Ask VX (formerly VX File Manager; "we", "the app") is an Android file manager you can ask in plain words. This policy explains what data the app accesses and how it is used. By using Ask VX you agree to this policy.
1. Your files stay on your device
Everything the app does with your files happens on your device. Your files, their names and their contents are never uploaded, transmitted, or shared with us or any third party.
- To work as a file manager, the app asks for access to all files on your device (on Android 11 and later, "All files access"; on older versions, the storage permission). You grant it on Android's own screen and can turn it off at any time in Android Settings.
- Files are only copied, moved, renamed, extracted or deleted when you ask for it.
- Deleted files are first moved to the app's trash on the same storage (a hidden .vxtrash folder) and removed for good after 30 days, or earlier if you empty the trash.
2. The search index
To make search, the storage analyzer and duplicate finding fast, the app keeps an index of file and folder names, sizes, dates and types in its private storage on your device. It never contains file contents and is never sent anywhere. Small preview images (thumbnails) are cached on the device in the same way. Uninstalling the app or clearing its data removes both.
Only if you turn on VX AI (section 4), the index also keeps, for photos, screenshots and PDFs, the text found in them, short labels of what a photo shows (for example "car" or "document") and numbers that describe their meaning, so you can find a file by what is inside it. All of it is created and kept on your device and never sent anywhere. Turning VX AI off stops this; clearing the app's data removes it.
3. Ask VX: questions and voice search
You can type a request in the search box (for example "WhatsApp videos over 100 MB"). Ask VX understands it on your device, with fixed rules built into the app: what you type is never sent to us or to anyone else, and it is not stored.
If you tap the microphone, Android opens your phone's own speech recognition service (usually Google's) to turn what you say into text. That service handles the audio under its own privacy policy; Ask VX never records or receives audio, only the resulting text, which is then handled on your device like typed text.
"Hey VX" (optional, off by default). If you turn it on in Settings, Ask VX asks for microphone permission and listens for the phrase "Hey VX" while your screen is on, showing a notification the whole time. The listening is done by a small speech model entirely on your device: the sound is processed in memory a fraction of a second at a time, and is never recorded, stored or sent anywhere. When it hears "Hey VX", it opens the speech recognition described above. Turn it off in Settings or from its notification. If you allow "Display over other apps", Ask VX uses it only to open itself when it hears "Hey VX".
Home-screen widgets, the Quick Settings tile and app shortcuts only open Ask VX; they send nothing anywhere.
4. VX AI (optional)
VX AI is off until you turn it on in Settings. It runs entirely on your device: your files, their contents and your questions are never sent to us or to anyone else.
- The AI engine comes from Google Play as part of the app.
- The AI model files (about 120 MB) are downloaded from our public model release on GitHub (github.com/sarikkhan/vx-models), or from Hugging Face if GitHub can't be reached. Only the model files are downloaded; nothing about you or your files is sent. Like any download, those servers see your IP address.
- Reading text in photos and recognising what they show uses Google ML Kit through Google Play services, on your device. Your photos and the text in them are not sent anywhere. Google Play services may download its recognition models and may collect anonymous usage and performance metrics about these features, under Google's ML Kit terms.
- VX AI Pro and Pro Max (optional) add a larger language model (Google's Gemma 3 1B, or Gemma 3n E2B) that writes replies, summaries and answers on your device, downloaded from the same model release (about 0.5 GB or 3.1 GB). Your questions and your files' contents never leave your phone. AI-written answers can be wrong; you can report a reply from the app. Gemma is provided under and subject to the Gemma Terms of Use.
- "Hey VX" uses a small keyword model (about 5 MB, sherpa-onnx, Apache-2.0) from the same release.
- Other VX apps. If another VX app on your phone has already downloaded the same AI model, Ask VX uses that copy instead of downloading it again, and lends its own copy to other VX apps. Only the model files are shared, only between apps signed by us, and only on your device.
5. Permissions we request
- All files access / storage — to show and manage the files on your phone, SD card and USB drives.
- Notifications and foreground service — to show progress and keep a long copy, move or extraction running when you leave the app.
- Microphone — only if you turn on "Hey VX", to hear the wake phrase on your device (section 3). Nothing is recorded.
- Display over other apps — optional, only to open Ask VX when it hears "Hey VX".
- Contacts — only if you ask Ask VX to message, call or send a file to someone ("send my resume to Ashish on WhatsApp"). Ask VX looks up that name on your phone and opens WhatsApp, Messages or the dialer with everything filled in; you tap Send or Call yourself. Contacts are read on your device only and are never uploaded or stored by us.
- Usage access — optional, only if you ask about your apps (which take the most space, which you don't use, screen time, mobile data). Read on your device only.
- Internet — for the Google services listed below and, if you turn on VX AI, to download the AI model. Your files are never sent over the network.
6. Opening files in other apps
When you open, share, or send a file to another app (for example VX Player, VX Converter or VX Compressor), that file is handed to the app you choose through Android, and that app's own privacy policy applies.
7. Data collected by third-party services
The app uses the following Google services, which may collect data as described in their own privacy policies:
- Firebase Crashlytics (crash reports) — if the app crashes, anonymous technical details such as device model, Android version, app version and the error are sent so we can fix bugs. File names, file contents and file locations are never included. Crash reporting is on by default and can be turned off in Settings → Send crash reports.
- Firebase Remote Config — used to switch app features on or off remotely. It may process an app instance identifier.
- Google AdMob (advertising, if enabled) — may collect your advertising ID, device information and app-usage signals to serve and measure ads. Where the law requires it (for example in the EEA and UK), you are asked for consent first and can change it in Settings → Ad privacy choices. Ads are never shown during a file operation.
See the Firebase Privacy notice, Google Ads Privacy and the AdMob policy.
We do not collect names, email addresses, or accounts. Ask VX has no login.
8. Advertising ID
If ads are shown, AdMob uses your device's advertising ID. You can reset or delete it in Android Settings → Privacy → Ads.
9. Children
Ask VX is not directed at children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect data from them.
10. Data retention & security
We store no personal data on our own servers. Crash reports and any data handled by AdMob or Firebase are retained under Google's policies.
11. Changes
We may update this policy. Changes are posted on this page with a new "Last updated" date.
12. Contact
Questions: vxplayerofficial@gmail.com