Privacy Policy

Operator: Krishna Agarwal ("Fable", "we", "us")
Contact: krishnaagarwal.dev@gmail.com

Fable is a group chat + expense-splitting + trip-companion app, and it also lets you turn your trip photos into shareable collages. This policy explains what we collect, why, who we share it with, and the choices and rights you have.

Fable is not a payment processor. We never move money or process card/bank transactions. You record settlements after money has moved outside the app (e.g. via your UPI app). Any payment handles you add (UPI ID, bank details) are stored so your group can pay you — they are not used to initiate transactions.

1. Information we collect

You give us

• Account & identity: your phone number (phone sign-in) and/or your Google account email, name, and ID (Google sign-in); your display name and optional username; an optional profile photo.
• Payment handles: UPI IDs / bank details you choose to add, shown to members of your groups so they can pay you. Stored as entered; never used to move money.
• Content you create: chat messages (text, images, voice notes, GIFs/stickers, documents), expenses (amounts, descriptions, categories, receipt images), settlement records, "Stash" items, trip moments, group names/photos, reactions, and collages you build in the Collage Studio (the photos you place, plus any titles, captions, stickers, and layout you add).
• Reports & moderation: content you report or users you block.

Collected automatically

• Device & push: a device/install identifier, your push notification token, app version, and OS type — used to deliver notifications and operate the app.
• Diagnostics (error & crash reports): when the app hits an error or crashes, we use Sentry to capture a diagnostic report so we can fix it. A report can include the error and stack trace, the app version, device/OS type, and a technical breadcrumb trail of what happened before the error — plus your account identifier, so a recurring problem can be traced to a session. We use these reports only to keep the app stable and secure.

We do not sell your data, we do not use it for advertising, and beyond the error/crash diagnostics above we do not run behavioural ad-tracking or third-party marketing analytics.

Only with your permission

• Camera / photo library: when you attach a photo, scan a bill, or send a GIF/sticker. We access only what you select.
• Location: only when you tap "pin location" on an expense, we use your device location at that moment to tag where the expense happened and suggest nearby places. It's optional and off by default. (Live trip-location sharing / the trip map is not part of this version.)
• Contacts: we do not read your address book. You invite people with a link or QR code.

2. AI features (scan, collage & categories)

Some optional features use our AI provider, Anthropic. In every case Anthropic processes the input only to return your result and, per its API terms, does not use it to train its models; we don't keep the input for AI beyond producing the result. These features are optional — you can use the app without them.

Withdrawing consent. You can switch off "AI photo & receipt processing" at any time in Settings. Once it is off, nothing from you is sent to our AI provider, and scan, AI collage and automatic categorisation stop for your account. Withdrawing is as easy as giving consent and does not affect anything already done.

Bill / payment scan

When you use scan to turn a bill or payment screenshot into an expense or settlement:

• We first try to read the image on your device (Apple Vision on iOS, Google ML Kit on Android). This stays on your device.
• If on-device reading isn't enough, the image or its extracted text is sent to Anthropic to identify items/amounts.

Expense categories

Expense descriptions may be categorised by our AI provider, Anthropic, so your spending can be grouped (for example, food or transport). Only the description (and the place type, if you pinned one) is sent — not your name or contact details. Switching off "AI photo & receipt processing" in Settings stops this too.

Collage AI

The Collage Studio has optional AI helpers — arranging your chosen photos into a template, editing a collage from a typed instruction, and generating a fresh template from a text brief. When you use them:

• For the helpers that work with your selected photos (auto-arranging or AI-editing a collage), those photos are sent to Anthropic so it can compose the layout, along with the collage's text and layout and your instruction.
• For generating a template from a text brief, only your typed brief and the resulting layout are sent — no photos, since a template has empty photo frames you fill in later.
• Finished collages are rendered into an image on our server (running on Google Cloud) so you can save and share them.

3. How we use your information

• Provide core features: messaging, expense splitting, settlement tracking, trips, search, and notifications.
• Authenticate you and keep your account secure (incl. anti-abuse / rate limits).
• Deliver push notifications you've enabled.
• Operate the scan, collage and expense-category AI features when you use them.
• Keep the app stable and secure by diagnosing errors and crashes.
• Enforce our Terms and respond to reports/abuse.
• Comply with legal obligations.

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use your messages, expenses, or media for advertising.

4. Who we share it with (service providers)

We share data only with providers who process it on our behalf to run Fable:

Members of a group can see the content you share in that group (messages, expenses, your payment handles, etc.). We may also disclose information if required by law or to protect users' safety.

5. Data retention & deletion

• We keep your data while your account is active.
• You can delete your account in the app (Settings → Delete account). Erasure starts immediately and cannot be undone: your profile, sign-in identity, payment handles, devices, sessions, your messages' content, your uploaded media and your other personal data are removed or anonymised, as listed at fable.measdev.me/delete-account. Signing up again with the same phone or Google account creates a new, empty account.
• Group records that other members rely on (for example the amounts of a shared expense and balances) stay, attributed to "Former member", with your description, notes, location and payment details removed.
• Me (personal spending) data is erased. Your personal expenses, budgets and budget alerts, category rules, spend-ledger rows and categorisation memory keys are deleted. Personal-expense receipts are kept until you delete them (or your account). Shared-group expenses stay with you shown as "Former member", with their free-text description and place anonymised.
• Leaving a group. If you leave a group, your Me ledger keeps only the amounts for that group's expenses; their notes and receipts are hidden from you.
• Backups. We remove deleted data from our live systems within 30 days of your request, and from our backups within a further 35 days. If we ever restore a backup, we re-apply deletions before it goes live.
• We keep a minimal, non-identifying record that an erasure happened (ids and timestamps only) for 3 years, and moderation records about reported content for up to 1 year after resolution, as the law requires.
• Media has a server-side lifecycle and may expire from our servers over time.

6. Your rights

Depending on where you live (e.g. India's DPDP Act 2023, or the EU/UK GDPR), you may have the right to access, correct, delete, export, or restrict processing of your data, and to withdraw consent. Use the in-app controls or contact us at krishnaagarwal.dev@gmail.com. We aim to complete requests within 30 days and will respond to any request or grievance within 90 days at most.

Download your data. In Settings, tap Download my data. We prepare a ZIP with your profile, messages, your expense shares, settlements, notes and uploads, and send you a download link that works for 24 hours; we delete the file 72 hours after it is ready.

7. Security

We use HTTPS/TLS in transit, access controls, and reputable infrastructure providers. Your refresh token is stored in the device's secure keystore. No system is perfectly secure, but we work to protect your data and will notify you of incidents as required by law.

8. Children

Fable is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from them. If you believe a child has provided data, contact us and we will delete it.

9. International transfers

We operate from India and use providers that may process data in other countries (e.g. Singapore and the United States). Where required, we rely on appropriate safeguards for cross-border transfers.

10. Changes

We'll update this policy as the app evolves and revise the "Last updated" date. Material changes will be highlighted in the app or by notice.

11. Contact

Questions, requests or grievances: krishnaagarwal.dev@gmail.com (our grievance officer: [GRIEVANCE OFFICER NAME]). We acknowledge within 7 days and resolve within 90 days at most.