Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Welcome to Ask Better ("the App"), developed and operated by Believe PR, owned by Armando Jimenez. We are deeply committed to protecting your privacy.

Ask Better is an empowering questions app that helps you build a daily practice of asking better questions across 21 categories of personal growth, with AI-powered question generation, custom themes, and bilingual support (English and Spanish) — all while keeping your data private and secure on your device.

2. Privacy-First Approach

2.1 Our Philosophy

Ask Better is built on a privacy-first foundation. We believe your personal growth journey should remain private. Unlike many apps, we:

• Store all data locally on your device
• Never require user accounts or email addresses
• Do not display advertisements
• Do not collect analytics or usage data
• Do not sell, share, or monetize your data in any way
• Cannot read your favorites, custom questions, or any personal content

2.2 What This Means for You

When you use Ask Better:

• Your favorite questions remain on your phone
• Your custom questions never leave your device
• Your theme preferences stay local
• Your practice history is stored only on your device
• Your reminder settings stay on your device

Important: If you delete the app, all your data will be permanently lost. We cannot recover it because we never had access to it.

3. Information We Collect

3.1 Information You Create

All of the following data is stored locally on your device and NOT transmitted to our servers:

• Favorites: Questions you mark as favorites
• Custom Questions: Questions you write yourself
• Practice History: Your daily deck review history
• Mixes: Custom collections you create
• Theme Preferences: Your chosen visual themes and custom themes
• Reminder Settings: Notification times and preferences
• App Settings: Language, appearance mode, deck size preferences

3.2 Information Sent to AI Services

When you use the "Create with AI" feature:

• What is sent: Your prompt text, selected style, tone, and categories
• Where it goes: Google Gemini via Firebase AI Logic SDK
• What is NOT sent: Your favorites, history, custom questions, or any other personal data
• Purpose: Solely to generate personalized questions based on your request

See Section 6 for full details on AI data handling.

3.3 Information Collected for Support

Only when you choose to contact us via the in-app "Contact Us" feature:

• Device Info: Device model, OS version (via device_info_plus)
• App Info: App version, build number (via package_info_plus)
• App Language: Your selected language setting
• Basic Stats: Number of favorites saved, number of custom questions

This information is included in the support email only when you explicitly choose to send it. It is never collected automatically.

3.4 Information We Do NOT Collect

We explicitly do NOT collect or have access to:

• Personal identification information (name, email, etc.)
• Location data
• Device advertising identifiers
• Usage analytics or behavioral data
• Your favorites, history, or custom questions
• Health data
• Contacts, calendar, or social media data
• Financial or payment information

4. How We Use Your Information

4.1 App Functionality (On-Device)

Your data is used entirely on your device to:

• Display your daily deck of questions
• Show your favorites and practice history
• Present your custom questions and mixes
• Apply your chosen visual theme
• Send local notification reminders
• Search across your question library

4.2 AI Feature

When you use the AI generation feature, your prompt is sent to Google Gemini solely to generate questions. The generated results are stored locally on your device. See Section 6 for details.

4.3 Feature Flags

We use Firebase Remote Config to manage feature flags (enabling/disabling features remotely). This service does not collect personal data or track individual users.

5. Data Storage & Security

5.1 Local Storage

All your personal data is stored on your device using:

• Database: Local SQLite database (via drift)
• Preferences: SharedPreferences for settings
• iOS: Secure app sandbox with iOS encryption
• Android: Internal app storage with Android security

5.2 Encryption

• At Rest: Your device's built-in encryption protects stored data
• In Transit: AI requests use HTTPS/TLS encryption

5.3 Data Retention

• Data remains on your device indefinitely until you delete it
• You can delete individual favorites, custom questions, or history entries at any time
• Deleting the app removes all local data permanently
• There is no cloud backup — your data exists only on your device

6. AI-Generated Questions

6.1 How AI Works in Ask Better

Ask Better uses the Firebase AI Logic SDK to connect to Google Gemini (Gemini 2.0 Flash Lite) for generating personalized questions. Here's how it works:

• User-Initiated: AI generation only happens when you explicitly tap "Generate"
• What is Sent: Your prompt text, selected style, tone, and category preferences
• What is Returned: A set of generated questions
• Local Storage: Generated questions you choose to save are stored locally

6.2 Privacy in AI Processing

• Only the specific prompt and settings for each generation request are sent
• Your favorites, history, custom questions, and other app data are never sent
• We do not use your prompts to train AI models
• Generation requests are processed by Google under their Privacy Policy
• There is a daily generation limit to prevent excessive API usage

6.3 Disclaimers

7. App Permissions

7.1 Notifications

• Purpose: To send you practice reminders
• When Requested: When you create a reminder
• What We Send: Local notifications with questions from your library
• Privacy: All notifications are generated locally on your device

7.2 Camera & Photo Library (Optional)

• Purpose: To set custom background images for mix covers and themes
• When Requested: When you choose to add a custom image
• What We Access: Only images you explicitly select
• Storage: Selected images are stored locally in app storage

7.3 Internet Access

• Purpose: Required for AI generation feature and Firebase Remote Config
• When Used: Only when generating AI questions or checking feature flags
• What is Sent: Only AI prompts and feature flag requests (see Sections 4 and 6)

7.4 Permissions We DON'T Request

• Location/GPS access
• Contacts access
• Calendar access
• Microphone access
• Health data access
• Bluetooth access
• Phone/SMS access

7.5 Managing Permissions

You can manage all permissions in your device settings:

• iOS: Settings → Ask Better → Permissions
• Android: Settings → Apps → Ask Better → Permissions

8. Third-Party Services

Ask Better integrates the following third-party services:

8.1 Firebase AI Logic SDK (Google Gemini)

• Purpose: AI-powered question generation
• Data Sent: User prompts, style/tone preferences (NOT personal content)
• Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy

8.2 Firebase Remote Config

• Purpose: Feature flag management
• Data Collected: Anonymous installation ID (no personal data)
• Privacy Policy: https://firebase.google.com/support/privacy

8.3 Apple App Store / Google Play Store

• Purpose: App distribution
• Data Collected: App downloads (managed by Apple/Google)
• Privacy Policies: See Apple and Google policies

8.4 No Advertising Services

We do NOT use any advertising services. There are no ads in Ask Better, and no advertising SDKs are included.

8.5 No Analytics Services

We do NOT use any analytics services (no Google Analytics, no Firebase Analytics, no third-party tracking of any kind).

9. Your Privacy Rights

9.1 GDPR Rights (European Union)

If you are in the EU, you have the following rights:

• Right to Access: All your data is accessible within the app at any time
• Right to Rectification: Edit your custom questions and settings directly
• Right to Erasure: Delete any data within the app, or delete the app entirely
• Right to Data Portability: Your data is stored locally and accessible on your device
• Right to Object: You control all data processing through app features
• Right to Withdraw Consent: Withdraw consent at any time by adjusting permissions or deleting the app

9.2 CCPA Rights (California)

If you are in California, you have the following rights:

• Right to Know: This policy details all data practices
• Right to Delete: Delete your data through the app or by uninstalling
• Right to Opt-Out: We do not sell personal data
• Right to Non-Discrimination: Equal service regardless of privacy choices

9.3 Exercising Your Rights

Since all data is stored locally on your device:

• Access: Open the app to view all your data
• Deletion: Delete individual items or uninstall the app
• Control: Manage all permissions through device settings

For questions about third-party data (like Firebase), contact us at: askbetter@armandojimenez.dev

10. Children's Privacy

10.1 Age Requirements

Ask Better is not targeted at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.

• Minimum age: 13 years old
• Parental supervision recommended for teens

10.2 If We Learn of Underage Use

Since the app does not collect personal information or require accounts, there is no server-side data to delete. Parents can simply uninstall the app to remove all local data.

11. International Users

11.1 Data Transfers

Since all personal data is stored locally on your device, there are no international data transfers of your personal content.

When using the AI generation feature, your prompt is processed by Google's servers, which may be located in various countries. This is subject to Google's data transfer policies.

11.2 Regional Compliance

• European Union: GDPR compliant
• California: CCPA compliant
• Brazil: LGPD compliant
• Other Regions: We respect all applicable privacy laws

11.3 Language Support

This Privacy Policy is available in English and Spanish. In case of conflicts between translations, the English version shall prevail.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect:

• New app features or functionality
• Changes in legal requirements
• Third-party service updates
• User feedback and privacy enhancements

12.1 Notification of Changes

When we make significant changes:

• The "Last Updated" date will be revised
• Changes will be reflected on our website
• Continued use constitutes acceptance

13. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us:

Response Time

We will respond to your inquiry within:

• 30 days for general inquiries
• 72 hours for urgent privacy concerns
• As required by applicable law for rights requests