Kaal (“we”, “our”, “the app”) is a sacred calendar app that provides daily panchang, festival guides, and personalized star alignment. We are committed to protecting your privacy. This policy explains what data we collect, how we use it, and what choices you have.
The short version: Kaal has no user accounts, no backend server, and no personal data collection. Everything is calculated and stored on your device.
1. Information We Collect
1.1 Location Data
When you grant permission, we access your device’s GPS coordinates to calculate accurate sunrise, sunset, and panchang times for your location. Your coordinates are:
- Processed locally on your device
- Matched to a nearby city from our bundled database
- Sent to Open-Meteo (weather) and OpenStreetMap (nearby temples) as described in Section 3
- Never logged, tracked, or stored on our servers (we have no servers)
Location permission is optional. You can manually select a city instead. We request “When In Use” location access only — never background location.
1.2 Birth Nakshatra
You may optionally provide your birth nakshatra (lunar constellation) for personalized daily alignment (Tara Balam). This is stored only on your device in a local SQLite database and is never transmitted to any server or third party.
1.3 Preferences & App Data
Your settings — theme, language, region, pinned festivals, notification schedules, selected ayanamsa, and other preferences — are stored locally in an on-device database. None of this data leaves your device.
1.4 Analytics (Opt-Out Available)
We use PostHog to collect anonymous usage analytics to help us understand how people use Kaal and improve the app. Analytics data includes:
- Anonymous event data (screen views, feature usage, button taps)
- App version, build number, platform (iOS/Android), and OS version
- Your selected ayanamsa and theme mode
- Session duration and app open frequency
Analytics data does not include your name, email address, phone number, location coordinates, birth nakshatra, IP address, or any personally identifying information.
You can disable analytics entirely in the app’s Settings screen. When disabled, no analytics data is collected or transmitted.
1.5 Advertising Data
For free users, we display ads through Google AdMob. Google’s advertising SDK may collect:
- Device advertising identifier (IDFA on iOS, GAID on Android)
- Device characteristics (model, screen size, OS version)
- IP address (used by Google for ad targeting)
- Ad interaction data (impressions, taps)
This data is collected and processed by Google under Google’s Privacy Policy. Premium (KAAL ✦ Aligned) subscribers see no ads, and no advertising data is collected for them.
1.6 App Tracking Transparency (iOS)
On iOS 14.5+, we request your permission via Apple’s App Tracking Transparency framework before Google AdMob accesses your device’s advertising identifier. If you decline, AdMob will serve contextual (non-personalized) ads instead. Your choice does not affect app functionality.
1.7 Notifications
If you enable notifications, your notification preferences (times, types) are stored locally on your device. Push notifications are scheduled locally — we do not use a push notification server, and no notification data is transmitted externally.
2. How We Use Your Data
| Data | Purpose | Stored |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Calculate panchang, sunrise/sunset, weather for your area | On device only |
| Birth nakshatra | Personalize daily star alignment (Tara Balam) | On device only |
| Preferences | Remember your settings between sessions | On device only |
| Analytics | Understand feature usage to improve the app | PostHog (anonymized) |
| Advertising data | Display relevant advertisements (free tier only) | Google (per their policy) |
We do not sell, rent, share, or transfer your personal data to any third party for marketing, advertising, or any other purpose.
3. Third-Party Services
| Service | Data Sent | Purpose | Privacy Policy |
|---|---|---|---|
| PostHog | Anonymous events, device info | Usage analytics | posthog.com/privacy |
| Google AdMob | Device ad ID, device info, IP | Display advertisements | Google Privacy |
| Open-Meteo | Latitude, longitude | Current weather data | Open-Meteo Terms |
| OpenStreetMap (Overpass) | Bounding box coordinates | Nearby temple data | OSM Privacy |
| Apple App Store | Purchase receipts (via StoreKit) | Subscription management | Apple Privacy |
We encourage you to review each service’s privacy policy. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party services.
4. Data Storage & Retention
- All user data is stored locally on your device using an on-device SQLite database
- We have no backend server — there is no cloud storage, no user accounts, and no cross-device sync
- Cached data expires automatically: weather data (15 minutes), nearby temple data (30 days)
- Analytics data is retained by PostHog for up to 12 months, after which it is automatically deleted
- Uninstalling the app permanently deletes all locally stored data including preferences, birth nakshatra, and cached content
5. Children’s Privacy
Kaal is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13. The app contains no account creation, no social features, no messaging, and no personal data collection. Advertisements displayed are rated G (General Audiences) through AdMob’s content rating system. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with information, please contact us and we will take steps to delete it.
6. Your Choices & Rights
- Location: Deny or revoke GPS permission at any time in your device settings. Use manual city selection instead. This does not affect any other app functionality.
- Analytics: Toggle off in the app’s Settings screen to stop all analytics collection immediately.
- Advertising: Subscribe to KAAL ✦ Aligned to remove all advertisements and prevent ad-related data collection. On iOS, you can also limit ad tracking in Settings → Privacy → Tracking.
- Notifications: Manage or disable in the app’s Settings screen or your device’s notification settings.
- Delete all data: Uninstall the app. Because we have no servers, there is no server-side data to request deletion of.
California Residents (CCPA)
Kaal does not collect personal information as defined by the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). We do not sell personal information. Because we have no user accounts and store no personal data on our servers, there is no data to access, delete, or port.
European Residents (GDPR)
For users in the European Economic Area: the limited data processing we perform (anonymous analytics via PostHog, ad serving via AdMob) is based on your consent, which you can withdraw at any time by disabling analytics in Settings or subscribing to remove ads.
7. Security
All data is stored locally on your device and protected by your device’s built-in security (passcode, biometrics, encryption at rest). We do not transmit personal data over the internet. Third-party API calls (weather, temples) use HTTPS encryption.
8. Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated “Last updated” date. We encourage you to review this page periodically. Continued use of the app after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
9. Contact
Questions or concerns about this privacy policy? Contact us at privacy@getkaal.app.