1. Scope and operator
This Privacy Policy applies to the Hearthio mobile app (Chinese brand name: 家务志) and this website. Hearthio is a local-first home inventory and maintenance journal developed and operated by the Hearthio Independent Developer.
Hearthio does not require an account and does not ask for your name, phone number, or email address to use its core features. The current version has no cloud account, cross-device sync, advertising, or subscription service.
This policy was prepared for the current 1.0.0 project features and dependencies. If the release build adds accounts, cloud sync, analytics, crash reporting, push notifications, or another connected service, this policy and the relevant consent disclosures must be updated before that feature is enabled.
2. Information we handle
“Handle” includes storing, reading, calculating, changing, deleting, exporting, or restoring information on your device. The current version handles:
| Category | Examples | Default location | When it leaves the app |
|---|
| Home items and spaces | Name, category, room or space, brand, model, purchase and warranty dates, prices, current value, and notes | App-private directory or local preferences | Only when you export, back up, or share |
| Maintenance plans | Plan name, interval, reminder lead time, enabled state, next date, and steps | App-private directory | Only when you export, back up, or share |
| Completion records | Planned date, completion date, step states, actual cost, material name or model, and notes | App-private directory | Only when you export, back up, or share |
| Photos | Item, manual, warranty, receipt, and before/after maintenance photos that you capture or select | Copied into the app-private files directory | Only in a full backup or when you actively share a related file |
| Settings and sample state | Language, onboarding completion, notification prompts, and sample-data state | Local preferences | Normally does not leave the device |
| Local notification content | Item and plan identifiers, task title, and planned date needed for a reminder | The device's local notification system | Scheduled and displayed locally by the operating system |
| Exports and backups | CSV export and the Hearthio-backup.zip full backup | App documents or temporary directory, followed by a location you choose | When you choose a destination in the system share sheet or file picker |
Avoid adding unnecessary sensitive information to item names, locations, notes, or photos, such as a full home address, identity documents, passwords, door-lock codes, or payment card information.
3. How information is used
Hearthio handles information on your device only to provide the features you choose, including:
- creating and displaying home items, spaces, maintenance plans, and lifecycle records;
- calculating due states and next dates from intervals, planned dates, and the local calendar;
- guiding maintenance steps and recording costs, materials, notes, and optional photos;
- scheduling local notifications after permission is granted, including restoring necessary reminders after a device restart or app update;
- creating home-maintenance reports from actual plans and completion records;
- creating CSV or ZIP backups at your request and restoring an archive from a file you select; and
- protecting archive integrity so an invalid backup or interrupted write does not replace existing data.
The current version does not use this information for advertising, cross-app tracking, profiling, data sales, credit scoring, or training third-party AI models.
4. System permissions
- Camera: requested only when you choose to take a photo of an item, manual, warranty card, receipt, or the state before or after maintenance. Core features that do not need photos remain available if you decline.
- Photos: requested only when you choose to add an image from your library. Hearthio reads the image you select and copies it into the app-private directory; it does not continuously browse your full library.
- Notifications: requested only when you choose to enable maintenance reminders. Declining or disabling notifications does not block items, plans, or completion records.
- File selection and sharing: the system file picker or share sheet lets you choose a source or destination when restoring, exporting, or sharing. Hearthio handles only the files you select.
You can revoke Camera, Photos, or Notifications access at any time in system settings. The related feature may become unavailable, but revoking a permission does not automatically delete records already stored in the app.
5. Third-party services, sharing, and disclosure
The current version has no first-party account server, advertising network, behavioral analytics SDK, or cross-app tracking service. Hearthio does not sell personal information.
- Operating-system services: camera access, photo selection, local notifications, file selection, and system sharing are provided by iOS, Android, or the relevant platform component and are governed by the platform's terms and privacy policy.
- Share destinations you choose: if you send a CSV, ZIP, or another file to an app, person, or cloud drive through the system share sheet, that recipient handles the file under its own policy.
- Privacy-policy webpage: the app loads this website over HTTPS only after you open Privacy Policy. The site host may handle standard network logs as described in Section 8.
We may disclose limited information actually in our possession when required by law, valid legal process, or a genuine need to protect users or the public. Because core records stay on your device by default, the operator generally cannot view or provide that on-device content.
6. Retention and deletion
- Items, plans, records, settings, and photos remain in app-private storage until you change or delete them in the app, replace the archive from a backup, or remove app data through the operating system.
- When an item or maintenance record is deleted, related in-app photos that are no longer referenced by another record are also removed from the current device.
- CSV, ZIP, and shared files remain wherever you chose to send or save them. Deleting in-app data does not automatically delete those external copies.
- Local notifications can be cancelled or disabled in the app or system settings. The operating system may retain the scheduling information needed under its own mechanisms.
Whether device backups, cloud drives, or other system-level services retain a copy depends on your device and service settings and is not controlled by Hearthio.
7. Your controls and rights
You can view, edit, and delete items, plans, and records in the app; export CSV; create or restore a full backup; and manage Camera, Photos, and Notifications access in system settings. The sample water purifier created on first launch behaves like a regular item and needs no separate management in Settings.
Because the current version has no cloud account or developer database, the operator generally cannot remotely access, correct, or delete core records on your device. Contact us using Section 12 if you have questions about this policy, permissions, data paths, or an action you cannot complete yourself. Applicable law in your region may give you additional rights.
8. Website data
This is a static website with no account, form, payment, or file-upload feature. The current pages use no advertising, behavioral analytics, tracking pixels, or external fonts, and set no tracking cookies.
The language switch stores one localStorage key used only to remember your Chinese / English choice. You can remove it by clearing browser site data.
Website infrastructure providers may process standard server logs such as IP address, access time, User-Agent, and request path for page delivery, security, and troubleshooting. That processing is governed by the applicable provider's privacy policy.
9. Security, storage location, and international transfers
Hearthio uses a local-first design, operating-system sandboxing, on-demand permissions, temporary-file limits, backup validation, and atomic writes to reduce risk. No electronic storage method is absolutely secure. Protect your device passcode and choose export and backup destinations carefully.
Core records stay on your device by default. After you share a file, it may be handled in another country or region by the app, person, cloud drive, or infrastructure you selected. Website-log processing locations depend on the infrastructure provider's actual deployment regions.
10. Children's privacy
Hearthio is intended for general household use and is not directed specifically to children. It does not request age or identity information. Guardians should help children avoid adding names, addresses, schools, contact details, or other unnecessary personal information to free-text fields or photos.
11. Changes to this policy
We will update this policy when features, third-party services, data handling, or legal requirements change, and we will revise the effective date and version number above. If a change materially affects your rights, we will provide an appropriate notice in the app or on this website and request new permission or consent when required.
