MessMate — Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Welcome to MessMate ("we", "our", or "us"). MessMate is a shared household and mess management application developed by ShadowLabX (support.shadowlabx@gmail.com).

This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and your rights regarding your data when you use the MessMate mobile application (com.shadowlab.housemate).

By using MessMate, you agree to the collection and use of information as described in this policy.

2. Information We Collect

We collect the following information when you use MessMate:

Account & Identity

• Full name
• Phone number
• PIN (used for login — stored securely, never in plain text)
• User role (superuser, manager, or member)

Mess / Household Data

• Mess name and unique mess code
• Daily meal entries (morning and night meals per member)
• Weekly meal menus
• Meal schedule preferences per member

Financial Data

• Deposits made by members
• Expense records (bazar, gas, electricity, water, rent, other)
• Calculated balances per member

Usage Data

• Group chat messages within your mess
• Duty assignments and status updates
• Stock/inventory items added by members
• Notice board content
• Activity logs within the mess

Device Data

• Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) push token — used solely to deliver notifications to your device

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the collected information to:

• Authenticate you securely using your phone number and PIN
• Display your mess dashboard, meal records, and financial balance
• Calculate fair cost splits among mess members
• Generate monthly financial reports
• Send push notifications (meal reminders, bazar alerts, balance warnings)
• Enable real-time group chat within your mess
• Allow managers and superusers to manage members and duties

We do not use your data for advertising or sell it to any third party.

4. Data Storage & Security

All mess data (users, meals, transactions, chat messages) is stored securely on Supabase, a cloud database platform that uses industry-standard encryption in transit (TLS/HTTPS) and at rest.

Push notification tokens are managed through Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) by Google. We only use FCM to deliver notifications — we do not share tokens with any other service.

PINs are never stored or transmitted in plain text. Session data is stored locally on your device using AsyncStorage and is cleared on logout.

5. Data Sharing

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information.

Your data is shared only with the following service providers, strictly to operate the app:

• Supabase Cloud database & backend — stores mess, user, meal, and transaction data. Supabase Privacy Policy
• Firebase (Google) Push notification delivery only. Google Privacy Policy

Within your mess, all members can see shared data such as meal records, expense logs, duty assignments, notices, and chat messages. This is core to the app's functionality.

6. Data Retention

Your data is retained as long as your mess exists and you remain a member. If a superuser deletes a member account, that member's data is removed from the mess.

If you wish to have all your data permanently deleted, please contact us at support.shadowlabx@gmail.com and we will process your request within 7 business days.

7. Push Notifications

MessMate may send push notifications for:

• Meal reminders (morning and night)
• Low balance alerts
• Bazar expense submissions
• Duty updates

You can disable notifications at any time from your device's system settings (Settings → Apps → MessMate → Notifications).

8. Children's Privacy

MessMate is not intended for use by children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us so we can remove it.

9. Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you
• Request correction of inaccurate data
• Request deletion of your account and data
• Withdraw consent for push notifications at any time via device settings

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at support.shadowlabx@gmail.com.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated date at the top. We encourage you to review this page periodically.

Continued use of the app after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

11. Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please contact:

• Developer: ShadowLabX
• Email: support.shadowlabx@gmail.com
• App: MessMate (com.shadowlab.housemate)