Privacy Policy for pHinder

Overview

pHinder is an educational chemistry app that helps students learn about pH, acids, bases, and indicators through interactive lessons, a virtual experiment lab, real-world comparison examples, and an on-device AI tutor called ChemBot.

This Privacy Policy explains what information pHinder collects and how it is handled. In short: pHinder does not collect, store, or transmit any personal information. Everything you do in the App, including using ChemBot, stays on your device.

Information I Collect

pHinder does not require you to create an account, sign in, or provide any personal information such as your name, email address, age, or location to use the App.

The App does not request or use access to your camera, microphone, location, contacts, photo library, or health data.

Information Stored On Your Device

The only data pHinder stores is technical information needed for the App to work, and it never leaves your device:

• Onboarding status - pHinder remembers whether you've completed the introductory walkthrough so it isn't shown again every time you open the App. This is a single setting stored locally on your device using Apple's SwiftData framework.
• In-app tips - pHinder may show short contextual tips to help you discover features (such as how to use the pH scale slider or the experiment controls), powered by Apple's TipKit framework. This information is also stored only on your device.

This information stays in the App's private storage area on your device, is never uploaded anywhere, and is permanently deleted if you delete the App.

ChemBot: Your On-Device AI Chemistry Tutor

pHinder includes ChemBot, an AI assistant that answers your questions about pH, acids, bases, indicators, and related chemistry topics.

ChemBot runs entirely on Apple's on-device Foundation Models (Apple Intelligence), built into iOS itself. This means:

• Your questions and ChemBot's answers are processed entirely on your device.
• No internet connection is required to use ChemBot.
• Your conversations with ChemBot are never sent to pHinder's developer, Apple, or any third party.
• Conversations are not saved by the App, closing or resetting the chat clears it.

If Apple Intelligence isn't available or hasn't been turned on for your device, ChemBot will be unavailable and pHinder will simply point you to the relevant Settings screen — pHinder does not collect any information about this.

The App Works Fully Offline

All of pHinder's lessons, the interactive pH scale, indicator guides, comparison examples, and the virtual experiment lab are built directly into the App. pHinder does not make any network requests, fetch content from the internet, or communicate with any servers.

No Analytics, Advertising, or Third-Party Services

pHinder does not include any third-party analytics, advertising, tracking, or crash-reporting tools. I do not know how individual users use the App, and no usage data is collected or shared with anyone.

Children's Privacy

pHinder is designed for students of all ages, including children, and was built with privacy as a priority from the start. Because the App never collects, stores, or transmits any personal information from any user, regardless of age, there is no personal data collected from children that would require parental notice or consent.

Data Security

Because pHinder doesn't collect or transmit personal data, there is no personal data for me to protect on my end. The small amount of technical information described above (your onboarding status and tip preferences) remains within Apple's standard app sandbox on your own device, protected by your device's existing security.

Changes to This Policy

If a future update to pHinder changes how the App handles information, this Privacy Policy will be updated and the "Last updated" date above will be revised accordingly.

Contact Me

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or pHinder, you can reach me at:

vipulgalgotias@gmail.com