Name: Phonout
Author: Phonout

At Phonout, we prioritize your privacy and the digital well-being of families. This Privacy Policy explains how we handle your information when you use our app, website (www.phonout.com), or related services, including subscription-based premium features and the Shifts feature for personalized behavior change.

We comply with global privacy laws, including:

• GDPR (EU/UK)
• CCPA/CPRA (California, USA)
• COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, USA)
• India's DPDP Act (2023)
• Other applicable laws worldwide

1. Information We Collect

Data Collection

Phonout collects the following data to function:

On-Device (local only):

• 4-Digit PIN: Used to unlock during overlay sessions and secure app access. This PIN is stored only on your device and never transmitted.
• Detox Sessions & Plans: Stored locally for your child's progress.
• Preferences: Such as interval timers and toggle state history.

Account Information (via Google Authentication):

• Name: Collected during Google sign-in
• Email address: Collected during Google sign-in
• Phone number: Provided separately during registration
• Profile picture: Optional, collected via Google
• Google User ID: For account management and authentication

🆕 User-Generated Content (Shifts Feature):

• Photos and Videos: Images and videos you voluntarily upload when creating personalized Shifts for behavior change
• Shift Titles and Steps: Text content you create to describe your Shifts
• Media Metadata: File size, dimensions, upload timestamp, and file format
• Storage Location: Your media is stored in Firebase Storage at users/{userId}/media/uploads/
• Upload Limits: Maximum 50MB per photo/video. Supported formats: JPEG, PNG, MP4, MOV
• Important: You retain full ownership of your uploaded content. We only store and display it for your personal Shift functionality.

Cloud (Firebase):

• Toggle State (true/false): Synced with Firebase Realtime Database to control the paired TV app.
• Parent Account Data: Name, email, phone number, and profile picture stored in Firebase Firestore.
• Parent Activity Data: Your playlist, queue, and watch history stored in Firebase Firestore for personalized experience.
• Shift Data: Your created Shifts (titles, steps, and associated media) stored in Firebase Firestore at users/{userId}/lists/shifts/items/
• Firebase Analytics: Collects anonymized usage data (e.g., feature engagement, crashes, session counts). This helps us improve performance, not track individuals.

🆕 Product Analytics (PostHog):

• Event Tracking: We collect anonymized behavioral data to understand how you use Phonout features (e.g., "device toggle clicked", "activities screen opened", "detox journey started")
• User Properties: Device type (Mobile/TV), OS version, app version, screen dimensions
• Session Data: App opens, screen views, feature usage patterns, session duration
• Anonymous User ID: A randomly generated identifier to track usage patterns across sessions (not linked to your personal identity)
• No Personal Data: We do NOT track your name, email, phone number, or any personally identifiable information in analytics
• No Content Tracking: We do NOT track the content of your PINs, detox plans, uploaded photos/videos, or any personal data you enter
• Platform Separation: Mobile and TV app usage is tracked separately with device type identifiers for cross-platform insights
• Purpose: To improve app performance, understand feature adoption, identify bugs, and enhance user experience
• Data Location: Analytics data is stored on PostHog's US servers (https://us.i.posthog.com)
• Retention: Analytics data is retained for 7 years for product improvement insights

Website:

• Basic, anonymized analytics (e.g., page visits, with cookie consent).
• Contact form messages (temporarily processed, not permanently stored).

Google Play Billing:

• Subscription status (active/inactive) and purchase history for premium features.
• Payment data is handled exclusively by Google Play. We never store or access payment details, card numbers, or financial information.

2. Permissions We Request and Why

Overlay Permission ("Display over other apps")

Purpose: To display the lock screen overlay when screen time limits are reached.

What it does: Creates a full-screen lock that prevents app access until unlocked with your PIN.

Privacy: This permission does not allow us to see or record what's on your screen.

Usage Stats Access

Purpose: To track screen time and enforce limits.

What it does: Allows Phonout to monitor how long apps are used (locally, on your device only).

Privacy: Usage data never leaves your device.

Foreground Service

Purpose: To keep Phonout running in the background and enforce time limits even when the app is closed.

What it does: Ensures timers and locks remain active.

Privacy: Only used for timer functionality; no data is collected or transmitted.

Internet Access

Purpose: To enable Google sign-in authentication and sync your account data with Firebase.

What it does: Connects to Google's authentication servers and Firebase cloud storage.

Privacy: Only used for authentication and syncing data you explicitly provide.

Notification Permission

Purpose: To notify you when screen time limits are approaching or reached.

What it does: Displays reminders and alerts.

Privacy: Notifications are generated locally; no data is transmitted.

🆕 Storage & Camera Permissions (Optional - For Shifts)

Purpose: To allow you to upload photos/videos from your gallery or camera when creating Shifts.

What it does: Grants access to select specific photos/videos or take new photos for your Shifts.

Privacy: We only access files you explicitly select. No background scanning or automatic uploads occur.

Optional: These permissions are only requested when you use the Shifts feature. You can skip or deny them and still use all other app features.

All permissions are requested only when necessary and with clear explanations. You can revoke permissions at any time via device settings, though this may limit app functionality.

3. How We Use Your Data

• To enable TV pairing and sync toggle states
• To create and manage your Phonout account
• To authenticate your identity via Google sign-in
• To personalize your experience (playlists, queues, watch history)
• 🆕 To store and display your uploaded photos/videos in Shifts for personalized behavior change
• 🆕 To compress images for optimal storage and performance
• 🆕 To enable you to create, view, edit, and manage your Shifts
• 🆕 To sync your Shifts across your devices
• 🆕 To analyze app usage patterns and improve product features
• 🆕 To identify and fix bugs based on user interaction data
• 🆕 To understand which features are most valuable to users
• 🆕 To optimize app performance and user experience
• To communicate with you about your account, updates, and support
• To process subscriptions via Google Play Billing
• To analyze anonymized usage trends (crashes, feature adoption)
• To comply with legal obligations

We do NOT:

• Sell your data to third parties
• Use your data for targeted advertising
• Share personal information with advertisers
• Track your location or browsing outside the app
• Monitor, scan, or moderate your uploaded photos/videos
• Use your media for any purpose other than displaying it in your Shifts

4. Third-Party Sharing

We share minimal data with trusted providers:

• Google (Authentication & Services): For account sign-in, we share your name, email, phone number, and profile picture with Google's authentication services. Google processes this data according to their Privacy Policy.
• Firebase/Google Cloud: For toggle sync, account storage, activity data storage, Shift data storage, analytics, and billing validation
• 🆕 Firebase Storage: For hosting your uploaded photos/videos and delivering them securely to your devices
• 🆕 Cloud Functions: For processing image compression to optimize storage and performance
• 🆕 PostHog (Analytics Platform): For collecting anonymized usage analytics to improve product experience. PostHog is a privacy-focused analytics platform that does not share data with advertisers. Their privacy policy: posthog.com/privacy
• Google Play Billing: For subscription management (no payment data stored by us)

We do NOT sell, rent, or share your personal data with any other third parties for marketing or advertising purposes.

Your Media Privacy:

Your uploaded photos and videos are NOT shared with advertisers, third-party apps, or any external services. They remain private to your account and are only accessible by you when logged in.

🆕 5. Content Rights, Licenses & User Responsibilities

5.1 Your Content Ownership

You retain full ownership of all photos, videos, and other content you upload to Phonout. We do not claim any ownership rights over your personal media.

Your content belongs to you. We are simply a secure storage platform that displays your content back to you for the Shift functionality you requested.

5.2 License You Grant to Phonout

By uploading content to Shifts, you grant Phonout a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to:

• Store your media securely in Firebase Storage
• Process images for compression and optimization
• Display your media back to you within your Shifts
• Sync your media across your authenticated devices
• Perform technical operations necessary to provide the Shifts feature

License Limitations:

• This license is strictly limited to providing the Shift functionality
• We will NOT use your media for advertising, marketing, or any other commercial purpose
• We will NOT share your media with third parties
• We will NOT make your media publicly visible or searchable
• This license automatically terminates when you delete the content or your account

5.3 Family Content & Children's Photos

Shifts Feature & Family Content:

As a parental control and behavior change tool, parents may upload photos and videos of their children as part of creating personalized Shifts. This is a core feature designed to help families transition away from screen time.

By uploading content depicting children, you confirm that:

• You are the parent or legal guardian of any children depicted
• You have full legal authority to upload and manage these images/videos
• The content is appropriate and does not depict children in harmful or inappropriate situations
• This content remains private to your account and is not shared publicly
• The content is used solely for the behavior change purpose you intended

5.4 Your Responsibilities

You are solely responsible for the content you upload. By using the Shifts feature, you represent and warrant that:

• You own or have the necessary rights, licenses, and permissions to upload the content
• Your content does not violate any laws, regulations, or third-party rights
• Your content does not infringe on any copyright, trademark, patent, or other intellectual property rights
• Your content does not violate any person's privacy or publicity rights
• Your content is appropriate and lawful

5.5 Prohibited Content

You must NOT upload content that:

• Is illegal, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, or offensive
• Depicts violence, abuse, or exploitation of any kind
• Contains nudity, sexual content, or sexually suggestive material involving minors
• Infringes on copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property rights
• Contains viruses, malware, or malicious code
• Violates any person's privacy or publicity rights
• Promotes illegal activities or violates any applicable laws
• Contains spam or unsolicited promotional material

5.6 Misuse & Liability Disclaimer

IMPORTANT LEGAL NOTICE:

Phonout provides the Shifts feature as a tool for parents to support their family's digital well-being. However, users are solely responsible for how they use this feature.

WE ARE NOT LIABLE FOR:

• Misuse of the Shifts feature by users
• Content uploaded by users that violates laws or third-party rights
• Any harm, damage, or injury resulting from user-uploaded content
• Loss, corruption, or unauthorized access to content due to technical issues, security breaches, or user error
• Unauthorized access to user accounts due to weak passwords, shared credentials, or device security failures
• Claims by third parties related to your uploaded content

BY USING SHIFTS, YOU AGREE THAT:

• You will not use the feature for illegal, harmful, or abusive purposes
• You are responsible for securing your account and device
• Phonout acts solely as a neutral platform for storing your personal content
• You will maintain personal backups of important content
• You indemnify and hold Phonout harmless from any claims, damages, or expenses arising from your use of the feature or your uploaded content

Service Disclaimer:

Phonout is provided "AS IS" without warranties of any kind, express or implied. We do not guarantee uninterrupted service, data security, content preservation, or error-free operation. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Phonout shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including loss of data, loss of content, or unauthorized access.

🆕 6. Content Privacy & Security

6.1 No Content Moderation of Your Uploads

Privacy First: We do NOT monitor, scan, review, or moderate photos and videos you upload to Shifts.

• Your media remains completely private and is accessed only by you
• We do not use automated scanning, content recognition, or AI analysis on your uploads
• We do not employ manual review or human moderation of your content
• Your content is never viewed, analyzed, or accessed by Phonout staff

Your Responsibility: Since we do not moderate content, you are solely responsible for ensuring your uploaded content is legal, appropriate, and does not violate any laws or third-party rights.

Legal Compliance: We may remove content only if required by law, court order, or in response to valid legal requests from law enforcement.

6.2 Phonout-Generated Media (Separate Policy)

To clarify: Media provided by Phonout (e.g., pre-loaded images, curated content for activities) is reviewed and moderated by us for appropriateness. However, this moderation process does NOT apply to user-uploaded content in Shifts, which remains private and unmonitored.

6.3 Security Measures

• Encryption in Transit: All media uploads are encrypted using TLS/SSL during transmission
• Secure Storage: Media is stored in Firebase Storage with enterprise-grade security and access controls
• Authentication Required: Only you (when logged into your account) can access your uploaded media
• Private URLs: Media URLs are not publicly accessible or searchable
• Standard Protection: We employ industry-standard security measures to prevent malware and unauthorized access
• No Backdoors: We do not implement backdoors or provide third-party access to your private content

6.4 Your Account Security Responsibility

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality and security of your account credentials:

• Use a strong, unique password for your Google account
• Do not share your login credentials with anyone
• Enable two-factor authentication on your Google account
• Secure your device with a PIN, password, or biometric lock
• Log out of shared or public devices

Phonout is not liable for unauthorized access resulting from compromised credentials, shared accounts, or device security failures.

🆕 7. Intellectual Property & Copyright Compliance

7.1 Respect for Intellectual Property

Phonout respects the intellectual property rights of others and expects users to do the same. You must not upload content that infringes on any copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, or other proprietary rights of any third party.

7.2 DMCA Compliance (Digital Millennium Copyright Act)

If you believe that content uploaded by a user infringes your copyright, you may submit a DMCA takedown notice to us.

To file a DMCA notice, please provide:

1. A physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner or authorized representative
2. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed
3. Identification of the infringing material and its location within Phonout
4. Your contact information (name, address, telephone number, email address)
5. A statement that you have a good faith belief that the use is not authorized
6. A statement under penalty of perjury that the information is accurate and you are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner

Send DMCA Notices To:

Email: contact@knowphone.in

Subject Line: "DMCA Takedown Notice"

Note: We are in the process of registering a designated DMCA agent with the U.S. Copyright Office. In the meantime, please use the contact information above for all copyright-related inquiries.

7.3 Repeat Infringer Policy

In accordance with the DMCA and other applicable laws, Phonout will terminate user accounts that are repeat infringers of intellectual property rights.

7.4 Counter-Notification

If you believe your content was removed in error, you may submit a counter-notification following the procedures outlined in the DMCA. Please contact us at contact@knowphone.in for counter-notification procedures.

8. Children's Privacy (COPPA Compliance)

Phonout is designed for parental use and does not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.

• The app is intended to be installed and configured by parents/guardians (18+)
• All data (PIN, sessions, preferences) related to children's device usage is stored locally on the device
• We do not require children to create accounts or provide personal information
• Parents control all settings and have full access to locally-stored data
• If we discover we've inadvertently collected data from a child under 13, we will delete it immediately

Shifts Feature & Children:

Parents may upload photos of their children to Shifts as part of the behavior change functionality. This is permitted because:

• The parent (18+) controls the account and uploads
• Children do not create accounts or provide information directly
• Content remains private to the parent's account
• Parents have full authority to manage and delete content

9. Age Restriction and Parental Use

Age Requirement: 18+

Phonout is rated 18+ on app stores and is intended for users 18 years and older. By creating an account and using our services, you confirm that you are at least 18 years of age.

We do not implement additional age verification beyond app store ratings. If we discover an account belongs to a user under 18, we will terminate it immediately.

Parental Control Tool

Phonout is designed as a parental control and behavior change tool for parents to manage their children's screen time. Parents are responsible for ensuring appropriate use of the app on devices used by minors.

Children's Data Protection

We do NOT collect personal information from children.

• All detox session data, screen time settings, and child-specific preferences are stored locally on your device and never transmitted to our servers
• Only parent account information (name, email, phone, profile picture) and parent activity data (playlists, queues, watch history, Shifts) are stored in the cloud
• Children do not need to create accounts or provide any personal information

10. Your Rights

Under GDPR, CCPA, DPDP, and similar laws, you may:

• Access, correct, or delete your personal data
• Delete your account and all associated cloud data (name, email, phone, profile picture, playlists, queues, watch history, Shifts, uploaded media)
• 🆕 Download your uploaded media (data portability)
• 🆕 Delete individual Shifts or all Shifts at any time
• 🆕 Opt out of analytics tracking (contact us to disable analytics for your account)
• Object to data processing
• Request data portability
• Withdraw consent
• Opt out of marketing communications (if we send any in the future)

To exercise these rights, contact us at contact@knowphone.in. We will respond within 30 days.

Account & Media Deletion:

When you delete your account or individual Shifts:

• All your cloud-stored data (account info, activity data, Shifts, uploaded media) is permanently deleted immediately
• Deletion is irreversible - we cannot recover deleted content
• We do NOT maintain backups or archives of deleted content
• Local data (PIN, detox sessions) remains on your device until you uninstall the app or clear app data
• Important: Please maintain personal backups of any content you wish to keep before deletion

11. Security Measures

Current: Most data (PIN, sessions, preferences) never leaves your device.

Account & Activity Data: Parent account information and activity data (playlists, queues, watch history) are encrypted in transit (TLS/SSL) and stored in Firebase Firestore with Google's enterprise-grade security.

🆕 Media Security: Your uploaded photos and videos are:

• Encrypted in transit using TLS/SSL (256-bit encryption)
• Stored in Firebase Storage with enterprise-grade security
• Protected by authentication - only you can access your media when logged in
• Not publicly accessible or searchable via URLs
• Subject to standard malware prevention measures

Firebase/Google: Provides enterprise-grade security for toggle state, analytics, and billing validation.

Future: If we expand, all data will be encrypted in transit and at rest, with regular audits.

12. Data Retention

• PIN, detox sessions, preferences: Stored locally, user-controlled (never leaves device)
• Toggle states: Ephemeral, only for active session sync
• Account data (name, email, phone, profile picture): Retained until account deletion
• Activity data (playlists, queues, watch history): Retained until account deletion or manual removal
• 🆕 Shift Data & Media: Your Shifts (titles, steps) and uploaded media (photos/videos) are retained until:
- → You delete the individual Shift, OR
- → You delete your entire account
• 🆕 Immediate Deletion Policy: When you delete a Shift or your account, all associated media is permanently deleted immediately from our servers. We do NOT maintain backups or archives. Deletion is irreversible.
• Firebase Analytics: Retained in anonymized form per Google's policies
• 🆕 PostHog Analytics: Anonymized behavioral analytics data is retained for 7 years to understand long-term product trends and improvements
• Billing records: Managed entirely by Google Play

13. International Data Transfers

Firebase and Google Play services may store data globally (including your uploaded media). Transfers comply with:

• GDPR SCCs (Standard Contractual Clauses)
• CCPA requirements
• DPDP (India)
• Other applicable data protection frameworks

Your data may be transferred to, stored, and processed in countries outside your jurisdiction, including the United States and other locations where Firebase/Google Cloud operates data centers. These transfers are protected by appropriate safeguards as required by applicable laws.

🆕 PostHog Analytics: Analytics data is stored on PostHog's US servers. PostHog is SOC 2 Type II certified and GDPR compliant.

14. Cookies and Analytics

• Website: Minimal cookies for functionality and anonymized analytics
• Future: EU/UK users will see a cookie consent banner
• Users can disable cookies, but some site features may not work
• App: We use PostHog Analytics to collect anonymized behavioral data (feature usage, screen views, button clicks, navigation patterns). This helps us understand how users interact with Phonout to improve the product. PostHog does NOT track your personal content, uploaded media, or personally identifiable information. Analytics are tied to an anonymous user ID, not your name or email.
• 🆕 What We Track: App opens, screen visits, button clicks, feature usage (e.g., "start detox journey", "swipe activity card"), device type, OS version, session duration
• 🆕 What We DON'T Track: Your PINs, detox plans, personal notes, uploaded photos/videos, names, emails, phone numbers, or any content you create in the app

15. Third-Party Links

Our app/website may link to external platforms (e.g., Google Play). Their privacy practices are separate from ours, please review their policies.

16. Changes to Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy for compliance or new features. Updates will be posted at www.phonout.com/privacy with a new "Last Updated" date. Continued use of our services after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

17. Contact Us

For questions about this Privacy Policy, data rights requests, DMCA notices, or any privacy concerns:

Email:contact@knowphone.in

Website:www.phonout.com

Phone:+91-8147945885

Whatsapp:+91-8147945885