Effective date: 14 November 2026
PhotoRecull is open-source software that runs entirely on your own computer. It has no servers, no accounts and no analytics. This policy explains what data it accesses and what it does with it.
What it accesses. PhotoRecull asks for one permission:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/photospicker.mediaitems.readonly. It lets the app read
only the items you select in the Google Photos Picker. PhotoRecull can’t see the rest of
your library, your albums, or anything else in your Google account.
What it uses. For each selected item, Google returns basic information such as its capture time and file name. PhotoRecull uses only the capture time, and ignores the rest. It doesn’t download your photos from Google.
Why. The capture times are compared with photos in the folders you choose (for example, your OneDrive Camera Roll) to find copies of photos you’ve deleted from Google Photos.
Where it’s stored. On your computer only:
photorecull.db in
%LOCALAPPDATA%\PhotoRecull), together with your settings and cleanup history.2026-08.json) in
the folder you run it from, and the sign-in token in a token_store_picker folder next
to the app.You can delete these files at any time.
Sharing. PhotoRecull doesn’t share, sell or transfer Google user data to anyone.
Limited Use. PhotoRecull’s use and transfer of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.
Revoking access. You can remove PhotoRecull’s access at any time in your
Google Account. In the Windows app,
Settings → Sign out deletes the sign-in token from your computer and asks Google to
revoke the app’s access. For the command-line app, deleting the token_store_picker folder
signs it out on your computer.
PhotoRecull reads the folders you point it to: file names and photo metadata such as capture time and camera make and model. It creates thumbnails for a review report saved on your computer. It moves or deletes files only when you explicitly choose to stage or delete them.
The Windows app from the Microsoft Store signs in through PhotoRecull’s own Google OAuth client, so there’s nothing to set up. The command-line app, and the Windows app built from source, sign in through a Google Cloud project and OAuth client you create yourself (see Setup). Google’s handling of that project is covered by Google’s own privacy policy. What PhotoRecull reads and stores is the same either way.
Changes to this policy are published on this page with a new effective date. The full history is on GitHub.
Questions: email photorecull-support@googlegroups.com, or open an issue at github.com/mykolad/photo-recull/issues.