AwayBot privacy policy
Who we are
AwayBot is published by AwayBot (the developer name shown on Google Play), an independent developer, reachable at [email protected]. The app replies to chat messages on your behalf, on your phone, using rules you write.
AwayBot is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to WhatsApp, Meta Platforms, Telegram, Instagram or Signal. Those names and logos belong to their owners and appear here only to say which apps AwayBot can answer messages from.
The short version
- The app runs on your phone. It has no server of ours holding your data, and no account.
- We do not collect, store or receive your messages, your contacts, or anything about who writes to you.
- The only data that leaves your phone does so because you switched a feature on, and it goes to a service you chose, not to us.
- There are no ads and no analytics SDK in the app. Two things can leave the phone for us, both only when you choose: a diagnostic report you read first, and an optional once-a-day list of anonymous counts.
What the app reads, and why
Notifications from the messengers you enable. To answer a message the app must read the notification that announces it. It reads only notifications posted by the messaging apps you have switched on (WhatsApp, WhatsApp Business, Telegram, Instagram, Messenger, Signal). Notifications from every other app are ignored before their content is looked at. The reply is sent through the messenger's own notification reply button, the same one you tap by hand.
What is kept on the phone. For seven days the app keeps a short record of why each rule did or did not fire for each message, so the Activity and Health screens can show you what happened. For 90 days it keeps the text of each reply it sent and the chat it went to (the send_record table), so a reply is not sent twice to the same chat and daily limits survive a restart; the newest record per chat and rule is kept beyond that so a "once per conversation" rule stays honest. Incoming message text is not stored, with one exception: while a reply of yours has "let AI write it" switched on, the app keeps the recent lines of each chat it answers (what the contact wrote, the contact's name, what you wrote back, what the app replied) for 30 days, so the AI reply can follow the conversation instead of answering each message on its own. That history is deleted when you remove the AI key or turn off the last AI reply, and nothing new is kept while AI is off. Your rules, menus and settings are stored on the phone and in the backups you export yourself.
What is never read. Contacts, call logs, SMS, location, photos, files, or the content of any app you have not switched on.
What leaves the phone, only if you turn it on
AI replies. If you connect an AI provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, DeepSeek, or any OpenAI-compatible service reachable over https) with your own API key, then each time a rule with AI on answers, the following is sent to that provider to write the reply: the text of the incoming message, the sender's display name as the messenger shows it, the recent lines of that chat the app kept (see above: up to 30 days, at most the last 40 lines, including the contact's name, your own messages and earlier automatic replies), your AI instructions (the rule's own and the general ones) and the rule's text. That traffic goes directly from your phone to the provider, with your key, under the provider's own privacy policy. We do not see it and nothing about it is sent to us. The app tells you this on the AI settings screen before you paste a key. Switch AI off and nothing is sent.
AI-written replies can be made to say that they are automatic ("AI replies say they are automatic" in AI settings). The switch is off by default, because most owners' own reply texts already say an app is answering; turn it on if yours do not. People who message you are entitled to know they are not talking to a person, and in the European Union this is a legal requirement.
Google Sheets as a reply list. If you connect a Google Sheet, the app downloads that sheet's public CSV export from Google. Nothing about your messages is sent in that request.
Purchases. Prices, purchases and subscriptions are handled by Google Play Billing under Google's terms. We receive from Google only what is needed to know that a purchase exists; we never see your payment details.
Founding-user license backup. If you installed during the founding period, a few bytes recording that license are saved in your own Google account's Block Store so the license survives a reinstall or a new phone. This data is yours, in your account; we cannot read it.
Diagnostic reports. The Health screen has a "Send diagnostics" button. It composes a report about what your phone did to the app (when it was stopped and why, which checks failed, how many replies went out) and shows you every line before anything is sent. It never contains your messages, your contacts or anyone's name. If you add your e-mail so we can answer, it is stored with that report and nowhere else. Reports are kept for 90 days on our server (calsyncai.com) and then deleted. To have a report deleted sooner, write to [email protected] with the ticket number the app showed you.
Anonymous usage counts. Off until you switch it on, on the Health screen. Once a day the app then sends a short list of numbers: how many replies went out, which kinds of rules exist, which screens were opened, your app version, Android version, phone maker and language. No messages, no names, no phone numbers, and no identifier of your phone or of you, so we cannot tell one phone's report from another. The card shows you the exact report before you switch it on. Switching it off deletes what was counted and stops the reports. Kept for 400 days on our server, in aggregate.
Reporting a reply. The Activity screen has a "Report this reply" button on every reply the app sent. It opens your own e-mail app with the reply text filled in, addressed to us. Nothing is sent until you send that e-mail, and what you send is up to you.
Permissions
| Permission | Why |
|---|---|
| Notification access | Read incoming messenger notifications and press their reply button. |
| Notifications | Show the status notification that keeps the reply service alive, and tell you about gaps. |
| Foreground service (special use) | Keep the notification listener bound so replies go out in seconds. |
| Internet, network state | AI replies, Google Sheets, diagnostic reports you send, and the optional anonymous usage counts. Nothing else uses the network. |
| Bluetooth connect | Driving mode: detect your car's Bluetooth to switch driving replies on. Optional. |
| Boot completed | Restart the reply service after a reboot. |
| Billing | Google Play purchases. |
The app does not request Accessibility access, contacts, SMS, call logs, location, or the ability to ignore battery optimisation.
Your contacts' data
When AwayBot answers a message, the person who wrote to you is your contact, not ours. Their message stays on your phone unless you have switched AI on, in which case it goes to the AI provider you chose, as described above. You are responsible for using the app in a way that is lawful where you are, for example by telling your customers that replies may be automatic (the default notice does this for AI replies) and by not using the app to send unsolicited messages.
Your rights
Because we hold no account and no personal data about you by default, most requests have nothing to act on: uninstalling the app, or clearing its data in Android settings, removes everything it stored on your phone. For the two things that can reach our server:
- A diagnostic report you sent can be deleted on request; quote the ticket number. It is deleted automatically after 90 days in any case.
- Usage counts carry no identifier, so they cannot be matched to you; switching the card off stops them.
If you are in the European Union, the United Kingdom or another place with a data-protection law, you may have rights of access, correction, deletion, restriction, portability and objection, and the right to complain to your supervisory authority. Write to [email protected] and we will answer within one month. Our legal basis for keeping a diagnostic report you sent is your request (consent); for the anonymous counts it is your consent given on the Health screen, which you can withdraw there.
Children
The app is not directed at children under 13 (or the higher age your country sets) and we do not knowingly collect data from anyone. If you believe a child has sent us a diagnostic report, write to us and we will delete it.
Changes
This policy is versioned. A change that affects what leaves your phone gets a new version number, a dated entry below, and a notice inside the app. The current version is always at https://calsyncai.com/awaybot/privacy.html.
Changelog
- 1.0: first version.
- 1.1 (11 September 2026): diagnostic reports and the optional anonymous usage counts described; both off unless you act.
- 1.2 (11 September 2026): publisher and contact named; non-affiliation with the messengers stated; AI notice to contacts; Signal added; "Report this reply"; deletion of diagnostic reports on request; your contacts' data; your rights; the public URL.
- 1.3 (18 September 2026): what the AI provider receives spelled out (message text, sender name, recent chat history); sent replies kept 90 days, AI chat history 30 days and deleted when the key is removed or the last AI reply is turned off; the automatic-reply notice is off by default.