Transparency & Privacy

How we handle your data — or rather, how we don't.

✓ Your data never leaves your device

The Short Version

GroundedMe is designed with privacy as the default. We do not collect, store, or share your mood data. Everything stays on your device, under your control.

What we collect

Nothing

We do not collect personal data, mood entries, app usage statistics, or any identifiable information. Your data is yours alone.

Where your data is stored

On your device

All mood entries, journal notes, and app data are stored locally using Apple's encrypted local storage. If you enable iCloud Backup, your data is included in your encrypted device backup.

Do we share data?

Never

We have no servers, no cloud databases, and no data sharing agreements with third parties. We literally cannot access your data even if we wanted to.

Data Collection

We do not collect any of the following:

Personal identifiers (name, email, phone number)
Mood entries, journal notes, or tracked events
App usage patterns or feature interactions
Device identifiers or location data
Health data from Apple Health (HealthKit permissions are entirely optional and data is never transmitted off your device)

HealthKit data access (all optional, all on-device): If you choose to connect Apple Health, GroundedMe can read: steps, active calories, resting heart rate, HRV, exercise minutes, stand hours, mindful minutes, walking/running distance, sleep analysis, medication records, and menstrual cycle data. All of this data stays on your device and is never sent to us or any third party.

The only data that exists is stored locally on your device within your app's sandboxed container.

Data Storage & Security

Your data is stored using Apple's secure local storage mechanisms:

Local Database: SQLite database within your app's sandboxed container
Device Encryption: Protected by iOS device encryption when your phone is locked
System iCloud Backup: Included in your device backup if you use Apple's iCloud Backup (encrypted end-to-end with your Apple ID)
Optional iCloud Drive Backup: GroundedMe offers an entirely optional, consent-based backup feature to your personal iCloud Drive. This is off by default, requires your explicit opt-in, and stores an encrypted copy of your data in your own iCloud Drive — not on our servers. You can turn it on or off at any time in Settings. We never see or access this data.

We cannot access this data remotely. If you lose your device and don't have any backup enabled, your data cannot be recovered.

Analytics & Crash Reporting

We use minimal, privacy-respecting tools:

Apple App Analytics: Only if you opt in to "Share with App Developers" in iOS Settings. Apple provides anonymized, aggregated data.
Sentry (crash reporting): We use Sentry to detect and fix crashes and performance issues. Sentry receives crash stack traces and device metadata (iOS version, device model) but never receives your mood data, journal entries, or health information. No personal content is included in crash reports.

We do not use behavioural analytics SDKs (no Firebase, no Mixpanel, no Amplitude). We don't track what you tap, how long you spend on screens, or build user profiles.

Third-Party Services

GroundedMe uses a minimal set of third-party services — none of which receive your mood, health, or personal data:

Sentry — Crash reporting only. Receives stack traces and device info. No personal or mood data.
RevenueCat — Manages subscriptions and purchases. Receives your Apple purchase receipt (already shared with Apple). Does not receive mood data, health data, or app content.
✗ No advertising networks
✗ No behavioural analytics
✗ No cloud databases storing your content
✓ Apple frameworks (HealthKit, WeatherKit) — data stays on device or is fetched anonymously

Weather data (if enabled) is fetched anonymously via Apple WeatherKit APIs without identifying you. Health data from HealthKit never leaves your device.

Your Rights

You have complete control over your data:

Export: Export your mood data from Settings → Export Data (Premium feature)
Delete: Delete all data by uninstalling the app or using Settings → Clear All Data
Access: Your data is on your device — you own it completely

Contact

If you have questions about privacy or data handling:

Email: [email protected]

Vanish Labs Ltd
Cardiff, Wales, UK