Privacy Policy

1. Privacy at a Glance

2. Data Stored on Your Device

Your records are stored in a private database inside the app on your phone. When you enable backup or sync, records are also uploaded as described below. This includes customer and supplier names, phone numbers and addresses, transactions, amounts, due dates, comments, stock items and their codes, rates and movements, bills, orders, walk-in customer names and phone numbers, cash book entries, expenses, and attached photos (receipts, customer pictures, business logo), staff details, attendance, wages, salary payments, and payroll.

We have no remote access to this database. Uninstalling the app deletes it from your phone.

3. Backups: iCloud, Google Drive & Khata Connect Drive

Backups are optional. Manual Google Drive and iCloud backup and restore are free. Khata Connect Drive and automatic backup require Premium. When you back up, the app copies your full on-device database, including photos, to the storage option you pick. Restoring brings that copy back to your phone.

You can manage or delete backups from Backup & Restore. Premium automatic backup uses your selected storage and one designated phone per account, on a daily, weekly or monthly schedule, subject to connectivity and app availability. We store backup settings, device assignment, timestamps and activity status to operate this feature.

4. Optional Sync: Cloud Firestore & Firebase Storage

• When entries are uploaded: Your ledger entries and other business records are not uploaded to Cloud Firestore for sync merely because you install the app, sign in, or purchase Premium. Business-record sync begins when you enable sync for a business or connect to a shared business. While enabled, existing records and subsequent supported changes are sent automatically when connectivity and access allow. Cloud backup is a separate optional upload.
• What is saved in Firestore: For businesses you sync, Google Cloud Firestore stores customer and supplier details, entries, balances and related amounts, due dates, comments, cash book, expenses and expense accounts, inventory and stock movements, bills and line items, orders and status changes, business and bank-payment details, and supported staff attendance and payroll records. Record identifiers, author identifiers and change/deletion metadata help apply updates consistently.
• Photos and attachments: Supported photos attached to synced records, including receipt images, party photos and business logos, are uploaded to Cloud Storage for Firebase. Firestore keeps the references needed to find them. Photos may be resized or compressed, and connected devices download local copies.
• Why we process synced data: We process this content to store and retrieve your records, apply changes across devices, enforce access, and deliver enabled business-activity notifications. Business content is not used to target ads or sold to advertisers.
• Separate from personal Drive storage: Firestore sync uses Khata Connect’s Google Firebase project. It is separate from iCloud, Google Drive, and Khata Connect Drive recovery backups. Choosing iCloud or Google Drive for backup does not change where enabled sync stores records.
• Stopping sync: You can stop syncing a business or all businesses on this phone from the sync settings. This stops participation on that phone and keeps its local records. It does not automatically erase the cloud copy, stop other connected devices, delete recovery backups, or remove staff access. Use account deletion or contact support to request deletion of cloud data you control.
• Account information without business sync: Sign-in, subscription, device/session, security, backup-status and team-management information may still be processed in Firebase even when ledger sync is off. These service records are separate from uploading your business entries for sync.

5. Staff Accounts, Invitations & Permissions

• Payroll records and login accounts: A person listed in Staff Book for attendance or payroll does not automatically receive a login or access to your business. Shared access is managed separately through team membership and staff accounts. Staff Book records may be included in a backup or in an enabled business sync.
• Owner-created staff logins: An owner can create a separate staff login using a staff name, username/Login ID, assigned role and password, without requiring the staff member’s personal email. Firebase Authentication manages that identity and its credentials. The owner supplies the initial credentials and can reset the staff password, disable or remove the login, and select which of the owner’s businesses it can access.
• Invited personal accounts: Where supported, an invited member uses their own account. We store the invitation and business membership needed to connect them. Removing this membership removes the shared-business relationship; it does not give the owner control of the person’s independent personal account.
• Roles and permissions: We store role names, permissions, business assignments, membership status and who added a member. Owners choose permissions for activities such as adding or editing entries, managing parties or stock, viewing totals or reports, using Staff Book and changing business settings. The app uses Staff Book permission when selecting payroll and attendance records to download.
• Limits of permission controls: Only grant access to people you trust. Hiding a total or a report in the app does not make underlying shared transactions anonymous or prevent a person from inferring amounts from records available to them. Access changes cannot retract screenshots, exports, or previously downloaded copies.
• Information visible to the owner: Owners can see team membership details and, for owner-managed staff logins, signed-in device names, platform/model, operating-system and app versions, sign-in and last-active times, and sign-out/revocation status. This supports business access management. Staff accounts may see the owner’s name and email to identify the business account managing them.
• Removing a staff login: Disabling an owner-managed login can disable it across the owner’s businesses. Removing that login deletes its managed identity and associated account data and revokes its memberships; business entries it created remain business records. Deleting the owner account also deletes its managed staff logins and owned synced business data.
• People whose data is entered: Business owners are responsible for informing their staff, customers and suppliers about the details they record and share. For a request concerning records controlled by a business, contact that business first; you can also contact us about account data or help with a privacy request.

6. Activity Notifications & Device Sessions

• Activity attribution: Synced records can identify who added them. We process change details to show activity and notify eligible business users according to preferences, permissions and owner settings.
• Notification content: Business-activity notifications may contain the business name, staff/member name, action, record type, party or item name and amounts where permitted. Push delivery uses Firebase Cloud Messaging and platform notification services. Notifications may appear on a lock screen; review app notification preferences and your phone’s preview settings when records are sensitive.
• Session management: We store device identifiers, names and optional custom names, platform/model, OS and app versions, sign-in method, sign-in and last-seen times, and sign-out or revocation details. Owners can request sign-out of managed staff sessions. Enforcement on a disconnected device may be delayed until it reconnects or the app checks session status.

7. Information We Collect

8. Phone Permissions

The app only asks for a permission when you use the feature that needs it. You can change any of them in your phone settings.

• Camera: To scan barcodes and QR codes on your stock items, and to take photos of receipts, customers, or your business logo. Scanning happens on your phone; the camera picture is not saved or uploaded.
• Photos: To attach a receipt, customer picture or logo, or to scan a barcode from a photo you pick.
• Contacts: The app does not read your address book. It opens your phone's own contact picker, and only the one contact you choose is added as a customer or supplier.
• Notifications: For order reminders you set (scheduled on your phone), staff attendance and salary reminders, app updates, backup reminders, sync and team activity notifications, and important announcements.
• Tracking (iOS): Asked through Apple's tracking prompt, for more relevant ads. Saying no does not limit any feature.

9. Ads, Analytics & Tracking

• Ads: The free version shows Google AdMob ads. If you allow tracking, Google may use your advertising ID to personalize ads across apps. In the EEA, UK, and similar regions, you are asked for consent first. Premium removes ads.
• Analytics: Firebase Analytics tells us which screens are used and helps fix crashes. It never receives your ledger data.
• Your ledger is never used for ads: Customer names, amounts, and notes are never shared with advertisers.

10. Service Providers

We share data only with these providers, and only to run the app:

• Google Firebase: Sign-in (including email/password), account records, Khata Connect Drive, Cloud Firestore business sync and metadata, Cloud Storage for Firebase attachments, team permissions and sessions, analytics, crash reports, and notifications.
• Google email delivery: Verification and recovery messages are delivered using Gmail SMTP. The recipient address and message content are processed to deliver those messages.
• Google Drive: Your own Drive backup, only if you connect it.
• Apple iCloud: Your own iCloud backup on iPhone, only if you choose it.
• Google AdMob: Ads in the free version.
• RevenueCat: Subscription management.
• Apple & Google: Sign in with Apple, Google Sign-In, and store billing.

See the Google, Firebase, RevenueCat and Apple privacy policies.

11. Cloud Processing & International Transfers

• Firebase, Google, Apple and other listed service providers may process information in countries other than where you live, depending on the service and infrastructure used. Their privacy and data-processing terms explain the applicable protections and transfer arrangements.
• We do not promise that synced records are stored only on your phone or only in your country. The privacy policies linked below describe our providers’ handling of information. Contact us if you need information about a particular processing location before enabling cloud features.

12. Keeping & Deleting Your Data

• In the app: Delete any entry, customer, item, bill, order, or backup whenever you want. Deleted items stay in Trash for 30 days, or until you empty it.
• Delete account: Settings → Account Details → Delete My Account lets you review local-record and external-backup deletion choices. Deleting your account removes account cloud data, Khata Connect Drive backups, owned synced business data and team access. You can choose to keep or erase local records. Google Drive and iCloud backups are deleted when selected and accessible; iCloud deletion requires an iPhone with access to the relevant Apple ID. Deleting a team member account does not delete business records owned by another account.
• Google Drive: You can also remove the Drive backup yourself: in Google Drive go to Settings → Manage apps → Khata Connect → Delete hidden app data.
• iCloud: On your iPhone you can also remove it in Settings → [your name] → iCloud → Manage Account Storage → Khata Connect.
• By request: Use our Data Deletion page or email khataconnect.cashbook@gmail.com. We complete verified requests within 7 business days.
• Retention: Synced records remain in the cloud until removed through supported deletion workflows; stopping sync, signing out, uninstalling the app, removing a member or allowing Premium to expire does not itself delete the cloud business. Deletion metadata may be kept to propagate removals. Deleting a live record does not automatically rewrite older recovery backups.
• Account deletion safeguards: Account deletion removes owned cloud businesses and attachments, memberships, managed staff identities, account records and Khata Connect Drive backups. A minimal deletion-status/security record and reserved shop code may remain to complete cleanup, confirm completion and prevent stale sessions from recreating deleted data. This is separate from keeping your ledger content.
• Other copies: Business records controlled by another owner remain when a member account is deleted. Local copies, screenshots or exports on other people’s devices cannot be remotely erased. Provider-held backups require their own deletion workflow.

13. Security

• All traffic between the app and our services is encrypted with HTTPS/TLS.
• Khata Connect Drive backups are encrypted at rest and locked to your account. iCloud and Google Drive backups stay in your own account.
• Firebase Authentication, business membership checks and security rules help control access to cloud records and attachments. Encryption in transit and provider-managed encryption at rest are different from end-to-end encryption; we do not describe sync as end-to-end encrypted. Authorized backend services process content to deliver sync and notifications. An optional PIN app lock helps protect records on your phone.
• No system is 100% secure, so keep your phone and Google/Apple account protected too.

14. Your Rights

Depending on where you live (for example under GDPR or CCPA/CPRA), you can ask to access, correct, export, or delete your data, or object to its processing. You can export your khata as PDF or Excel at any time. We do not sell or "share" your personal information for money. Contact us to use any of these rights.

15. Children

Khata Connect is a business tool for adults. It is not directed at children under 13 (or 16 in the EEA), and we do not knowingly collect their data. If you think a child has given us data, contact us and we will delete it.

16. Changes to This Policy

We will update this page when the app changes how it handles data, and change the effective date above. Significant changes will also be announced in the app.

17. Contact Us

Questions about privacy? Email khataconnect.cashbook@gmail.com or visit our Contact page.