Privacy, encryption & site permissions
What Vee keeps on your phone, how it is protected, and how to control what every website is allowed to do.
The short version
- Your browsing data stays on your phone. Vee has no account system, so there is nothing on our side to sync it to.
- The app contains no analytics SDKs and does not use an advertising ID.
- Data Vee saves locally is encrypted at rest.
- Third-party cookies are blocked by default.
- Websites must ask before using your location, camera or microphone, and you can change your answer at any time.
The full legal detail is in the Privacy Policy. This page explains the same things in plain language, with the settings to match.
What Vee stores, and where
| Data | Why it exists | Where it lives |
|---|---|---|
| Bookmarks and folders | So you can save pages | On your phone |
| Browsing history | Back button, address bar suggestions | On your phone |
| Settings and per-site decisions | Remembering your choices | On your phone |
| Location history and favorites | Quickly reusing locations you set | On your phone |
| Cookies and site data | Keeping you signed in to websites | On your phone, separated per Isolated tab |
| Download history | The Downloads page | On your phone |
Websites you visit naturally receive whatever any browser sends them, such as your IP address and the pages you request. That is how the web works and is between you and each website. Vee's job is to keep what it holds about you on your device and to limit what sites can learn beyond that.
How local data is encrypted
Vee stores its own records, including bookmarks, history, settings and credentials, using AES-256 encryption. AES-256 is the same standard used for classified government data and by password managers. The encryption key is held by Android's secure key storage rather than sitting next to the data, so copying the app's files off a phone does not give someone readable data.
Encryption at rest protects you if your phone is lost, stolen, or its storage is copied. It does not replace a screen lock, which is still your first line of defense. Use a PIN, pattern or fingerprint on your phone.
Third-party cookies and tracking
A first-party cookie belongs to the site in your address bar and usually does something useful, such as keeping you signed in or remembering your cart. A third-party cookie belongs to some other company whose code is embedded in the page, often an advertising or tracking network. Because the same network is embedded on thousands of sites, its cookie lets it recognize you everywhere you go.
Vee blocks third-party cookies by default. Most sites work normally. If a particular feature breaks, such as an embedded comment box or a "sign in with" button from another company, you can allow third-party cookies under Settings → Site Settings → Third-party cookies. Remember to switch it back afterwards if you only needed it once.
Managing site permissions
Open Settings → Site Settings. It is organised like Chrome's, in two groups.
Permissions
Location, Camera, Microphone, Notifications and Motion sensors. For each one you can turn off the ability for sites to even ask, or review which sites you have allowed or blocked. The first time a site asks, Vee shows an Allow/Block prompt and remembers your answer for that site.
Content
Third-party cookies, JavaScript, Pop-ups and redirects, Sound, Protected content, On-device site data, Desktop site, Automatic downloads, Saved zoom levels and Data stored. Each has a global switch, and most let you make exceptions for individual sites.
All sites
Lists every website that has a stored permission. Tap one to see and reset everything you have granted it. This is the quickest way to tidy up after a lot of browsing.
At the bottom of Site Settings is Automatically remove permissions. It is on by default: if you have not visited a site for 60 days, the permissions you gave it are removed, so a site you used once last year cannot quietly keep access to your camera or location.
Clearing your data
Open Settings → Privacy & Security → Delete data. First choose the scope: This tab clears only the tab you are in (useful for wiping one Isolated tab and leaving the others signed in), while All tabs clears everything. Then tick what to remove, such as browsing history, cookies and site data, cached images and files, and download history. Clearing cookies signs you out of websites, so choose carefully.
Two kinds of data are cleared elsewhere, on purpose. Data saved by AI Facets is cleared from the AI Facets page, so a routine history wipe does not reset your add-ons. Location history can be cleared from the map, with an option to keep your favorites.
To remove the app and all of its data in one step, uninstall it. To understand what that covers, see Delete My Data.
Signing in with Google safely
When a website offers "Sign in with Google", the usual flow asks you to type your Google email and password into a web page. Vee can instead use the Google accounts already on your phone. You pick an account from Android's own account chooser and never type your Google password into a website. This is on by default under Settings → Use device Google accounts.
Vee Browser is free on Android and iPhone.
