Who we are
HomeBrain is provided by RUZIBA Group LLC. You can contact us about privacy at support@ruzibagroup.com.
The short version
- HomeBrain keeps your home record only on your own device. There is no account, no sign-in and no HomeBrain server. The app does not upload your home records to us. We see your home records only if you choose to send them to us yourself, for example attached to a support email.
- On Android, the Free plan may show one banner ad from Google AdMob, labelled "Advertisement", at the end of the Home and Rooms screens; HomeBrain Pro never shows ads. Whether an ad appears depends on your consent choice, your region and the ads Google has available, so sometimes no ad is shown. Your home records are never given to the advertising software. Non-personalized ads still involve data collection by Google (see "Advertising on the Free plan"). The current iPhone version of HomeBrain shows no ads. HomeBrain's own code includes no analytics or crash-reporting service.
- Apple or Google process your purchase of the optional HomeBrain Pro subscription and check its status, under their own privacy policies. On Android, Google's billing software included in HomeBrain may also send technical information to Google (see "Data handled by others").
- Your home record and your photos and documents are encrypted on the device.
- Your home records leave the device only when you share a backup file or a PDF report (both created with HomeBrain Pro) through your phone's share sheet, or when you choose to send something yourself. A backup is encrypted with a password you choose; a PDF is not encrypted.
- You can erase everything HomeBrain stores on the device with Delete all data in Settings. This also removes backup files HomeBrain made in its own storage; copies you saved or shared elsewhere stay in your control. On Android, Google's consent software may keep your ad consent choice on the device (see "Your choices and how to delete your data").
What HomeBrain stores, and where
Everything below is typed, picked or photographed by you and stored in HomeBrain's private storage on your device:
- Your home record: the name you give your home (HomeBrain never asks for an address), rooms, categories, items (name, serial number, purchase and warranty dates, notes), repair entries (date, description, and — if you add them — a contractor's name, contact details and the cost), and maintenance or warranty reminders (label, schedule, notes). Stored in an encrypted database.
- Photos and documents you attach to an item (for example a receipt, warranty card, serial plate or room photo), and an optional cover photo for your home and for each room. Stored encrypted. Photos can carry hidden details added by the camera (such as the time, the phone model and, if your camera records it, the place a photo was taken). HomeBrain does not remove these details; they stay inside the encrypted file, and inside any backup or PDF made from it (see "Sharing and third parties").
- Settings: your language choice, your appearance choice (Light, Dark or System), whether you have seen the translation notice, and (until you update from an older version, which removes them) the leftover keys of the old HomeBrain PIN lock, kept in your device's secure key storage. HomeBrain no longer has a PIN of its own and stores no passcode or biometric.
- Encryption keys for the database and file store, held by your device's secure key storage (Android Keystore-backed storage, iOS Keychain).
- Files you create: PDF exports and encrypted backup files are written to HomeBrain's private storage before you share them, and stay there (see "How long we keep your information").
- Each home's country and currency that you choose (the country is suggested from your phone's region setting, not your location), and which home is open.
- Your plan: a small file recording whether HomeBrain Pro is active, which plan, when it expires and when that was last checked (see "HomeBrain Pro subscription").
- Your ad consent choice (Android only, and only where Google's consent form is shown): stored on the device by Google's consent software so you are not asked again.
Some of this can be sensitive: room photos can show the layout of your home and your valuables; serial numbers, receipts and warranties describe what you own; repair entries can contain other people's names, phone numbers or email addresses, and what you paid them. Please only record information about other people that you are entitled to keep, and think about who you share a PDF with.
HomeBrain does not ask for your name, email, phone number, location or contacts. HomeBrain's own code does not read an advertising identifier; on the Free plan on Android, Google's ad software may read the identifiers listed under "Advertising on the Free plan".
What goes to a server
Your home record: not uploaded. HomeBrain has no server, no account system and no cloud sync, and the app does not send your home record to us or to anyone else. You can still choose to send information yourself, for example by sharing a backup or PDF report or by emailing us.
Some Apple and Google software in the app does use the network, and none of it receives your home record: Apple's or Google's billing for HomeBrain Pro (see "HomeBrain Pro subscription" and "Data handled by others" below), and, on the Free plan on Android, Google's ad software (next section).
The links in Settings → Help & Support (privacy policy, terms, support, data deletion) open that web page in your device's browser. HomeBrain sends nothing with that request; the website you open sees an ordinary web visit. These pages are hosted on ruzibagroup.com (Vercel), under the website's own privacy notice.
Data handled by others. Apart from your home records, which stay on your device, some information is handled by others:
Purchases: Apple or Google process purchases and subscriptions under their own privacy policies.
Google's billing software (Android): to offer HomeBrain Pro, the Android app includes Google Play's billing library. Our testing indicates that this library may send technical information about its operation to Google while you use the app, even if you never buy anything, on every plan. HomeBrain does not give your home records to this library and cannot see what the information contains; Google handles it under its own privacy policy.
Crash reports: if you allow your phone to share crash or diagnostic reports with app developers, Apple or Google may give us those reports.
Test versions: if you join a test version, TestFlight shows us your name and email address (when you were invited by email), your device, platform, app version, sessions, crashes and any feedback you send; Google Play testing uses the tester email address we keep.
Email: if you email us, we receive your message and anything you attach.
Advertising on the Free plan
This section applies to the Android app only. The current iPhone version of HomeBrain shows no ads: on every plan it requests no ads, shows no consent form and does not start Google's advertising software, which the iPhone app contains only as part of shared code. It does not show Apple's App Tracking Transparency prompt and does not ask for the iPhone advertising identifier (IDFA). If we add advertising to the iPhone version in the future, we will update this policy and the App Store privacy information before that version is released, and meet the privacy requirements that then apply (for example Apple's App Tracking Transparency rules where they apply).
On the Free plan on Android, HomeBrain may show one standard banner, labelled "Advertisement", at the end of the Home and Rooms screens, and no full-screen, rewarded or app-open ads. Whether an ad appears depends on your consent choice, your region and the ads Google has available, so sometimes no ad is shown. HomeBrain never requests ads for HomeBrain Pro and does not initialize Google's advertising software for it; on Android, start-up components still run when the app opens, including one of that software's own, and Android's start-up library also initializes the WorkManager library that software includes (see "Consent" below).
- Who: the Google Mobile Ads SDK (Google AdMob), with Google's User Messaging Platform for consent. Google processes the data its software collects under its own terms. We see only aggregated AdMob reports (for example, how many ads were shown), not data about you.
- What HomeBrain gives it: nothing from your home record. No home, room, item, photo, repair, reminder, backup or export information is passed to the ad software. HomeBrain supplies only two ad settings with each ad request: non-personalized ads and a maximum content rating of G. Google's software may, independently of HomeBrain, collect the data described below.
- What Google's software collects, as Google describes it for the Google Mobile Ads SDK for Android (checked on 26 October 2026): your IP address, used to estimate your general location; product interactions such as app launches and taps; diagnostics such as launch time, hang rate and energy use; and device and account identifiers (Google lists the Android advertising ID, the app set ID and identifiers tied to signed-in accounts). Purposes: Google states that its software collects and shares this data for advertising, analytics and fraud prevention. Google publishes this description for the latest version of its software; the version included in HomeBrain may be slightly older. Google handles this data under its privacy policy (https://policies.google.com/privacy).
- Non-personalized ads only, with a maximum content rating of G: HomeBrain asks Google only for non-personalized ads, which Google describes as ads that are "not based on a user's past behavior". Non-personalized does not mean that no data is collected: Google states that such ads still use cookies or mobile ad identifiers for frequency capping and aggregated ad reporting, and its software still collects the data listed above. On Android, HomeBrain includes the permission Google requires for its ad software to read the Android advertising ID; Google states that it uses the data its software collects, including this identifier, for advertising, analytics and fraud prevention. You can reset the advertising ID in your phone's settings, and newer Android versions also let you delete it.
- Consent. On Android, HomeBrain uses Google's consent tools where the law requires consent or an opt-out, and requests no ad until that check allows it. If the check cannot be completed, HomeBrain requests no ads. If you decline, HomeBrain still asks only for non-personalized ads, and only when Google's consent software allows an ad request; whether Google then shows an ad, and how its software handles data for it, is decided by Google under its own policies. Start-up components (Android). The Android app also contains start-up components that Android runs automatically when the app opens, on every plan, including HomeBrain Pro, and before the consent check. One belongs to Google's advertising software and reads the app's ad configuration. Android's start-up library also initializes WorkManager, a background-task library that Google's advertising software includes. This is separate from HomeBrain initializing Google's advertising software and requesting ads, which HomeBrain does only on the Free plan and only after the consent check allows it. In our Android tests, the advertising component made no network connection and stored no data; that is what we observed in testing, not a guarantee about how Google's software behaves. Where Google requires it, Settings → Help & Support → Ad privacy choices lets you change your choice.
- Where ads never appear: the lock screen and device authentication, Delete all data, privacy, legal and support screens, backup and restore, confirmation dialogs, the Pro screen, and exported PDFs.
HomeBrain Pro subscription
HomeBrain is free to use for one home with up to 7 items. HomeBrain Pro is an optional auto-renewing subscription, monthly or yearly, that removes the item limit, allows up to 3 homes, adds the PDF full-home report and creating encrypted backups, and never shows ads. Restoring a backup is always free.
- The store handles the purchase. Apple (App Store) or Google (Google Play) sells and bills the subscription under its own terms and privacy policy. HomeBrain receives no card, name, email or account data, and has no account and no server that checks purchases.
- What HomeBrain keeps. A small file on your device recording whether Pro is active, which plan, when it expires and when that was last checked. It is not secret and contains no personal data. Delete all data erases it together with everything else; your subscription itself is not affected, and Restore purchases checks it again with Apple or Google and brings Pro back. Uninstalling the app removes it too.
- Checking with the store. When HomeBrain starts and when you return to it, it asks Apple or Google, through their software on your device, which HomeBrain subscription is currently active, so a renewal, cancellation, refund or expiry is reflected. If the store cannot be reached, HomeBrain keeps the last known status until its end date. This check sends nothing from your home record.
- Your home record stays on your device whether or not you subscribe. If Pro ends you keep all your homes and items and can view, edit and delete them; you just cannot add another home, or more items than the Free plan allows, and, on Android, the Free plan's banner ads may be shown again.
- Renewal, cancel and refund are managed in your App Store or Google Play account, not in HomeBrain. Use Restore purchases after reinstalling or on a new device.
Apple's privacy policy: https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/. Google's privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy.
Permissions
HomeBrain asks for a permission only when you use the feature that needs it:
| Permission | When | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Notifications | When you save a reminder, or from Settings | To show "A maintenance reminder is due" on the due date. The notification never shows the reminder's name or item. |
| Camera (iPhone; Android uses the system camera app) | When you tap Take photo on an item | To attach a photo you take. |
| Photos (iPhone) | When you pick a photo | Only the photos you pick are imported. |
| Face ID / biometrics / device passcode | When you open HomeBrain and after more than 30 seconds in the background (required once HomeBrain holds your records; no setting changes this) | Your phone checks your face, fingerprint, or its own passcode, PIN or pattern and tells HomeBrain only "yes" or "no". HomeBrain never receives or stores biometric data or your passcode. |
| Restart (Android) | Automatic | To set your reminders again after the phone restarts. |
| Network access (Android) | Automatic | Used by Google Play's billing software for HomeBrain Pro (which may also send technical information to Google; see "Data handled by others") and, on the Free plan, by Google's ad software. HomeBrain's own code does not upload your home records. |
HomeBrain does not ask for location, contacts, microphone or broad storage access. The Android app includes the advertising-ID permission that Google's ad software declares; HomeBrain starts that software only on the Free plan, after the consent check, and HomeBrain's own code never reads the advertising ID.
Children
HomeBrain is intended for adults (18 and over) managing their own household and is not directed to children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, for example by email, contact us and we will delete it. On Android, HomeBrain asks Google's ad software for general-audience (G) ads only; the current iPhone version shows no ads.
How long we keep your information
HomeBrain does not upload your home records, so we keep none of them unless you send them to us yourself. Support emails you send us, and anything you attach, are kept in our email system (Google Workspace) for as long as we need them to answer you and follow up; you can ask us to delete them. Data that Apple or Google collect is kept by them under their own terms. On your device:
- Your home record, photos, documents and settings stay until you remove them or use Delete all data. Deleting a room, category, repair entry or reminder hides it in the app, but its content stays in the encrypted database until you use Delete all data (a deleted room's cover photo is removed at once). Deleting an item (with confirmation) removes it for good, together with its reminders, repair entries, photos and documents. Deleting a home (with confirmation) permanently removes that home with its rooms, items, photos, documents, warranties, repairs and reminders; your other homes are not affected.
- A photo or document you remove is deleted at once.
- PDF exports stay in HomeBrain's private storage until you use Delete all data or uninstall the app.
- Backup files made in HomeBrain stay in its private storage until you use Delete all data or uninstall the app.
- The small Pro plan file stays until you use Delete all data or uninstall the app.
Your choices and how to delete your data
- Delete everything on this device: open Settings, tap Data Management, then Delete all data, confirm it is you through your phone's own screen lock, read the list and tap Delete all data. This permanently erases your home record (including things you deleted earlier), photos and documents, repair history and reminders, every scheduled notification, PDF exports, backup files and temporary files HomeBrain made, your settings, language choice, the small Pro plan file and the encryption keys. HomeBrain then starts again as if newly installed, except that, on Android, Google's consent software may keep your ad consent choice; where Google offers it, you can change that choice in Settings → Help & Support → Ad privacy choices. This cannot be undone. If your phone has no screen lock, the confirmation step is skipped.
- What it does not remove: copies of backups or PDFs you already saved or shared outside HomeBrain's own storage (those are in your control); on iPhone, a device backup made by an older version of HomeBrain, which may still contain a copy of its data. Delete all data does not cancel a HomeBrain Pro subscription; use Restore purchases to bring Pro back.
- Uninstalling HomeBrain removes its private storage. On iPhone, the system keeps HomeBrain's Keychain entries after uninstalling; if you install HomeBrain again, it erases them at its first start (if that step fails, it tries again at the next start).
- Ads: on Android, the Free plan may show banner ads; the current iPhone version shows no ads. Where Google requires it, Settings → Help & Support → Ad privacy choices lets you change your choice. HomeBrain Pro never shows ads.
- Device lock is required once HomeBrain holds your records. HomeBrain opens only after your phone confirms it is you. There is no setting to turn it off or change its timing; Settings → Device lock shows whether it is On or Unavailable. If your phone has no screen lock at all, HomeBrain still opens (so you are never locked out of your own records) and shows one short notice asking you to set a screen lock; Settings then shows the device lock as Unavailable. Cancelling, failing or being locked out of the phone's prompt never opens it.
Full steps are on the HomeBrain Support page and in the app at Settings → Help & Support → How to delete your data.
Your home records are stored on your device, and you manage them there. On every plan you can view, edit and delete any record, delete an item or a whole home with everything in it, and erase everything with Delete all data. Creating an encrypted backup and a PDF report of your home require HomeBrain Pro; restoring a backup is free on every plan. We cannot access, correct or delete your home records for you, because the app does not send them to us. Information we do hold, such as emails you send us (including anything you attach) or information about your taking part in a test version, you can ask us about or ask us to delete by writing to support@ruzibagroup.com. We cannot delete data that Apple or Google collect through their own software; requests about that data go to them.
Security
- The home record database is encrypted (SQLite3MultipleCiphers). Photos and documents are encrypted one by one (AES-256-GCM). The keys are held by your device's secure key storage.
- Backups are encrypted (AES-256-GCM) with a key derived from your password (Argon2id). Passwords must be at least 10 characters.
- Once HomeBrain holds your records and your phone has a screen lock, HomeBrain requires your phone's own device authentication (Face ID, Touch ID, fingerprint, or the phone's passcode, PIN or pattern) when it starts and after more than 30 seconds in the background. There is no setting to turn this off or change the timing. HomeBrain has no PIN of its own and never receives or stores a biometric or passcode. While the app is not in the foreground, a cover hides it in the recent-apps view (on Android 12 and older this also blocks screenshots), and Android Back is held while locked.
- On Android, HomeBrain keeps its files out of cloud backup and device-to-device transfer. On iPhone, it marks its storage folder to be left out of iCloud and computer backups each time it starts.
- Not encrypted: PDF exports, and anything you share out of the app. Your device's own security (screen lock, updates) also matters.
- No method of storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. Keep your phone's screen lock on and its software up to date.
Translations
The app is offered in English and, as Beta translations, in Bengali, Spanish, Hindi, Arabic, French, Portuguese, Indonesian, Urdu, Turkish and Simplified Chinese. When you choose a Beta language the app shows a notice that the translation may contain mistakes and that English is the reference version. This policy is published in English.
Changes to this policy
If HomeBrain's data handling changes (for example if a server, account or sync feature is added, or advertising is added to the iPhone version), we will update this page before that version is released, change the effective date at the top, and say so in that version's store release notes.
Contact
Email support@ruzibagroup.com (RUZIBA Group LLC). If you email us, we receive your email address and whatever you write or attach, through our email provider (Google Workspace), and use it only to answer you. Please do not send photos, serial numbers, backup files or passwords.