Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

Ani no Toshi is developed and operated by Ready Check Studios. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal information when you use the Ani no Toshi mobile app.

2. What Information We Collect

• Your username and email address
• Your password (stored as a secure one-way hash — we never see the raw password)

• Your anime list, watch progress, and status updates
• Reviews, scores, forum posts, and thread comments
• Direct messages sent between users
• Your profile bio, avatar, and banner images
• Follow and follower relationships
• Notification preferences and read/unread status
• Favorites lists

• Your device's push notification token (to send alerts)
• Server logs, which may include your IP address, request timestamps, and error information — used for debugging and security monitoring
• Search history, stored locally on your device using encrypted storage (never sent to our servers)

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your information to:

• Operate and personalize your experience in the app
• Send push notifications you have opted into
• Send email verification and account recovery emails
• Respond to support requests
• Enforce our Terms of Service and moderate the community
• Detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and security incidents

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for marketing purposes.

4. Third-Party Services

Ani no Toshi uses the following third-party services, each with their own privacy practices:

• AniList (anilist.co) — anime and manga data. We send search queries to their API but do not share your personal information with them.
• Firebase Cloud Messaging (Google) — used to deliver push notifications. Your push token is shared with Firebase for this purpose.
• Expo (EAS) — used to build and distribute the app. Expo may collect device and app diagnostic data.
• SMTP email provider — used to send verification and recovery emails. Your email address is passed to our email provider for delivery only.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these third-party services.

5. Data Storage and Security

Your data is stored on our private servers. We take the following precautions to protect it:

• Passwords are hashed using bcrypt and never stored in plain text
• All communication between the app and our servers uses HTTPS encryption
• Authentication uses short-lived JWT tokens
• Search history is stored only on your device using encrypted local storage

No system is completely secure. While we take reasonable steps to protect your data, we cannot guarantee absolute security. In the event of a data breach that affects your personal information, we will notify affected users as required by applicable law.

6. Data Retention

We retain your personal data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account:

• Your profile, bio, avatar, and banner are deleted immediately
• Your anime list, reviews, and favorites are deleted immediately
• Your forum posts and comments are anonymized (username replaced with "Deleted User") rather than removed, to preserve thread continuity
• Your direct messages are deleted immediately
• Server logs containing your IP address may be retained for up to 90 days for security purposes, then deleted

7. Local Storage

The app stores the following data locally on your device:

• Your authentication token (to keep you logged in)
• Your search history (up to 10 recent searches)

This data is stored using Expo SecureStore, which uses your device's encrypted storage. It is never synced to our servers. You can clear it by logging out or uninstalling the app.

8. Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Access and update your profile information at any time within the app
• Delete your account from the Profile settings page, which permanently removes your personal data from our servers
• Opt out of push notifications through your device's notification settings or in-app Settings
• Contact us to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you

If you are located in the European Union, you have additional rights under GDPR, including the right to data portability and the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. Contact us to exercise these rights.

If you are a California resident, you have rights under the CCPA, including the right to know what personal information we collect and the right to request deletion. We do not sell personal information.

9. Children's Privacy

Ani no Toshi is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we become aware that we have collected information from a child under 13, we will delete the account and all associated data immediately. If you believe a child under 13 has created an account, please contact us.

10. Email Communications

We only send emails for the following purposes:

• Email address verification when you register or change your email
• Account recovery (password reset)
• Replies to support tickets you submit

We do not send promotional or marketing emails. You cannot unsubscribe from transactional emails (verification, recovery) as they are essential to account security.

11. International Users

Ani no Toshi is operated from Canada. If you access the app from outside Canada, your data may be transferred to and processed in Canada. By using the app, you consent to this transfer. We comply with applicable data protection laws to the best of our ability.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will make reasonable efforts to notify users of significant changes through an in-app notice. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page reflects when the policy was last revised. Continued use of the app after changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

13. Contact

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please contact us at support@readycheckstudios.com.