Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy describes how StorageBuddy AI ("we", "us", or "the app") collects, uses, shares, and protects your information when you use the StorageBuddy AI mobile app (iOS and Android), its QR label viewer, and its companion web pages.
StorageBuddy AI is a long-term storage inventory: you photograph or describe the contents of your bins, totes, and boxes, record where each container lives, and search for any item later. This policy explains exactly what that involves. If you do not agree with it, please do not use the app.
1. Who we are
StorageBuddy AI is operated by CBL Publications, based in the United States. Contact: privacy@storagebuddy-ai.com.
2. Summary
- Your inventory is kept until you delete it. Nothing expires on its own.
- AI features send your container photos, and the text of what you say, to Google Gemini (via Google Cloud Vertex AI) — only after you agree in the app, and you can switch each feature off in Settings. Your content is not used to train AI models.
- On the Free plan your photos stay on your device. On a paid plan they are stored in the cloud so they sync and are backed up.
- We do not sell your data, show ads, or use third-party advertising or tracking SDKs.
- You can export your inventory for free and delete your account at any time in the app.
3. Information we collect
- Account data: when you first open the app we create an anonymous account identified only by a random ID — no name or email is needed. If you choose to save your space with an email, we store your email address and use it to send you one-time sign-in links.
- Inventory content: the spaces, locations, containers, and items you create — names, tags, quantities, and any optional details you add (such as value, SKU or barcode, and expiry dates), short codes, the QR labels you bind, and a history of where containers have been relocated — plus the list of members who share each space.
- Photos: the container photos you take (outside and inside views). On the Free plan photos are stored only on your device and are not stored on our servers. On a paid plan (Plus or Lifetime) photos are uploaded to and stored in Google Cloud Storage so they sync across your devices and your space's members; when you retake a photo, the previous version is kept in your space's photo history.
- Photos sent for AI analysis: when you use an AI snap (on any plan), the photo is sent to our servers and to Google Gemini to list what is in it. On the Free plan the photo is processed for that request only and is not stored on our servers.
- Voice as text: when you use Speak (voice commands and voice search), your device's built-in speech recognition (provided by Apple or Google) turns your words into text. We never receive or store audio. The text of your command or question is sent to our servers and to Google Gemini to carry it out; we do not keep the text after the request is answered.
- Device and diagnostic data: error reports (error message, technical trace, app page, app version, device and browser type) and app-performance timings, plus content-free usage events (for example "a container was created" or "an AI snap was used", with counts and processing cost — never your item names, photos, or spoken text). These are linked to your random account ID. Our servers also keep standard request logs (IP address, timestamp, user agent) for security and rate limiting.
- Purchase status: if you buy Plus or Lifetime, we receive your plan, the product purchased, the store (Apple or Google), a transaction ID, and the renewal or expiry date. We never see your name, card, or other payment details.
We do not collect your precise location, contacts, calendar, browsing history outside the app, or biometric data. Camera and microphone access are used only when you take a photo or use Speak.
4. How we use your information
- To run your account and your spaces, and to sync your inventory between your devices and the members you share with.
- To provide the AI features you turn on: listing the contents of container photos, reading written labels, identifying single items, carrying out voice commands, and answering "where is my…" questions.
- To send transactional email: your sign-in link and a welcome message when you create a space. We do not send marketing email.
- To apply your plan: counting AI snaps against the Free plan's monthly allowance, counting containers against its per-space limit, and unlocking paid features you have purchased.
- To keep the service working and safe: diagnosing errors, measuring performance and cost, rate limiting, and detecting abuse of the terms.
5. AI processing (Google Gemini)
StorageBuddy AI's AI features are powered by Google's Gemini models, which we call through Google Cloud Vertex AI. The first time you use Snap or Speak the app asks for your permission and tells you what will be sent. What is sent:
- Snap: the container or item photo, plus the names of your existing locations so the AI can suggest where the container belongs.
- Speak and AI search: the text of what you said, plus the container, location, and item names in the current space so the AI can match your request to your inventory.
Under Google Cloud's terms, Google does not use this content to train its models. You can turn AI photo recognition and AI voice commands & search on or off separately at any time in Settings → AI. With AI off, you can still type items, browse, and search your inventory; nothing is sent to Gemini.
6. Sharing with space members and the QR label viewer
- Space members: anyone who joins a space with its join code (or a join link or QR code) can see and edit everything in that space — locations, containers, items, cloud-stored photos, and relocation history. Only share a join code with people you trust; the space owner can regenerate the code in the space's settings.
- QR label viewer: printed StorageBuddy labels link to a web page that shows that one container's name, short code, location path, item names and quantities, and its cloud-stored photos to anyone who scans the label or has its link — no app or account needed. Each label link contains a long random code that cannot practically be guessed, lookups are rate-limited, and photo links expire after a few minutes. The viewer is on by default; the space owner can turn it off for the whole space under the space's settings → Label viewer, after which label links show nothing. Photos kept only on a device (Free plan) never appear in the viewer.
- Exports: when you export your inventory (Excel, PDF, or HTML) or print labels and location sheets, the file is created on your device and goes only where you choose to save or send it.
7. Service providers
We do not sell or rent your personal information, and we do not share it for advertising. We share data only with the providers that run the service for us:
- Google LLC (Firebase and Google Cloud) — our backend. Firebase Authentication (accounts and sign-in), Cloud Firestore (inventory data), Cloud Storage (paid-plan photos), Cloud Functions (server logic and logs), Firebase App Check (verifying requests come from the genuine app), and Vertex AI / Gemini (AI features, see Section 5). Data is stored in the United States.
- Microsoft Corporation (Azure Communication Services) — delivers our transactional email (sign-in links and the welcome email). Microsoft receives your email address and the message; it does not host your inventory or photos.
- RevenueCat, Inc. — manages in-app purchase and subscription status. It receives your random account ID and your purchase and receipt information from the store, not your inventory.
- Apple Inc. (App Store) and Google LLC (Google Play) — distribute the app and process payments for in-app purchases under their own privacy policies. Your device's speech recognition, if you use Speak, is also provided by Apple or Google under their terms.
We may also disclose information if required by law, to enforce our Terms of Service, or to protect the safety of our users or the public.
8. Data retention
- Inventory and photos: kept for as long as you keep them. StorageBuddy AI is built for long-term storage — nothing expires or is deleted automatically, whether or not you have a paid plan. You can delete containers or whole spaces at any time, which permanently removes them and their items. Items you remove from a container are hidden from your inventory but kept in the space's data until that container or space is deleted.
- Free-plan photos: live only on your device. Uninstalling the app or clearing its data removes them.
- If a paid plan ends: your inventory and your existing cloud photos are kept; you return to the Free plan's features and AI snap allowance.
- Account deletion: see Section 9. Deletion takes effect immediately in our live systems. Any copies in our routine database backups are removed as those backups expire, within 30 days.
- Diagnostic and usage events: kept to operate and secure the service. They contain no photos, item names, or spoken text, and are linked only to a random account ID, which no longer identifies anyone once the account is deleted.
- Purchase records: the stores and RevenueCat keep transaction records as required for tax and accounting purposes.
9. Deleting your account
You can delete your account yourself at any time: in the app open Settings, go to Account → Sign out · Delete account, tap Delete account, and confirm. This immediately and permanently deletes:
- your account record and sign-in (including your email address, if you added one);
- every space where you are the only member, with all of its locations, containers, items, QR label links, and cloud photos (including photo history);
- your membership in spaces you share with others — those spaces, and what you added to them, stay with the remaining members.
Photos stored only on your device are removed when you uninstall the app. If you no longer have the app, see our account deletion page or email support@storagebuddy-ai.com. Deleting your account does not cancel a Plus subscription — cancel it in your App Store or Google Play subscription settings.
10. Security
Data is encrypted in transit (TLS) and at rest. Access is enforced by per-space membership rules, so only members of a space can read it; the QR label viewer is the one exception described in Section 6. AI requests are protected with App Check and rate limits. No system is perfectly secure, but we work to keep risk low and to fix issues quickly.
11. Your rights and choices
- Access and export: everything in your inventory is visible in the app, and you can export a full copy (Excel, PDF, or HTML, photos included) from Settings → Export inventory — free on every plan.
- Correct: edit or delete any location, container, item, or photo in the app.
- Delete: delete your account as described in Section 9.
- AI choices: turn each AI feature on or off in Settings → AI.
- Public label viewer: the space owner can turn it off for the space.
Depending on where you live (for example the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or California), you may have additional rights, such as to request a copy of your personal information, object to or restrict processing, or appeal a decision. We do not sell or "share" personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. To exercise any right, email privacy@storagebuddy-ai.com; we will respond within the time the law requires.
12. Children
StorageBuddy AI is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact us and we will delete it.
13. International users
StorageBuddy AI is operated from the United States and your data is processed and stored in the United States. By using the app you understand that your information will be transferred to the United States, which may have different data protection laws than your country.
14. Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The "Effective" date at the top of this page shows the latest version. We will announce material changes in the app before they take effect.
15. Contact
Privacy questions or requests: privacy@storagebuddy-ai.com. Help with the app: support@storagebuddy-ai.com.