Privacy policy

Data stored on your device

Data is stored in your user folder on Windows, and in the app's private space on Android, which other apps can't access:

• History and the record of downloads: 90 days. Downloaded files stay in their own folder.
• Bookmarks, Start page shortcuts and frequently visited sites.
• Theme, other settings, per-site zoom and site permissions.
• Shield settings, site exceptions, block counts and records.
• The city you pick for the weather and your most recently open tabs.
• Cookies and site data.
• On Windows, passwords and form data. Passwords are stored with encryption tied to your Windows account. On Android, DodoBrowser doesn't store passwords; your phone's autofill service manages them.
• On Android, the language files you download and your translation preferences.

When you close a private window or tab, the browsing data that belongs to it is deleted. On Android, translation preferences aren't saved in a private tab. A private window or tab doesn't download translation files; it uses ones already downloaded.

The permission you give to continue to a site with an invalid certificate is kept in memory only. It isn't written to a file, isn't sent anywhere, and is deleted when DodoBrowser closes.

If you sign in with Google, your bookmarks, Start page shortcuts, the counts of frequently visited sites, Shield's on/off state and site exceptions, theme, color theme and open tab list are synced with your other computers and your Android phone. Your history, downloads, passwords and cookies aren't synced. Shield site exceptions cover the sites you chose to keep on or turn off.

If you sign in with Google

Signing in is optional. When you sign in, DodoBrowser asks Google for these permissions:

• Your name, email address and account picture (openid, email, profile): to show which account you signed in with; stored only on your computer.
• The app's own folder in Google Drive (drive.appdata): to sync your bookmarks, settings and open tab list (so you can see it on your other computers) across your computers. This folder is hidden and can be opened only by DodoBrowser; DodoBrowser can't see, read or change the other files in your Drive.

Synced data sits on Google's servers, in your own Drive space, and is subject to Google's own privacy rules. On Windows, the sign-in token is stored on your computer, encrypted for your Windows account. On Android, no sign-in token is stored: a short-lived access permission is taken from the phone's Google Play services each time; the phone keeps only the account's ID, address and name.

DodoBrowser's use of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

Problem reports

When you select “Send” under “Tell Dodo”, this information is sent:

• The answer you chose and the note you wrote.
• A screenshot and the address of the page you had trouble on, if the matching boxes are checked.
• DodoBrowser, page engine and Windows versions; display scale, window size and theme; the state of the Google connection and sync. Your Google account itself is not included.
• On Android, the phone model and the reason, time and state at the moment of the app's last five exits. The system's free-form notes and memory figures aren't sent.
• Recent actions, the names of sites opened, blocked ad domains and the related public list rules. The recent actions record doesn't contain the full page addresses of sites.

Your name, email address, Google account, computer name, Windows user name and your other tabs aren't added separately. Your user folder is removed from file paths. However, if the screenshot, page address or note you send contains personal information, that is sent too. Before sending, you can review the screenshot and clear the screenshot and address boxes.

On Windows, automatic sending of crash reports is asked about the first time, and your choice is remembered. If you allow it, the event, versions and the names of recently opened sites are sent; no screenshot is sent. If you don't allow it, no report is sent. You can withdraw your permission in Settings. On Android, you're also asked at the first problem, and nothing is sent until you answer. If you allow it, the kind of problem and where in the code it happened, the DodoBrowser, Android and page engine versions, the phone model, the app's recent exit reasons and the names of sites you visited are sent; page addresses and screenshots aren't. If you say “No”, the waiting records are deleted. You can change your choice in “Ayarlar → Gizlilik ve veri → Çökmeleri bildir” (Settings → Privacy and data → Report crashes).

Reports are forwarded through Cloudflare to Google Apps Script, and from there to a GitHub repository with restricted access, where they're stored. If Cloudflare can't be reached, Google Apps Script is used directly.

To prevent abuse, your IP address is turned into a one-way value specific to that day at Cloudflare and used in a counter. We don't store the IP address itself; the counter is deleted the next day. Cloudflare, Google and GitHub may process the connection's technical information under their own privacy rules. Reports are used only to identify and fix problems; they aren't shared with third parties.

Outside services

These are the services used other than the sites you visit. The table is a short summary; the explanations after it show the scope and exceptions.

In a private window, search suggestions, site icons, shortcut search, weather, list updates and the usage count don't run. On Android, the new-version check isn't made in a private tab either.

Search and suggestions. The default is Google; you can choose Bing, DuckDuckGo or Yandex. What you type in the address bar, the Start page search or a shortcut card is sent to the selected engine as you type, to get suggestions. You can turn suggestions off in Settings; nothing is sent in a private window. No data is sent for the popular site suggestions in the local list. Finding a site by name on a shortcut card uses Google. A site search you added is sent to that site when you search with its keyword (version 1.5.0 and later). The “AI Mode” and image search buttons only open the search engine's page when you press them.

Image search. When you choose “Search the image with Google Lens” or “Search the image with Yandex”, the image's address is sent; the result opens in a new tab. DodoBrowser doesn't upload the image file; the search engine fetches it from the address. This option isn't offered for images on your computer, on your local network or embedded in the page.

Site icons. To fetch icons for suggestions, Start shortcuts, bookmarks to sites you haven't visited yet, and sites you add to the left menu by typing an address, the site's name is sent to Google. Computer and local network addresses aren't sent. No request is made in a private window. When you turn it off in Settings, missing icons are shown as a letter (version 1.2.0 and later).

Icons on large screens. When display scale is above 100%, small icons are fetched separately from the address the site reports. The site receives the usual connection information, such as the icon address and your IP address. No request is made in a private window, for addresses Shield blocks, or for local addresses.

Account picture. If you signed in with Google, your picture is downloaded from the address provided and stored on your device. It isn't fetched again unless the address changes; if you don't sign in, no request is made.

Start shortcuts. When you add a shortcut, the site is opened in the background to get its name and icon. This isn't done in a private window. If the icon can't be fetched, it is retried at most once a day (version 1.2.0 and later).

Encrypted site-name lookups. On Windows, a private window asks Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1 service for site names, and Quad9 if that can't be reached, using encryption. This doesn't hide all your browsing from your internet provider or workplace; the addresses you connect to can still be seen. The services see the names that are looked up and process them under their own rules: Cloudflare, Quad9. In a normal window, your computer's DNS setting is used. On Android, DodoBrowser has no such encrypted lookup; the phone's “Private DNS” setting is used.

Connection check. When a page can't be opened, your device's DNS service is asked for the site name or a random check name. The site name repeats the lookup that was just made; the random name contains no user information. On the “Can't reach the internet” screen, the check repeats every 10 seconds to tell when the connection is back. In a private window the site name isn't looked up unencrypted; only the random check name is used.

Weather. The location of the city you chose, rounded to about 1 km, is sent to MET Norway (api.met.no) at most once an hour. City search uses a local list; the city name you type isn't sent. No request is made if you don't pick a city, turn the feature off, or are in a private window. MET Norway processes connection information such as your IP address under its own privacy rules.

Ad lists. The HaGeZi domain list and the EasyList, EasyPrivacy and AdGuard Turkish filters are checked through dodobrowser.com at most once a day. EasyList, EasyPrivacy and AdGuard Turkish are merged into a single file; their owners receive no direct request from your device. No user information, history or settings are added to the requests; only the files' freshness is checked. The lists are used on your device; your visits and block records aren't sent. When Shield is turned off in Settings → Shield, the list that ships with the app is used. Lists aren't fetched in a private window. GitHub Pages processes connection information under GitHub's privacy rules.

Android update check. An app installed as an APK asks for the file on dodobrowser.com at most once a day to check for a new version. No phone, version or user information is added to the request. A new version is announced in the menu; you approve the install in Android's window. If you tap “Güncelle” (Update), the APK file is downloaded from GitHub (github.com, the release page); no identity information is added to the request, and GitHub sees your IP address as with any download. You can turn it off in “Ayarlar → Gizlilik ve veri” (Settings → Privacy and data). This check isn't made in a private tab or if the app was installed from Google Play. The server's processing of the usual connection information is subject to GitHub's privacy rules.

Page translation. Pages are translated on your computer on Windows and on your phone on Android, using Mozilla's translation engine. The page's text isn't sent for translation. On Windows, the English interface translates pages into English and the Turkish interface into Turkish; English → Turkish translation ships with the app. On Android, the translation engine and the English → Turkish files don't ship with the app: the first time you translate, they are downloaded from GitHub (about 23 MB), after their size is shown and you approve. The first time you use a language other than English, also with your approval, a 22–37 MB language file is downloaded from GitHub. The request reveals which language file is wanted; no user information, history or translated page is sent. GitHub processes connection information under its own rules. Downloaded files stay on your device and can be deleted in Settings → Page translation. A private window (a private tab on Android) doesn't download translation files and uses ones already downloaded. On Android, files are downloaded over Wi-Fi only by default; you can change this in Settings → Page translation.

Malicious site and file check. On Windows, Microsoft Defender SmartScreen sends information about the addresses you visit and the files you download to Microsoft. The scope of processing is in the Microsoft Privacy Statement and Edge's SmartScreen explanation. On Android, for Google Safe Browsing, a partial digest of the address, rather than its full form, is checked with Google; Google's privacy policy applies.

Usage count. On Windows, DodoBrowser sends a signal with no identity in it once a day, and once an hour while it's open, to count how many people use it (version, language, Windows version, whether it was installed from the Store, the install week, and whether the signal is the first of that day, week or month or the device's first; the country is taken from the connection); your IP address isn't stored. You can turn it off in Settings. The signal doesn't identify a person or a device; only totals are kept. To prevent excessive sending, your IP address is turned into a value specific to that day, mixed one way with a secret key, and it is deleted the next day.

Page engine. Windows uses Microsoft Edge WebView2. You can choose the scope of the diagnostic data Microsoft collects in the “Diagnostics & feedback” setting in Windows. DodoBrowser notices an engine update on your device; it sends no data for the restart notice. On Android, the phone's WebView engine is used, updated through the system by Google Play, and DodoBrowser turns off the engine's usage measurement.

Deleting your data

On your device: You can delete history, the download record, cookies and cache with “Clear browsing data”, and your passwords, form data and downloaded translation languages in Settings. You can choose to have cookies deleted every time you close (version 1.5.0 and later).

When signing out of your Google account: You can choose to remove the synced data from that computer. “Delete from this computer” also deletes that computer's open tab list and frequently visited sites from the DodoBrowser folder in Drive (version 1.2.0 and later).

When uninstalling the app: When you uninstall the Windows app installed from Microsoft Store, or the Android app, the local browser data is deleted. The files you downloaded stay.

On Google's side: You can withdraw the permission you gave DodoBrowser in your Google Account's security settings, and delete the synced data in Drive settings.

We don't hold a copy of your browsing data. The problem reports and contact messages you send us are the exception. Because no identity details are added to problem reports, you can send the date you sent it and the note you wrote to info@dodobrowser.com so that your report can be found.

Your rights regarding personal data

Under Article 11 of the Personal Data Protection Law No. 6698 (KVKK), you can find out whether your personal data is processed, request information if it has been processed, ask for it to be corrected or deleted, and exercise your other rights under the law. You can send your requests to info@dodobrowser.com; they are answered within 30 days at the latest.

Changes to this policy

If there is a significant change to this policy, it will be announced on this page and the “Last updated” date above will be updated.

Controller and contact

DodoBrowser · info@dodobrowser.com

You can also write through the contact form on the home page. Your message and, if you add them, your name and email address are forwarded by email through Web3Forms. This information is used only to reply to you.