Privacy Policy
The short version
Open Feelings is a private, on-device tool for naming and logging emotions. Everything you write stays on your device and, if you allow it, in your private iCloud database. We never see it. There is no server we control, no account, no analytics, no ads, and no third-party SDKs.
What we don't collect
Open Feelings does not:
- Create accounts or require sign-in.
- Send your check-ins, intentions, value sorts, committed actions, notes, intensity values, body regions, mood-scale values, timestamps, or any other content to any server we run. We don't run any servers.
- Use analytics, telemetry, crash reporters, advertising IDs, fingerprinting, or any other tracking.
- Embed third-party SDKs that could collect data.
- Share, sell, rent, or trade any user information.
- Read your contacts, calendars, photos, location, camera, or microphone.
What you enter, the app stores
Open Feelings handles only the data you choose to enter:
- Emotion check-ins — the feeling you pick from the wheel or wizard, optional intensity (1–5), optional body regions (curated or custom), optional body sensations, optional context, optional triggers and coping strategies, optional mood-scale values, and any free-text note.
- Daily intentions — the optional one-sentence intention you set each day, and the optional reflection you write afterward.
- Value sorts and committed actions — your bucketing of curated and custom values, your top-ranked list, and any committed actions you define (title, value reference, what's hard, reflection, completion).
- App preferences — check-in flow settings (picker style, body view mode, promoted steps), custom body regions and custom values you've added, reminder time, appearance mode, and Apple Health opt-in.
Where the data lives
- On your device. A local SwiftData store in the app sandbox. The data never leaves the device unless you turn on iCloud sync (below) or explicitly tap a share affordance.
- In your private iCloud database. If you are signed in to iCloud and have iCloud Drive enabled for Open Feelings, Apple's CloudKit framework syncs your data between your own devices using the private database scoped to your Apple ID. The developer of Open Feelings has no access to that database. See apple.com/legal/privacy and Apple's iCloud security overview.
- In Apple Health (optional). If you turn on Apple Health support, each saved check-in writes a momentary "State of Mind" sample to your Health database. Open Feelings never reads back from Health. You control this in iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Health → Open Feelings.
Apple Watch
If you install the paired Apple Watch app, watch-originated check-ins are delivered to your phone via Apple's WatchConnectivity framework and stored in the same on-device and (optional) private iCloud locations described above. The watch app makes no network requests.
Optional integrations (off by default)
Each integration below is off by default and requires explicit per-permission consent through the system prompts iOS provides. You can disable any of them at any time in Open Feelings → Settings or in iOS Settings.
Apple Health — State of Mind (write-only)
If you turn on Apple Health integration, Open Feelings writes each check-in as a momentary "State of Mind" sample to your Health database, mapping the emotion to a valence value and label. The app never reads anything back from Health.
Daily reminder notifications
If you turn on daily reminders, Open Feelings asks iOS to schedule a local notification at the time you choose. Notifications are scheduled by the system on your device; nothing is sent to any server.
Sharing you control
All sharing is initiated by you:
- History exports. From the History tab you can export check-ins as CSV, JSON, Markdown, or plain text. The file is created in a temporary location and handed to the iOS share sheet; you decide where it goes.
- Therapy summary PDF. From Settings → Sharing → Period summary for therapist, you can generate a PDF over a chosen window and detail level. The PDF stays on the device until you tap share.
- Apple Journal / Day One / Notes handoff. From any individual check-in you can send a Markdown summary to Apple Journal, Day One, Notes, or any other share-sheet target.
Children
Open Feelings is not directed at children under 13 and does not knowingly collect data from anyone — because we do not collect data at all.
Your rights and how to delete your data
- Delete the app from your device to remove the local database.
- Delete your iCloud copy by going to iOS Settings → [your name] → iCloud → See All → Open Feelings, or by deleting the app while signed in to iCloud.
- Revoke any optional integration at any time in Open Feelings → Settings or in iOS Settings.
Because there is no server we control, there is no account or copy on our side to delete.
Changes to this policy
If we ever change what the app does in a way that changes this policy, we will update the effective date at the top and ship the new policy as part of an app update. The app does not phone home to fetch policy updates dynamically.
Contact
Questions, corrections, or concerns: taylor.finklea@gmail.com, or file an issue at the project's GitHub repository.