The short version: You sign in with Google or Apple. Your trackers, threads and updates are stored on our servers so they can be shared with the people you invite. People see only what they've been given. We don't sell your data, show ads, or read your content for any other purpose.
Overview
OpenThreads ("OpenThreads", "we", "us", or "our") is a mobile-first shared tracker. You create trackers, add threads (line items) with an owner and a due date, and talk about each thread with text, photo and voice-note updates. This Privacy Policy explains what information the app handles and the choices you have.
OpenThreads works with individual accounts only. There are no organizations, companies or workspaces, and there is no anonymous access: every action in the app requires a signed-in person.
By using OpenThreads, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with our practices, please discontinue use of the app.
Information We Collect
Account information
- Sign-in details: When you sign in with Google or Sign in with Apple, we receive your name, email address, profile photo (if the provider shares one) and a provider identifier. If you use Apple's "Hide my email", we receive Apple's relay address instead. We never see your Google or Apple password.
- Time zone: Your device's time zone, so due dates and the daily digest arrive at the right time.
- Theme preference: Your selected appearance theme.
Content you create
- Trackers and threads: Tracker names, thread titles, notes, owners, due dates and open or closed status.
- Updates: Text updates, photos and voice notes you add to a thread.
- Membership and invites: Who belongs to which tracker, their role and visibility, and invites you send or accept (by email, link or QR code).
- Drop link: Your personal drop link settings and the people who joined through it.
Device and usage information
- Push notification token: Registered only if you allow notifications, and removed when you sign out.
- Crash reports and basic product events: Privacy-light information such as that a tracker or thread was created, an invite was sent, or the app crashed. These events never include the content of your threads or updates, and emails are scrubbed from them.
- Offline cache: A local copy of the data you can access, stored on your device so the app works without a connection.
Who Can See Your Data
OpenThreads is built so that people see only what they've been given. Every read is filtered on our servers by tracker membership and visibility, including search, sync and notifications.
- Tracker members can see the threads and updates in a tracker according to the role (Editor, Contributor, Commenter or Viewer) and visibility (everything, or only what they added) the tracker owner has set.
- Other members' details: Members can see the names and avatars of others in a tracker. Email addresses are hidden from members who can see only their own items.
- Drop-link visitors become limited members of your Inbox and see only the threads they added.
- Invite links reveal only a minimal preview (such as who invited you) before you sign in.
Because trackers are shared, anything you add to one is visible to its members as described above. Please share only what you are comfortable sharing with them.
Photos & Voice Notes
Photos and voice notes you attach to a thread are uploaded to private cloud storage and delivered to tracker members through time-limited signed links. They are not publicly accessible.
- Photos are stored along with resized versions (thumbnails) for faster loading.
- Voice notes are stored as audio files. There is no transcription or speech-to-text processing.
- Attachments are not analyzed, scanned or used for any purpose beyond display within the thread.
Device Permissions
OpenThreads asks for a permission only when you first use a feature that needs it, with a short explanation first. Nothing is accessed or recorded before you act. You can review the status of each permission in Me, then Settings, then Permissions.
| Permission | Why we ask |
|---|---|
| Notifications | To tell you when something lands on your plate, someone comments, or a thread you care about closes |
| Camera | To take a photo for a thread update |
| Photo library | To pick an existing photo for a thread update |
| Microphone | To record a voice note |
The app does not use your location. If you say no to a permission, the rest of the app keeps working, and you can change your mind in your device settings at any time.
What We Never Do
- We never sell your data. No data brokers, no third-party data sales, of any kind.
- We never show ads or build advertising profiles from what you write.
- We never put your content in analytics. Crash reports and product events do not include thread titles, notes, updates, photos or voice notes.
- We never log message bodies. Our server logs do not record the text of your updates.
- We never allow anonymous access. There are no public trackers or public threads.
How We Use Data
| Purpose | Data Used |
|---|---|
| Signing you in and keeping you signed in | Provider identifier, name, email, secure session tokens |
| Showing and sharing your trackers and threads | Trackers, threads, updates, attachments, membership and visibility settings |
| Sending invites | The email address you enter, used only to send the invite |
| Notifications | Push token, time zone, and events on threads you're part of |
| Preventing abuse | Rate limits on sign-in, invites, drops, uploads and comments |
| Fixing crashes and improving the app | Crash reports and content-free usage events |
We do not use your data for profiling, tracking you across other apps, or automated decision-making.
How We Share Data
We do not sell, rent, or trade your data. We share data only with the following, and only as needed to run the app:
- Other people in your trackers, as described in Section 3.
- Google and Apple — to verify your sign-in, and to deliver push notifications through Apple Push Notification service and Firebase Cloud Messaging.
- Cloud infrastructure providers — to host our database and private file storage, and to send invite emails.
- Crash reporting and analytics services — which receive crash details and content-free usage events.
We may also disclose data if required by law, regulation, or court order, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of OpenThreads, our users, or the public.
Data Retention & Deletion
- Your content: Retained while your account and the tracker exist. Deleting a tracker or thread removes it for everyone who could see it.
- Deleting your account: From Me, then Delete account. If you own trackers that have other members, you first transfer ownership or delete those trackers. Trackers you own with no other members are deleted.
- What remains after deletion: Your account is anonymized. Your name, email and profile photo are removed and replaced with "Deleted user". Sign-in identities, sessions and push tokens are deleted. Updates and threads you created in trackers that other people still use remain, shown as "Deleted user", so those trackers stay understandable. Threads that were on you move to the tracker owner.
- Attachments: Files on deleted trackers are permanently removed from storage after 30 days. Attachments on trackers that continue to exist remain with those trackers.
- Sign out: Signing out removes your push token and clears the local cache on that device. It does not delete your data on our servers.
- Backups: Deleted data may persist in routine encrypted backups for a limited period before being overwritten.
Account deletion is done in the mobile app. It is not available on the web companion.
Your Rights & Choices
Delete Your Account
Delete your account from Me inside the app.
Control Notifications
Turn push notifications on or off from your device settings.
Manage Your Drop Link
Reset your link or remove people who dropped on you at any time.
Ask Us
Request access to, or correction of, the data we hold about you.
To make a request, email us at hello@echozat.com with the subject line "OpenThreads Privacy Request". We will respond within 30 days.
Security
- Attachments are stored in a private bucket and served only through time-limited signed links.
- Sign-in uses Google and Apple's secure authentication. Session tokens are stored in your device's secure storage (Keychain or Keystore), and refresh tokens are rotated and stored in hashed form on our servers.
- Invite and drop-link tokens are long and random, and revoking a link takes effect immediately.
- Access to every tracker is checked on our servers on every request, and sensitive actions are rate limited.
No method of storage or transmission is 100% secure. While we work to protect your data, we cannot guarantee absolute security.
Children's Privacy
OpenThreads is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect information from children. If you believe a child has created an account, please contact us and we will delete it.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. The "Last Updated" date at the top of this page always reflects the most recent revision. Continued use of the app after a revised policy is posted constitutes acceptance of the changes.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how OpenThreads handles data, please get in touch.
- Email: hello@echozat.com
- Jurisdiction: India
Questions About Your Data?
Whether it's about your account, shared trackers, or attachments, we're here to help.
Contact Us