Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Forky is an interactive social storytelling app and website operated by Ethereal Labs Private Limited, a company incorporated in India (“Ethereal Labs”, “we”, “us”). We decide how and why your personal data is processed, which makes us the data controller (or “Data Fiduciary” under India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023).

This policy covers the Forky apps for iOS and Android, the Forky website at forky.support, and support conversations with us. It also covers TokiToki Studio when you use it to make stories for Forky. TokiToki, our app of original series, has its own privacy policy.

2. Data we collect

Data you give us

Data collected as you use Forky

We only access your camera, microphone and photo library when you choose to record or upload content, and only with your device’s permission. We do not access your contacts.

3. What other people can see

Forky is a social platform. The following are public by design:

• your username, display name, profile picture and bio;
• stories, episodes and branches you publish, and the creator name on them;
• comments and reactions you post, with your username;
• aggregate statistics on stories, such as how many viewers chose each path (never who chose what).

Drafts and unpublished Studio projects are private and are not used for promotion. Your follows, the stories you watch, your choices, your purchases and your age information are not shown to other users.

Public content can be screenshotted, downloaded or reposted by other people. Think before you publish, and report anything that is reposted without permission.

4. How we use your data

We do not show third-party advertising in Forky and we do not sell personal data. We do not use your story choices to infer sensitive characteristics such as health, religion or sexuality. We do not make decisions with legal or similarly significant effects on you based solely on automated processing; automated systems may flag content, but account suspensions and monetization decisions are reviewed by a person and can be appealed.

AI training: we do not use your private drafts, prompts or messages to train AI models. We may use published, public content to improve Forky’s own recommendation and safety systems. We do not allow third-party AI providers to train their models on your content where the provider offers that setting (see section 6).

5. Who we share your data with

We do not sell your personal data for money. We share it only with:

• Other users, as described in section 3.
• Service providers who work for us under contract: cloud hosting and storage, video processing and content delivery, sign-in and authentication, analytics and crash reporting, push notifications, content moderation tools, customer support tools, identity verification and payout processing for creators. Our main provider is Google, through Firebase and Google Cloud.
• AI providers that generate scripts, images, voice and video from the prompts you submit (see section 6).
• Social platforms you connect (YouTube, Instagram, TikTok), which receive the content you choose to publish there and process it under their own policies.
• Sign-in providers (Google, Apple, Meta for Facebook Login, and our SMS provider for phone sign-in), under their own privacy policies.
• App stores (Apple and Google), which handle app downloads and in-app purchases under their own privacy policies.
• Marketing attribution partners, who help us measure our ad campaigns. They receive advertising identifiers and install or event data only where you have allowed tracking or where the law does not require consent.
• Rights holders, where a copyright complaint about your content requires us to pass on your counter-notice and contact details, as the law provides.
• Authorities and others where required: to comply with law, a court order or a lawful request, to protect the safety of any person (including reporting child sexual abuse material to the relevant authorities), or to defend legal claims.
• A buyer or successor if we are involved in a merger, acquisition or sale of assets. This policy continues to protect your data.

6. Analytics, AI and tracking

Forky uses the following third-party services. Each acts as our service provider, except where noted.

Google’s handling of this data is described at firebase.google.com/support/privacy and policies.google.com/privacy.

Your choices

• iOS: we ask your permission through Apple’s App Tracking Transparency prompt before accessing your IDFA or tracking you across other companies’ apps and websites. If you say no, our attribution partner only receives data that Apple allows without tracking. You can change this at any time in Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking.
• Android: you can delete or reset your Advertising ID in Settings → Privacy → Ads (the exact path varies by device).
• Website: forky.support sets only strictly necessary cookies. If we add analytics cookies, we will ask for your consent first where the law requires it.
• Social connections: disconnect any platform in Settings → Connected accounts, or revoke Forky’s access in that platform’s settings. We delete the access token when you disconnect.
• Push notifications: turn them off in your device’s notification settings.

Turning off tracking does not stop the data we need to run the app securely, such as crash logs, safety scans and security logs.

7. International transfers

We are based in India, and our service providers may process data in India, the United States, the European Union, Singapore and other countries. AI providers and social platforms may process your prompts and posts outside India. When we transfer personal data from the EEA, the UK or Switzerland to a country without an adequacy decision, we use legally recognised safeguards such as the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses and the UK Addendum. Transfers from India follow the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and any restrictions the Government of India notifies.

8. How long we keep data

We may keep data longer where the law requires it or to resolve a dispute, and only for as long as that need lasts.

9. Your rights and choices

Depending on where you live, you can:

• access the personal data we hold about you and get a copy;
• correct data that is inaccurate or incomplete;
• delete your account and personal data (see Delete your account);
• withdraw consent at any time, without affecting processing done before;
• object to or restrict certain processing, including processing based on legitimate interests;
• receive your data in a portable format;
• nominate another person to exercise your rights if you die or become incapacitated (India);
• complain to a data protection authority.

To make a request, email admin@ethereallabs.in with the subject “Privacy Request” from the email linked to your account, or tell us the sign-in method and phone number you use. We may ask you to verify your identity. We reply within 30 days, or sooner if the law requires.

10. Teens and children

Forky is for people aged 13 and over, and 16 and over in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland. It is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their data. If we learn that someone below the minimum age has an account, we delete it.

Where the law of your country requires a parent or guardian’s consent to process a young person’s data (for example, users under 18 in India), the parent or guardian must give that consent. For users we know to be under 18, we hide mature stories, do not show their approximate location to anyone, and do not use their data for marketing measurement. You must be 18 or over to join the creator program. See our Child Safety & Age policy.

Parents or guardians who believe their child has used Forky without permission can contact us at admin@ethereallabs.in with the subject “Child Safety”.

11. Security

We protect personal data with encryption in transit, access controls limited to staff who need it, logging of staff access to user content, and monitoring of our systems. Moderators see only what they need to review a report. No system is perfectly secure. If a breach affects your personal data, we will notify you and the relevant authorities as the law requires.

12. Region-specific information

India

We process your data under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, and operate as an intermediary under the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the rules made under it. You may raise a grievance with our Grievance Officer using the contact details below. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may complain to the Data Protection Board of India, or appeal content decisions to the Grievance Appellate Committee.

European Economic Area, United Kingdom and Switzerland

The legal bases for each purpose are set out in section 4. You have the right to complain to your local data protection authority, or in the UK to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

United States (including California)

We do not sell personal information for money. Sharing advertising identifiers with attribution partners may count as “sharing” for cross-context behavioural advertising under California law. You can opt out by turning off tracking in your device settings or by emailing us. We honour Global Privacy Control signals on our website. We do not knowingly sell or share the personal information of consumers under 16. You will not be treated differently for exercising your rights.

13. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as Forky changes, for example when we add features or services. We will change the “Last updated” date above, and for significant changes we will tell you in the app or by email before they take effect.

14. Contact and grievances

Ethereal Labs Private Limited
2nd Floor, No. 189, Municipal No. 207/189, 14th A Cross Road, 6th Sector, HSR Layout, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560102, India
Email: admin@ethereallabs.in (subject “Privacy Request”)
Phone: +91 86975 85018

Our Grievance Officer handles complaints about content and about how we handle personal data. Write to the same address with the subject “Grievance”. We acknowledge grievances within 24 hours and resolve them within 15 days.