Poly1305. We never see your master password and cannot recover it.
The fingerprints of servers you have trusted (known hosts).
App settings, saved agent chats (encrypted with a key kept in your vault) and a local log of commands the agent proposed and their outcome.

We do not collect analytics, crash reports, usage statistics, advertising identifiers or location. The app contains no tracking or advertising code.

2. Connections to your servers

SSH and SFTP connections go directly from your device to the servers you choose. Nothing passes through any Rooteus server. Commands, files and terminal output stay between your device and your servers.

3. Sync through your Google account (optional)

If you choose "Sign in with Google" in Settings, the app uses Google APIs to keep your Rooteus data the same on your devices. In detail:

What the app requests: access to its own private application data folder in your Google Drive (drive.appdata), and your email address (openid, email) so the app can show which account sync uses.
What it stores in Google Drive: one file containing your hosts, vault entries, trusted servers and the related deletion records, encrypted on your device with a sync key that is itself protected by your master password. Google stores the file but cannot read its contents, and neither can we.
What it cannot access: the application data folder is separate from your files. Rooteus cannot see, open, change or delete any of your other Google Drive files, and the file does not appear in your Drive's file list.
Where the sign-in is kept: the access granted by Google is stored in your encrypted vault on each device. It is used only to read and write the sync file.

Google API Services User Data Policy. Rooteus's use and transfer to any other app of information received from Google APIs will adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. Data from Google APIs is used only to provide the sync feature you turned on. It is not sold, not used for advertising, not used to train AI models, and not transferred to anyone else. We do not read it: it is encrypted on your device and never reaches us.

4. The AI agent (optional)

The agent is off until you add an API key from an AI provider (for example Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, OpenRouter, Mistral, xAI, DeepSeek, Groq, Together AI, or a server you run yourself). When you use it:

Your messages, the list of machines you allow the chat to use (names and addresses), and the output of commands you approve are sent directly from your device to the provider you chose, using your own key. They do not pass through any Rooteus server.
Before command output is sent, the app removes recognisable secrets such as private keys, passwords and tokens.
The provider handles that data under its own terms and privacy policy. Please review them before using the agent.
No data from Google APIs is ever sent to an AI provider.

5. Sharing

We do not sell, rent or share your data. Because we have no servers, we do not hold your data and cannot hand it to anyone. Data leaves your device only in the cases above, which you start yourself: connections to your servers, the encrypted sync file in your Google Drive, and agent requests to the AI provider you chose.

6. Retention and deletion

Data on a device stays until you delete it in the app or uninstall the app.
"Sign out" in Settings → Sync stops sync on that device and revokes its Google access. The encrypted file stays in your Drive for your other devices.
To delete the synced file entirely, open Google Drive on the web, go to Settings → Manage apps → Rooteus → Options → Delete hidden app data. You can also remove Rooteus's access at any time at myaccount.google.com/connections.

7. Security

Secrets are encrypted at rest with modern, well-reviewed algorithms, and sync data is encrypted end to end. Server host keys are never accepted silently. The parts of Rooteus that protect your data are open source so anyone can review them. No method of storage or transmission is perfectly secure, so please choose a strong master password.

8. Children

Rooteus is a tool for administering computer systems and is not directed at children under 16. We do not knowingly collect data from children.

9. Changes

If this policy changes, the new version will be posted on this page with a new effective date. Significant changes will also be announced in the app.

10. Contact

Questions or requests about privacy: support@rooteus.com.