HOWHY · aixx Inc.
Privacy Policy
This policy explains what information HOWHY handles, where it is kept, who can see it and how you can delete it. HOWHY is a China-to-USA parcel forwarding app operated by aixx Inc. (“we”). Most of what you enter stays on your iPhone; our server holds only the account record that Sign in with Apple provides.
Summary
- Your account is created with Sign in with Apple, a mobile number or, where offered, an email address. Our server stores the sign-in identifiers you use (the identifier Apple assigns to you, your mobile number or your email address), the email address Apple shares (which may be a private relay address), the name you choose to share, a member code and the date the account was created.
- On your iPhone only: packages, consolidation requests, Buy for Me requests, US delivery addresses, shipping estimates and the profile name and contact email you type in. None of this is uploaded to us in this version.
- No payments, no tracking, no advertising: HOWHY does not process payments yet, has no analytics or advertising SDKs, and does not track you across other companies' apps or websites.
- Deletion: Me ▸ Account ▸ Delete account removes your account on our server and all HOWHY data on your iPhone.
1. Information we handle
Account information
You can sign in with Apple, with a mobile number or, where offered, with an email address, and link more than one of them to the same account. When you sign in with Apple, Apple sends the app an identity token and our server verifies it with Apple. When you sign in with a mobile number or an email address, our server sends a one-time code to it and accepts the sign-in only when you enter that code. The server then keeps an account record containing:
- a stable user identifier derived from the first sign-in method you used (the identifier Apple assigns to you for HOWHY, your mobile number or your email address);
- your mobile number in international format and/or your email address, if you sign in or link with them;
- the email address in Apple's token. If you chose Hide My Email, this is Apple's private relay address;
- your name, only if you chose to share it the first time you signed in, and only as given then;
- a member code generated from your user identifier, which identifies your packages at the warehouse;
- the date the account was created;
- a refresh token from Apple, used only to ask Apple to revoke the sign-in when you delete your account.
One-time codes are valid for a few minutes, can be used once and are limited in how often they can be requested. For codes sent by SMS, the code is generated and checked by our SMS provider and never stored by us; for codes sent by email, our server stores only a keyed hash of the code until it expires. The app stores the resulting session token in the iOS Keychain on your iPhone.
Shipping addresses and recipient information
US delivery addresses you save (label, recipient name, phone, street, apartment, city, state and ZIP code) are stored only on your iPhone. In this version they are not transmitted to our server or to anyone else.
Parcel details, warehouse records and shipment tracking
Package registrations (domestic tracking number, carrier, merchant or order reference, category, description, quantity, declared value and notes) and consolidation requests (selected packages, packing preferences, destination address and preferred service) are stored only on your iPhone. Warehouse receipt, measurement, storage, tracking and payment records can enter the app only from verified operator events. No warehouse, carrier or payment system is connected in this version, so no such records exist yet.
Shipping estimates and chargeable weight
Estimates use the category, weight, dimensions, US ZIP code, declared value and insurance choice you enter. Recent estimates are saved on your iPhone so you can reuse them. Estimates are not final prices; final charges are calculated from the warehouse's measurement of the packed parcel. No pricing data about you leaves the device.
Buy for Me requests
Product links, product names, quantities, options, expected prices and notes you submit are stored on your iPhone. In this version they are not transmitted to our server.
Payment and transaction records
HOWHY does not process payments in this version. Accepting a quote records your approval in the app only; no charge is made and the app never asks for card details. Before any payment feature is introduced, this policy will be updated to explain which payment provider is used and what it receives.
Support communications
If you email us, we receive your email address, the content of your message and anything you attach. We use it to answer you and keep it as a record of the request.
Technical information
When the app contacts our server (to sign in, refresh a session, sign out or delete the account) the server receives standard connection data such as your IP address and the time of the request. We use it to limit abusive request rates and protect the service. Our hosting provider may keep standard server logs. Our authentication code does not write tokens, email addresses or names to logs. The app contains no analytics, advertising or crash-reporting SDKs and no third-party SDKs at all.
2. How we use information
- to create your account, sign you in and keep sessions valid;
- to keep different accounts on the same iPhone separate from each other;
- to end sessions when you sign out and remove your account when you ask;
- to answer support and privacy requests;
- to protect the service against abuse and to comply with law.
We do not sell personal information, do not share it for advertising, do not build profiles and do not make automated decisions with legal effects about you.
3. Where information is stored and who can access it
- Your iPhone: HOWHY data is kept in the app's private storage, protected by iOS file protection, and the session token is kept in the Keychain. If you back up your iPhone to iCloud or a computer, the app's data is included in that backup under Apple's terms. Deleting the app removes its data from the device.
- Our server: the account record is held on a server operated for us by our hosting provider, Render, and is accessible only to aixx Inc. Account records are currently held in the server's working memory and re-created from Apple's token when you sign in; this policy will be updated if a database is added.
- Apple: Sign in with Apple is provided by Apple under Apple's own privacy policy. Apple knows that you use Sign in with Apple with HOWHY.
- Code delivery providers: Twilio Inc. (United States) receives your mobile number to deliver and check SMS codes, and Resend Inc. (United States) receives your email address to deliver email codes. Each receives only what it needs to deliver the code and acts under its own privacy policy and our agreement with it.
No warehouse, carrier, customs broker or payment provider receives information from HOWHY in this version, because those services are not connected. Apart from the code delivery providers above and our hosting provider, nobody else receives your account information.
4. Third-party logistics and service providers
HOWHY is designed so that a partner warehouse in China, an international carrier and a payment provider will each receive only the details needed for their part of the service: the warehouse your member code and package registrations; the carrier the recipient name, address and phone and the parcel's contents declaration; the payment provider the amount and a reference, never your parcel history. Before any of these partners is connected, we will update this policy to name their categories and locations and what each receives.
5. International data transfers
Apple processes Sign in with Apple requests through its global infrastructure. Our server is operated by our hosting provider and may be located in a country other than the one you use HOWHY from, including the United States; by signing in you transfer your account record there. Because HOWHY forwards parcels from China to the United States, shipment information will by nature be processed in both countries once forwarding is live.
6. Retention
- Account record and Apple refresh token: for as long as your account exists. Deleted immediately when you delete the account.
- Sessions: an access token is valid for one hour and a refresh token for 30 days. Both stop working when you sign out or delete the account.
- Data on your iPhone: until you erase it (Me ▸ Data ▸ Erase all local data), delete your account or delete the app.
- Support email: for as long as needed to handle your request and keep a record of it.
- Shipment and payment records: none exist in this version. When they do, records of completed shipments and payments will be kept only for the period the law requires, then deleted.
7. Account deletion
You can delete your account in the app at any time: Me ▸ Account ▸ Delete account, then confirm. Our server deletes the account record immediately, invalidates every session and asks Apple to revoke the Sign in with Apple authorisation; the app then erases all HOWHY data on your iPhone. Deletion is complete within 30 days at the latest.
If you no longer have the app, email admin@aixxinc.com from the address linked to your account or include your member code, and we will delete the account for you. You can also withdraw Apple's sharing of your details in iOS Settings ▸ your name ▸ Sign in with Apple.
8. Your rights, including California rights
Wherever you live, you can ask us to tell you what personal information we hold about you, to give you a copy, to correct it, to delete it or to restrict how we use it. We honour these requests regardless of whether a particular law requires it.
If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act gives you the right to know what personal information we collect, use and disclose; the right to delete it; the right to correct it; and the right not to be discriminated against for exercising these rights. We do not sell or share personal information as defined by that law, and we do not use or disclose sensitive personal information for purposes other than providing the service. You may use an authorised agent to make a request.
To exercise any right, email admin@aixxinc.com. We will verify the request through the email address linked to your account or your member code, and respond within 45 days. If you are in a jurisdiction with a data protection authority, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with it.
9. Security
- All traffic between the app and our server uses HTTPS.
- Apple identity tokens are verified against Apple's public keys, including the audience and a one-time nonce, before an account is created or used.
- Sessions are short-lived signed tokens that are invalidated on sign-out and deletion. There are no passwords to leak.
- The session token is stored in the iOS Keychain; other app data is protected by iOS file protection.
- Our server holds no payment credentials and no card data. The private key used with Apple is stored only on the server and never in the app.
- Request rates to the sign-in service are limited to reduce abuse.
No system is completely secure. If you believe your account has been accessed without permission, or you find a security problem, email admin@aixxinc.com.
10. Children
HOWHY is not directed to children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has created an account, contact us and we will delete it.
11. Changes to this policy
We publish updates at this address with a new effective date. If a change is material, for example when payment, warehouse or carrier services are connected, we will say so here before the change takes effect. This policy is published in English and Simplified Chinese; if the versions differ, the English version applies.
12. Contact
aixx Inc. operates HOWHY and is responsible for the information described in this policy.