Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

AppTutor is published by Sahal Nazar, an individual developer based in India (“we”, “us”). AppTutor is an Android app that helps older adults gain confidence with smartphone apps such as WhatsApp, Google Pay, PhonePe, video calling, maps and staying safe online. It does this through guided tutorials and practice screens that look like those apps but are completely pretend.

For any question about this policy, write to hello@sahalnazar.com. We are the party who decides how the information described below is used, so we are the “data controller” (“data fiduciary” under Indian law).

2. What stays on your phone

Lessons work without an internet connection. The following is saved only on your device and is not uploaded by the app:

• Learning progress: which lessons you started or completed, the step you reached, how many mistakes and hints you used in practice, how long a practice took, and the time you last used the app. These are lesson numbers and counters. They contain nothing you typed.
• Your settings: app language, practice-app language, spoken instructions on or off, speaking speed, text size, high-contrast borders, the country you chose, whether crash reports are on, and whether you finished the welcome screens.

Backups. Android may include this small amount of progress and settings data in your Google backup or when you move to a new phone (this is controlled by your Android and Google account backup settings). We do not receive or access those backups. Your Plus purchase is not stored in the backup, so on a new phone you use “Restore purchases”.

Uninstalling AppTutor or clearing its storage in Android settings removes this data from your phone.

3. What is sent from your phone

The app has no sign-in and no servers of its own. The only information that leaves your phone is sent by the following services, and only when you are online (the app saves it and sends it later if you are offline).

3.1 Google Firebase Analytics (usage statistics)

We use Firebase Analytics to understand which lessons are useful and where people get stuck, so we can improve them. It records lesson-level events only:

Firebase also attaches “user properties” so we can compare groups of learners: app language, practice-app language, spoken instructions on/off, high contrast on/off, text size, the country (see section 3.4), and whether Plus is unlocked (yes/no).

Like all Firebase apps, Google’s SDK also automatically collects technical information such as a randomly generated app instance ID, the Android advertising ID (where your device provides one and you have not reset or deleted it), device model, Android version, app version, language, first-open and session times, and an approximate location (such as city or country) worked out from your IP address. AppTutor does not show ads and does not use this for advertising.

We never send anything you type or tap-fill in a practice screen (for example the pretend payee, UPI ID or message). Analytics is always on and has no switch inside the app; see section 8 for ways to limit it.

3.2 Google Firebase Crashlytics (crash reports)

If the app crashes or hits an unexpected problem (for example the lesson progress could not be saved, or the voice engine failed to start), Crashlytics can send a report to help us fix it. A report includes the technical error trace, device model, Android version, app version, a random installation ID, the state of the device at the time (such as free memory), and two labels we add: the lesson id and the type of practice screen you were on. It contains no names, messages or lesson answers.

Crash reports are on by default and you can turn them off in Settings → Privacy → Send crash reports. Turning them off stops collection and deletes any report that has not yet been sent.

3.3 Google Play Billing and RevenueCat (AppTutor Plus)

Some lessons are free and the rest are unlocked with AppTutor Plus. Purchases are made through Google Play. We use RevenueCat to check whether Plus is active and to restore it. RevenueCat receives an anonymous app user ID, your Google Play purchase details (product, time, purchase token and status), your IP address and basic device and app information. It does not receive your lesson progress, and we have no name or email to give it. Google Play handles your payment, so your card, UPI or bank details never reach us. After the first check, the app remembers your Plus status on your phone so lessons keep working offline.

3.4 Your country

To show the right apps (for example, Google Pay and PhonePe are shown only in India), the app reads your country from your SIM card’s country code and, if that is unavailable, from your phone’s region setting. You can override it in Settings → Country. This needs no permission and does not read your phone number. The resulting two-letter country code is included as an analytics property.

3.5 Spoken instructions

Spoken guidance uses the text-to-speech voice already installed on your phone (for example Google’s). AppTutor does not record or upload your voice or any speech. Whether your phone’s own voice engine uses the internet is governed by that engine’s provider.

3.6 Sharing from the app

The “Ask a family member” button opens your phone’s normal share sheet with a ready-made message and a Play Store link. You choose the app and the person; we do not see who you send it to.

4. What we do not collect

• No account, name, email address, phone number, postal address, date of birth or age.
• No access to your contacts, photos, files, camera, microphone, location, SMS, call log or notifications. The app asks for none of these permissions. The people, files, photos, locations and chats in the lessons are made-up samples.
• No real banking, UPI or payment connection. Practice payment screens show a “Practice Only — No Real Money” notice. The practice PIN pad counts taps only: it does not record, keep or send which digits you tap, and no one-time password (OTP) is ever requested.
• No advertising and no sale or rental of your information.

Android shows the app as using the internet, network state, Google Play billing and advertising-ID permissions. These are added by the Firebase and Google Play Billing components described above so that analytics, crash reports and purchases can work. AppTutor shows no ads.

5. Why we use this information

• To run the app: remember your progress and settings, show the right apps for your country, unlock Plus and restore it.
• To improve the lessons: find lessons that are confusing or too hard, and find voice and language problems.
• To keep the app stable: find and fix crashes.
• To meet legal and store requirements and to answer your requests.

Where the law asks for a legal basis (for example under the EU/UK GDPR), we rely on our legitimate interest in running and improving a safe, working app, on performing the purchase you ask for, and on your choice where a setting is offered (such as crash reports). In India, we use information only for the purposes listed here.

6. Who receives it

We do not sell your information. It is processed on our behalf by these providers, under their own terms and privacy policies:

• Google LLC (Firebase Analytics, Firebase Crashlytics, Google Play and Play Billing). See Firebase privacy information and the Google Privacy Policy.
• RevenueCat, Inc. (checks and restores your Plus purchase). See the RevenueCat Privacy Policy.

These providers may process information in countries outside your own, including the United States. We may also disclose information if the law requires it or to protect people’s safety or our legal rights.

7. How long it is kept

• On your phone: until you uninstall the app or clear its storage.
• Analytics and crash data: kept for a limited period set in our Firebase project and by Google’s own retention rules, then deleted automatically.
• Purchase records: kept by Google Play and RevenueCat as long as needed to provide Plus, handle refunds and meet tax and legal duties.

8. Your choices and rights

• Crash reports: turn off in Settings → Privacy → Send crash reports.
• Limit analytics and advertising ID use: in Android, go to Settings → Google → Ads (the exact path varies by phone) and delete or reset your advertising ID. You can also uninstall the app or clear its storage, which removes the app’s link to earlier data.
• Delete local data: uninstall the app or use Settings → Apps → AppTutor → Storage → Clear data.
• Manage or cancel a subscription: in the Google Play Store app, under Payments & subscriptions.
• Language and region: you can change them any time in Settings.

Your legal rights. Depending on where you live (for example India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, the EU/UK GDPR, or California law), you may have the right to know what information we hold about you, to have it corrected or erased, to withdraw consent, to object to or restrict its use, and to complain to a data protection authority. To use these rights, email hello@sahalnazar.com. We will reply within a reasonable time and in any case within the period the law requires.

Please note that the analytics and crash data is tied to a random device ID, not to your name, so we may not be able to find your records unless you tell us what we need to identify them. We will help as far as is reasonably possible, and resetting your advertising ID and reinstalling the app breaks the link to earlier data. We do not sell personal information and we do not use it for automated decisions about you.

9. Children

AppTutor is made for adults, especially older adults. It is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. Because the app has no account and asks for no personal details, a child using it does not give us such details. If you believe a child has provided personal information, contact us and we will help to delete it.

10. Security

Data sent by the app travels over encrypted connections handled by the Google and RevenueCat components. Progress and settings are kept in the app’s private storage on your phone. No method of storage or transmission is perfectly secure, but we keep the amount of information small on purpose: the best protection is not collecting personal details at all.

11. Changes to this policy

If we change what AppTutor collects or how we use it, we will update this page and the “Last updated” date, and, for important changes, tell you in the app. Please check here from time to time.