Privacy Policy

Introduction

My.Story ("we," "our," or "us") is a journaling app made by Really Gouda LLC. This Privacy Policy explains, in plain language, what stays on your iPhone, what leaves it, and why.

By using My.Story, you agree to the collection and use of information as described in this policy.

What Stays on Your Device

Your Journal

Your entries, photos, videos, and voice recordings are stored on your iPhone. If you turn on iCloud sync, they are also saved to your own iCloud account, protected by Apple. We don't run our own servers for your journal, and we can't browse it.

Voice and Audio

Your voice recordings stay on your iPhone, or in your own iCloud if you turn on sync. Speech recognition (turning your voice into text) happens on your iPhone using Apple's built-in speech recognition. Your audio is never sent to us or to any AI service.

Your Name

The name you enter during setup is stored on your device. If you created an account with Sign in with Apple in an earlier version of My.Story, we keep the name and account ID Apple shared with us at that time so your account keeps working. We never requested your email address.

What We Share and Why

Entry Text, to Write Quotes, Prompts, and Chapters

To write your daily quote, suggested prompts, themes, and story chapters, My.Story sends the text of the relevant entries (including the text of voice entries), along with their dates, tags, and how many photos or videos they have, to Google's Gemini service through Google Cloud. The photos, videos, and audio themselves are never sent.

Google uses this text only to create the result and send it back to the app. Under Google Cloud's terms, Google does not use it to train or improve AI models, and neither do we. Google may hold a request briefly to deliver the service, for example in a short-lived cache (deleted within 24 hours) and in logs it uses to detect abuse of its service. It is not stored for training.

Location, for the Weather

If you allow location access, My.Story uses your iPhone's location to look up the local weather for your entries. Your location is sent to our weather provider, Open-Meteo, for that lookup. Depending on your iPhone's settings this may be your precise location. Open-Meteo may keep it in its server logs for a limited time. We don't use your location for anything else, and you can turn it off at any time in Settings.

Usage Analytics

We use Google Analytics for Firebase to understand how My.Story is used so we can make it better. This includes things like which features are opened, how far people get in setup, when a subscription screen is shown, and basic device and app version details. It uses an app identifier and an approximate location (based on your IP address). Analytics never includes what you write, record, or photograph.

Analytics is part of how the app works today, and there is currently no switch in the app to turn it off. If you would like your analytics data deleted, contact us at the address below.

Purchases

Subscriptions are paid through Apple. Apple handles your payment, and we never see your card details. We use a subscription provider, RevenueCat, to confirm what you have purchased and to unlock premium features. It receives your purchase history and an app user ID. Google Analytics also records purchase events, such as which plan was bought.

A Device Identifier, for Notifications

To send reminders and other notifications, our notification provider, OneSignal, receives a device identifier for your iPhone and a few simple app details, such as the last day you opened the app and whether reminders are on. You can turn notifications off at any time in your iPhone's Settings.

How We Use Your Information

• To provide and maintain the My.Story app
• To write quotes, prompts, themes, and chapters based on your entries
• To show local weather on your entries
• To sync your journal to your own iCloud (if you turn it on)
• To manage your subscription
• To send you notifications and reminders (with your permission)
• To understand how the app is used and improve it

Data Storage & Security

Your journal is stored on your device in a local database. If you turn on iCloud sync, it is stored in your personal iCloud Drive, protected by Apple's security.

We use industry-standard security practices to protect the data that passes through our service providers. No method of electronic storage is 100% secure, but we work hard to keep what leaves your device to a minimum.

Our Service Providers

• Google (Firebase and Google Cloud): Gemini for quotes, prompts, themes, and chapters; Google Analytics for Firebase; app security checks; and sign-in for older accounts.
• Apple: Payments, iCloud sync, and on-device speech recognition.
• RevenueCat: Subscription management.
• OneSignal: Notifications.
• Open-Meteo: Weather lookups.

Each provider has its own privacy policy for how it handles data.

Your Choices and Rights

You can:

• See and edit your journal entries at any time in the app
• Delete your account and data from within the app
• Turn location, notifications, and iCloud sync on or off
• Ask us to delete your analytics data, or ask any question about your data, by email

Children's Privacy

My.Story is not intended for children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the new policy on this page and update the "Last Updated" date.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact Really Gouda LLC at:

admin@reallygouda.com