1. Introduction

Welcome to Poolera (the "Application" or "Platform"). This Privacy Policy explains how Poolera collects, stores, shares, and processes your personal information when you install, create an account, or interact with our mobile application and related web services (collectively, the "Services").

By using Poolera, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agreed to the practices outlined in this policy. We take your privacy seriously and commit to protecting your data utilizing industry-standard encryption, local secure sandbox boundaries, and robust access rules.

2. Information We Collect

To deliver our collaborative ledger-sharing and expense-pooling services, we collect several categories of information, both directly from you and automatically via your device.

A. Personal Information You Provide

• Account Profile Data: When you register, we collect your name, email address, profile picture (avatar), and secure authentication credentials.
• Phone number (optional). If you add one, we use it to send text-message alerts about your pools. You can remove it at any time in your profile.
• Payment details stay on your phone. Payment details you save in the app (for example a Venmo handle, bank details or a QR code) are encrypted and stored only on your phone. We never receive or store them. They leave your phone only when you send them to someone yourself, for example through WhatsApp or text.
• Feedback. If you rate Poolera or send feedback in the app, we store your rating, your comment and your name and email so we can follow up.
• Group & Ledger Input: We collect details of the payment pools you create or join, including group names, expense values, custom descriptions, target budget amounts, splits, and contribution pledges.

B. People You Invite

When you invite someone by email or text, you give us their name and email address or phone number. We store it with the invite and use it only to send that invitation and, if they join, to add them to the pool. Invites sent to one person expire after 7 days; shared invite links expire after 30 days. Only invite people who would expect to hear from you.

C. Device and Technical Information (Collected Automatically)

• Operating System & Hardware: We collect device-specific info (e.g., Apple iOS or Android OS version, screen size) to optimize visual presentation.
• Identifiers & Connection Data: IP addresses, unique device identifiers, and Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) tokens necessary to route instant notifications and verify your authentication sessions.
• Local Application Preference Flags: States stored locally on your device, such as your preference for light or dark mode and whether biometric login is activated.

D. Integrations & Device Access (Requires Explicit Permission)

• Contacts. If you allow it, Poolera reads your phone's contacts so you can pick someone to invite. Your contact list stays on your device. We only receive the details of the specific person you choose to invite, as described in 2B.
• Device Camera & Storage: Access is requested only when uploading receipt attachments for expense tracking, scanning QR codes, or updating your profile avatar.
• Receipt scanning and AI features. When you scan a receipt, the photo is sent to our servers and to Google's Gemini AI service to read the amount, date and merchant. If you're offline, the app may read the receipt on your device instead. If you attach the receipt to an expense, the image is stored with that expense and visible to members of the pool. AI expense suggestions send your pool's name, type and existing expense titles to Gemini to suggest likely expenses.

3. How We Use Your Information

We process your data strictly to perform our contractual obligations, comply with local laws, and maintain secure and robust operations:

• Expense Pooling Coordination: We calculate shared ledger balances, update splits in real-time, and display pending repayments to other members of your active groups.
• Transaction & Settlement Alerts: We send notifications regarding pool creation, ledger updates, comments, and payment settle-up actions.
• Service Quality & Security: To detect, debug, and prevent system errors, fraud, or terms-of-service violations.
• Keeping shared records accurate: We keep the records of pools you share with other people so every member's balances and payment history stay correct.

4. Sharing and Disclosure of Information

We adhere to strict data-sharing policies designed to prevent unwanted exposure or monetization of your personal records.

A. Sharing With Other Users

To make group tracking work, your name and profile picture are shown to the other members of pools you join. Your saved payment details are never shared by Poolera; they stay on your phone, and you choose who to send them to.

B. Trusted Service Providers

We use these providers to run Poolera. Each receives only what it needs for its job.

C. Peer-to-Peer Repayments

Poolera facilitates split tracking but does not process money. Settle-ups occur on third-party payment platforms (e.g. Venmo, Cash App, Apple Pay). Activating these payment rails directs you to their respective services, governed by their own privacy policies.

5. Data Retention and Deleting Your Account

You can delete your account in the app under Profile > Privacy & Security > Delete account, or at my.poolera.app/delete_account.html, where we email you a link to confirm. Your account is locked straight away and permanently deleted 14 days later; sign in before then to restore it. If you own pools other people are still in, you'll need to make another member the owner first. When your account is deleted, we delete your profile, email, phone number, login, payment details saved on that phone, notification settings, in-app feedback, and any pools only you were in. Pool records you share with other people (expenses, payments, balances) are kept so the other members' balances stay correct; your name stays on those records as it was, so the pool's history still makes sense to everyone in it.

6. Security Measures

We employ multi-layered security protocols to ensure your data remains secure:

• Transport Security: All communications between the app and backend services are encrypted in transit using industry-standard TLS protocols.
• Database Rules: Access controls are implemented at the database layer (Firebase Security Rules) to prevent unauthorized users from viewing or altering your private group data.
• Device Security: Passwords are never stored on your device. Session tokens and biometric preferences are locked in the operating system's secure keychain.
• Payment details: Payment details you save in the app are encrypted on your phone using its secure storage, are never uploaded to Poolera, and are left out of device backups.

7. Local Storage and Push Tokens

The Platform uses local database variables and storage components (such as SharedPreferences) to persist active sessions, dark theme toggle preferences, and local settings. We also request a Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) token to send transaction status updates and reminders. You can opt-out of notifications in your system settings.

We send emails, push notifications and, if you added a phone number, text messages about your pools: invites, reminders, payment updates and summaries. You can choose what you receive in the app under Profile → Notifications.

8. Children's Privacy

Poolera is only for people aged 18 or older, and you confirm you're 18 or older when you create an account. We don't knowingly collect information from anyone under 18. If we learn we have, we delete it.

For more details on our standards and protections for minors, please review our Standards Against Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation (CSAE).

9. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your physical location (such as the EEA, UK, or California under CCPA/CPRA), you may hold specific statutory rights regarding your personal data:

• Right of Access & Portability: You may request a breakdown of your personal data stored on our servers.
• Right to Rectification: You can edit your name, profile picture and contact details at any time inside the app. Payment details are kept on your phone, and you can change them there.
• Right to Delete: You can delete your account as described in section 5. Records of pools you share with other people are kept so their balances stay correct.

10. Policy Updates

We reserve the right to revise this Privacy Policy periodically. When updates occur, we will post the revised terms, update the "Effective Date" at the top, and issue an in-app prompt if there are material changes to how your data is collected or handled.

11. Contact Support

If you have questions, security concerns, or wish to invoke your data rights, please open a support ticket via the Help & Support screen or reach out to us at:

Email: info@chipinglobal.com