Privacy policy
Car Khata: Car Expense Tracker, by Lalaqua
Effective 7 November 2026
In short: Car Khata has no server and no account. What you record stays on your phone. Lalaqua never receives any of it.
- If you connect Google Drive, backups and copies of your documents go to your own Drive, nowhere else.
- If you turn on toll detection, notifications are read on your phone only to find FASTag toll messages.
- If you allow location, it's sent to Google Maps only to find the fuel station you're at.
- No ads, no analytics, no tracking, nothing sold.
This policy explains what the Car Khata Android app ("Car Khata", "the app") does with information on your phone. Car Khata is made by Lalaqua ("we", "us"). If you have a question, write to lalaqua2019@gmail.com.
1. What you record stays on your phone
Everything you enter in Car Khata is stored in the app's private storage on your phone, which other apps can't read. This includes:
- your vehicles (nickname, make, model, registration number, purchase details);
- fuel and charging entries, service visits and their bill lines, tolls and other expenses, with amounts, dates, odometer readings, garages, stations and notes;
- documents in the Glovebox (such as RC, insurance, PUC and driving licence) with their numbers and dates, and the photos and PDFs you add of them and of your bills;
- reminders and your settings.
We don't run a server, and the app doesn't send any of this to us. There is no sign-up and no account.
2. FASTag toll detection (notification access)
Toll detection is off until you turn it on. Before Android asks you to allow notification access, the app shows what it reads and asks you to agree.
- While it's on, Car Khata reads the text of notifications on your phone only to find FASTag toll messages from banks (for example, an SMS saying a toll was paid).
- From a toll message it keeps the toll amount, date and time, toll plaza, vehicle number, FASTag balance and the message's text, as a toll entry waiting for you to confirm. Nothing from any other notification is stored.
- Notifications are processed on your phone and never sent anywhere.
- Car Khata does not read your SMS inbox and does not ask for SMS permissions. It doesn't read UPI or card payment notifications.
You can turn toll detection off in the app's Settings, and remove notification access in Android's settings, at any time.
3. Location
Location is optional and only used in the foreground, while you add a fill-up. It is never collected in the background.
- When you add a fill-up for today, Car Khata can take one precise location fix to find the fuel station or charger you're at. Precise location is needed because stations are often only a few hundred metres apart.
- The fix is matched against stations you've saved, on your phone. If none is close, the location is sent to Google Maps Platform (Places API) to list nearby stations. When you search the map, what you type is sent to Google to suggest places.
- The location is saved with the fill-up on your phone, and with stations you save, so they can be found again offline.
You can set location to Off or Map only in Settings, or deny the permission in Android's settings. The rest of the app works without it.
4. Google Drive backup and sync (optional)
If you choose to connect Google Drive, Car Khata asks Google for the drive.file permission. With it,
Car Khata can only see and change the files it creates in your Drive; it cannot see any other file in your Drive.
- Depending on the switches you turn on, Car Khata saves to a "Car Khata" folder in your own Drive: a daily backup of your records, copies of your documents and bill photos, and a sync file used to keep a second phone on the same Google account up to date.
- The app remembers your Google account's email address on your phone, so backups can run in the background.
- These files go only between your phone and your Google Drive. Lalaqua never receives them, and they are not shared with anyone else.
- You can disconnect Drive in the app at any time. To remove Car Khata's access completely, use the Third-party apps page of your Google Account. Files already in your Drive stay there until you delete them.
Google API Services User Data Policy. Car Khata's use and transfer of information received from Google APIs to any other app will adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. Data from your Google Drive is used only to provide the backup, restore, document copy and sync features you turn on. It is not used for advertising, not sold, not transferred to anyone, and not read by any person.
5. Photos, documents and the camera
- Photos and PDFs you add are picked with Android's photo picker or file picker, so Car Khata sees only the files you choose. It doesn't ask for access to your storage.
- Scanning a document uses Google's ML Kit Document Scanner, which runs on your phone and handles the camera itself; Car Khata doesn't ask for the camera permission.
- Copies are kept in the app's private storage, and in your Drive only if you turn on uploads.
6. Google services the app uses
Car Khata uses these Google services. They are provided by Google, and Google's Privacy Policy applies to the data they handle:
| Service | Used for | What it may receive |
|---|---|---|
| Google Maps SDK for Android | Showing the map | Device and app information, diagnostics and an identifier for the Maps SDK, map use (panning and zooming) |
| Places API | Nearby stations and map search | Your location when looking up stations, and the text you type in map search |
| ML Kit Document Scanner | Scanning documents | Device and app information and diagnostics (the scan itself stays on your phone) |
| Google Play services sign-in | Connecting Google Drive | Your choice of Google account and the permission you grant |
| Google Drive API | Backup, document copies and sync | The files described in section 4, saved in your own Drive |
All of these connections are encrypted (HTTPS).
7. Sharing and selling
We don't sell your data, share it with advertisers or data brokers, or use it for advertising. Apart from the Google services above, data leaves your phone only when you choose to send it, for example when you share a document or export your records as CSV files through Android's share sheet.
8. Android's own backup
If your phone's Android backup is on, Android may include Car Khata's database (not your photos and documents) in the device backup it keeps in your Google account, and may copy the app's data when you move to a new phone. This is managed by Android and Google under your phone's backup settings.
9. Security
Your records are kept in the app's private storage, protected by Android's app sandbox and your phone's encryption. You can also turn on the app lock, which asks for your fingerprint, face or screen lock when the app or the Glovebox opens. Connections to Google are encrypted.
10. Keeping and deleting your data
- Your records stay on your phone until you delete them in the app, clear the app's data, or uninstall it.
- Backups and copies in your Google Drive stay there until you delete them from Drive. The app keeps only recent backups and deletes older ones it made.
- Because we never receive your data, there is nothing for us to delete. If you have a question, write to us.
11. Children
Car Khata is meant for vehicle owners and is not directed at children.
12. Your rights
You can see, correct, export and delete everything Car Khata holds, in the app itself. If you have a question or concern about your data, including under India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, write to lalaqua2019@gmail.com and we'll reply.
13. Changes
If this policy changes, the new version will be posted on this page with a new effective date. If a change affects what the app does with your data, the update notes on Google Play will say so too.
Contact
Lalaqua
lalaqua2019@gmail.com