Privacy Policy

Introduction

Welcome to Mess Book. We (Team Mess Book) are committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and your rights regarding your data. By using the Mess Book app, you agree to the practices described in this policy.

If you have any questions, please contact us at messbookapp@gmail.com.

Information We Collect

We collect only the information necessary to provide the service:

• Personal details: your name and email address, provided when you create an account or join a group.
• Group and expense data: mess bills, general expenses, and rent/utility entries that you or your group admin add.
• Device information: your FCM (Firebase Cloud Messaging) token, used to send you push notifications about group activity.
• Usage data: anonymised analytics collected through Firebase Analytics to help us understand how the app is used and improve it.
• Google Drive backup (optional): if you turn this on, Google Sign-In lets the app save your personal expense data as a backup file in your own Google Drive.

Your personal expense records (income, spending, sent home, borrowed, and lent) stay on your device, and optionally in your own Google Drive if you turn on backup.

How We Use Your Information

• To create and manage your account and group memberships.
• To display expense summaries and reports to you and your group members.
• To send push notifications about new expenses, member approvals, and group updates.
• To improve the app's features and user experience through aggregated, anonymised analytics.

We do not sell your personal information to any third party.

Sharing of Information

Your information is shared only in the following limited circumstances:

• Within your group: your name and expense entries are visible to other members of your group.
• Service providers: we use Firebase (Google) for authentication, cloud messaging, and analytics. These services process data under their own privacy policies.
• Legal requirements: we may disclose information if required by law, court order, or a valid legal process from a government authority with proper jurisdiction.

Data Retention

Shared group expenses (mess bills, general expenses, rent, and utilities) are stored on our servers for a maximum of 3 months. This policy is designed to encourage financial discipline within the group and ensure that dues are settled regularly. We strongly recommend that all groups settle their expenses at least once every three months to avoid data loss.

Personal expenses (income, daily spending, money sent home, borrowed, and lent) are stored on your device.

• You can turn on Google Drive backup at any time from within the app to keep a copy in your own Google account.
• You can also export your personal expense data as a CSV or PDF file at any time from within the app.

When you delete your account, all shared group expense data associated with your account is permanently removed from our servers immediately.

Push Notifications

Mess Book sends push notifications to keep you informed about group activity, such as new bills, member approvals, and settlements. You can disable notifications at any time through your device's notification settings for the Mess Book app.

Security

We take reasonable technical measures to protect your data. However, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure. We recommend keeping your device and app up to date and not sharing your login credentials with others.

Children's Privacy

Mess Book is not intended for use by anyone under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will notify you through the app. Continued use of the app after changes are posted means you accept the updated policy.