Privacy Policy for SnapPhysics

Introduction

Welcome to SnapPhysics ("we," "our," "us," or the "App"). SnapPhysics is an AI-powered educational mobile application designed to help users learn physics through interactive experiences including conversations, quizzes, stories, and visualizations.

This Privacy Policy explains in detail how we collect, use, store, share, and protect your personal information when you use our mobile application. We are committed to protecting your privacy and being transparent about our data practices.

By using SnapPhysics, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with our policies and practices, please do not use our App.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Personal Information You Provide

Account Information (Required):

• Email Address: Collected during account creation via Clerk authentication
• Full Name: First name and last name provided during onboarding
• Password: Encrypted and stored securely by Clerk (we never see your plain-text password)
• Profile Avatar: Selected avatar identifier (e.g., "boy1", "girl4") chosen during onboarding

Purpose: To create and manage your account, authenticate you, and personalize your experience.

1.2 User-Generated Content

Images You Upload:

• Physics Scene Photos: Images you capture or upload to use with our AI features (Snap to Learn, Snap to Quiz, Snap to Story, Snap to Visualize)
• Storage: Images are uploaded to Cloudinary (third-party cloud storage service) and stored securely
• Retention: Images are retained indefinitely unless you delete your account or request deletion

Chat Conversations:

• Messages: Your questions and conversations with Professor Snap AI
• Conversation History: Stored to maintain context during your learning sessions
• AI Responses: Generated responses from Google Gemini AI

Purpose: To provide AI-powered physics education, generate personalized content, and maintain conversation context.

1.3 Automatically Collected Information

Device Information:

• Device Type: Mobile device model and manufacturer
• Operating System: iOS or Android version
• Device Identifiers: Unique device ID assigned by your operating system
• Screen Resolution: Display specifications

Usage Data:

• App Activity: Features you use (Learn, Quiz, Story, Visualize)
• Session Duration: Time spent in the app
• Feature Usage Frequency: How often you use each feature
• Navigation Patterns: Screens you visit and interaction patterns
• Timestamps: When you use specific features

Performance Data:

• Crash Reports: Technical logs if the app crashes
• Error Logs: Technical errors for debugging
• API Response Times: Performance metrics

Purpose: To improve app performance, fix bugs, understand user behavior, and enhance user experience.

1.4 Gamification Data

In-App Currency and Progress:

• Diamonds (💎): Virtual currency balance and transaction history
• Experience Points (XP): Total XP earned
• Level: Current level based on XP
• Streak: Daily check-in streak count
• Last Check-In Date: Timestamp of your last daily check-in

Transaction History:

• Type: Earn or spend transactions
• Amount: Number of diamonds or XP
• Description: What the transaction was for (e.g., "Snap to Quiz", "Daily check-in")
• Timestamp: When the transaction occurred

Purpose: To manage your in-app rewards, track progress, display leaderboard rankings, and provide gamification features.

1.5 Authentication Data (Managed by Clerk)

OAuth Information (if you sign in with Google):

• Google Account Email: Your Google account email address
• Google Profile Name: Your name from Google account
• Google Profile Picture: Your Google profile photo (if you choose to use it)

Session Data:

• Authentication Tokens: Secure tokens to keep you logged in
• Session IDs: Unique identifiers for your login sessions

Purpose: To authenticate you securely and maintain your logged-in state.

1.6 Data We Do NOT Collect

We want to be clear about what we do NOT collect:

• ❌ Location Data: We do not track your GPS location or geographic data
• ❌ Contacts: We do not access your phone contacts
• ❌ Camera Roll: We only access photos you explicitly choose to upload
• ❌ Microphone: We do not record audio (except when you use text-to-speech features)
• ❌ Payment Information: We do not collect credit card or payment data (the app uses virtual currency only)
• ❌ Biometric Data: We do not collect fingerprints or face recognition data
• ❌ Health Data: We do not collect any health or medical information
• ❌ Browsing History: We do not track your web browsing outside the app

2. How We Use Your Information

2.1 Core App Functionality

• Account Management: Create, maintain, and secure your account
• Authentication: Verify your identity and keep you logged in
• AI Features: Process your images and questions to generate physics explanations, quizzes, stories, and visualizations
• Conversation Context: Maintain chat history to provide coherent AI responses
• Progress Tracking: Track your XP, level, diamonds, and streak

2.2 Gamification and Rewards

• Virtual Currency: Manage your diamond balance and transactions
• Leaderboard: Display your ranking compared to other users (only shows name, avatar, XP, level, and streak)
• Daily Check-In: Track your streak and award daily rewards
• Achievement Tracking: Monitor your learning progress

2.3 Service Improvement

• Bug Fixes: Identify and resolve technical issues
• Performance Optimization: Improve app speed and reliability
• Feature Development: Understand which features are most valuable
• User Experience: Enhance interface and usability based on usage patterns

2.4 Communication

• Service Updates: Notify you about app updates or changes
• Account Security: Alert you about security-related matters
• Support: Respond to your questions and support requests
• Important Notices: Inform you about changes to our policies

2.5 Legal Compliance

• Terms Enforcement: Ensure compliance with our Terms of Service
• Legal Obligations: Comply with applicable laws and regulations
• Safety: Protect against fraud, abuse, and illegal activity

3. How We Share Your Information

We are committed to NOT selling your personal information. However, we share data with the following third-party services to operate our app:

3.1 Essential Service Providers

Clerk (Authentication Service)

• Data Shared: Email, name, password (encrypted), authentication tokens
• Purpose: User authentication and account management
• Location: United States
• Privacy Policy: https://clerk.com/privacy

Supabase (Database Service)

• Data Shared: All user data including profile, transactions, conversations, images URLs
• Purpose: Data storage and retrieval
• Location: United States (AWS infrastructure)
• Privacy Policy: https://supabase.com/privacy

Google Gemini AI (AI Service)

• Data Shared: Images you upload, your questions, conversation history, user level
• Purpose: Generate AI-powered physics explanations, quizzes, stories, and visualizations
• Location: United States
• Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy
• Note: Google may use this data to improve their AI models

Cloudinary (Image Storage)

• Data Shared: Images you upload
• Purpose: Store and serve images securely
• Location: United States
• Privacy Policy: https://cloudinary.com/privacy

Amazon Web Services - EC2 (Backend Hosting)

• Data Shared: API requests, server logs, usage data
• Purpose: Host our backend API
• Location: United States (AWS infrastructure)
• Privacy Policy: https://aws.amazon.com/privacy/

3.2 Public Information

Leaderboard Display:

The following information is visible to all app users on the leaderboard:

• Your name (as provided during onboarding)
• Your selected avatar
• Your XP (experience points)
• Your level
• Your streak count

Note: Your email address, images, conversations, and transaction history are NEVER publicly visible.

3.3 Legal Requirements & What We Do NOT Do

We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in response to:

• Court orders or legal processes
• Government or regulatory requests
• Protection of our rights, property, or safety
• Prevention of fraud or illegal activity
• Compliance with applicable laws and regulations

Business Transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred to the new owner. We will notify you via email and/or prominent notice in the app before your information is transferred.

What We Do NOT Do:

• ❌ We do not sell your personal information to advertisers or data brokers
• ❌ We do not share your data for marketing purposes by third parties
• ❌ We do not use your data for targeted advertising
• ❌ We do not share your images or conversations with anyone except the AI service providers necessary to generate responses

4. Data Storage and Security

4.1 Where Your Data is Stored

Primary Storage Locations:

• User Accounts: Clerk servers (United States)
• Database: Supabase/PostgreSQL (AWS, United States)
• Images: Cloudinary (United States)
• Backend API: AWS EC2 (United States)

International Data Transfers: Since our developer is based in Nepal but our services are hosted in the United States, your data is transferred internationally. We ensure that all service providers comply with international data protection standards.

4.2 Security Measures

Technical Safeguards:

• Encryption in Transit: All data transmitted between your device and our servers uses HTTPS/TLS encryption
• Encryption at Rest: Sensitive data is encrypted in our database
• Secure Authentication: Passwords are hashed and never stored in plain text
• API Security: Secure API endpoints with authentication tokens
• Regular Security Updates: We keep all dependencies and services up to date

Operational Safeguards:

• Access Controls: Limited access to user data (only the developer has access for support purposes)
• Monitoring: Regular monitoring for suspicious activity
• Backup Systems: Regular database backups to prevent data loss

Limitations: While we strive to protect your data, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security, but we continuously work to improve our security practices.

4.3 Data Retention

How Long We Keep Your Data:

• Account Data: Retained as long as your account is active
• Images: Stored indefinitely unless you delete your account
• Conversations: Stored indefinitely unless you delete your account
• Transaction History: Retained for the lifetime of your account
• Usage Logs: Retained for 90 days for debugging and analytics

After Account Deletion: When you delete your account, we permanently delete:

• Your profile information
• All images you uploaded
• All conversation history
• All transaction records
• All gamification data

Backup Retention: Deleted data may remain in backup systems for up to 30 days before being permanently purged.

5. Your Privacy Rights

You have the following rights regarding your personal information:

5.1 Access and Portability

• Right to Access: You can view your profile, transaction history, and conversation history within the app
• Right to Data Portability: You can request a copy of your data in a machine-readable format by contacting us at snapphysicsofficial@gmail.com

5.2 Correction and Update

• Update Profile: You can change your name and avatar in the Profile section
• Update Email: You can update your email through Clerk authentication settings
• Correction Requests: Contact us to correct any inaccurate information

5.3 Deletion

• Delete Account: You can permanently delete your account from the Profile screen
• What Gets Deleted: All your personal data, images, conversations, and progress
• What Remains: Anonymized analytics data (no personally identifiable information)
• Deletion Timeline: Immediate deletion from active systems; up to 30 days from backups

5.4 Opt-Out Rights

• Marketing Communications: We do not send marketing emails (we only send essential service communications)
• Data Processing: You can stop using the app at any time to stop data collection

5.5 Withdraw Consent

You can withdraw your consent to data processing by deleting your account. Note that this will prevent you from using the app.

5.6 How to Exercise Your Rights

To exercise any of these rights, you can:

1. In-App: Use the Profile screen to update or delete your account
2. Email: Contact us at snapphysicsofficial@gmail.com
3. Response Time: We will respond to your request within 30 days

6. Children's Privacy (COPPA Compliance)

Age Requirement: SnapPhysics is intended for users aged 13 years and older.

6.1 No Collection from Children Under 13

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 years of age. If you are under 13, please do not:

• Create an account
• Use our services
• Provide any personal information

6.2 Parental Notice

If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child under 13 has provided us with personal information:

1. Contact us immediately at snapphysicsofficial@gmail.com
2. We will promptly delete the account and all associated data
3. We will take steps to prevent future access

6.3 Age Verification

While we do not actively verify ages, we rely on:

• Terms of Service agreement (stating you must be 13+)
• Parental supervision and responsibility
• Reporting mechanisms for violations

7. International Users and Data Transfers

7.1 Global Access

SnapPhysics is available worldwide, but our services are hosted in the United States. By using our app, you consent to the transfer of your information to the United States.

7.2 Compliance with International Laws

GDPR (European Union):

If you are in the EU, you have additional rights under GDPR:

• Right to be forgotten
• Right to data portability
• Right to restrict processing
• Right to object to processing
• Right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority

CCPA (California, USA):

If you are a California resident, you have rights under CCPA:

• Right to know what personal information is collected
• Right to delete personal information
• Right to opt-out of sale (note: we do not sell personal information)
• Right to non-discrimination

Other Jurisdictions: We comply with applicable data protection laws in all jurisdictions where we operate.

7.3 Data Transfer Safeguards

We ensure that international data transfers are protected through:

• Standard contractual clauses with service providers
• Compliance with Privacy Shield principles (where applicable)
• Adequate security measures

8. Third-Party Services and Links

8.1 Third-Party Services We Use

Our app integrates with the following third-party services:

• Clerk (Authentication): User authentication | Privacy: https://clerk.com/privacy
• Google OAuth (Optional Sign-In): Alternative sign-in method | Privacy: https://policies.google.com/privacy
• Google Gemini AI: Generate AI responses | Privacy: https://policies.google.com/privacy
• Cloudinary: Image storage | Privacy: https://cloudinary.com/privacy
• Supabase: Database | Privacy: https://supabase.com/privacy
• AWS EC2: Backend hosting | Privacy: https://aws.amazon.com/privacy/

8.2 Third-Party Links

Our app may contain links to external websites or services (e.g., privacy policies, terms of service). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these third-party sites. We encourage you to review their privacy policies.

8.3 No Third-Party Advertising

We do not use third-party advertising networks or analytics services that track you across apps and websites.

9. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

9.1 What We Use

Authentication Tokens:

• Purpose: Keep you logged in
• Type: Secure HTTP-only tokens
• Duration: Until you log out or token expires

Local Storage:

• Purpose: Cache user preferences and app state
• Type: Device-local storage (not transmitted to servers)
• Data: Avatar selection, onboarding status, app settings

9.2 What We Don't Use

• ❌ Advertising Cookies: We do not use cookies for advertising
• ❌ Cross-Site Tracking: We do not track you across other apps or websites
• ❌ Third-Party Analytics Cookies: We do not use Google Analytics or similar services

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

10.1 Updates

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

• Changes in our practices
• Legal or regulatory requirements
• New features or services
• User feedback

10.2 Notification

When we make changes, we will:

1. Update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this policy
2. Notify you via email (if you have an account)
3. Display a prominent notice in the app
4. Require you to review and accept the new policy (for material changes)

10.3 Your Continued Use

Your continued use of SnapPhysics after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with the changes, you should stop using the app and delete your account.

11. Contact Us

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

Developer: Prashanta Kafle
Email: snapphysicsofficial@gmail.com
Location: Bharatpur, Nepal
Response Time: We aim to respond within 7 business days

For Specific Requests:

• Data Access Requests: snapphysicsofficial@gmail.com
• Data Deletion Requests: Use in-app deletion or email us
• Privacy Concerns: snapphysicsofficial@gmail.com
• Security Issues: snapphysicsofficial@gmail.com (mark as urgent)

12. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)

If you are in the European Union, we process your personal data under the following legal bases:

Consent:

• Processing images for AI features
• Storing conversation history
• Displaying your information on the leaderboard

Contractual Necessity:

• Creating and managing your account
• Providing app features you request
• Processing virtual currency transactions

Legitimate Interests:

• Improving app performance
• Preventing fraud and abuse
• Analyzing usage patterns (anonymized)

Legal Obligations:

• Complying with applicable laws
• Responding to legal requests

You have the right to withdraw consent at any time by deleting your account.

13. Summary of Key Points

WHAT WE COLLECT:

• Account info (email, name, avatar)
• Images you upload
• Conversations with AI
• Usage data and device info
• Gamification data (diamonds, XP, level, streak)

HOW WE USE IT:

• Provide AI-powered physics education
• Manage your account and progress
• Improve the app
• Comply with legal obligations

WHO WE SHARE WITH:

• Essential service providers (Clerk, Supabase, Google AI, Cloudinary, AWS EC2)
• Law enforcement (if legally required)
• No one else (we do not sell your data)

YOUR RIGHTS:

• Access your data
• Correct inaccurate data
• Delete your account
• Opt-out of data processing

CONTACT:

• Email: snapphysicsofficial@gmail.com
• Developer: Prashanta Kafle, Bharatpur, Nepal

Thank you for trusting SnapPhysics with your learning journey. We are committed to protecting your privacy while helping you master physics!