Support

How the lifecycle works

Every note moves through the same three stages:

1. Inbox — the note is active and counting down. The card shows how long it has left.
2. Archive — when the "Keep for" time elapses, the note moves here automatically. It is not deleted yet.
3. Deleted — after the archive retention period (30 days by default), the note and its media are permanently removed.

You can also archive a note manually from its card or detail screen, and restore anything from Archive back to the Inbox with a new duration.

How do I stop a note being deleted?

Three ways, depending on what you want:

• Mark it Permanent. In the Keep for selector, choose Permanent. The note never expires and stays in your Inbox until you archive or delete it yourself.
• Give that one note a longer archive retention. The Keep for sheet has an auto-delete override for individual notes, including a "forever" option.
• Extend it. On an active note's detail screen you can add 1, 7 or 30 days, push it to a specific date, or make it permanent.

How do I turn auto-deletion off entirely?

Go to Settings → Keep in archive for and set it to forever (the ∞ control). Archived notes will then stay in Archive indefinitely and only ever be removed when you delete them yourself.

This applies to notes archived from that point on. Notes already in Archive keep the deletion date they were given when they were archived.

Does anything get uploaded?

PocketDrop does not upload app content or contact online services during normal app operation. There's no account, no cloud sync, and no PocketDrop server. Its files are excluded from Android automatic backup with android:allowBackup="false".

You can verify the local behavior yourself: put the phone in airplane mode and the app behaves the same. If you choose a website or support link, Android opens your browser or email app outside PocketDrop.

Is it encrypted? Can I lock it?

No, and I don't claim otherwise. PocketDrop protects against your notes going somewhere — the cloud, a backup, a breach, next year's photo memories. It does not protect against someone holding your unlocked phone.

There is no passcode, no biometric gate, and no app-level encryption in this version. Your data is protected by the operating system's app sandbox and your device's own encryption. An app lock is on the roadmap.

My note disappeared

Check the Archive tab first — that's where notes go when their time runs out, and they sit there before being deleted.

If it's not there either, the archive retention period has elapsed and the note has been permanently deleted. There is no recovery for deleted notes; that's deliberate, but see section 02 for the three ways to prevent it next time. If this happened in a way that surprised you, please email me — that means the app isn't communicating the lifecycle clearly enough, and that's a bug on my side.

How do I delete everything?

Settings → Delete everything. You'll be asked to type DELETE to confirm. This removes every note, photo, recording, preference, and local diagnostic from the device. It cannot be undone. Your OS permissions are left unchanged.

Things this version doesn't do

Useful limits