BranchPath

1. Introduction

BranchPath ("the App") is a mind map and calendar application developed by BranchPath Developer ("I", "me"). This Privacy Policy explains how information is collected and used when you use the App. By using the App, you agree to the practices described in this policy.

2. Information I Collect

The App collects and processes the following information:

• Account Information: For board sync, cloud backup, the AI assistant and related features, the App uses Google Sign-In or Sign in with Apple. I access your email address, display name and profile picture URL (Google), and a user ID that identifies your account.
• Mind Map & Calendar Data: While you are signed in, your nodes, notes, calendar events and other app data are saved automatically in Google Firebase (Firestore) so they sync between the devices signed in with the same account. They are also stored there when you use the cloud backup feature. Photos in photo nodes are not synced or backed up (see "Photos" below for how photos are stored). If you are not signed in, your data stays on your device only.
• Shared Boards: If you share a board or join a shared board, its contents (nodes, notes, events and so on) are stored in Google Firebase (Firestore) so that every member can view and edit them. Members can see your display name (the name of the account you signed in with). Each item records the user ID and time of its last change. Event reminder settings and links to external calendars (Google, device, Outlook) are not shared.
• Photos: When you add a photo to a photo node, the App re-creates it on your device and removes location and other capture information (metadata) before saving it. An identifier calculated from the photo's content (a hash) is used so the same photo is not stored twice.
  • Your own boards: Only if you choose Google Drive under Photo storage in Settings, photos are saved in a hidden app-only area of your Google Drive (appDataFolder). The only permission the App asks for is access to this area (drive.appdata); it cannot see any other files in your Drive. The identifier, size and Drive file ID of each saved photo are stored in Firestore, linked to your user ID, so your other devices can find the photo (the photo itself and your Google Drive access token are never stored on the server).
  • Shared boards: In a shared board sponsored by a Premium member, photos are stored in Cloudflare R2 (private storage) so that only the members of that board can see them. Photos are uploaded and downloaded through URLs that are valid for 15 minutes, issued by the App's server after checking that you are a member. Each photo records the user ID and time of who posted it.
  • If you choose "This device only", photos are never sent off your device.
• Google Calendar Data: If you turn on the Google Calendar integration, the App reads your events with read-only access and shows them in the App. It never changes or deletes your Google Calendar events. The events read (titles, dates and times, calendar colors, etc.) are stored on your device and are not stored on the App's servers. They are replaced each time the App reads them again, and are deleted when you disconnect the calendar in the App's settings, or the next time the App tries to read them after you revoke access in your Google Account (signing out of the App alone does not delete them). However, if you "copy" an event into the App or create a node from an event, it becomes an App event or node (a node linked to an event keeps the event's identifier): like your other data it is synced and backed up, and in a shared board other members can see it (see the next item for how events are used by the AI assistant).
• Device Calendar & Outlook Calendar Data: If you turn on "Use calendars on this device", the App reads events from the calendars on your device (including iCloud, Google, Outlook and other accounts added to the device) with read-only access, after you grant permission, and shows them in the App. If you turn on the Outlook Calendar integration, you sign in with a Microsoft account and the App reads your events with read-only access through Microsoft Graph (sign-in information is stored only in your device's secure storage). In either case the App never changes or deletes your events; events are handled on your device and are not stored on the App's servers (events copied into the App and nodes created from events are synced and shared, as described for Google Calendar above; see the next item for how events are used by the AI assistant). You can withdraw calendar permission at any time in your device settings.
• Content Sent to the AI Assistant: When you use the AI assistant, the text you enter and the parts of your maps and schedule needed for the conversation (including events from Google Calendar, device calendars and Outlook Calendar) are sent through the App's server to OpenAI to generate a reply. If you have connected Google Calendar, device calendars or Outlook Calendar and their events are shown, events from today to 21 days ahead (title, date and time, whether all-day, recurrence, whether done, which calendar (Google, device or Outlook) it comes from and the linked node; up to 80 events together with the App's own events) are also sent so the assistant can find free time. OpenAI does not use this data to train its models and keeps it for up to 30 days for abuse monitoring before deleting it. Conversation history is stored only on your device. To manage usage limits, a usage record linked to your user ID is stored on the server.
• Location: Your device's location is used only when you tap "Use my location" in the AI assistant. The location is turned into an approximate area (down to the city and neighborhood) using your device's operating system, which you can check and edit on screen before it is included in what is sent to the AI assistant (handled as described in the previous item). Coordinates and street addresses are never sent to the App's servers or to the AI, and are not stored. To get the location and turn it into an area, the App uses your device's operating system, which may send the location to the OS provider's service (Apple or Google) under that provider's privacy policy. You can withdraw location permission at any time in your device settings.
• Web Search Content: When the AI assistant searches the web, the query and results may be stored on the server temporarily (1 to 60 days depending on how quickly the information changes) so the same search is not repeated. These records do not include who searched, and searches containing personal content (such as a detailed address) are not stored.
• Purchase Information: The status of your Premium subscription (plan, expiry date, etc.) and records of AI credit purchases (product, credits granted, whether refunded) are verified with the App Store or Google Play and stored linked to your user ID. To prevent the same purchase from being credited twice, AI credit purchase records are kept after account deletion with the user ID removed. Payment methods and card numbers are handled by the stores and are never received by the App. The store country or your device region is used to determine region-based rewards.
• Advertising Data: The App uses Google AdMob to display advertisements. AdMob may collect device identifiers such as the advertising ID, approximate location (region estimated from the IP address), information about ad views and interactions, and crash and performance data. See the next section and Google's Privacy Policy for details.

3. Advertising & Tracking

• European Economic Area, UK and Switzerland: The App uses Google's consent management tool to ask for your consent to the use of data for advertising when you first open the App. If you do not consent, limited ads may still be shown.
• Certain US states: Under applicable state laws, you can opt out of the "sale or sharing" of your personal information for advertising.
• iPhone / iPad: Before the advertising ID is used to track you across other companies' apps and websites, the App asks for your permission through Apple's App Tracking Transparency. All features of the App remain available if you decline. You can change this at any time in iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking.
• In the regions above, you can change your consent or opt-out at any time from Settings → Ad privacy settings in the App.
• No ads are shown while you have a Premium subscription.
• Do Not Track: The App does not respond to web browser "Do Not Track" signals. You can opt out of tracking for advertising in the ways described above.

4. Information I Do Not Collect

I do not collect precise location (coordinates or street addresses), contacts, health or financial information, or any other personal information beyond what is described above. The camera and photo library are used only to take or choose photos for photo nodes. Photos you choose are never sent off your device except as described under "Photos" above.

5. How I Use Your Information

• To provide board sync, cloud backup and data restore services
• To show your events from Google Calendar, device calendars and Outlook Calendar
• To provide the AI assistant (including finding places nearby when you tap "Use my location") and manage its usage limits
• To provide the Premium subscription and verify its status
• To display advertisements via Google AdMob
• To store your photos (Google Drive) and share photos in shared boards
• To prevent abuse, fix bugs and improve app functionality

How the App Handles Google User Data

• Data accessed: (1) Google Sign-In: email address, name, profile picture and user ID. (2) Google Drive (drive.appdata scope): only the App's own hidden folder in your Drive (photos saved by the App). The App cannot see your other files. (3) Google Calendar (read-only): your calendar list and events. The App uses only event titles, dates and times and identifiers, and calendar names and colors; event descriptions, locations and attendees are not used or stored.
• Use: Only to identify your account and sync your data, show your name to members of shared boards, save and show photos, show your events, and generate replies when you consult the AI assistant.
• Sharing and transfer: Only when you use the AI assistant, the events needed for the conversation (including Google Calendar events, as described in Section 2) are sent to OpenAI to generate the reply. OpenAI handles them as the App's service provider only to generate the reply, does not use them to train its models, and keeps them for up to 30 days for abuse monitoring before deleting them. Otherwise, Google user data is never provided or sold to third parties and is never used for advertising or ad measurement. No human reads the data unless you agree, it is necessary for security, or it is required by law.
• AI and machine learning: Data obtained through Google Workspace APIs (Google Calendar and Google Drive) is not used to develop, improve or train generalized (non-personalized) AI or machine learning models. Events sent to OpenAI are used only to generate that reply.
• Storage: The photos themselves and the access information (tokens) for Google Drive are not stored on the App's servers. The server (Firestore) stores only the information needed to find and show your photos (Drive file IDs, size, width and height, type, an identifier and dates). For Google Calendar events, see Section 2.
• Protection: All communication is encrypted (TLS). Data stored on the App's servers (Google Cloud and Cloudflare R2) is encrypted at rest by each provider's standard mechanisms. Database access rules let only you read and write your own data (see also Section 10).
• Revoking access and deletion: You can revoke the App's access at any time under "Third-party apps & services" in your Google Account (myaccount.google.com/connections). When you disconnect the calendar or Drive in the App's settings, the Google Calendar events stored on your device and the connected account information are deleted. When you delete your account, your data on the server is deleted (Section 8). Photos in the App's Drive folder can be deleted from "Manage apps" in Google Drive settings.

The App's use and transfer to any other app of information received from Google APIs will adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. Google Calendar and Google Drive data are never used for advertising or to train AI models. Likewise, device calendar and Outlook Calendar data are never used for advertising or to train AI models.

6. Third-Party Services

The App uses the following third-party services. Please review their respective privacy policies:

• Google Firebase (Authentication, Database, Server Functions & Abuse Prevention)
• Google AdMob (Advertising & Consent Management)
• Google Sign-In & Google Calendar API (Sign-in & Calendar Integration)
• Microsoft (Outlook Calendar integration)
• Apple (Sign in with Apple & App Store Purchases)
• Google Play (Purchases)
• OpenAI (AI Assistant & Web Search)
• Google Drive API (Photo storage)
• Cloudflare (Shared board photo storage, R2)

7. Transfers to Companies Outside Japan & Where Data Is Stored

To provide the App, I entrust or provide personal data to the following companies located outside Japan.

Privacy protection in the United States: The United States has no comprehensive federal law that applies to private businesses in general, like Japan's Act on the Protection of Personal Information. Personal information is protected by Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (unfair or deceptive practices), sector-specific federal laws, and state laws such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). As a result, some rights that correspond to the eight OECD Privacy Guidelines principles (such as the right to stop use) may not be guaranteed uniformly across the country. For details, see the survey of foreign personal information protection systems (United States) published by Japan's Personal Information Protection Commission.

Measures taken by the recipients: In their terms and data processing terms, each of these companies commits to handling data only for the entrusted purpose and to security measures such as encryption in transit and at rest and access restrictions. OpenAI does not use data received through its API to train its models, and keeps it for up to 30 days for abuse monitoring before deleting it (the App uses OpenAI with conversation storage turned off). I regularly check that these measures remain in place, and will tell you about them without delay on request.

Data of people living outside Japan (for example in Korea, Canada, Australia or Singapore) is also handled in the countries above. Data is sent each time you use the relevant feature, over an encrypted connection. If you do not want your data transferred abroad, you can stop it by not using the relevant features (the AI assistant, sign-in and sync, and photos in shared boards), although those features will then not be available.

8. Data Retention & Deletion

Data stored in Firestore is retained until you delete your account. Uninstalling the App does not delete cloud data.

You can request deletion of your account and all associated cloud data at any time from within the App's settings. To protect you from mistakes and from someone else using your device, the data is deleted 30 days after the request, and you can cancel by signing in before then. Local data is removed when you uninstall the App.

When you delete a synced board in the App, it is deleted from the cloud as well. The contents of a shared board are deleted when its owner deletes the board, or when the owner's account is deleted (unless a member has taken over as owner). If the owner stops sharing, the board stays as the owner's board. If a member deletes their account, they are removed from the shared board and what they wrote stays in the board.

Photos saved in Google Drive are in your own Google account, so they are not deleted automatically when you delete your BranchPath account. You can delete them in Google Drive under Settings → Manage apps → BranchPath → Options → Delete hidden app data. Records such as photo identifiers are deleted along with your account.

Photos in a shared board are deleted when the board is deleted, or after the board has had no sponsor for 14 days. These 14 days are separate from the 30 days between an account deletion request and the deletion, and the photos are deleted even if no account is deleted. If a sponsor returns during the 14 days and the board later loses its sponsor again, the count continues from the days that were left (at least 1 day) instead of starting over. If the board has had a sponsor for 30 days or more, the count starts again from 14 days. Photos that are no longer used by any node are deleted after at least 24 hours, so they are not removed by mistake. If a member deletes their account, the photos they posted stay in the shared board, like everything else they wrote.

9. Your Rights (Access, Correction, Deletion, etc.)

You can make the following requests about the personal data the App holds about you, including any rights granted by the laws of your country or region:

• To be told the purposes of use, to access the data (including records of disclosure to third parties), and to receive a copy of it
• To have inaccurate data corrected, completed or deleted
• To stop its use, have it erased, or stop its disclosure to third parties
• To withdraw consent (location, calendar and tracking permissions can be withdrawn at any time in your device settings)

How to make a request: Send your request to the email address under "Contact" below. To prevent impersonation, please write from the email address of the account (Google or Apple) you sign in to the App with, or I may ask for information to confirm that you are the account holder. If an agent makes the request, I may ask for proof of authority. There is no fee. I will generally respond within 30 days. You can request deletion of your account and cloud data at any time from the App's settings.

If you are not satisfied with how your request was handled, you can also complain to the data protection authority in your country or region (for example Japan's Personal Information Protection Commission, Korea's Personal Information Protection Commission, or the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner).

10. Security Measures

• Policy and rules: This policy is the basic policy, and personal data is handled under set rules for how it is collected, used, stored, provided and deleted, and who is responsible.
• Organization and people: The App is run by an individual, and only the operator (the privacy officer) handles personal data. No employees or outside persons are given access. How data is handled is reviewed regularly.
• Physical measures: The devices used for administration are protected with a screen lock and disk encryption so others cannot use them.
• Technical measures: All communication is encrypted (TLS). Data stored on the App's servers (Google Cloud and Cloudflare R2) is encrypted at rest by each provider's standard mechanisms (data on your device relies on your device's own encryption settings). Database access rules let only you read and write your own data, and only members read and write a shared board. Connections to the database and the main server functions are limited to the genuine App with App Check. Secrets such as API keys are kept out of the App, in a dedicated store on the server (Secret Manager). The accounts I use to manage the App are protected with two-step verification or passkey sign-in.
• Understanding the external environment: Personal data is handled in Japan (database and server functions), the United States (OpenAI; Google sign-in and ads; Apple) and the Asia-Pacific region (Cloudflare R2). Security measures are taken with an understanding of each country's privacy protection system (see section 7).

11. Children's Privacy

The App is not directed to children under the age of 13, and I do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. For people living in Korea, the App is intended for those aged 14 and over. Minors should use the App with the consent of a parent or guardian. If I learn that I have collected personal information from a child under 13 (under 14 in Korea), I will delete it promptly.

12. Changes to This Policy

I may change this policy to reflect changes in law or new features. For significant changes, I will notify you in the App in advance, and ask for your consent again where the law requires it. The updated policy takes effect when it is posted on this page.

13. Contact & Privacy Officer

For questions, requests or complaints about privacy, please contact:

Operator and Privacy Officer: BranchPath Developer (sole proprietor; the operator in person)
Email: branchpathapp@gmail.com
The operator's name and address will be provided without delay on request.