Who we are
Panelglass is an open-source manga, manhwa and manhua translator for Android, published on GitHub by SM NexStudio. It is a web browser for the reader sites you add yourself, plus a Studio for chapters you import from your own files. This policy covers the Android app, version 0.2.0 and later.
Data we collect
None. Panelglass has no server of its own, so there is nowhere for your data to come to us.
- No personal information, no account and no sign-in.
- No device or advertising identifiers.
- No usage analytics, telemetry or crash reports.
- No advertising SDKs.
What leaves your device
Panelglass is a browser, so it does use the internet. This is every kind of request it makes, and when. We never see any of them.
| When | What is sent | Sent to |
|---|---|---|
| You open a site | What any browser sends: the page address, your IP address and cookies that site set | That site, and the services it loads (hosts on the block lists are refused) |
| You translate with Gemini | Crops of the text areas on the screen or page, the language pair and your API key | Google (Gemini API), straight from your phone |
| First start, or when you add a language | A download request for Google Translate language packs | Google (ML Kit) |
| You download a model | A download request for Qwen, Gemma 4, manga-ocr or LaMa | Hugging Face |
| About once a day, while you read | A download request for the public ad and pop-up block lists | AdGuard, HaGeZi and StevenBlack list hosts |
Translation engines
You choose the engine under Settings → Translation model. Panelglass never switches engines behind your back.
- Google Translate (ML Kit), the default: text is read and translated on your phone. Nothing is sent for translation.
- Qwen 2.5 1.5B and Gemma 4 E2B: language models that run on your phone once downloaded. Nothing is sent for translation.
- Gemini: crops of the text on your screen are sent from your phone straight to Google, using an API key you create in Google AI Studio. Google’s Gemini API terms and privacy policy apply to what you send. Depending on your Google plan, Google may use that content to improve its products.
Translate page (the site’s own titles, chapter lists and comments) always runs on your phone with ML Kit, whichever engine you chose.
Your API key
A Gemini key is encrypted with AES-GCM using a key held in the Android Keystore. It is never logged and is sent only to Google with your own requests. Remove it at any time in Settings.
Browsing and sites
No sites ship with the app; the list holds only the sites you add. Sites you open can set cookies and see your IP address, as in any browser. Their cookies and site data stay in Panelglass’s private storage, and each site’s own privacy policy applies to what it collects.
- HTTPS only. The app sends nothing in clear text. An
http://address opens ashttps://, and a site that only serves plain http does not load. - Ad and pop-up blocking. Requests to hosts on the public block lists are refused before they leave your phone.
- Links from other apps open in the reader but are never translated automatically; you tap Start yourself.
- Pages get no access to your files and no access to the app itself.
What the app keeps on your device
Everything below stays in the app’s private storage, which other apps cannot read.
- Your sites, pins and per-site settings.
- History: the last 15 pages you opened. Clear it in Settings.
- Settings, including languages, theme and fonts.
- Translation cache: translated balloons already drawn, so a page you return to is not translated twice.
- Downloaded models and block lists.
- Studio library: imported pages, your edits and any fonts you add.
- Logs with timings and failure types only: no keys, page addresses or page text. They never leave the phone.
Studio files
Chapters you import (images, PDF or CBZ) are copied into the app’s private storage. An export is written only where you choose: Download/Panelglass or a folder you pick. Settings → Storage deletes a manga together with everything it took.
Permissions
Panelglass uses two permissions, both granted at install:
INTERNET: to load the sites you open, call Gemini if you choose it, and download models and block lists.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE: to check for a connection before a download or a translation.
It does not ask for location, contacts, camera, microphone or phone permissions. Files you import are picked by you through the Android file picker.
Third-party services and code
Translation and text recognition use Google ML Kit, ONNX Runtime and LiteRT-LM, all running on your phone. Google’s ML Kit libraries may send Google basic usage and performance information (such as device model, app version and how long a call took), as described in Google’s ML Kit data disclosure; they do not send your images or text. Models are downloaded from Hugging Face and language packs from Google, and each download is checked against a pinned SHA-256 before it is used.
Backup and deletion
Nothing is backed up. Android cloud backup and device-to-device transfer are both turned off for Panelglass, so its data does not follow you to a new phone. Clear history, remove your key, delete language packs or models, and delete Studio manga from Settings. Uninstalling the app removes everything it stored. There is nothing to delete on our side.
Children
Panelglass is not directed at children under 13. It collects no data from anyone, including children. The sites you add are your own choice, and their content and policies are their own.
Changes to this policy
When this policy changes, this page is updated and the effective date above is revised. Material changes are also noted in the GitHub release notes.
Contact
Questions about this policy or your privacy: open an issue at github.com/smnexstudio/Panelglass/issues. We answer within a few days.
This page is the complete privacy policy for Panelglass for Android, version 0.2.0 and later. Source code: github.com/smnexstudio/Panelglass.