Privacy policy
In short:
- Katha has no accounts and asks for no names, emails or photos.
- Your progress, saved stories and settings stay on your device.
- We don't use analytics or tracking, in the app or on this website.
- Payments go through Apple or Google. We never see card details.
- The free version shows ads from Google AdMob. They are requested as child-directed, G-rated and non-personalised.
Who we are
Katha is an app of stories from Hindu mythology for iPhone, iPad, Android and Mac, made by (“we”, “us”). If you have a question about this policy, email .
What stays on your device
To work, Katha stores the following only on your device. It is never sent to us:
- your chosen language, theme, text size, narration voice and speed,
- which stories you've saved, finished, or are part-way through,
- which chapters you've opened for 24 hours by watching an ad.
Quiz answers aren't stored at all. Deleting the app deletes all of this.
Narration
When a story is read with your phone's voice, the text is spoken by your device's own text-to-speech system, under your operating system's privacy settings. Studio narration is recorded in advance and included in the app, so playing it doesn't send anything anywhere.
Subscriptions
Katha Plus is bought through the Apple App Store or Google Play. They handle your payment and payment details under their own privacy policies. We never receive your card or bank details.
To check whether a subscription is active, the app uses RevenueCat. RevenueCat receives a random identifier created by the app (not your name or email), the purchase receipt from the store, and basic technical information such as the app version, device type and country. We can see this subscription information in RevenueCat to give support, for example when helping restore a purchase.
Ads in the free version
If you don't have Katha Plus, the app shows ads from Google AdMob: a small banner on browsing screens, and a video ad only when you choose to watch one to open a chapter. Ads never appear on the story screen.
Because Katha is used by children, every ad request is:
- tagged as directed at children and as coming from a user under the age of consent,
- limited to ads rated G (suitable for general audiences),
- non-personalised, so ads aren't chosen based on a profile of you.
The Android app gives up the permission to read the device's advertising ID, and the iPhone app never asks for permission to track you. To deliver ads, measure them and prevent fraud, Google still receives limited technical information, such as the device's IP address, the type of device and the app, and processes it under its own policies. We don't send Google any information about you or the stories you read.
Children
Katha is designed for families, and many listeners are children. We don't knowingly collect personal information from anyone, children included. We don't build profiles, track behaviour or show targeted ads. This is how we meet the requirements of the US Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, for example in a support email, write to us and we'll delete it.
Who receives information
| Who | What | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Apple or Google | Purchase and payment details | To process subscriptions |
| RevenueCat | A random app identifier, purchase receipts, app version, device type, country | To check and restore subscriptions |
| Google AdMob (free version only) | Limited device and network information such as IP address | To show child-safe, non-personalised ads and prevent fraud |
| Our website host | Standard server logs such as IP address and pages requested | To run the website and keep it secure |
We don't sell or rent information to anyone.
This website
This website uses no cookies, analytics or trackers, and its fonts are served from the site itself. Like any website, the hosting provider keeps basic server logs, such as IP addresses and the pages requested, to run and protect the site.
Your choices and rights
- Delete your data: uninstall the app to remove everything stored on your device. To delete subscription records held for us by RevenueCat, email us from the address you'd like us to reply to and include your store receipt or order number.
- Avoid ads: subscribe to Katha Plus. Free users only see a video ad when they choose to watch one.
- Access or correction: depending on where you live, you may have the right to ask what information is held about you, and to have it corrected or deleted. Email us and we'll respond within 30 days.
Security and storage
Information on your device is protected by your device's own security. RevenueCat, Apple and Google store subscription information on their servers, which may be outside your country, under their own security practices.
Changes to this policy
If we change how Katha handles information, we'll update this page and the date at the top. If a change is significant, we'll say so in the app before it takes effect.