Privacy Policy

HowIt - Every guide, manual, and recipe in one place

Effective Date: March 19, 2026

GeckoForge ("Company") values the privacy of users of the "HowIt" application ("App") and complies with applicable privacy laws and regulations. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, how we use it, how long we retain it, and what rights you have.

1. Personal Information We Collect

1-1. Required Information

Item	When Collected	How Collected
Google account info (email, name, profile photo URL)	At sign-up (login)	Google OAuth
Nickname	During onboarding	User input
Interest categories	During onboarding	User selection

1-2. Optional Information

Item	When Collected	How Collected
Profile image	During onboarding or profile edit	User upload
Bio	During profile edit	User input
Guide content (text, images, videos)	When creating a guide	User input/upload
Comments	When writing a comment	User input

1-3. Automatically Collected Information

Item	Purpose
FCM device token	Push notification delivery
Usage records (likes, saves, follows, reports)	Service functionality

2. How We Use Your Information

Purpose	Related Items
User identification and authentication	Google account info, nickname
Personalized guide recommendations	Interest categories, like/save history
Profile display (visible to other users)	Nickname, profile image, bio
Content service delivery	Guides, comments, images, videos
Push notifications (likes, comments, follows)	FCM device token
Abuse prevention and report handling	Report content, usage records

3. Retention and Deletion

Category	Retention Period
Account information (profile, nickname, etc.)	Until account deletion
Guides, comments, media content	Until deleted by user or account deletion
Report records	1 year after resolution
Guide progress (local storage)	Deleted on app uninstall or guide completion

Personal information is promptly destroyed when the retention period expires or the purpose of processing is achieved.

4. Sharing with Third Parties

We do not share your personal information with third parties, except in the following cases:

When you have given prior consent
When required by law

5. Service Providers

We use the following service providers to operate the App:

Provider	Service
Supabase Inc.	Database storage, user authentication, file storage
Google LLC	OAuth authentication, FCM push notifications

6. Your Rights

You may exercise the following rights at any time:

Right of access: You can view your personal information processing status.
Right to rectification/deletion: You can edit your information in the App's profile settings or request deletion via the contact information below.
Right to restrict processing: You can request that we stop processing your information.
Account deletion: You can request account deletion via the contact information below. All personal information will be immediately destroyed upon deletion.

Self-service options: Go to My Page → Edit Profile to update your nickname, profile image, and bio directly within the App.

7. Security Measures

We implement the following measures to protect your personal information:

HTTPS (TLS) encryption for all data transmission
Supabase Row Level Security (RLS) policies for data access control
Token-based API access management
No password collection (Google OAuth only)

8. Children's Privacy

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 14. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child under 14, we will promptly delete that information.

9. Changes to This Policy

This Privacy Policy may be updated due to changes in applicable laws or our services. Any changes will be communicated through in-app notices or on this page.

10. Contact Us

For any inquiries, complaints, or requests regarding your personal information, please contact us at the email address above. We will respond promptly and sincerely.

Company	GeckoForge
Service	HowIt
Email	geckoforge.app@gmail.com