Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Housemates ("the app") is provided by Kayetan Protas ("we", "us"), based in Canada. We are the data controller for the personal information described in this policy.

Questions, requests, or complaints: kayetanp@gmail.com

2. The short version

• Housemates helps people who share a home record their shared expenses, chores, and grocery lists.
• We do not process payments. The app records who owes whom. It never moves money, and we never see or store card, bank, or payment details.
• We do not track you. There is no analytics SDK, no advertising, no third-party trackers, and no cross-app or cross-site tracking of any kind.
• We do not sell or share your personal information with anyone for advertising or marketing.
• Your profile photo never leaves your device.
• You can delete your account, and everything attached to it, from inside the app at any time.

3. Information we collect

3.1 Information you give us

• Email address. To create your account, sign you in, and let you reset your password.
• Password. To secure your account. Passwords are hashed by our authentication provider. We never see or store them in readable form.
• Display name. So your housemates can tell who added an expense, chore, or grocery item.
• House name and invite code. To create and join a shared household.
• Expenses. Title, amount, currency, who paid, who it is split between, each person's share, and whether each share is settled.
• Chores. Title, how often it repeats, who it is assigned to, and a record of completions.
• Grocery items. Item name, optional colour label, who added it, and when it was bought.

Everything above is visible to the other members of the household you join. That is the point of the app, but it means you should only add information you are comfortable sharing with your housemates.

3.2 Information collected automatically

• Push notification token. An anonymous device identifier issued by Expo, used only to deliver the notifications you have enabled (for example, a reminder about an overdue chore). Removed when you sign out, disable notifications, or delete your account.
• Timestamps. When records are created, completed, or settled, so the app can show history and calculate what is due.

We do not collect your location, contacts, calendar, health data, advertising identifiers, or browsing activity.

3.3 Information that stays on your device

Some things never reach our servers at all:

• Your profile photo. It is stored as a reference to the image on your own device. It is not uploaded to us or to anyone else.
• Your preferences. Light and dark mode, chosen background, display currency, and similar settings.

4. Device permissions

The app asks for these only when you use the feature that needs them, and you can refuse or revoke any of them in iOS Settings:

• Camera. Used solely to scan a housemate's invite QR code. Nothing from the camera is recorded, stored, or transmitted. The scanner reads the code and closes.
• Photo library. Used solely so you can choose a profile picture. The photo stays on your device (see 3.3).
• Notifications. Used solely to deliver reminders and nudges from inside your household. Never used for marketing.

5. How we use your information

We use your information only to:

1. Provide the app: accounts, households, expense splitting, chores, and lists.
2. Calculate and display balances between you and your housemates.
3. Deliver the notifications you have enabled.
4. Keep the service secure and prevent abuse, for example rate limits on how often items can be added and a 24-hour limit on how often the same person can be nudged.
5. Respond to your support requests.
6. Comply with our legal obligations.

We do not use your information for advertising, profiling, or automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects.

6. Legal bases (UK/EU users)

Where UK or EU data protection law applies, we rely on:

• Performance of a contract. To give you the service you signed up for.
• Legitimate interests. To keep the service secure, prevent abuse, and fix problems. We have considered your rights and do not believe these uses override them.
• Consent. For push notifications, camera access, and photo access. You can withdraw consent at any time in iOS Settings or in the app.

7. Who we share it with

Your housemates. Members of a household can see the household's expenses, chores, grocery items, balances, and the display names of other members. They cannot see your email address.

Service providers who run the app for us. These are the only third parties that touch your data, and each acts on our instructions:

• Supabase. Database, authentication, and server functions. Involves your account and household data, hosted in Canada Central (Toronto).
• Expo (Expo Application Services). Delivers push notifications and builds the app. Involves your push token and notification contents.
• Apple. Distributes the app via the App Store. Involves whatever Apple collects under its own privacy policy.

Legal requests. We may disclose information if we are legally required to, or to protect our rights, safety, or that of our users.

We never sell your personal information, and we never share it for advertising or marketing.

8. International transfers

Our providers may store or process data outside your country. Where UK or EU data leaves that area, transfers are covered by appropriate safeguards such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or the EU Standard Contractual Clauses.

9. How long we keep it

• Account and household data. For as long as your account exists.
• Settled expenses. Kept as household history rather than deleted, so you and your housemates can look back at what was already squared up.
• Grocery purchase history. Automatically deleted after 12 months. Until then it is used only to suggest items your household buys regularly.
• Push tokens. Deleted when you sign out, turn notifications off, or delete your account.
• Everything else. Deleted when you delete your account (see 10).

10. Deleting your account

You can delete your account from inside the app:

Profile → Account & Privacy → Delete Account

This permanently deletes your account and your personal data, including your expense participation, chore assignments, and items you added. It cannot be undone.

Note that records which are inherently shared (for example an expense you created that your housemates still owe money on) may remain visible to that household as part of its history, with your personal details removed. If you would like us to delete something specific, contact kayetanp@gmail.com.

11. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you
• Correct information that is wrong or incomplete
• Delete your information
• Object to or restrict how we use it
• Receive a copy in a portable format
• Withdraw consent at any time
• Complain to your data protection regulator. In Canada that is the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada at priv.gc.ca, and in the UK it is the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk

Most of these you can exercise directly in the app. For anything else, email kayetanp@gmail.com and we will respond within 30 days. We do not charge for this and we will not treat you differently for asking.

12. Security

Access to household data is enforced at the database level. You can only read and write records belonging to a household you are a member of. Connections are encrypted in transit, passwords are hashed by our authentication provider, and all writes go through server-side functions that validate permissions.

No system is perfectly secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security. If a breach affects your personal information, we will notify you and the relevant regulator where the law requires it.

13. Children

Housemates is not intended for children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect information from them. If you believe a child under 13 has given us personal information, contact kayetanp@gmail.com and we will delete it.

14. Changes to this policy

If we make a material change, we will update the "Last updated" date and, where appropriate, tell you in the app before the change takes effect. Continuing to use Housemates after a change means you accept the updated policy.

15. Contact

Kayetan Protas
Canada
kayetanp@gmail.com