Privacy Policy
This is the whole policy. It is short because the app does very little with your data, and most privacy policies are long because their apps do a lot.
The short version
Tell Anew does not collect anything. Your recordings, your transcripts, and everything you type stay on your iPhone. There is no account, no server, and no analytics. We cannot see your journal, because there is nowhere for us to see it from. The only things that ever leave are ones you deliberately send: an optional backup to your own iCloud, and a gift you hand to someone. Both are described below.
What stays on your device
Everything: video and audio recordings, transcripts, titles, entry dates, prompts you responded to, time capsules and their unlock dates, and your settings. All of it is stored in the app's own private storage area, encrypted by iOS whenever your iPhone is locked.
The two exceptions are the ones you choose: iCloud backup, and gifts. Neither happens on its own, and both are covered below.
Speech recognition
Entries are transcribed using Apple's on-device speech recognition. The app requires on-device recognition, so your audio is not sent to Apple's servers for transcription. Transcription works in airplane mode, which is the simplest way to confirm this for yourself.
iCloud backup (optional, off by default)
If you turn on iCloud backup, your entries are copied to your own iCloud account, in a private database that only your copy of the app can read. It is stored on your iCloud storage quota, under your Apple Account. We have no access to it and no ability to grant anyone else access to it. Apple's handling of that data is covered by Apple's own privacy policy.
Separately, if you have iCloud Backup enabled for your iPhone generally, your journal is included in that device backup, the same as any other app's data. You can turn either of these off in Settings.
Turning iCloud backup off, or letting a subscription lapse, stops new uploads. It does not delete what is already in your iCloud. Deleting that copy is a separate action you take deliberately, in the app.
Gifts (only when you send or accept one)
A gift is a single entry you choose to hand to someone: the recording, its transcript, and the two names you type on it (who it is for and who it is from), written into one file.
Sending it uses the iPhone's own share sheet, so the file goes wherever you send it: a message, an email, AirDrop. We are not part of that. There is no server of ours in the middle, we keep no copy, and nothing about the gift is reported back to us. Once the file is in someone else's hands it is theirs, and it can no longer be recalled or deleted by you, the same as any other file you send a person.
Receiving one works the same way in reverse. A gift file does nothing on arrival. It becomes part of your journal only when you choose to keep it, and never silently. A gift you keep carries the names the sender typed, because that is the outside of the envelope.
Purchases
Subscriptions and the lifetime purchase are handled entirely by Apple through the App Store. The app asks Apple whether you have an active purchase and gets a yes or a no. We never see your payment details, and we do not run a server that records who has bought what.
This website
tellanew.com is hosted on GitHub Pages. GitHub records visitors' IP addresses for security, and we have no access to those records. The site sets no cookies and runs no scripts.
Beta sign-up (only if you sign up)
If you sign up for the beta, the sign-up form (Google Forms) collects the email address you give it. We use it only to send the TestFlight invitation, a few questions about the app, and any launch code you were promised. Ask and we will delete it. Google's handling of the form is covered by Google's own privacy policy.
What we do not do
- No analytics, telemetry, crash-reporting SDKs, or usage tracking.
- No advertising, ad identifiers, or tracking across apps or websites.
- No third-party SDKs of any kind.
- No accounts, sign-in, email collection, or newsletters in the app.
- No selling, sharing, or transferring of personal information, because none is collected.
Permissions the app asks for
- Camera and Microphone to record entries. Recordings are written straight to the app's private storage.
- Speech Recognition to transcribe entries on the device.
- Face ID or Touch ID only if you turn on the app lock. The app is told yes or no by iOS; biometric data is never available to it.
- Notifications only if you turn on the daily reminder or seal a time capsule.
You can withdraw any of these in iOS Settings at any time.
Children
The app is rated 4+ and collects no data from anyone, including children. It has no messaging, no comments, no profiles to browse, and no way to contact anyone through it. The one thing that can pass between two people is a gift file, which one person hands to another deliberately, outside the app, using the iPhone's own share sheet.
Deleting your data
Delete individual entries in the app, or delete the app to remove everything on the device. If you used iCloud backup, delete the cloud copy from the app's Settings first, or remove the app's data from your iCloud storage settings. Because we hold no copy of your journal, there is nothing to request from us. If you gave us your email for the beta, write to the address below and we will delete it.
Changes
If this policy ever changes, the updated version will be posted at this URL with a new date at the top.