Privacy Policy

1. About this policy

Finchly is a study companion for students and working students. This policy explains what personal information the app collects, why we need it, who else processes it, and how you can control it. It sits alongside our Terms of Service but is a separate document.

We handle personal information in line with the Philippine Data Privacy Act of 2012 (Republic Act No. 10173).

2. What we collect

• Account details — your name, email address, and profile photo. If you sign up with email we store a hashed password; if you sign in with Google we don't receive or store a password at all.
• What you create in the app — notes, tasks and reminders, class schedules, tuition installment records, uploaded PDFs, and the messages you send to Finchly.
• Google Classroom data — if you connect it, we read your subjects, coursework, deadlines, and teacher announcements.
• Subscription records — which plan you bought, the amount, the payment status, and when your access expires.
• Usage counters — for example how many free AI replies you have used today, so the daily allowance can be enforced.

We do not collect your card or e-wallet details, and we don't sell your data or use it for advertising.

3. Why we use it

• To create and secure your account and keep you signed in.
• To run the features you asked for — notes, schedules, deadlines, reminders, the planner, and the AI chat and tutor.
• To process a subscription payment and give you the access period you paid for.
• To keep the service working and safe — fixing errors, preventing abuse, and enforcing usage limits.
• To reply when you contact us for support.

4. Who processes your data

We use a small number of providers, and only for the job listed here:

• Our own server and database — stores your account and everything you create in the app.
• Cloudflare Workers AI — processes the messages you send to the Finchly chat and the tutor so a reply can be generated.
• Self-hosted AI models on our server — summarise and answer questions about the PDFs you upload, and explain photos of lessons you send to the AI Teacher chat.
• PayMongo — handles the QR Ph payment. They collect the payment details directly; we only receive the result.
• Google — for Google sign-in and, if you connect it, Google Classroom.
• Open-Meteo — receives approximate coordinates to return the weather used by the app's theme. No account details are sent with it.

We may also disclose information if the law requires it, or to protect the rights and safety of our users.

5. What stays on your device

• Scanning notes with the camera. Text recognition runs on the device — the photo and the recognised text are not uploaded for this feature.
• Reminders. Class, task, and tuition reminders are scheduled locally by your device, not from our servers.
• The AI Planner. Your day plan is built on the device without sending anything to an AI service.
• Focus mode. The accessibility permission is used only to close distracting apps while a focus session is running. It reads which app is in the foreground on the device and sends nothing to us.

6. Device permissions

Notifications (reminders), camera (scanning notes), location (the weather theme), and the accessibility service (Focus mode) are each optional, used only for the feature they belong to, and can be turned off any time in your device settings. Turning one off only disables that feature.

7. How long we keep it

We keep your account data for as long as your account exists. Content you delete in the app — a note, a PDF, a schedule — is removed from our database. Payment and subscription records are kept longer where we need them for accounting and dispute records. When you ask us to delete your account, we delete the account and its content, apart from records we are required to retain.

8. Security

Passwords are stored hashed, traffic between the app and our server is encrypted, and access to the database is restricted. API keys for the services above stay on the server and are never shipped inside the app. No system is perfectly secure, so please use a strong, unique password and tell us straight away if you think your account has been accessed by someone else.

9. Your rights

Under the Data Privacy Act you may ask to be informed about, access, correct, or object to our processing of your personal information, ask for a copy of it, ask us to delete or block it, and complain to the National Privacy Commission. You can also withdraw consent for an optional feature — for example by disconnecting Google Classroom or revoking a device permission.

Email us using the address below and we will act on your request within a reasonable time.

10. Children

Finchly is built for students, and younger students should use it with the knowledge and consent of a parent, guardian, or school. If you believe a child's information was given to us without that consent, contact us and we will delete it.

11. Changes to this policy

If we change how we handle your data we will update this page and the date at the top of it. Significant changes will be announced in the app.

12. Contact us

For privacy questions, data requests, or complaints, email privacy@finchly.app.