Privacy Policy
The Architect is a place to plan your days, keep your routines and write honestly about your life. What you put into it is personal. This policy explains, in plain words, what we collect, why, who helps us run the app, how long we keep things, and how you stay in control. It follows Kenya's Data Protection Act, 2019 and the Data Protection (General) Regulations, 2021.
The short version
- We collect only what the app needs to work: your sign-in details, your name and photo if you add them, and what you write and plan in the app.
- Your entries are private to your account. We don't sell your data, show you ads, or use your entries to train AI.
- We don't track you with analytics or advertising tools.
- You can get a copy of your data, correct it, or delete your account and everything in it at any time.
- If you have a concern, write to us. If we don't resolve it, you can complain to Kenya's Office of the Data Protection Commissioner.
- Who we are
- What we collect and why
- What we never do
- Who helps us run the app
- How we protect your data
- Payments
- How long we keep data
- Your rights
- Deleting your account
- Phone permissions
- Age limit
- If something goes wrong
- Changes to this policy
- Contact and complaints
1. Who we are
The Architect: Life System ("The Architect", "we", "us") is built and run by [[DEVELOPER NAME, exactly as on Google Play]], based in [[TOWN]], Kenya. We are the data controller for the personal data described here, which means we decide how it is used and are responsible for protecting it.
Contact for anything about your data: [[CONTACT EMAIL]]
2. What we collect and why
We only collect data that you give us or that the app needs to work. The "legal basis" column is the reason Kenyan law allows us to use it.
| Data | Why we need it | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Email address and password | To create your account and let you sign in. Your password is stored scrambled (hashed); nobody can read it back. | Needed to provide the service you signed up for |
| Your name (optional) | To greet you in the app. We never use your email as a name. | Your consent; you can remove it anytime |
| Profile photo (optional) | To show your picture in the app. We resize it to 256 × 256 pixels before storing it. | Your consent; "Remove photo" deletes it |
| What you write and plan: goals, non-negotiables, morning and evening routines, schedule, to-dos, plans and reminders, birthdays and important dates, notes, gratitude entries, weekly priorities, reviews, streaks and your settings | This is the app. We store it so it's there on your phone, backed up, and available if you change phones. | Needed to provide the service |
| Subscription records (from the paid launch) | To know whether your subscription is active, and to keep proper business records. | Needed to provide the service; legal obligation for tax records |
| Messages you send us (email or WhatsApp) | To answer you and fix problems you report. | Our legitimate interest in supporting you |
| Basic technical data: the app version, and connection details such as your IP address that any internet service sees | To keep the service secure, stop abuse, and tell you when an update is required. | Our legitimate interest in security |
About personal topics. We never ask you about your health, faith, finances or relationships. You may choose to write about them in your notes or reflections. If you do, those entries are stored only so you can see them, are protected like everything else, and are never analysed, shared or used for anything else. If there is something you would rather not have stored anywhere, don't write it in the app.
Kept only on your phone. Some data never leaves your device: a cached copy of your entries so the app works offline, your reminder schedule, the history behind the notification bell, and a cached copy of your photo. The app excludes these from Android's cloud backup and device-to-device transfer, so they aren't copied to Google's backups.
3. What we never do
- We never sell, rent or trade your personal data.
- We don't show ads, and the app contains no advertising or analytics trackers.
- We don't send your entries to any AI service, and we don't use them to train AI. Where the app prepares a summary or prompt for you to copy, it stays on your phone until you choose to paste it somewhere else. What you paste into another service is covered by that service's own terms.
- We don't read your entries. As the people who run the service, we have technical access to the database, the way any app operator does. We only look at your data when you ask us to help with a problem and give us permission, or when the law requires it.
4. Who helps us run the app
We use a small number of trusted companies ("processors") to run The Architect. They may only use your data to provide their service to us.
| Provider | What they do | What they handle |
|---|---|---|
| Supabase | Hosts our database, sign-in system and photo storage | Your account, entries and photo |
| Paystack (from the paid launch) | Processes subscription payments by M-Pesa or card | Payment details you enter on their secure page |
| Distributes the app through Google Play and provides the app's fonts through Google Play services | Standard app-store and device data under Google's own policy | |
| Netlify | Hosts this website | Standard website request data |
Data stored outside Kenya. Supabase stores our data on servers in [[SUPABASE REGION, e.g. Frankfurt, Germany]]. Before transferring your data outside Kenya, Kenyan law requires appropriate safeguards or your consent. We chose Supabase because it encrypts all data at rest and in transit and is independently audited to the SOC 2 Type 2 security standard. By creating an account, you consent to your data being stored there.
We will only share your data with anyone else if Kenyan law requires it, such as a valid court order, and we will tell you unless the law forbids it.
5. How we protect your data
- Encrypted in transit and at rest. Every connection between the app and our servers uses HTTPS. Our hosting provider encrypts stored data with AES-256.
- Locked to your account. Database rules check every request, so an account can only ever read or change its own data. This is enforced on the server, not just in the app.
- Private photos. Profile photos sit in private storage. Only your account can upload, change or delete your photo.
- No secrets in the app. The app carries no administrator keys or payment secrets, and the released app's code is obfuscated to make it harder to tamper with.
- Closed sign-up. During the pilot, accounts are created by invitation only.
No system is perfectly secure. Choose a strong password and don't share it. During the pilot, your first password is set by us and sent to you privately. As soon as the "Change password" option arrives in Settings, set your own so that only you know it.
6. Payments
Subscriptions are paid on our website through Paystack, not inside the app. We never see or store your full card number or your M-Pesa PIN. From Paystack, we receive the details needed to confirm your payment: your name, email or phone number as entered, the amount, date, payment reference and whether it succeeded. These records are kept for tax purposes, as set out below.
7. How long we keep data
We keep data only as long as we need it, then delete it.
| Data | How long |
|---|---|
| Your account, entries, name and photo | Until you delete your account or ask us to delete them |
| Accounts with no sign-in for 24 months | We email you first. If we don't hear back within 30 days, we delete the account. |
| Encrypted backup copies held by our hosting provider | Overwritten automatically within 30 days of deletion |
| Payment and subscription records | 5 years, as required by Kenya's Tax Procedures Act, 2015 (section 23) |
| Support messages | 12 months after the conversation ends |
| A record that we completed your deletion request (date and email only) | 12 months, so we can show the request was handled |
| Data kept only on your phone | Until you uninstall the app or clear its storage |
8. Your rights
Under Kenya's Data Protection Act, 2019, you have the right to:
- Be informed about how your data is used. This policy is part of that.
- Access your data and get a copy. We respond within 7 days.
- Correct anything inaccurate. Most of it you can edit yourself in the app; otherwise we fix it within 14 days.
- Delete your data or your whole account. We complete deletion within 14 days.
- Object to how we use your data, or ask us to restrict it. We respond within 14 days.
- Take your data with you in a common, readable format (data portability). We provide it within 30 days.
- Withdraw consent at any time, for example by removing your photo or your name.
- Complain to the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner.
To use any of these rights, email [[CONTACT EMAIL]] from the address on your account. To protect you, we may ask you to confirm it's really you before we act. These requests are free.
9. Deleting your account
You can delete your account and all your data at any time, inside the app or without the app. Full steps, and what we keep and for how long, are on our account deletion page.
Uninstalling the app does not delete your account. Your data stays safe on our servers until you ask us to delete it.
10. Phone permissions
- Internet: to sync and back up your data.
- Notifications, alarms and reminders: so reminders reach you on time. Reminders are scheduled on your phone; we don't send them from our servers.
- Photos: only when you choose a profile photo. The app uses Android's photo picker, so it sees only the one picture you select, never your gallery.
You can change these at any time in your phone's settings.
11. Age limit
The Architect is for adults aged 18 and over. We don't knowingly collect data from anyone under 18. If you believe a child has created an account, contact us and we will delete it.
12. If something goes wrong
If there is a security breach that puts your data at real risk, we will notify the Data Protection Commissioner within 72 hours of becoming aware of it, and tell you directly as soon as is practical: what happened, what it means for you, and what we are doing about it.
13. Changes to this policy
We'll update this page when the app or the law changes, and change the date at the top. If a change affects how we use your data in a meaningful way, we will tell you in the app or by email before it takes effect.
14. Contact and complaints
Questions, requests or concerns: [[CONTACT EMAIL]]. We reply within 2 working days.
If you're not satisfied with our answer, you can complain to the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC), Kenya.