Privacy Policy

WHY (whysocratica.com, and the WHY iOS/Android apps) is operated by Om Jadhav. If you have questions about this policy or your data, contact om18jadhav@gmail.com.

Account information. WHY uses Google Sign-In and Sign in with Apple only — we never see or store a password. When you sign up, we receive your name, email address (or Apple's private relay email, if you choose to hide your real one), and profile photo from whichever provider you use.

Content you create. The questions you ask, the follow-up questions you post, your handle, display name, and any profile details you choose to add. On WHY, this content is public by design — every question is meant to be found and built on by others, so treat what you post here as public, not private.

Activity signals. Follows, curiosity votes, reports you file, and blocks you apply — used to run the features you'd expect (your feed, notifications, moderation).

Device and app integrity signals. We use Firebase App Check to confirm that requests to our systems come from a real instance of the WHY app or website, not an automated script. This checks your device/app's authenticity (via Google Play Integrity, Apple App Attest, or reCAPTCHA on web) — it does not identify you personally.

Usage analytics. Basic, aggregated usage data (which screens are used, how often) via Firebase Analytics, to help us understand what's working and fix what isn't.

To operate your account and let you use WHY as intended — posting, replying, following, getting notified when someone asks a deeper question on your thread. To keep the platform functioning honestly — rate-limiting abuse, reviewing reports, and preventing spam. To improve WHY over time, using aggregated usage patterns, not individual surveillance. We do not sell your data, and we do not use your questions to train third-party advertising models.

We rely on a small number of infrastructure providers to run WHY, each bound by their own security and data-handling standards:

• Google Firebase / Google Cloud — hosts our database, authentication, storage, backend functions, and app integrity checks. • Apple — processes Sign in with Apple if you choose that option. • Vercel — hosts whysocratica.com.

We don't share your data with advertisers, and we don't sell it to data brokers. If we're ever legally compelled to disclose information (e.g., a valid legal request), we'll comply only to the extent required by law.

Unlike most apps, WHY isn't built around private messaging. Questions and replies are meant to be seen, found, and built on by anyone. Please don't post anything in a question or reply that you wouldn't want to be public and permanent, since other users may have already read, referenced, or built a rabbit hole on top of it before you edit or remove it.

You can deactivate your account at any time from Settings, which removes your public presence on WHY. If you'd like your underlying account data fully deleted rather than just deactivated, email us at om18jadhav@gmail.com and we'll process that request. You can also review and update your profile information directly within the app or website at any time.

WHY is not directed at children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect data from anyone under that age. If you believe a child has created an account, contact us and we'll remove it.

We rely on Firebase's security infrastructure, enforce server-side access rules on all data (so only you can modify your own account), and use App Check to block automated abuse. No system is perfectly secure, but we treat your data with the same care we'd want for our own.

If this policy changes in a meaningful way, we'll update the date at the top of this page. Continued use of WHY after a change means you accept the update.

Questions about this policy, or about your data specifically, go to om18jadhav@gmail.com — a real inbox, checked by a real person, same as everything else on WHY.