Privacy policy
Thoughtbell lets someone (a “helper”) set reminders that ring on the phone of a person they help. This page says what we keep and why. It's run by Vishwam Shanker Dhavale, an individual developer in India (shown on Google Play as Vishwam Dhavale). He decides how this data is used, so he is responsible for it under data protection law (the “data fiduciary” in India, the “controller” in Europe and the UK). Contact: hello@thoughtbell.com.
What we keep
About helpers
- Your name, email and profile picture, from Google sign-in. The picture is only shown on your own phone.
- The people you help, the names you give them, and your settings such as quiet hours.
About the person being helped
- Their name as you enter it, their language, their ringing screen, and their agreement: when it was given and which wording they saw.
- Their phone has an account with no name or email attached. If they choose to sign in with Google on their phone, the sign-in service holds their Google name and email; helpers never see them, and they're deleted when the person is removed.
- Reminders: the words, the time, and any voice recording or photo.
- Reminders they add themselves. Private ones are hidden from helpers, but they are stored on our server so that a backup ring can reach the phone.
- What happened to each ring: rang, seen, later, or no word from the phone.
- Requests they send to helpers, such as “Call me”.
About phones
- Phone brand and model, Android and app version, time zone, a notification address, and whether settings let the app ring.
- Counts of which features a helper uses, so we can see what families need. These are numbers, not what you wrote.
- Crash reports: phone model, app version and what failed. We don't add names or reminder words to them.
When you write to us
- What you send through “Report a problem” or by email, with your phone's model and app version.
What we don't collect
Location, contacts, messages, or anything else on the phone. There are no ads, and we don't sell personal data.
Information about someone else
A helper adds details about another person: their name and the reminders for them. Only do this for someone who knows and agrees. Nothing reaches their phone until they type the code on it and tap Allow, after seeing exactly what helpers will see. They can stop at any time.
Why we keep it
- To ring reminders and to tell helpers what happened.
- To send a backup ring and alerts when a phone doesn't answer.
- To keep the service working, fix faults, and stop misuse.
What allows us to use it
- Your agreement: the person's Allow on their own phone, and a helper's choice to add a voice or photo. You can withdraw it at any time by stopping reminders or deleting your account. Withdrawing doesn't affect what happened before.
- Running the service you asked for: signing in, ringing reminders and telling helpers what happened.
- Keeping it safe and working (a legitimate interest, where the law uses that idea): fixing faults, stopping misuse and answering reports.
- The law: when we must keep or share something to comply with it.
We don't make decisions about people by automated means that have legal or similar effects on them, and we don't build profiles for advertising.
Who can see it
- The person sees the first name of each helper, and part of their email (for example ra•••@gmail.com) before agreeing to them.
- Helpers connected to a person see that person's reminders and any they choose to share, when each rang and whether it was seen, when they pause or ask for something, and their phone's settings. The person's phone shows this same list.
- Support: we may look at account details and ring history to solve a problem or a misuse report, and every look is logged.
- Google runs our servers and database (Firebase, Google Cloud), sign-in, notifications and crash reports.
What the app asks the phone for
Each permission we ask you for is only for ringing reminders or adding to them. You can turn any of them off in the phone's settings, but reminders may then fail to ring. The app also uses a few routine ones that never ask you anything: network access, and those Google's sign-in and notification services need.
- Notifications: to show reminders and alerts.
- Alarms and reminders (exact alarms): to ring at the exact minute set.
- Full-screen alerts: to show the ringing screen over the lock screen, like an alarm clock.
- Run after restart, keep the phone awake, vibrate, play sound in the background: so a reminder still rings after the phone restarts, and keeps ringing until it's answered.
- Battery settings: we ask you to let the app run in the background, because some phones stop apps to save battery.
- Microphone (helpers only, and only when you tap "Record your voice"): to record your voice for a reminder.
- Photos: chosen through Android's own photo picker, so the app sees only the photo you pick. No camera access.
The app never asks for location, contacts, messages, call logs or files.
Services we use
We don't sell or rent personal data, we don't share it for advertising, and there are no ads or advertising code in the app. These Google services run parts of Thoughtbell for us and handle data only to do that:
- Firebase and Google Cloud: our server, database and file storage (in Mumbai, India).
- Firebase Authentication and Google Sign-In: signing in.
- Firebase Cloud Messaging: delivering notifications and backup rings.
- Firebase Crashlytics: crash reports.
Google's privacy policy: policies.google.com/privacy.
How we protect it
Everything travels encrypted (HTTPS) and is stored encrypted by Google. Only connected family members can see a person's reminders, and our server checks that on every request. Our own access is limited to the owner, and every look is logged. No system is perfectly safe; if something goes wrong that affects your data, we'll tell you and the authorities as the law requires.
Sharing and other apps
When you invite someone, the app opens your phone's share menu (for example WhatsApp) with a message you can edit; that app's own privacy policy applies to what you send through it. Links to the Play Store or our website open those. Thoughtbell has no payments now; if paid extras come, Google Play will handle the payment and we'll only learn that it went through.
Our website
thoughtbell.com sets no cookies and has no advertising or analytics code.
Where it's kept
Our database and files are in India (Mumbai). Notifications pass through Google's service and may be handled outside India, so our alerts leave out the words of a reminder. Crash reports are processed by Google's Crashlytics, which may be outside India; they don't contain names or reminder words. If you use Thoughtbell from outside India, your data comes to India, where the rules may differ from those at home. We send it there because that's needed to give you the service you asked for.
We share personal data outside these services only if the law requires it, for example a valid order from a court or the police, or if it's needed to protect someone from serious harm.
How long we keep it
- Ring history: 90 days.
- Reports, safety flags and our support logs: 1 year. A report sent from the person's phone is kept for that year even if their helper removes them or deletes their account, so a report about a helper can't be erased by that helper; the helper's email is taken off it.
- Reminders, voice and photos: until they're deleted, or the account is.
- Crash reports: up to 90 days. Server logs, which can include an internet (IP) address: up to 30 days.
- If a person's phone isn't heard from for 30 days, it's treated as if they stopped all reminders.
- If someone stops all reminders on their phone: their private reminders are deleted at once, and the rest after 30 days unless they connect again.
- Deleted data can stay in our backups for up to 30 days.
Your choices
- A person can stop all reminders from their Home screen, or stop one helper.
- A helper can delete their account in the app, or by following these steps.
- You can ask us for a copy of your data, a correction or deletion, or make a complaint, at hello@thoughtbell.com. We aim to answer within 30 days.
Your rights
To use any of these, write to hello@thoughtbell.com with “Privacy” in the subject. We may need to confirm it's you, and we aim to answer within 30 days. Using a right never costs you anything or changes how the app treats you.
- Everyone: ask what we hold about you, have it corrected or deleted, and withdraw your agreement.
- In India (Digital Personal Data Protection Act): also name someone to act for you, and raise a grievance. If you're not satisfied, you can complain to the Data Protection Board of India.
- In Europe and the UK (GDPR): also get a copy in a form you can move elsewhere, limit or object to how we use it, and complain to your data protection authority.
- In California and other US states with similar laws: also know what we collect and why (this page), and not be treated worse for using your rights. We don't sell personal data or share it for advertising.
Age
Helpers must be 18 or older. The app isn't for children under 18 at this time, and we don't knowingly collect their data. If we learn a child is using it, we'll delete their data. If you think that's happened, write to us.
Changes
The date at the top shows when this page last changed. If we change anything important, we'll say so in the app first. If we change what helpers can see, the person's phone shows the new list and asks them to agree again.
Contact and grievances
Thoughtbell is run by Vishwam Shanker Dhavale, who also handles privacy questions and grievances: hello@thoughtbell.com.