In short.
- Your health logs are stored only on your phone, encrypted. There is no Aara account, and we do not have a copy of your logs.
- Information leaves your phone only when you use Aara AI, see an ad on the free plan, the app checks your Aara Plus purchase with Google Play, you back up or move to a new phone, you email us, or you share something yourself. Section 4 lists what is sent in each case.
- We never sell personal data, never use health data for advertising, and run no analytics or tracking SDKs.
- You can export or delete everything from Settings at any time.
This policy is also shown in the app, word for word, together with the Terms of Service. If you ever find a difference, tell us at [email protected].
1. Who we are
Aara is provided by Ninaanu Ventures, a sole proprietorship based in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India ("Aara", "we", "us"). For the limited personal data we process, we are the Data Fiduciary under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. Contact: [email protected].
This policy covers the Aara Android app (package com.aara.app) and aarahealth.org. Aara is for adults aged 18 and over. You can ask us for this policy in English or in any language listed in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India.
2. What Aara keeps on your phone
Aara is built to work offline. What you enter is saved in a database on your phone, encrypted with AES-256. The encryption key is kept in your phone's secure storage (Android Keystore) and never leaves it. We hold no database of users and cannot identify you.
| What | Leaves your phone? |
|---|---|
| Name | No, never. |
| Date of birth, height and weight | Only as an age range (for example "30s") and a BMI category, when you tap Generate in Doctor Prep (Section 4b). |
| Health conditions | Only with Aara AI: with Doctor Prep questions, and in AI chat only if Personalised AI answers is on (Sections 4a, 4b). |
| Period dates and cycle history | Only as summaries (current phase, cycle day, average cycle length) with Aara AI (Section 4). |
| Symptoms, moods, flow | Only as short summaries with Aara AI (Section 4). |
| Temperature, water, sleep and energy logs | No, unless you share them yourself. |
| Journal and calendar notes | No, unless you share them yourself. |
| Pain map and period pain check-ins | No, unless you share your Doctor visit PDF. |
| Medicines and reminder times | No. With Personalised AI answers on, Doctor Prep sends only how many medicines you take. |
| Trying-to-conceive and pregnancy logs | No, unless you share them yourself. |
| AI chat messages | Your message is sent to Aara AI. Chats are not saved: they disappear when you leave the chat. |
| App settings, trial dates, Plus status, install ID | The install ID goes with AI requests (Section 4c). Plus status is checked with Google Play (Section 4e). |
Aara turns off Android's automatic cloud backup, so nothing is copied to Google Drive unless you use Aara's own encrypted backup.
3. Why we process data
- Tracking, reminders and Doctor Prep: done entirely on your phone. We never receive this data.
- Aara AI: to answer your question or suggest doctor questions. You consent each time you tap Send or Generate. The extra context from "Personalised AI answers" is sent only if you turn that setting on; it is off by default.
- Fair use and security: to apply AI limits and stop abuse of the AI service.
- Ads: to fund the free plan, with non-personalised ads only.
- Payments: to sell and unlock Aara Plus through Google Play.
- Support: to answer emails you send us.
We process personal data with your consent and for the purposes for which you give it to us (Sections 6 and 7(a) of the DPDP Act, 2023), and we follow the Information Technology Act, 2000 and its rules on sensitive personal data. We do not use your data for any other purpose.
4. When information leaves your phone
(a) Aara AI chat
When you send a message, the app sends your message and your current cycle phase and cycle day. If you turn on "Personalised AI answers" in Settings → Health Profile (off by default), it also sends: your listed health conditions and PCOS status, and from the last 7 days up to 3 moods, your 3 most frequent symptoms and up to 2 flow entries.
Never sent: your name, date of birth or exact age, notes, medicine names, temperatures, pain map, check-in answers, or your earlier messages. Your message is sent as you typed it, so please leave out details that identify you.
(b) Doctor Prep questions (only when you tap Generate)
The app sends: your age range, BMI category, listed health conditions, average cycle length and number of cycles logged, current cycle phase, your 3 most frequent symptoms in the last 90 days with counts, and your most common mood. With Personalised AI answers on, it sends up to 5 symptoms instead of 3 and your most common mood in each phase instead of overall, plus your cycle day, PCOS status and the number (never the names) of medicines you take.
Your name, exact dates, notes, pain map and check-in answers are never sent. The Doctor visit PDF and its questions from your logs are made on your phone; nothing is uploaded.
How AI requests travel
AI requests go from the app to our proxy server on Cloudflare, which forwards them to Google's Gemini API. Google receives the request from our proxy, not from your phone, so Google does not get your IP address or install ID with it. We use Gemini as a paid service: under Google's terms, Google does not use these prompts or replies to improve its products, keeps them for a limited period (currently 55 days) only to detect abuse and meet legal requirements, and may process them in any country where Google has facilities.
(c) Install ID and IP address (fair-use limits)
On first launch the app creates a random install ID, stored in secure storage. It says nothing about you. With each AI request our proxy uses the install ID and your IP address only to count requests: a monthly count per install ID, deleted automatically at the end of the calendar month (UTC), and an hourly count per IP address, deleted at the end of the hour. If an install ID is missing, the monthly count uses the IP address instead. Our proxy does not store the content of your requests. Cloudflare processes network information such as IP addresses to deliver and protect traffic, under its own privacy policy.
(d) Ads (free plan, after the trial)
The Google Mobile Ads SDK is started only after you accept these terms, and only on a screen that is about to show an ad. We request non-personalised ads only. Google receives device information such as your IP address, advertising ID, device model, Android version, app details and ad interactions, to deliver ads, limit how often you see them, measure them and prevent fraud, under Google's Privacy Policy. It never receives your health data. You can reset or delete your advertising ID in Android Settings.
(e) Google Play (purchases)
Purchases are handled by Google Play Billing. We never see your card, bank or UPI details. When the app starts, and when you open Aara Plus, it asks Google Play on your phone for current prices and for what you have bought, so Plus can unlock; Google Play handles this under Google's terms. Google Play may also give us anonymous, combined statistics such as install counts, ratings and crash reports; these never include your health logs.
(f) Backup to Google Drive (only when you start it)
You sign in with Google to choose an account. The app uses the account only to reach your Drive, and we never receive it. Your data is encrypted on your phone with AES-256-GCM, using a key made from a passphrase you choose, before it is uploaded to a hidden app folder in your own Google Drive (the drive.appdata scope, which cannot see your other files). We never receive the backup, the passphrase or the key. If you forget the passphrase, the backup cannot be opened by anyone, including us. To delete the backup, open Google Drive on the web → Settings → Manage apps → Aara → Options → Delete hidden app data. You can also remove Aara's access at myaccount.google.com/permissions.
(g) Moving to a new phone (QR transfer)
Your data is encrypted and sent directly between your two phones over your Wi-Fi network. It never passes through a server. The camera is used only to scan the QR code.
(h) Things you share or open yourself
When you share the Doctor visit PDF, copy text, send a WhatsApp message to a partner, share a cycle card, save a data export, open a link (such as a Google Maps search for a gynaecologist or a dietitian near you), call a helpline, or email us, that content goes to the app, website or person you choose, and they handle it under their own terms. Emails you send us reach our mailbox (Zoho Mail) with your email address.
Nothing else
Aara has no analytics, tracking or crash-reporting SDKs. Its fonts are built into the app, so no fonts are downloaded. Reminders are scheduled by your phone; we send no push notifications, marketing messages or server alerts.
5. Service providers
| Provider | What for | What it receives |
|---|---|---|
| Google (Gemini API) | Aara AI | The AI request described in Section 4a or 4b, from our proxy |
| Cloudflare | AI proxy, fair-use limits, website hosting | Install ID, IP address, AI requests in transit (not stored) |
| Google AdMob | Ads on the free plan | Device information; never health data |
| Google Play | Payments, app delivery | Purchase details, handled by Google |
| Google Drive and Sign-In | Backups you start | The encrypted backup file, in your own Drive |
| Zoho Mail | Our support mailbox | Emails you send us |
We do not sell, rent or trade personal data, and we do not share health data with advertisers, data brokers or analytics companies.
6. Transfers outside India
Google, Cloudflare and Zoho may process data outside India. The DPDP Act, 2023 allows this except to countries the Government of India restricts, and we will follow any such restriction.
7. How long data is kept
- On your phone: until you delete it, use Delete all data, or uninstall.
- Our proxy's counters: deleted automatically at the end of the hour or month, as described in Section 4c.
- Google Gemini: up to 55 days, only for abuse monitoring, under Google's terms.
- Your Drive backup: until you delete it (see Section 4f).
- Emails to us: as long as needed to resolve your request and meet legal obligations, then deleted.
- AdMob and Google Play: under Google's own policies.
8. Security
Your logs are encrypted on your phone (AES-256, key in Android Keystore). Network connections use HTTPS. Backups and phone transfers are encrypted end to end. The optional App Lock adds a fingerprint or face check. Because we keep no copy of your logs, a breach of our systems cannot expose them.
The data export file and the Doctor visit PDF are not encrypted, so keep them safe. Use a screen lock on your phone. No system is perfectly secure, but keeping your data on your phone removes the most common ways health data is exposed.
9. Your rights
Under the DPDP Act, 2023 you can:
- Access your data (Section 11): Settings → Export my data gives you everything Aara holds on your phone.
- Correct or erase it (Section 12): edit any entry, or use Settings → Delete all data. A Drive backup is deleted from Google Drive (see Section 4f).
- Withdraw consent (Section 6(4)): turn off Personalised AI answers, stop using AI, or uninstall. Withdrawing does not affect what was processed before.
- Get your grievance resolved (Section 13): write to our Grievance Officer.
- Nominate someone to act for you in case of death or incapacity (Section 14): write to us.
- Complain to the Data Protection Board of India, after using our grievance process.
We cannot link fair-use counters to you, and we hold no account, so most requests are carried out directly on your phone. Using these rights costs nothing and does not reduce your access to Aara.
10. Adults only
Aara is only for adults aged 18 and over. Setup requires a date of birth, and anyone under 18 cannot continue; the block stays on that phone. We do not knowingly process children's data, and Aara never shows ads or offers AI to anyone it identifies as under 18.
Because data stays on the phone, a parent or guardian who finds a child using Aara can use Settings → Delete all data and uninstall the app. Write to us if you need help.
11. Permissions Aara asks for
- Notifications, exact alarms and start-on-boot: to deliver your reminders on time, also after a restart.
- Biometrics: for the optional App Lock.
- Camera: only to scan the QR code when moving to a new phone.
- Internet, network and Wi-Fi state: for AI, ads, purchases, backup and phone transfer.
Aara does not ask for your location, contacts, microphone, SMS or call log.
12. Data breaches
If we become aware of a personal data breach, we will inform the Data Protection Board of India and affected users, and CERT-In where required, in the time and manner the law requires.
13. Changes to this policy
We will update the version number and effective date for any change, and show material changes in the app for you to accept before they apply. We will never weaken the core promise, that your health logs stay on your phone, without asking for your explicit consent first.
14. Grievance Officer and contact
Grievance Officer, Ninaanu Ventures, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. Email: [email protected]. Write to this address for anything about your data, a complaint about the app, or a billing problem, and say what you would like us to do.
We acknowledge every complaint within 48 hours and aim to resolve it within 30 days, in line with the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020, the Information Technology Act, 2000 and its rules, and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.