Privacy Policy

Last updated: 4 September 2026

Your privacy matters to us. This policy explains what we collect, why we collect it, and how we use it. We keep it simple — no legalese.

What we collect

Your email address — only if you give it to us, by sending us a message or creating an account in the app. We also still hold the addresses given to the pre-launch waitlist; that list closed when the app shipped on both stores, and you can no longer join it.
Your message — if you use the contact form, we keep what you wrote so we can reply to it.
Your account identifier — if you sign in with Google or Apple, we store the anonymous ID they give us so your progress can follow you to a new phone. We never receive your password.
Basic usage data — the app uses Google Analytics for Firebase to count app opens, session length, which screens get opened, and which features get used: a brew started or finished, an item bought with beans, a radio station chosen, a setting switched. It is tied to a random per-install id, not to you, and not to your advertising ID. We use it to work out which parts of the app are worth building on.

What never leaves your phone: anything you typed. Your task list, your journal, and your notes are not sent anywhere. Where a to-do list is involved we record only whether a session had a task attached, never what the task said.

What stays on your phone

Your sessions, streaks, beans, unlocks and settings are saved on your device. If you do not sign in, they never leave it — there is no account, no server copy, and nothing for us to look at.

What we don't collect

We do not sell your data to third parties. Ever.
We do not show ads, and we do not use your advertising ID — the app asks Android not to give it one at all.
We do not store your study content, notes, or any personal documents.
We do not collect your location. The app never asks for location permission and does not have one.

Who else is involved

Google Firebase hosts this website, stores contact messages, the closed waitlist's signups and — if you sign in — your account and saved progress, and provides the usage analytics described above.
Apple and Google handle every purchase. If you buy Paws & Beans Pro, the payment is processed by the App Store or Google Play under their own privacy policies — we never see or store your card details, and the app is only told whether your subscription is currently active.
Open-Meteo provides the weather that the café scene follows. The app sends a fixed set of coordinates that is the same for everybody; it is not your position, and nothing identifying you goes with the request.
Your radio station — choosing a lo-fi station streams audio directly from whoever runs it, so their own privacy policy applies to that connection.

How we use your data

To send occasional product announcements to the people who joined the waitlist before launch. Every one of those emails has an unsubscribe link, and we do not add anyone new.
To reply to you if you contact us.
To send in-app notifications if you have opted in — one message when your focus session finishes. You can turn these off at any time in the app's settings.

Data storage & security

Your data is stored with Google Firebase and encrypted at rest.
We keep your email address until you unsubscribe or ask us to delete it, and contact messages only as long as it takes to deal with them.

Your rights

Delete your account and data — from inside the app under Settings, or on our account deletion page if you no longer have the app installed. Both routes remove the same thing.
You can unsubscribe from any email using the link in it.
You can turn notifications off at any time in the app's settings.
You can ask us for a copy of anything we hold about you.

Children

Paws & Beans is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect anything from them. If you believe a child has given us their details, contact us and we will remove it.

Contact

Questions about this policy? Reach out through the contact form. We're a small team and we actually read our messages.