MessMate — Privacy Policy
Effective date: 19 September 2026 · App: MessMate (Android, package com.messmate.app)
Developer: Bahar Uddin Raihan · Contact: busr.bd90@gmail.com
1. Data kept on your phone
These are the things you type into the app: the mess name and location, member names (and phone, WhatsApp or email, if you add them), meals, expenses, bills, deposits, notes, closed months and receipt photos you attach. They are stored only in the app's private storage on your phone. We (the developer) never receive them.
- Backups and exports (backup file, PDF statement, CSV) are made only when you tap the button, and are saved where you choose. They are your files.
- Android backup: if backup is turned on in your phone's settings, Android may copy app data to your own Google account so it can come back on a new phone. You control this in Android Settings.
- Reminders are notifications scheduled on your phone. They don't use the internet.
2. Member sharing (optional)
If the manager taps Share with members, or a member joins with an invite code, the app uses Google Firebase (Cloud Firestore and Firebase Authentication), run by Google LLC:
- What goes online: a copy of the mess accounts (mess name, member names and details entered by the manager, meals, expenses, bills, deposits, monthly results). It also holds the names that people type when they ask to join, and the requests members send (amounts, dates, meals, notes).
- Sign-in: anonymous. Firebase gives each phone a random user ID. There is no email, phone number or password. Firebase also receives your IP address and basic device and app information, to run and protect the service.
- Who can see it: only the manager's phone and the members the manager approved. Security rules on the server enforce this. Members can only read the accounts; only the manager can change them.
- Where: Google Cloud, region
asia-south1(Mumbai, India). Data is encrypted in transit (TLS) and at rest by Google. - How long: the data stays until the manager taps Stop sharing or Delete all my data. That deletes the whole online copy. A member who leaves has their access and their requests deleted.
3. Advertising — Google AdMob
The current version of MessMate shows no ads and collects no advertising data. A future version may show ads from Google AdMob (a banner, sometimes a full-screen ad, and an optional "support us" video). If that happens, this policy will be updated first, and Google may then collect:
| Data | Why |
|---|---|
| Advertising ID and app set ID | Ads, measurement, fraud prevention |
| IP address (used for approximate location) | Ads, measurement, fraud prevention |
| Ad interactions (views, taps) | Ads, measurement, fraud prevention |
| Diagnostics (crash and performance data from the ads SDK) | Ads, measurement, fraud prevention |
Where the law requires it (for example in the EEA, UK and Switzerland), the app asks for your consent first, using Google's consent form. You can change your choice in Settings → Ad privacy choices. You can reset or delete your advertising ID in Android Settings → Google → Ads. How Google uses this data: policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites. Your mess accounts are never used for ads.
4. What we don't do
- We don't sell your data, and we don't have a server of our own that collects it.
- We don't ask for contacts, location, microphone or storage permissions. Receipt photos use your camera app only when you choose to.
- We don't use your data for any purpose other than running the app's features.
5. Permissions
- Internet: for optional member sharing (and ads, if a future version shows them).
- Notifications: for reminders and request updates, if you allow them.
- Run at startup: to set reminders again after the phone restarts.
6. Deleting your data
In the app: open Settings → Delete all my data, tick "I understand", and tap Delete everything.
- On the phone: all accounts and receipt photos are deleted.
- Manager: the whole online copy is deleted too, and members lose access.
- Member: your access and all your requests are deleted online.
- Sign-in: the anonymous Firebase ID of your phone is deleted.
- Not deleted: backup files you saved yourself, which you can delete like any file.
This happens right away. If the phone is offline, nothing is deleted and the app asks you to try again, so an online copy is never left behind.
Without the app (for example, you lost the phone): uninstalling removes everything stored on the phone. To delete a shared mess's online copy, email busr.bd90@gmail.com with the mess name and its invite code. We will delete it within 30 days and confirm by email. We have no other way to identify you, because there are no accounts.
7. Children
MessMate is made for adults who share a household. It is not directed to children under 13, or under 16 in the EEA, and we do not knowingly collect their data.
8. Changes and contact
If this policy changes, we will update it here with a new effective date. For important changes, we will also tell you in the app. Questions: busr.bd90@gmail.com.