Privacy Policy for Aria

Last Updated: 04.03.2026 Version: 3.0 Effective Date: 04.03.2026

Aria ("we", "our", "us", or "the App") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what data we collect, how we use it, and your rights when you use the Aria AI Companion application.

⚠️ Important Notice — AI Companion App

Aria is an entertainment and social companionship application.

❌ This app is NOT a mental health or medical service
❌ This app does NOT provide professional psychological, medical, or therapeutic advice
❌ AI companions are fictional characters and do not have real feelings or physical presence
❌ AI-generated responses should NOT replace professional counseling, therapy, or medical care

If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, please contact a qualified mental health professional.

1. Information We Collect

Account & Authentication Data

Aria uses Firebase Authentication to manage accounts. We collect:

Anonymous user ID — Automatically assigned when you first open the app, before signing in
Email address — If you register with email and password
Display name — If you provide one during sign-up or onboarding
Google account info — If you sign in with Google (name, email, profile photo)

Conversation Data (Cloud-Stored)

All conversations are stored in Firebase Firestore (Google Cloud) under your user account:

Messages — All chat messages you send and AI responses you receive
Conversation metadata — Title, persona name, timestamps, last message
Message count — Number of messages per conversation

User Profile Data

Name — Provided during onboarding
Gender preference — For companion personalization
Companion preferences — Conversation style, companion gender preference

Gift & Credits Data

Credits balance — Your current in-app credits balance (stored in Firebase Firestore)
Gift history — A log of virtual gifts you have sent, including gift type, emoji, category, and timestamp

Custom Personas

If you create custom AI companions, the following is stored in Firestore:

Persona name, description, personality traits, avatar URL, system prompt

App Preferences (Local Storage)

A small amount of data is stored locally on your device:

Onboarding completion status
Cached user profile data (theme, language preferences)

Usage & Diagnostics

Anonymous crash reports — To fix bugs and improve stability (no personally identifiable data)

2. Information We DO NOT Collect

❌ Location data — We never track your location
✅ Camera or photos — We access your camera and photo library only when you choose to set a profile picture or companion avatar. We do not access them automatically, use them for tracking, or share them with third parties
❌ Contacts — We do not access your address book
❌ Microphone — We do not record audio
❌ Health data — We do not integrate with Apple Health or Google Fit
❌ Browsing history — We do not track your web activity
❌ Third-party advertising data — We do not use advertising SDKs or trackers
❌ Social media accounts — We do not access your social media (except profile info from Google sign-in)

3. How We Use Your Data

To provide the service — Storing and retrieving your conversations, profile, and companions
AI response generation — Your message content is sent to Google Gemini API to generate AI responses
Personalization — We use your preferences to tailor companion personalities and conversation styles
Authentication — To identify you and protect your account across devices
Gift system — To track virtual gifts and maintain your credits balance
App stability — Anonymous diagnostics to fix bugs and improve performance

We DO NOT use your data for:

❌ Advertising or marketing to you
❌ Selling to third parties or data brokers
❌ Cross-app or cross-site tracking
❌ Profiling for automated decision-making
❌ Training AI models on your personal conversations

4. Data Storage and Security

Infrastructure

All user data (conversations, profiles, gift history, personas) is stored in Firebase Firestore — Google's secure cloud database platform:

Encryption in transit — All data transmitted between your device and Firebase uses HTTPS/TLS encryption
Encryption at rest — Firebase encrypts stored data on Google Cloud infrastructure
Access control — Firestore Security Rules ensure users can only access their own data
Server location — Data is hosted on Google Cloud infrastructure (region determined by Firebase project configuration)

Authentication Security

Firebase Authentication manages all login flows
Anonymous sessions are automatically upgraded when you sign in with email or Google
Passwords are hashed by Firebase Auth and never stored in plain text

Local Data

A small amount of data is stored locally on your device (onboarding status, app preferences). This data is cleared when you delete the app or use the "Delete All Data" feature in Settings.

5. Third-Party Services

Google Firebase (Firestore & Authentication)

Purpose: Cloud database and user authentication
Data shared: User ID, email, display name, conversations, messages, profiles, gift history
Privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy
Compliance: Google Cloud is SOC 2, ISO 27001, and GDPR compliant

Google Gemini API

Purpose: AI language model powering companion responses
Data shared: Your message content and conversation context (system prompt + message history) to generate responses
Important: We do not share your name, email, or account identity with Gemini
Privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy

RevenueCat

Purpose: In-app purchase management and subscription processing
Data shared: Anonymous user ID, purchase transaction data
Privacy policy: https://www.revenuecat.com/privacy

Google Sign-In (OAuth)

Purpose: Optional sign-in method
Data shared: Your Google account name, email, and profile photo (used for your Aria profile)
Privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy

6. Your Privacy Rights

You have the following rights regarding your data:

Access: Request a copy of the data we hold about you
Deletion: Delete all your data at any time via Settings → Delete All Data in the app, or by emailing us
Portability: Request your data in a portable format by contacting us
Correction: Update your profile information within the app
Account deletion: Deleting your account permanently removes all Firestore data (conversations, messages, profiles, gift history, custom personas)

To exercise any right, contact us at umituz9999@gmail.com with the subject line "Privacy Request — Aria".

We will respond within 30 days (or sooner as required by applicable law).

7. Children's Privacy (COPPA)

Aria is rated 17+ and is NOT intended for users under 17 years of age.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from users under 17. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has used Aria and provided personal data, please contact us at umituz9999@gmail.com and we will delete the information promptly.

8. GDPR Compliance (European Union)

If you are located in the European Union, you have additional rights under GDPR:

Legal basis for processing: We process your data based on (a) contract performance (providing the service you requested) and (b) legitimate interests (improving app stability)
Right to erasure ("right to be forgotten"): Request deletion of all your data
Right to restriction: Request we limit processing of your data
Right to object: Object to processing based on legitimate interests
Data portability: Receive your data in a structured, commonly used format
Right to lodge a complaint: With your local supervisory authority

To exercise GDPR rights, email: umituz9999@gmail.com Subject line: "GDPR Request — Aria"

Data retention: We retain your data as long as your account is active. Deleted accounts are fully purged from Firestore immediately.

9. CCPA Compliance (California Residents)

California residents have the following rights under the CCPA:

Right to know what personal information we collect and how we use it
Right to delete your personal information
Right to opt-out — We do NOT sell your personal information to any third party
Right to non-discrimination — We will not discriminate against you for exercising your privacy rights

Categories of personal information collected: Identifiers (user ID, email), usage data (conversations, messages), commercial information (gift history, purchase transactions).

To exercise CCPA rights, email: umituz9999@gmail.com Subject line: "CCPA Request — Aria"

10. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Aria is a mobile application and does not use browser cookies. We use:

Firebase Authentication tokens — For session management only, stored securely on your device
Local device storage — For local app preferences and cached state (theme, onboarding status)

We do NOT use:

❌ Advertising cookies or trackers
❌ Third-party analytics SDKs (Google Analytics, Mixpanel, etc.)
❌ Social media tracking pixels
❌ Cross-app behavioral tracking

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy as the app evolves. When we make significant changes:

We will update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this policy
We may email registered users about major changes
Continued use of the app after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy

12. Transparency Commitment

✅ We collect only data necessary for app functionality
✅ We never sell your data
✅ We never use third-party advertising trackers
✅ You can delete all your data at any time, directly from the app
✅ We use industry-standard security (Firebase/Google Cloud)
✅ We respond promptly to all privacy requests

Your trust is our priority.

13. Contact Us

For any privacy-related questions, requests, or concerns:

Email: umituz9999@gmail.com Website: https://umituz.com/projects/ai-technology/ai-companion-chat Privacy Policy URL: https://umituz.com/projects/ai-technology/ai-companion-chat/privacy

Legal Compliance

This privacy policy is designed to comply with:

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation — EU)
CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act — USA)
COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act — USA)
Apple App Store privacy requirements

Effective Date and Version History

Current Version: 3.0 Effective Date: March 4, 2026 Last Updated: March 4, 2026

Version History:

v3.0 (Mar 4, 2026) — Credits model update (Gold system replaced by Credits); camera/photo access clarified; iOS-only platform; AsyncStorage references updated
v2.0 (Feb 19, 2026) — Full rewrite: Updated to Firebase cloud storage, added Firebase Auth, Google Gemini, RevenueCat disclosures; app renamed from Aria to Aria
v1.0 (Feb 6, 2026) — Initial privacy policy