Protecting Your Privacy, Securing Your Freedom
Last Updated: September 2025
At ShineNET VPN, we are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring your digital freedom. This Privacy Policy explains how we handle your data when you use our free, open-source VPN application.
🔒 Core Principle: We believe in true privacy. We do not collect, store, or share your personal information or browsing activities.
⚠️ Important Notice: While ShineNET VPN provides secure connections, we recommend exercising caution when accessing sensitive services such as banking or conducting activities that may be restricted in your jurisdiction.
We absolutely do not collect:
- ❌ Personal Identity: Names, usernames, email addresses
- ❌ Contact Information: Phone numbers, addresses, postal codes
- ❌ Financial Data: Credit card details, payment information, billing records
- ❌ Browsing Activities: Websites visited, content accessed, search queries
- ❌ Communication Data: Messages, calls, or any communication content
- ❌ Device Identifiers: Unique device IDs, advertising IDs
We do not log:
- ❌ Your real IP address
- ❌ VPN server IP addresses you connect to
- ❌ Connection timestamps
- ❌ Session duration
- ❌ Bandwidth usage per user
- ❌ DNS queries
To provide optimal service quality and server recommendations, we collect minimal, anonymized technical data:
- 📊 Anonymized IP Region (first 3 octets only, e.g., 192.168.1.xxx becomes 192.168.1.***)
- 🌍 General Geographic Region (country/timezone for server optimization)
- 📱 Device Information: Android version, app version
- 🔄 Connection Status: Connected/disconnected state, ping times
- 📈 Server Performance: Aggregated server health metrics
This limited data helps us:
- ✅ Maintain healthy and functional server configurations
- ✅ Optimize server selection based on your region
- ✅ Improve app performance and stability
- ✅ Detect and resolve connectivity issues
- 🌐 We may query free IP geolocation services to resolve the approximate location of VPN servers only (not your IP).
- 🎯 We only query when we have a real IP address for a server. If the configuration uses a domain name, we skip external lookup.
- 🧭 Data requested: server IP → country, region, city (to display flag and location next to the server name).
- 🔁 Caching: results are cached locally for 24–48 hours to reduce network calls; no personal identifiers are stored.
- ⏱️ Timeouts: requests have strict 5s connect/receive timeouts and a simple User-Agent (e.g., "ShineNETVPN/1.0").
- 🚫 No personal data is sent. Only the server IP is used for lookup.
- 📦 On startup, the app may fetch a tiny JSON file from GitHub to check the latest version and a download link.
- 🔒 We do not send any personal data. The app version comparison happens locally on your device.
- 🔔 If a mandatory update is required, the app shows a non-dismissible dialog with a link to the latest release.
- 📶 The app measures latency to available VPN servers to recommend better-performing options.
- 🧪 Only the target servers are tested; no user content is inspected or analyzed.
- 🗃️ Results are stored locally and may be cached for 5–10 minutes to improve responsiveness.
- 🔐 These measurements are used solely to rank servers; they are not linked to personal identities.
- Server Optimization: Regional algorithms to provide best-performing servers
- Quality Assurance: Monitoring server health and connection reliability
- App Improvement: Anonymous usage patterns to enhance user experience
- Security: Detecting and preventing abuse of our services
- 🔒 Minimization: We collect only what's absolutely necessary
- ⏰ Retention Limits: Data is automatically deleted after 30 days
- 🔐 Encryption: All collected data is encrypted in transit and at rest
- 🚫 No Profiling: We do not create user profiles or track individual behavior
We never share, sell, or transfer your data to:
- ❌ Advertisers or marketing companies
- ❌ Data brokers or analytics companies
- ❌ Government agencies (unless legally compelled)
- ❌ Third-party service providers
- ❌ Any commercial entities
ShineNET VPN may only disclose information if:
- 📋 Required by valid legal process
- 🛡️ Necessary to protect our users' safety
- ⚖️ Mandated by applicable law
Note: Due to our no-logs policy, we have minimal data to disclose even if legally required.
- 🔐 End-to-End Encryption: All data transmission is encrypted
- 🏰 Secure Infrastructure: Hardened servers with regular security updates
- 👥 Limited Access: Strict employee access controls
- 🔍 Regular Audits: Periodic security assessments
- 🗑️ Automatic Deletion: Data is automatically purged after retention period
- 📖 Code Transparency: Our source code is publicly available
- 🔍 Community Audits: Independent security researchers can verify our claims
- 🔄 Regular Updates: Continuous security improvements
You have the right to:
- 📋 Access: Request information about data we hold (minimal as it is)
- 🗑️ Deletion: Request immediate deletion of your data
- 🔄 Correction: Correct any inaccurate information
- 🚫 Opt-Out: Discontinue use of our services at any time
To request data deletion:
- Email: Send a request to support@shinenetvpn.com
- Telegram: Contact us at @ShineNETVPN
- GitHub: Open an issue at our repository
While using ShineNET VPN:
- 🌐 Websites: Each website you visit has its own privacy policy
- 📱 Apps: Third-party apps may collect their own data
- 🔗 Links: External links are subject to their respective privacy policies
ShineNET VPN is not responsible for the privacy practices of:
- Websites accessed through our VPN
- Third-party applications
- External services or platforms
- 👶 Under 13: Services not intended for children under 13
- 👨👩👧👦 Parental Guidance: We encourage parental supervision for minors
- 📚 Education: We support digital literacy and online safety education
We do not knowingly collect data from children under 13. If we become aware of such collection, we will delete it immediately.
- 🚫 Ad-Free: ShineNET VPN contains no advertisements
- 💰 No Revenue: We do not generate revenue from user data
- 🎁 Truly Free: Our service is completely free with no hidden costs
- 💝 Community Driven: Supported by community donations
- 🔓 Open Source: Transparent development and funding
- 🤝 Volunteer Basis: Maintained by privacy advocates
- 🌍 Worldwide: This policy applies to all users globally
- 📊 Data Residency: Data is processed in secure, privacy-friendly jurisdictions
- ⚖️ Compliance: We adhere to international privacy standards
- 🇪🇺 GDPR: Compliant with European privacy regulations
- 🇺🇸 CCPA: Respects California privacy rights
- 🌐 Global Standards: Follows best practices worldwide
- 📢 Notifications: Users will be notified of significant changes
- 📅 Version Control: All changes are tracked and dated
- 💬 Community Input: We welcome feedback on policy changes
- 🔔 App Notifications: Important updates delivered via app
- 📧 Email Updates: If you've provided contact information
- 📱 Telegram Channel: Follow @ShineNETVPN for updates
For privacy-related inquiries, contact us:
- 📧 Email: support@shinenetvpn.com
- 💬 Telegram: @ShineNETVPN
- 🐙 GitHub: ShineNET VPN Repository
- 🗂️ Issues: Report Privacy Concerns
We aim to respond to privacy inquiries within 48 hours.