Hearthbook – Privacy Policy

Who is responsible

Fabulist · Email: fabulisti.stories@gmail.com

Write to this address with any privacy question or to exercise your rights.

Data we process

• –Account: on first launch Hearthbook creates an anonymous account with a random user ID – no name, no email. If you sign in with Apple or Google, we receive the email address (with Apple, a relay address if you choose) and the name that Apple or Google pass on.
• –Your content: recipes, notes, week plans, shopping lists, your household’s name, your display name and ink colour, and settings such as region, language and servings. Baby mode stores only an age bracket (from 6, 9 or 12 months) as a household setting, never a date of birth.
• –Shared book: everyone in your household sees the household’s recipes, plans, notes and shopping list, and your display name. They never see your email address.
• –Invites: we store invite codes only as a cryptographic hash. To stop codes being guessed, we count failed attempts per user ID and per IP address for one hour; the IP address is stored only as a hash.
• –Purchases: you buy the unlock through the App Store or Google Play. We never receive payment details. Our processor RevenueCat receives the receipt, your anonymous user ID and technical details such as operating system, app version and country, so the unlock applies to your household and can be restored. We don’t pass your name or email address to RevenueCat.
• –Usage statistics (Firebase Analytics) – only if you switch them on in Settings under “Usage statistics”; they’re off until you agree: single events such as “first recipe saved”, “search used”, “plan created”, “purchase screen shown” or “invite sent”, plus device type, operating system, app version and an app instance ID. Never recipe text, ingredients, names or email addresses. The advertising ID is not collected.
• –Crash reports (Firebase Crashlytics): error logs with device type, operating system, app version and an installation ID – without recipe text.
• –Abuse protection (Firebase App Check): the app has Apple (App Attest) or Google (Play Integrity) confirm that it is genuine and runs on a real device.
• –Timer notifications are scheduled on your device only and show the timer and the recipe title; they never leave your device.

Why, and on what legal basis

• –To provide the app: storing and syncing your book, sharing it with your household, handling invites and the unlock, signing you in and deleting your account (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR – contract).
• –To keep the app stable and secure: crash reports and abuse protection (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR – legitimate interest).
• –Usage statistics only with your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR). You can switch them off again in Settings at any time; the app then also deletes its analytics ID.
• –To meet legal obligations, such as record-keeping for purchases (Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR).
• –We don’t sell data, show ads or build advertising profiles.

Where data is stored and who processes it

• –Google Firebase (Google Ireland Ltd.): accounts, database and server functions in Frankfurt (region europe-west3); the invite-link website (Firebase Hosting).
• –Google Analytics for Firebase and Firebase Crashlytics (Google): processing may also happen in the USA.
• –RevenueCat, Inc. (USA): purchase management.
• –Apple and Google as providers of sign-in and the app stores.
• –Transfers to the USA rely on the EU-US Data Privacy Framework or the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses used by these providers. So not all data stays in the EU.

How long we keep data

• –Your content and account: until you delete your account. You can empty the recipe bin at any time.
• –When you delete your account, we immediately remove everything you created – also from a shared book – and your account. The others in your household see a one-time notice with your name and the number of recipes removed (for 30 days). Backups are gone after 30 days at the latest.
• –Usage statistics and crash reports: for a limited time under Google’s retention periods (at most 14 months and 90 days respectively).
• –Purchase history at RevenueCat: stays stored, linked only to the anonymous user ID, so a purchase can be restored. Apple and Google keep receipts under their own rules.

Your rights

• –You have the right to access, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing, data portability, and to object to processing based on legitimate interests.
• –You can export all your recipes in the app at any time (Settings → Export & backup).
• –Delete your account in the app under Settings → Account → Delete account. How to do it without the app: fabulisti.com/apps/hearthbook/delete-account.
• –You can complain to the Austrian Data Protection Authority (dsb.gv.at) or the supervisory authority in your country.

Security

• –All data is sent encrypted (HTTPS/TLS) and stored encrypted at Google.
• –Security rules in the database make sure only the members of your household can read and change your shared book.
• –Firebase App Check lets only genuine Hearthbook apps reach the server; invite codes are stored only as hashes and protected against guessing.
• –Only Fabulist has access to the servers, and only to run the service, fix errors or handle your requests.

Do you have to provide data?

No. Hearthbook works without a name or email address. Signing in with Apple or Google is optional and only needed to back up across devices and to invite others. We make no automated decisions about you and build no profile of you.

Children

Hearthbook is meant for adults, not for children under 16. Baby mode helps parents cook for their baby and stores only an age bracket for that, no data about the child.

Changes

When the app or this policy changes, we update this page and the date above. We point out significant changes in the app.