Privacy Policy

Equalize is a household management app designed to help shared households organise chores, shopping, shared expenses, balances, reports and household activity.

This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, how long we keep it, and the rights you may have.

Equalize is operated by Duncan Scott trading as Jackdaw Britannia Enterprises, a sole trader business based in the United Kingdom.

You can contact us at:
hello@equalizeapp.com

1. Who this policy applies to

This Privacy Policy applies when you:

• visit our website;
• create or use an Equalize account;
• sign in using email, Google or Apple;
• join or create a household in Equalize;
• use Equalize features such as chores, shopping, expenses, balances, reports or activity highlights;
• receive push notifications from Equalize;
• receive account or service emails from Equalize;
• contact us for support.

This policy applies to users in the United Kingdom and to users in other countries who use Equalize.

2. Information we collect

We collect information needed to provide, protect, maintain and improve Equalize.

The information we collect depends on how you use the app.

3. Account information

When you create or use an Equalize account, we may collect and store:

• your email address;
• your display name;
• your custom initials, if you choose to set them;
• your user ID;
• account authentication details;
• account creation date;
• account status;
• email verification status;
• password reset activity;
• sign-in provider information, such as whether you use email, Google Sign-In or Sign in with Apple.

We do not store your password in plain text.

Authentication is handled using Firebase Authentication.

If you use Google Sign-In or Sign in with Apple, Google or Apple may process information as part of their own authentication services. Equalize uses the sign-in information only to authenticate your Equalize account.

4. Household information

When you create or join a household, we may collect and store household information such as:

• household name;
• household members;
• household member user IDs;
• household settings;
• invite codes;
• member roles or permissions;
• default split settings;
• currency settings;
• fairness preferences;
• target household size;
• joint contribution settings;
• household activity history;
• household creation date.

Household information is shared with the relevant members of that household.

You are responsible for choosing who you invite to your household and for keeping invite codes secure.

5. Chore information

When you use Equalize to manage chores, we may collect and store information such as:

• room names;
• chore names;
• chore schedules;
• repeat frequency;
• effort levels;
• whether a chore is recurring;
• assigned household members;
• chore completion history;
• completion dates;
• effort scores;
• delayed, skipped or edited chores;
• chore-related household activity.

This information is used to operate chore tracking, household activity, reports and fairness features.

6. Shopping information

When you use Equalize shopping features, we may collect and store information such as:

• shopping list items;
• item names;
• item categories;
• whether an item has been checked off;
• who added an item;
• shopping sessions;
• completed shopping activity;
• total cost entered for a shopping session;
• who paid for a shopping session;
• linked expense records, where applicable.

This information is shared within the relevant household.

7. Expense, balance and transfer information

When you use Equalize finance features, we may collect and store information such as:

• expense titles;
• expense amounts;
• expense dates;
• expense categories;
• expense notes;
• who paid;
• who an expense is split between;
• payment source;
• joint account ratios;
• recurring expense settings;
• transfer amounts;
• transfer status;
• who a transfer is from and to;
• Equalize adjustment records;
• monthly finance summaries;
• household balances.

Equalize helps households record and organise shared expenses. Equalize is not a bank, payment provider, accountant, tax adviser, debt collector or financial adviser.

Equalize does not directly move money between household members.

No real bank account details or full payment card details are collected by Equalize for household expense tracking. Expense and transfer amounts are manually entered by users.

8. Reports and in-app summaries

Equalize may generate reports and summaries for your household, such as:

• Day-7 reviews;
• monthly reports;
• household contribution summaries;
• chore contribution summaries;
• expense and balance summaries;
• activity highlights;
• fairness indicators.

These reports are based on information entered into the app by household members and calculations performed by Equalize.

Reports and summaries may be visible to relevant members of the household.

9. Activity feed information

Equalize includes household activity features.

Activity records may include:

• activity type;
• activity title;
• activity body;
• the user ID of the household member who performed the activity;
• the display name of the household member at the time of the activity;
• activity date and time;
• activity metadata.

Activity records may be used to show household highlights, recent activity and service notifications.

Because activity records form part of the household's shared history, some activity records may remain after a user leaves a household or deletes their account. Where appropriate, personal identifiers may be removed, anonymised or replaced with wording such as "Former household member" or "Deleted member".

10. Push notification information

Equalize uses push notifications.

If you enable push notifications, we may store a device notification token so that notifications can be delivered to your device.

Push notifications may relate to:

• household activity;
• activity highlights;
• important household updates;
• Day-7 report availability;
• monthly report availability;
• other service-related app features.

We use Firebase Cloud Messaging to deliver push notifications.

You can control push notification permissions through your device settings.

Equalize does not currently provide user-to-user chat or direct messaging.

11. Account and service emails

We may send essential account and service emails, including:

• password reset emails;
• email verification messages;
• security notices;
• account-related notices;
• billing or subscription-related notices;
• important service updates.

These are service communications and are not marketing emails.

We do not currently use an email marketing tool.

If we introduce marketing emails in the future, we will only send them where we have a lawful basis to do so, and we will provide a way to unsubscribe where required.

12. Subscription and payment information

Equalize is a subscription service.

Subscriptions may be offered monthly, annually or through other options shown at the point of purchase.

Subscription payments are processed by the relevant app store or payment provider, such as Google Play or the Apple App Store.

Equalize does not collect or store your full payment card details.

We may receive or store information needed to manage subscription access, such as:

• subscription status;
• subscription plan;
• renewal status;
• trial status;
• cancellation status;
• app store transaction or purchase identifiers;
• country, region or currency associated with the store purchase;
• subscription expiry date;
• subscription entitlement status.

Prices may vary by country, region, currency, taxes and app store rules.

Deleting your Equalize account may not automatically cancel your app store subscription. You should cancel subscriptions through the relevant app store or payment provider.

13. Analytics and app usage information

We may use Firebase, Google Analytics for Firebase or related Google services to understand general app usage and improve Equalize.

This may include information such as:

• app opens;
• general app engagement;
• device type;
• operating system;
• app version;
• approximate country or region;
• technical identifiers;
• session information;
• general feature usage;
• automatically collected app events or diagnostics made available through Firebase or Google services.

We do not use analytics to sell personal information.

We do not use analytics to sell household-level data.

We do not use analytics for third-party advertising or data broker activity.

We do not currently use ad SDKs, tracking pixels, attribution SDKs or third-party advertising networks.

14. Crash and diagnostic information

We use crash reporting and diagnostic tools to identify bugs and improve reliability.

Crash and diagnostic information may include:

• crash logs;
• stack traces;
• error reports;
• device model;
• operating system;
• app version;
• build number;
• crash timestamp;
• available device memory or storage information;
• technical identifiers such as Firebase Installation ID.

We use Firebase Crashlytics for crash reporting.

Crash reports help us fix bugs, improve performance and make Equalize more reliable.

We do not intentionally add custom user identifiers to Crashlytics reports.

15. Device identifiers and technical information

Equalize and the services it uses may process technical identifiers such as:

• Firebase Auth user ID;
• Firebase Installation ID;
• Firebase Cloud Messaging token;
• app instance or installation identifiers;
• device and operating system information.

These identifiers are used for purposes such as authentication, database access, crash reporting, push notifications, fraud prevention, security, diagnostics and service reliability.

16. Data stored or cached on your device

Equalize may store or cache some data on your device so that the app can load faster, work reliably and support normal Firebase functionality.

This may include recently used household data, app state or Firestore local cache data.

Device-level protections depend on your operating system, device settings and whether your device is locked, encrypted, rooted, jailbroken or otherwise compromised.

You can remove locally cached Equalize data by signing out, uninstalling the app, or using your device's app storage controls.

17. Support information

If you contact us for support, we may collect:

• your email address;
• your name;
• your message;
• support request details;
• information you choose to provide;
• records of our response.

Please avoid sending sensitive personal information unless it is necessary for your support request.

18. Website information

Our website is mainly used to provide information about Equalize and to host legal and support pages.

We do not currently use an email marketing tool.

We do not currently intend to use website cookies for advertising.

If we later add website analytics, cookies, email sign-ups or marketing tools, we will update this Privacy Policy and provide any cookie notice or consent mechanism required by law.

19. Information other household members can see

Equalize is built around shared household data.

When you join or create a household, information entered into that household may be visible to other household members.

This may include:

• household name;
• member display names or initials;
• chores;
• chore completions;
• rooms;
• shopping lists;
• shopping sessions;
• expenses;
• balances;
• transfers;
• reports;
• activity highlights;
• household settings.

You should only join households with people you trust.

You should not enter private or sensitive information about another person unless you have their permission and it is appropriate to do so.

Equalize is not responsible for personal disputes between household members.

20. How we use your information

We use your information to:

• create and manage your account;
• authenticate users;
• allow users to create and join households;
• operate household features;
• track chores, shopping, expenses, balances and transfers;
• generate Day-7 reviews and monthly reports;
• show household activity highlights;
• send push notifications;
• send account and service emails;
• manage subscriptions and trial access;
• provide customer support;
• improve app performance;
• fix bugs and crashes;
• understand app usage;
• protect the app from misuse, fraud or unauthorised access;
• comply with legal obligations;
• develop and improve Equalize;
• create anonymous and aggregated Equalize Insights.

We do not sell your personal information.

We do not sell household-level data.

21. Anonymous Equalize Insights

Equalize may use aggregated and anonymised information to understand household trends, improve the app and create public content known as Equalize Insights.

Equalize Insights may include general trends such as:

• commonly created chores;
• common chore schedules;
• rooms most often added by households;
• shopping list trends;
• household activity patterns;
• general fairness trends;
• aggregated expense or household organisation trends.

For example, we may publish an insight such as:

"Based on households using Equalize, a certain percentage do not treat grocery shopping as a chore."

Equalize Insights are designed so that individual users, households and household members cannot be identified.

We do not publish:

• individual user records;
• household-level records;
• names;
• email addresses;
• invite codes;
• exact household identities;
• information based on very small groups where a household may be identifiable.

We use minimum sample sizes and aggregation safeguards before publishing public insights.

Equalize Insights are intended to improve the product, support useful public discussion about household life, and help explain how households organise responsibilities.

22. Legal bases for using your information

Where UK data protection law applies, we rely on one or more legal bases to use your information.

22.1 Contract

We use information where necessary to provide Equalize to you under our Terms & Conditions.

For example, we need account, household, chore, shopping, expense, report and subscription information to operate the app.

22.2 Legitimate interests

We may use information where we have a legitimate interest and your rights do not override that interest.

For example, we may use information to:

• improve Equalize;
• fix bugs;
• understand app usage;
• prevent misuse;
• protect security;
• send important service communications;
• create aggregated and anonymised insights;
• preserve shared household history.

22.3 Consent

We may rely on consent where required.

For example, your device may ask permission before enabling push notifications.

If we introduce marketing emails in the future, we will use consent where required.

22.4 Legal obligation

We may use or retain information where necessary to comply with legal obligations, such as tax, accounting, consumer protection, legal claims, fraud prevention or regulatory requirements.

23. Who we share information with

We only share information where necessary to provide, maintain, secure or improve Equalize, or where required by law.

We may share information with the following categories of service provider.

24. Google Firebase and Google Cloud

We use Firebase and Google Cloud services to operate Equalize.

This may include:

• Firebase Authentication;
• Cloud Firestore;
• Firebase Crashlytics;
• Firebase Cloud Messaging;
• Google Analytics for Firebase or related Google services;
• Google Cloud infrastructure.

These services help us provide authentication, data storage, crash reporting, push notifications, analytics, diagnostics and infrastructure.

25. Google Sign-In and Apple Sign-In

If you choose to sign in using Google or Apple, those providers may process information as part of their own authentication services.

We use the information returned by Google or Apple to create or access your Equalize account.

OAuth tokens or identity tokens used during sign-in are used for authentication and are not stored by Equalize as long-term household records.

26. App stores and payment providers

Subscriptions are processed through app stores or payment providers, such as:

• Google Play;
• Apple App Store.

These providers process payments and manage subscription billing according to their own terms and privacy policies.

Equalize does not store your full payment card details.

27. Support and email providers

We may use email or support tools to respond to support requests and send essential account or service emails.

We do not currently use an email marketing tool.

28. Legal, safety or compliance disclosures

We may disclose information if we reasonably believe it is necessary to:

• comply with the law;
• respond to lawful requests;
• protect Equalize, users or others;
• investigate fraud, security issues or misuse;
• enforce our Terms & Conditions;
• defend legal claims.

29. International data transfers

Equalize is operated from the United Kingdom.

Some of our service providers may process or store information in countries outside the UK or outside your country of residence.

Where required, we rely on appropriate safeguards for international transfers, such as contractual protections used by our service providers.

30. How long we keep information

We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this policy.

In general:

• account information is kept while your account is active;
• household information is kept while needed for the household and app features;
• subscription information is kept while needed to manage access and comply with legal or payment requirements;
• support messages are kept while needed to respond to and manage support issues;
• crash and diagnostic information is kept for product improvement, diagnostic and security purposes;
• analytics information is kept for product improvement and service reliability purposes;
• legal, tax, fraud prevention or accounting records may be kept where required or appropriate.

31. Account deletion

You may request or initiate deletion of your Equalize account.

When your account is deleted, Equalize will delete or remove personal account information associated with your account.

This may include:

• your authentication account;
• your user profile document;
• your email address stored in your Equalize user profile;
• your display name stored in your Equalize user profile;
• your custom initials;
• device notification tokens stored with your user profile;
• your active household membership;
• your active chore assignments;
• active references in default split settings or joint contribution settings.

Our standard deletion and retention review period is 60 days.

During this period, we may retain limited information where needed to complete deletion or anonymisation processes, handle support issues, deal with billing or subscription issues, protect against fraud or misuse, comply with legal obligations, or resolve disputes.

After this period, we will delete, anonymise or minimise personal information associated with your deleted account unless we need to retain certain information for legal, security, fraud prevention, billing, accounting or dispute-resolution reasons.

Deleting your Equalize account may not automatically cancel your app store subscription. You should cancel subscriptions through the relevant app store or payment provider.

32. Leaving a household

Leaving a household is different from deleting your account.

If you leave a household:

• you should no longer have access to that household's current information;
• your account may remain active;
• you may be able to join or create another household;
• the household may retain historical records from the time you were a member.

Historical records may remain because they are part of the household's shared history.

33. Shared household history after deletion

Some shared household records may remain available to other household members after you leave a household or delete your account.

This may include historical records such as:

• chore completions;
• shopping sessions;
• expenses;
• balances;
• transfers;
• transfer confirmations;
• Equalize adjustments;
• monthly reports;
• Day-7 reviews;
• activity feed entries.

These records may remain so that other household members can understand historical expenses, balances, chores, reports and household activity.

Where appropriate, we will remove, minimise or anonymise personal identifiers, such as replacing your name with wording like "Former household member" or "Deleted member".

Some historical records may retain limited technical references where needed to preserve household calculations, audit trails, shared records, security, fraud prevention, billing, support or legal records.

34. Backups and residual records

Some information may remain temporarily in backups, logs, crash reports, analytics systems or cached systems after account deletion.

This data will be deleted, overwritten or made inaccessible through normal retention and backup cycles.

We may retain limited records where required or appropriate for legal, tax, accounting, billing, security, fraud prevention or dispute-resolution purposes.

35. Children and teenagers

Equalize is not intended for children under 13.

We do not knowingly allow children under 13 to create accounts or use Equalize.

Users aged 13 to 17 may use Equalize only with the involvement and permission of a parent or guardian.

Teenagers may be household members, for example where a family wants to assign chores or include them in household organisation.

However:

• users under 18 may not be the responsible household owner;
• users under 18 may not manage a paid subscription;
• parents and guardians are responsible for supervising teenage use of Equalize.

If you believe a child under 13 has used Equalize or provided personal information, contact us at hello@equalizeapp.com so we can take appropriate action.

36. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights over your personal information.

These may include the right to:

• access your personal information;
• correct inaccurate information;
• request deletion;
• restrict processing;
• object to certain processing;
• request a copy of your information;
• withdraw consent where processing is based on consent;
• complain to a data protection regulator.

To make a privacy request, contact us at:
hello@equalizeapp.com

We may need to verify your identity before responding.

If you are in the UK, you may also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office.

37. Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational steps to protect your information.

These may include:

• authenticated account access;
• Firebase security controls;
• household access controls;
• encryption in transit and at rest where provided by our infrastructure providers;
• restricted access to data;
• monitoring for bugs and crashes;
• security-focused development practices.

However, no online service can guarantee complete security.

You are responsible for keeping your login credentials secure and for using a secure device.

If you believe your account has been accessed without permission, contact us at:
hello@equalizeapp.com

38. Your responsibilities

Because Equalize is a shared household app, you also have responsibilities.

You should:

• keep your account secure;
• use a strong password;
• only invite people you trust;
• keep invite codes private;
• avoid entering unnecessary sensitive information;
• avoid entering private information about others without permission;
• check expenses, balances and transfers before relying on them;
• manage household disagreements directly with other household members.

39. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time.

If we make material changes, we will notify you by email, in-app notice, website notice or another appropriate method.

Where required by law, we will ask for your consent before applying material changes.

The latest version of this Privacy Policy will be available on our website.

40. Contact us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how Equalize handles personal information, contact us at:
hello@equalizeapp.com

Equalize is operated by:
Duncan Scott trading as Jackdaw Britannia Enterprises
United Kingdom
hello@equalizeapp.com