Privacy Policy
Effective Date: 6 July 2026
App Name: Kathakosh / कथाकोश
Developer: Kathakosh Creations
Contact Email: kathakoshcreations@gmail.com
Country: India
Kathakosh (“we”, “our”, or “us”) is a Marathi reading and writing platform where users can read stories, write and publish stories, follow writers, save stories, like, comment, rate story parts, receive notifications, subscribe for reading access, and participate in writing competitions.
This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, how we protect it, and what choices users have.
Kathakosh is free to install. Writing and contest participation are free. Reader subscription is required only for reading locked story parts after the free reading limit.
1. Information We Collect
We may collect the following types of information when you use Kathakosh:
Account Information
- Mobile number used for OTP login
- User ID generated by Firebase Authentication
- Name, pen name, role, bio, and profile details entered by the user
- Profile photo uploaded by the user
- Account status, login status, and app profile information
User-Generated Content
Kathakosh allows users to create, upload, publish, and interact with content. We may collect and store:
- Stories, story parts, titles, descriptions, categories, and cover images
- Writer profile information connected with published stories
- Comments, likes, ratings, follows, saved stories, and reports
- Competition entries and related story information
- Reader and writer activity required for app features
Some user-generated content may be publicly visible inside the app.
Subscription and Payment Information
Kathakosh may offer paid reading membership through Google Play Billing.
The app is free to install. Users may read free story parts without subscription. Reader subscription may be required to read locked story parts after the free reading limit, such as story parts after part 5.
Writing stories and participating in Kathakosh writing competitions is free. No subscription or paid purchase is required to participate in Maharashtraacha Kathasangram, to be judged, or to win a prize. Subscription is only for reading access and does not increase a participant’s chance of winning any contest.
We do not collect or store debit card, credit card, UPI, net banking, wallet, CVV, OTP, or banking details. Payments are processed by Google Play.
We may store subscription-related information required to provide reading access, such as:
- Subscription status
- Subscription plan
- Payment status
- Start date
- Expiry date
- Google Play purchase/subscription verification status
Contest and Prize Information
Kathakosh may run skill-based writing competitions, including Maharashtraacha Kathasangram.
Contest participation is free. Winners may be selected based on story quality, originality, completion, rule compliance, reader response where applicable, and Kathakosh evaluation.
If a user wins a cash prize, we may request additional information for verification and prize distribution, such as:
- Full legal name
- Contact details
- Age confirmation
- Identity proof, if required
- Bank/payment details required to transfer prize money
- Tax or compliance information, if required by law
Such information will be used only for verification, prize distribution, fraud prevention, legal compliance, and record keeping.
Device and Notification Information
We may collect Firebase Cloud Messaging tokens and related device identifiers required to send app notifications, such as:
- Story activity notifications
- Comment, like, rating, and follow notifications
- Competition updates
- Subscription or reading access updates
- Important app notices
Technical and Usage Information
We may collect technical and usage information required for app functionality, security, debugging, and performance improvement, such as:
- Device type
- Operating system version
- App version
- Crash or error information
- Service logs
- Basic usage events
- Authentication and database activity logs
This may be collected through Firebase and related Google services.
2. How We Use Information
We use collected information to:
- Create and manage user accounts
- Enable OTP-based login
- Show user profiles and public writer profiles
- Allow users to write, publish, read, save, like, comment, rate, and follow
- Display stories, story parts, writer names, categories, covers, and public engagement
- Provide free reading access and subscription-based locked reading access
- Manage writing competitions and contest entries
- Verify winners and distribute prizes where applicable
- Send relevant notifications
- Detect misuse, spam, fake engagement, plagiarism, copyright violations, or policy violations
- Respond to support, report, privacy, copyright, takedown, or account requests
- Improve app reliability, performance, safety, and user experience
- Comply with applicable legal, regulatory, tax, and platform requirements
3. Public Information
Some information may be visible to other users, including:
- Pen name or display name
- Profile photo
- Public bio
- Published stories and story parts
- Story title, description, category, cover image, and writer name
- Likes, ratings, comments, follower counts, and other public engagement information
- Contest entry story information
- Winner name, pen name, story title, prize category, or recognition details if a user wins or is recognized in a contest
Users should not publish private, sensitive, confidential, financial, or personal information in stories, comments, profile details, or bio.
4. Sharing of Information
We do not sell user personal information.
We may share limited information only when necessary:
- With Google Firebase services for authentication, database, storage, notifications, app functionality, security, and performance
- With Google Play for app distribution, subscription, billing, purchase verification, and refund-related processes
- With service providers required to operate, secure, or improve the app
- With banks/payment channels only where necessary for prize distribution
- With legal, tax, regulatory, or government authorities where required by law
- To investigate misuse, fraud, fake engagement, plagiarism, copyright complaints, safety issues, or policy violations
5. Data Storage and Security
Kathakosh uses Firebase and Google services to store and process app data.
We take reasonable steps to protect user data through:
- Firebase Authentication
- Firestore security rules
- Access controls
- Secure cloud services
- Account-based permissions
- Moderation and reporting systems
However, no internet-based service can guarantee complete security. Users are responsible for keeping their devices, mobile numbers, Google accounts, and app accounts secure.
6. User Choices and Control
Users may:
- Edit profile information inside the app
- Change or remove profile photo
- Create, edit, or manage their own story drafts and content where supported
- Stop using the app at any time
- Contact us for account, privacy, data, support, copyright, takedown, or deletion-related requests
To request account or data-related assistance, contact:
kathakoshcreations@gmail.com
We may need to verify your identity before processing deletion, account, or data-related requests.
7. Data Retention
We retain user data as long as needed to:
- Provide app services
- Maintain user accounts
- Display published content
- Provide subscription access
- Manage contests and prize records
- Resolve disputes
- Prevent fraud or misuse
- Handle copyright and takedown matters
- Comply with legal, tax, regulatory, and platform requirements
- Enforce our policies
Published stories, comments, ratings, reports, contest records, winner records, payment/subscription records, and moderation records may be retained where necessary for legal, copyright, audit, tax, contest-result, or platform-safety purposes.
8. Children’s Privacy and Age Suitability
Kathakosh is not primarily directed to children. The app is intended for general Marathi readers and writers.
Because Kathakosh includes user-generated content, public interaction, subscriptions, and writing competitions that may include cash prizes, users should use the app only if legally permitted under applicable laws and platform rules.
Cash prize winners may be required to confirm that they are at least 18 years old and provide valid verification details before prize distribution.
Parents or guardians who believe that a child has provided personal information may contact us at:
kathakoshcreations@gmail.com
9. User-Generated Content Responsibility
Users are responsible for the stories, comments, profile information, images, and other content they upload or publish.
Users must not upload or publish content that is:
- Illegal or unlawful
- Abusive, hateful, threatening, or harassing
- Defamatory or misleading
- Sexually explicit, obscene, or exploitative
- Promoting violence, terrorism, self-harm, or illegal activity
- Infringing copyright, trademark, privacy, or other rights
- Copied from another writer, book, app, website, social media page, or platform without permission
- Spam, fraudulent, or harmful to the platform
- Against Google Play policies or applicable laws
Kathakosh may review, restrict, remove, or report content that violates our policies, applicable laws, copyright rules, or platform requirements.
10. Reports, Moderation, and Safety
Kathakosh may provide reporting and moderation tools for user-generated content.
Users may report stories, comments, profiles, plagiarism, copyright violations, abusive content, or other policy violations.
We may use reports and internal review to:
- Hide or remove content
- Restrict content visibility
- Suspend or restrict accounts
- Disqualify contest entries
- Investigate fake engagement or misuse
- Respond to copyright or takedown requests
- Protect users and the platform
11. Third-Party Services
Kathakosh may use third-party services, including but not limited to:
- Firebase Authentication
- Cloud Firestore
- Firebase Storage
- Firebase Cloud Messaging
- Google Play Billing
- Google Play Console services
- Google Cloud/Firebase services used for app functionality and security
These services may process data according to their own privacy policies and terms.
12. India-Only Distribution
Kathakosh is currently intended for distribution in India.
If availability changes in the future, this Privacy Policy may be updated to reflect additional regions, legal requirements, or platform obligations.
13. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time.
Changes will be posted on this page with an updated effective date. Continued use of Kathakosh after changes means the user accepts the updated Privacy Policy.
14. Contact Us
For privacy, support, copyright, takedown, account, contest, subscription, prize, or data deletion requests, contact:
Kathakosh Creations
Email: kathakoshcreations@gmail.com
Country: India