Raphael Sensei is a study assistant app for competitive exam preparation. This policy explains exactly what data the app accesses, how it is used, and what is shared with third parties — including our security, advertising, and crash reporting partners. We are committed to full transparency.
Raphael Sensei does not collect, transmit, or store any of the following on our own servers:
All of the following is stored only on your device in a local database and app storage. It never leaves your device except as described in the sections below.
| Permission | Why it is needed |
|---|---|
| Internet | Required for Firebase App Check, Firebase Crashlytics, the security backend (purchase verification), and displaying ads |
| Access Network State | Detects connectivity to show the offline screen and guard ad loading |
| Camera | Lets you photograph notes, textbook pages, and whiteboards directly into a topic |
| Read Media — Images (Android 13+) | Lets you import photos from your gallery into topics |
| Read Media — Video (Android 13+) | Lets you import videos from your gallery into topics |
| Read Media — Visual User Selected (Android 14+) | Scoped media picker for photos and videos on Android 14+ |
| Read External Storage (Android ≤ 12) | Import files on older Android versions |
| Write External Storage (Android ≤ 9) | Save backup files on older Android versions |
| Post Notifications | Sends revision-due reminders you schedule yourself |
| Receive Boot Completed | Reschedules your revision reminders automatically after a device reboot, so they still fire at 8 AM without requiring you to open the app first |
| Request Ignore Battery Optimizations | Asks the OS to exempt the app from battery optimisation so revision reminders arrive on time even when battery saver mode is active. Prompted only when you turn on Remind Me to Revise — you can decline without affecting any other feature |
| Detect Screen Capture (Android 14+) | Enables freeRASP to detect and respond to live screen capture attempts (security feature — not used to record your screen) |
| Vibrate | Optional haptic feedback for alerts |
| Flashlight | Used in Document Scanner for scanning in low lighted areas |
Note: No permission is used to track, profile, or build advertising audiences directly by this app.
The Raphael Sensei AI chat feature uses a model file (.litertlm) stored entirely on your device and runs via Google's LiteRT LM runtime. This feature:
To verify your subscription and protect the app against tampering, the app communicates with a private Firebase Cloud Functions backend hosted at:
asia-south1-raphael-sensei-backend.cloudfunctions.net
| Data | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Play Integrity token | A cryptographic attestation from Google Play confirming the app and device are genuine |
| Firebase App Check token | Proves the request originates from the genuine app binary |
| Google Play purchase token (if subscribed) | Sent to verify your subscription status with Google Play |
| Existing JWT (token refresh only) | Sent to /refreshToken to renew your subscription status token without a full Play Integrity round-trip |
A short-lived JWT (JSON Web Token) containing your subscription status. The JWT does not contain any personal information.
The backend does not log or retain your note content, study data, or any personal identifiers beyond what is listed above.
To protect against tampering, rooting, hooking, and app cloning, Raphael Sensei uses freeRASP, a Runtime Application Self-Protection (RASP) SDK developed by Talsec a.s. (Czech Republic).
FreeRASP may send security incident reports to Talsec's servers when a threat is detected. These reports may include:
Additionally, freeRASP applies FLAG_SECURE to the app's activity window on launch. This blocks screenshots, screen recordings, and the Android DETECT_SCREEN_CAPTURE signal — you will not be able to screenshot the app from outside. This is a security measure to protect your study data.
Talsec Privacy Policy: https://www.talsec.app/privacy-policy
If you enable the Shake to Snip feature in Settings, the app uses your device's accelerometer sensor to detect shaking gestures. This sensor data is processed entirely on-device in real time and is never recorded or transmitted.
The Scan to Notes feature lets you photograph physical documents (textbook pages, handwritten notes, whiteboards) and either save them as images or extract the text via OCR.
The app does not record audio or capture microphone input at any point.
The app can receive screenshots shared from other apps (e.g. from a browser or document viewer) via the Android share sheet. When you share an image to Raphael Sensei, the image is processed locally on your device — cropped and permanently saved into the topic you choose. The app does not upload or transmit shared images to any server.
When you use the Share AI Response feature, the app renders chat bubbles as PNG images and passes them to your device's standard OS share sheet. The app itself does not upload or transmit this content — it is sent only to the app you choose in the share sheet (e.g. WhatsApp, Gmail).
The Backup feature creates a ZIP file of your local database and saves it to a folder you choose on your device. The Auto Backup feature does the same automatically on app start. These backup files:
Raphael Sensei is free to use and is supported by advertising. Ads are served through Google AdMob, which uses the following mediation partners. These SDKs run directly within the app and may independently collect data on your device to serve and measure ads.
Operated by Google LLC.
May collect: Android Advertising ID, device information (model, OS version, screen size), app interaction data (impressions, clicks), IP address.
Privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy
Operated by Meta Platforms, Inc.
May collect: Android Advertising ID, IP address, device information, app interaction data. If you have Facebook or Instagram installed, Meta may correlate this data with your Meta account to serve more relevant ads. Meta does not support banner ads in this app — only interstitial and app open formats.
Privacy policy: https://www.facebook.com/privacy/policy/
You can opt out of personalised ads or reset your Advertising ID at any time:
Resetting or deleting your Advertising ID limits the ability of all ad networks above to show you personalised ads.
This app uses the following Firebase services, all provided by Google LLC:
| Service | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Firebase App Check | Verifies that API calls come from the genuine app binary — prevents abuse of backend resources |
| Firebase Crashlytics | Automatically collects crash reports and non-fatal error logs to help diagnose and fix app stability issues |
Uses Play Integrity, which sends a signed attestation from your device to Google to verify the app's authenticity. No personal data is included in this attestation beyond confirming your device has a valid Play Integrity verdict.
Operated by Google LLC. When the app crashes or encounters a non-fatal error, Crashlytics automatically collects and sends a crash report. This may include:
Crashlytics does not collect your study notes, images, or any content from your database.
Privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy
The TTS feature uses your device's installed system TTS engine (e.g. Google Text-to-Speech). Audio is synthesized entirely on-device. This app does not use the microphone or record audio input in any form.
Raphael Sensei blocks screenshots and screen recordings system-wide using Android's FLAG_SECURE flag, applied on app launch by the freeRASP security SDK. This means:
This is a deliberate security measure to protect your study content. It applies to the entire app and cannot be toggled by the user.
Raphael Sensei is rated for users aged 16 and above in the Google Play Console and is not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 16. The advertising SDKs used in this app (see Section 12) are configured for a general audience under this age restriction. If you believe a user under 16 is using this app, please contact us at dev.himchita@gmail.com.
| Layer | Protection |
|---|---|
| Local database | Plain SQLite — stored in app private storage, inaccessible to other apps without root |
| JWT & subscription status | Stored in Android hardware-backed Keystore (encrypted shared preferences) |
| Backup files | Unencrypted ZIP — stored only in the folder you choose; protect that folder if needed |
| Network transmission | All communication with Firebase, the security backend, and ad networks occurs over HTTPS |
| Screen capture | Blocked system-wide by FLAG_SECURE (freeRASP) |
We do not operate any servers that store your personal data or study content.
We may update this policy as new features are added. The "Last updated" date at the top will reflect any changes. Continued use of the app after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy. Significant changes will also be noted in the Play Store update description.
All study notes, PDFs, videos, images and app settings are stored locally on your device only. You can delete all app data at any time by:
For data collected by third-party SDKs:
| Data | Retention | How to delete |
|---|---|---|
| Crash logs (Firebase Crashlytics) | Automatically deleted within 90 days | Contact us to request earlier deletion |
| Device/Advertising ID (AdMob) | Managed by Google | Settings → Google → Ads → Delete Advertising ID |
| Security incident reports (freeRASP/Talsec) | Reports are sent only when a specific threat is detected (e.g. root, tamper, hook) — not continuously. We have no visibility into Talsec's server-side retention period; see their policy for details. | Contact Talsec at talsec.app/privacy-policy |
To request deletion of any data associated with your device, contact us at: dev.himchita@gmail.com
We will respond to deletion requests within 30 days.
For privacy-related questions or requests, please contact the developer through the Raphael Sensei Play Store listing page or at dev.himchita@gmail.com.