Privacy Policy
Last updated: 27 September 2026 Published by: IdeaForgeLabs Contact: ideaforgelabs.support@gmail.com
Japo is a japa counter for Android and iPhone. This policy explains, in plain words, what the app does with your information. The short version: your japa stays on your phone, there is no account, and we never receive what you chant.
Where Android and iPhone differ, both are described.
1. We do not collect your japa
Japo has no account, no sign-up and no server of ours. Everything you count is written to your own phone:
- your practices, the mantra text you enter and any photo you choose as a focus photo
- every sitting: its counts, times and dates
- your goals, sankalpa and anushthan
- your settings
None of this is sent to us. We cannot see it, and we could not retrieve it for you if you lost your phone.
2. We do not track you
Japo contains:
- no advertising of any kind
- no analytics and no crash reporting
- no advertising identifiers, cookies or device fingerprinting
- no leaderboards, social features or profiles
We do not build a profile of you and we do not sell or share information about you, because we do not have any.
3. When information does leave your phone
There are only three cases, and you control the first two.
a. Automatic backup (optional, part of Japo Plus)
If you turn on automatic backup, Japo writes a backup file to storage that belongs to you, never to us:
- On Android, Japo signs you in to Google and writes the file into the hidden application-data area of your own Google Drive. Japo requests only the permission needed for that hidden folder (
drive.appdata). It cannot see, read or change any other file in your Drive. The Gmail address you connected is shown in the app so you know which account is in use. - On iPhone, Japo writes the file into its own private area of your own iCloud, under the Apple Account your iPhone is signed in to. There is no separate sign-in. The file does not appear in the Files app, and no other app can read it.
On both:
- The backup contains your practices, sittings, counts, settings and focus photos.
- It is stored under your own account. We have no access to it and no copy of it.
- The most recent 7 backups are kept; older ones are removed.
- You can turn backup off at any time, and choose to delete the backups when you do.
b. Your phone's own backup (free)
- On Android, Android may keep a copy of Japo's data with your Google account so that a reinstall or a new phone restores your practice. This is a feature of Android, governed by Google's terms. You can turn it off in your phone's Android settings.
- On iPhone, iCloud Backup, if you have it on, includes a copy of Japo's data so that a new iPhone restored from that backup has your practice. This is a feature of iOS, governed by Apple's terms. You can turn it off in your iPhone's settings.
Neither uses our servers.
c. Buying Japo Plus
Japo Plus is a one-time purchase. Payment is handled entirely by Google Play on Android and by the App Store on iPhone. We never see your card, address, Google account or Apple Account.
To know whether your purchase is valid, Japo uses RevenueCat, a purchase service. RevenueCat receives:
- an anonymous identifier created for your installation
- the purchase and receipt details from Google Play or the App Store, such as the product bought, the date, the country and the price
- basic technical facts such as the app version and platform
RevenueCat never receives your japa, your practices or anything you chant. RevenueCat's privacy policy: https://www.revenuecat.com/privacy
4. The mantra list
Japo ships with its list of mantras built into the app and never downloads it. The list is the same for everyone and is not fetched, checked or updated over the network; it changes only when you install a new version of Japo from Google Play or the App Store.
5. Permissions, and why
On Android
| Permission | Why Japo asks |
|---|---|
| Vibration | The bead you feel as each count is stored |
| Notifications | The count on your lock screen, and a daily reminder if you turn one on |
| Internet | Only to reach your own Google Drive if you connect backup, and Google Play when you buy Japo Plus |
| Run at startup | So a reminder you set survives a restart |
| Finish a count in the background | So a +1 from the home-screen widget is saved even if the phone sleeps mid-write |
| Google Play purchases | Only for Japo Plus, and only when you choose to buy it |
| Photos (through Android's picker) | Only the single photo you pick as a focus photo. Japo never gets access to the rest of your photos |
On iPhone
| Permission | Why Japo asks |
|---|---|
| Notifications | The count on your lock screen, and a daily reminder, asked for only when you turn one of them on |
| Photos (through the iPhone's own picker) | Only the single photo you pick as a focus photo. Japo never gets access to the rest of your photos |
| Add to Photos | Only when you save a picture you chose to share. Nothing in your library is read or changed |
On iPhone, the touch you feel on each bead and the connection to iCloud and the App Store need no permission.
On either phone, Japo never asks for contacts, microphone, location or camera.
6. Notifications
Reminders and the lock-screen count are created on your phone by the app itself. They are not sent from a server. The lock-screen count never shows what you chant, only the word "Japa" and a number.
7. Children
Japo is not directed at children and collects no personal information from anyone, including children.
8. Keeping your information safe
Your japa is stored in the app's private storage on your phone, which the phone's operating system protects from other apps, and which is encrypted by your device's own encryption. A backup you turn on is protected by your own Google account on Android, or your own Apple Account on iPhone.
9. Your choices
- Stop everything leaving the phone: keep automatic backup off.
- Remove backups: turn automatic backup off and choose to delete backups.
- Remove everything: uninstall Japo. Its data on the phone is deleted with it. (A backup you made with automatic backup, or your phone's own backup, remains under your Google account or Apple Account until you delete it.)
10. Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, the new version will appear at this address with a new date at the top.
11. Contact
Questions about this policy or about Japo: ideaforgelabs.support@gmail.com IdeaForgeLabs Mumbai, India
This document is written to describe the app accurately and in plain language. It is not legal advice. If you need a policy reviewed for a particular jurisdiction, have a lawyer read it.