Privacy Policy — Counsel Diary

Effective 3 October 2026

Counsel Diary ("the app") is a case-management app for advocates, provided by Binary Bitz ("we"). This policy explains what information we collect and why, where your data is kept and the choices you have. In short: your case data stays on your phone. We collect only what is listed in section 2, and only for the purpose stated there. We do not sell data, show ads or use tracking/analytics.

1. Information stored only on your phone

Everything you enter or attach in the app is saved in the app's private storage on your device. It is not uploaded to our servers, we do not collect it, and the app is excluded from Android's automatic cloud backup:

Cases and their details (titles, numbers, courts, sections, FIR numbers, status, notes).
Names and phone numbers of parties, opposite parties and advocates that you type in or pick from your contacts.
Hearings, proceedings, fees and payments.
Documents, photos and voice recordings you attach or share into the app.
App settings, including your app-lock PIN (stored only as a salted hash).

This information may concern your clients and other people. You are responsible for having the right to record it and for keeping your phone secure. We cannot see, recover or restore it.

2. Information we collect and why

This is the only information we collect. Nothing else is collected.

Information	Purpose
Email address	To create your account and sign you in (handled by Google Firebase Authentication); to link promo codes to your account; to answer an account-deletion request or a message you send us.
Name — optional	Only if you type one when signing up, or it comes from your Google account when you sign in with Google. Kept with your sign-in account and used only to show who is signed in.
Account user ID	A random identifier Firebase gives your account. It ties promo codes to your account so they can be restored, and lets us delete your records when you delete your account.
Promo-code redemption (only if you redeem one)	The code, the date and the Pro end date, stored with your user ID and email, to check the code and restore promo Pro to the same account.
Deletion request (only if you use the web form)	The email address and message you send, to process the request (see section 6 for how long).
Technical server logs	IP address, time and requested page, kept for security and to prevent abuse; deleted automatically after 30 days at most. Our application logs do not record email addresses and show user IDs only shortened.

Passwords are handled by Google Firebase; we never see them. Payments for Pro are handled by Google Play: we never receive card or bank details, and the app only receives the purchase status to unlock Pro. With each purchase the app gives Google a one-way hashed form of your user ID, which Google can use to help detect fraud; we do not receive it back. Pro bought on Google Play belongs to the Google Play account that bought it, not to your Counsel Diary account. On any phone signed in to that Google Play account, Pro comes back automatically or with Restore purchases — whichever Counsel Diary account is signed in on that phone. You do not need the original Counsel Diary account.

Earlier records: if you asked for Pro through our old manual activation form (used before Google Play billing, no longer available), the details you entered there (name, email, phone, app install ID) are kept until you delete your account.

We do not use your information for advertising, profiling or any purpose other than those listed above.

3. Device permissions

The app asks for a permission only when you use the feature that needs it:

Contacts — to pick a phone number for a party or advocate. Only the contact you choose is saved, on your phone.
Camera and photos — to photograph or attach case documents.
Microphone — to record voice notes and hearing minutes.
Notifications — for hearing reminders (Pro), which are scheduled on your phone.
Fingerprint / screen lock — to unlock the app. Your fingerprint is checked by Android; the app never receives it.

4. Sharing

We do not sell, rent or trade your information. Case data leaves your phone only when you choose to send it — for example sharing case details or documents on WhatsApp, by SMS or email, saving a PDF, or exporting a backup. That information is then handled by the app or service you chose, under its own privacy policy. We may disclose information held on our server if required by law.

Service providers: Google (Firebase Authentication, Google Sign-In, Google Play) and our server hosting provider.

5. Backups

Backups are files that you create and store yourself (for example on Google Drive, WhatsApp or a computer). You can protect a backup with a password. We do not keep or know backup passwords and cannot recover a lost one.

6. Access, retention and deletion

Your data on the phone. It stays until you delete it, use Settings → Delete account, or uninstall the app. Free version: you can add up to 10 cases and use WhatsApp and PDF sharing during the first 30 days; documents, photos and voice notes (attachments) are free; restoring a backup brings back up to 10 cases. Pro: unlimited cases, hearing reminders and calendar, complete restore of backups, and WhatsApp and PDF sharing (including printing). When the free period ends, a subscription ends or is cancelled, or a refunded purchase is revoked, the app does not lock or delete your cases: you can still open, view and edit existing cases, hearings, fees and documents, add attachments and make backups. Only the Pro features need an active Pro plan or promo code. Your case data can only be opened in the app while you are signed in. If your account is disabled by us under our terms, or deleted on our website (by signing in on our deletion page or through an emailed request, rather than in the app, which also erases the data on the phone), the app signs you out the next time it connects to the internet and the data on that phone can no longer be opened in the app. That data stays on the phone until the app is uninstalled, and backups you made remain yours. Before disabling an account we email you and allow at least 14 days to make a backup, unless the law or an urgent security issue requires immediate action.

Deleting your account in the app (Settings → Delete account, after confirming your sign-in):

Our server deletes your promo-code records and any old activation requests made with your email, and then deletes your sign-in account (email, name if given, Google link) in Firebase. If our server cannot do the Firebase step, the app deletes the account itself.
All case data and attached files on that phone are erased.
If our server cannot be reached at that moment, the app still deletes your account and the data on the phone, and our server's daily clean-up deletes the records of accounts that no longer exist. If the app cannot delete the account either, our server keeps retrying a deletion it has already received, daily until it succeeds.

Deleting by signing in on our website (/delete-account: sign in with the same Google account or email and password, then confirm): your sign-in account and your promo-code and activation records are deleted at once, as in the app. This does not touch the case data on your phone — uninstall the app to erase it. Signing in on that page uses Google's Firebase service and keeps you signed in only until you leave the page.

Asking us by email (/delete-account): we email you to confirm the request. Within 30 days of your confirmation we delete your sign-in account and your promo-code and activation records.

What we keep after deletion (and why):

The number of times each promo code has been used — a count only, with no link to you — so that use limits keep working.
A record of the deletion: for deletions in the app or after signing in on our website only the date; for emailed requests your email address, message and the dates, as a record that we handled your request. These records are deleted automatically 12 months after the deletion is completed. While such a deletion is still being completed, the record also holds your user ID so the deletion can be retried; it is removed as soon as the deletion is done.
Technical server logs for up to 30 days (see section 2).
Google keeps its own records of Google Play purchases and may keep deleted Firebase data in its backup systems for a limited period, under Google's policies. Cancel subscriptions in Google Play → Payments & subscriptions; deleting your account does not cancel them.
Backups you made yourself (Google Drive, WhatsApp, computer) are not reachable by us — delete them yourself.

7. Security

Connections to our server and to Google use encryption (HTTPS). Case data is kept in the app's private storage, which other apps cannot read; you can add an app lock (PIN or fingerprint). Keep your phone protected with a screen lock and keep your backups safe. No method of storage or transmission is completely secure.

8. Children

Counsel Diary is intended for legal professionals and is not directed at children under 18. We do not knowingly collect information from children.

9. Your choices and rights

You can view, correct and delete your case data in the app at any time. To ask about, correct or delete the account information we hold, contact us at support@binarybitz.com.

10. Changes

We may update this policy. The new version will be posted on this page with a new effective date; significant changes will also be shown in the app or its release notes.

11. Contact

Binary Bitz — support@binarybitz.com