Privacy Policy

HOBS Companion — Home of Beautiful Souls Foundation
Last updated: July 11, 2026

Home of Beautiful Souls Foundation ("HOBS," "we," "us," or "our") operates the HOBS Companion mobile application (the "App"), a mental health support tool. This policy explains what information we collect through the App, why we collect it, how it's stored and protected, and the choices you have.

We take the sensitivity of this information seriously. HOBS exists to support people through difficult moments, and we hold the data you share with that same care.

1. Who we are

HOBS Companion is operated by Home of Beautiful Souls Foundation, a registered non-profit organization based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India.
CIN: U85300GJ2020NPL118743

2. Information we collect

2.1 Information you provide directly

Category	What we collect	Why
Account	Email address, password (encrypted; we never see it in plain text), or Google sign-in credentials	To create and secure your account
Profile	Name, phone number, date of birth, pronouns	To personalize your experience and, where relevant, for booking and billing with therapists
Mental health & wellbeing data	Mood check-ins, journal entries, screening test responses (including sensitive indicators such as self-harm risk flags), WHO-5 wellbeing scores, therapy worksheet responses	This is the core purpose of the App — to help you track and reflect on your mental wellbeing, and, where you choose to share it, to inform your care with a therapist
Tasks & photos	Task titles, descriptions, and any photo you choose to attach to a task	To support the task/habit-tracking features of the App
Bookings & payments	Session bookings, session dates, payment confirmation status. We do not directly store your card or UPI credentials — payments are handled via a QR-code flow and manually confirmed by our admin team.	To manage therapy session bookings and billing
Communications	Any messages, notes, or content you share with a therapist through the App	To support your care relationship with that therapist

2.2 Information collected automatically

Category	What we collect	Why
Device & app info	App version, device timezone	To make sure reminders reach you at sensible local times, and to know when your app needs an update
Push notification token	A device-specific identifier issued by Firebase Cloud Messaging	To deliver reminders and updates to your device
Usage analytics	Screens viewed and general in-app actions (e.g. a task was created, a mood was logged) via Firebase Analytics	To understand which parts of the App are helpful and where people get stuck, so we can improve it. This data is aggregated and not used to build an advertising profile — HOBS Companion carries no ads.
Error logs	Technical error details if something goes wrong in the App	To find and fix bugs

2.3 Google Calendar integration

HOBS Companion offers mental health professionals on our platform the option to connect their own Google Calendar to the App.

What we access. If a professional chooses to connect their calendar, we request permission to view and create calendar events on that professional's own Google Calendar. We do not access any other Google service (Gmail, Drive, Contacts, etc.), and we only ever access the calendar belonging to the professional who explicitly connects it — never a client's calendar, and never any calendar the professional hasn't personally authorized.

Why we access it. This connection is used solely to:

Automatically create a calendar event (with a Google Meet video link) when a client books a session with that professional.
Update or remove that event if the session is rescheduled or cancelled within HOBS Companion.
Reflect changes made directly in Google Calendar back into HOBS Companion, so both stay in sync.
Recognize when a professional has personal time blocked on their calendar, so that time is not offered to clients as available for booking.

What we store. We store the OAuth access and refresh tokens needed to maintain this connection, encrypted at rest, along with the Google account email associated with the connection. We do not store the content of any calendar event that isn't related to a HOBS Companion session — for example, we do not read or retain details of a professional's personal appointments beyond knowing that a time slot is unavailable.

How a professional can revoke access. A professional can disconnect their Google Calendar at any time from within the App (Profile/Schedule → Calendar → Disconnect), which immediately deletes the stored tokens. They can also revoke access directly from their Google Account's security settings at any time, independent of the App.

Data sharing. We do not sell, rent, or share Google Calendar data with any third party. It is used exclusively for the scheduling functionality described above.

3. Where your data is stored

Your data is stored securely with Supabase, our database and backend provider, on cloud infrastructure located in Japan. Push notifications and usage analytics are processed through Google Firebase, which operates on Google's global infrastructure.

Access to your data within our systems is restricted using row-level security — in plain terms, our database is configured so that, by default, each person can only read their own data, and only designated admin or therapist accounts (for clients under their active care) can see more, and only what's relevant to that care relationship.

4. Who we share information with

Your therapist, if you book a session — limited to what's relevant to your care (e.g. shared journal entries you've explicitly marked as shared, session notes, booking history). Your therapist does not see mood or journal entries you haven't chosen to share.
Google/Firebase, for delivering push notifications and for aggregated usage analytics.
We do not sell your data. We do not share your data with advertisers. We do not use your mental health data for any purpose other than providing and improving the App and your care.

5. Sensitive data — extra care

Some of what HOBS Companion collects is especially sensitive: journal entries, mood patterns, and screening responses that may indicate distress, including self-harm risk. We want to be direct about how this is handled:

This data is never used for advertising, profiling, or any commercial purpose.
It is not shared with employers, insurers, or any third party without your explicit action to share it (e.g. choosing to share an entry with your therapist).
If a screening response indicates possible self-harm risk, the App surfaces crisis resources directly (iCall's helpline and India's emergency number) — this is a safety feature, not a data-sharing action, and does not notify any third party automatically.

HOBS Companion is not an emergency or crisis service. If you are in immediate danger or crisis, please call 112 (India's emergency number) or iCall at 9152987821 (Mon–Sat, 10am–8pm). The App is a support tool, not a substitute for emergency care.

6. Your rights and choices

Access & correction: you can view and edit most of your profile information directly in the App (Profile → Edit Profile).
Deletion: you can delete your account and all associated data yourself, immediately, either in the App (Profile → Edit Profile → Delete My Account) or from the web without needing the App installed at delete-account.html. This is permanent and cannot be undone. A small number of records (e.g. confirmed payment/donation records) are retained for legal and accounting purposes, with identifying details removed. Staff accounts (therapists, admins) can't be self-deleted this way since it affects real clients — contact us at support@homeofbeautifulsouls.com instead.
Notifications: you can disable push notifications at any time from your device settings or in-app preferences.
Sharing with your therapist: journal entries are only visible to your therapist if you explicitly mark them as shared.

7. Data retention

We retain your data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, we delete your personal data within 30 days, except for records we're legally required to keep — such as payment and billing records, which we retain for as long as applicable Indian tax and accounting requirements call for.

8. Children's privacy

HOBS Companion is intended for users aged 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect data from children under 18. If you believe a child has created an account, please contact us at support@homeofbeautifulsouls.com so we can remove it.

9. Security

We use industry-standard measures to protect your data, including encrypted connections (HTTPS/TLS) for all data in transit, database-level access controls, and restricted admin access. No system is perfectly secure, but we take this seriously given the sensitivity of what we hold.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we'll update the "last updated" date above and, where appropriate, notify you in the App.

11. Contact us

Questions about this policy or your data? Reach us at:
Email: support@homeofbeautifulsouls.com