Privacy Policy.

What stays on your iPhone

The following is stored only on your device. It is never sent to us, and we cannot see it:

• The apps and websites you choose. Apple’s Screen Time system gives Median an encrypted token for each one. Those tokens stay on your device, and we never learn which apps or websites you chose. We do not collect how you use any other app.
• Your answers on the shield. When you open a held app and tap a reason, that answer and its time are kept on your iPhone only.
• The name you give Median, if any.
• Morning Notes preferences, including any faith tradition you select.
• Permission settings, such as Screen Time access and notifications.

Median also keeps a local copy of your settings and morning history on your iPhone so it works without a connection.

Information we collect

Account information

You sign in with Apple. Apple provides us a unique identifier for your account and, if you allow it, an email address, which may be a private relay address if you choose Apple’s “Hide My Email”. We do not ask Apple for your name. To let us properly end Median’s access to your Apple account when you delete it, we also keep a sign-in token from Apple, stored encrypted.

Setup information

The age you enter, how many mornings a week you currently reach for your phone first, your morning intention, the projection calculated from these during setup, and the time and length of your morning. We use your age only to confirm you are eligible and to calculate that projection, never for advertising.

Morning history

For each morning: when it started, when it was scheduled to end and when it ended, whether it stayed on your terms or was opened early and at what time, its length, and your time zone. Your Morning Score and history are built from this. We do not record which app you opened or the reason you gave.

Device information

A random identifier created when Median is installed, and when your device was registered and last seen. We use this to keep your mornings tied to one iPhone and to move them safely to a new one, including records of those transfers.

Subscription information

Whether your subscription is active, your plan, whether you are in a free trial, when it renews or expires, whether it will renew, and records of subscription events such as a renewal or cancellation. Payment is handled entirely by Apple. We never receive your payment card or billing details.

Answers to questions in the app

Median may post updates and occasional questions in the app. When you answer, your answer is stored under a one-way code rather than your account identifier, so answers are not kept alongside your account. Because we control the key used to make that code, answers are pseudonymous rather than completely anonymous, and we do not use it to identify who answered. If you type a written answer, what you write could identify you, so please leave out anything you would rather keep private.

How the app is used

To see where setup is hard to finish and to improve the app, Median records:

• which setup screens you reach, which of them you finish, and how long each takes;
• your answer when setup asks for Screen Time permission, and how many apps, categories, and websites you chose (only the number, never which ones);
• when the app is opened, which of its pages you open, and which of its buttons you tap;
• when a morning begins and how it ended, including its length, how far into it an app was opened, and your streak and Morning Score afterwards;
• when you answer the question Median shows over an app during a morning: whether you said it was habit or for a reason, whether you left the app closed or opened it, and which wording was shown (never which app);
• when the subscription screen is shown or closed, which plan you pick, and whether a purchase or restore went through;
• when you open an update or question we post, and that you answered one;
• which topic you pick in the feedback box;
• which settings you change, including the start time and morning length you choose;
• your answer when we ask permission to send notifications, and when you tap one of ours;
• occasional events such as signing out, deleting your account, or a problem the app asked you to fix;
• when you tap the same place several times quickly, which tells us where the app is not responding the way you expect.

Each record includes basic device details such as your iPhone model, iOS version, and app version, and a random identifier. After you sign in, these records are linked to your Median account identifier. They never include your age, your morning intention, your name, which apps or websites you chose, your tradition, what you answered to a question we posted, or anything you type, and we do not record your screen.

Messages you send us

When you send a message from the feedback box in the app, we store it on our servers, linked to your account, along with your app version and iPhone model. Our replies are stored with it, and you can read them in the app under “Your messages”. We use these messages only to answer you and improve Median.

If you email us, we receive your message, your email address, and anything else you include, such as your app and iOS version. We use these only to reply to you and improve the Service.

Website visits and cookies

Our hosting provider automatically processes technical information such as your IP address, browser type, and the pages requested, to deliver the website and protect it from abuse.

We also use Google Analytics to understand how people use the website, such as which pages and sections are viewed, how far people scroll, and which links are clicked. Google Analytics uses cookies and similar technologies, and collects information such as your approximate location (derived from your IP address, which Google Analytics does not store), device and browser type, and how you arrived at the site. We use it only in aggregate to improve the website. We have turned off Google’s advertising features and signals, we do not use it to identify you, and the Median app does not use Google Analytics.

When you first visit, a banner lets you accept or decline these cookies. If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, analytics cookies are not set unless you accept. Elsewhere they are set unless you decline. You can change your choice at any time by clearing this site’s data in your browser, which shows the banner again. You can also block cookies in your browser settings or use Google’s opt-out browser add-on. Learn more in how Google uses information from sites that use its services.

How we use information

• To provide the Service: starting and holding your mornings, calculating your Morning Score, and showing your history.
• To create and secure your account, keep your mornings tied to your device, and restore them on a new one.
• To check whether your subscription is active.
• To understand how the app is used, such as where people stop during setup, so we can improve it.
• To respond to your messages and requests.
• To maintain, secure, and improve the Service, and to prevent fraud and abuse.
• To comply with the law and to enforce our Terms of Use.

We use information only for the purposes described here. We do not use it to build advertising profiles, and we do not use your information to train artificial intelligence models.

What we do not do

• We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising.
• We do not show advertising, and Median never asks for permission to track you across other companies’ apps or websites. The only advertising tools in the app are Meta’s and TikTok’s measurement kits, described below, and neither receives your device’s advertising identifier.
• We do not collect your location, contacts, photos, health data, or your general screen time.
• We do not use Screen Time information for any purpose other than holding the apps you chose, and we do not share it with anyone.

Who we share information with

We share personal information only with service providers that help us run the Service, and only as needed for them to do so:

• Apple, for sign-in, Screen Time, and payments.
• Supabase, which hosts our database and account system.
• RevenueCat, which confirms your subscription status with Apple. It receives your Median account identifier and purchase information, not your name or email address.
• PostHog, which records how the app is used, as described above, and receives subscription events such as renewals and cancellations from RevenueCat, linked to your Median account identifier.
• Meta, to measure our ads on Instagram and Facebook. The Median app includes Meta’s software development kit, which tells Meta when the app is installed or opened and when a free trial or subscription starts, together with basic device information (such as the device model, iOS version, and IP address) and a random identifier the kit creates. It does not receive your name, email address, Median account identifier, morning results, or the apps you choose. Because Median never asks for permission to track, Meta does not receive your device’s advertising identifier, and Apple reports ad installs to Meta only in aggregate. Meta uses this information under its own terms to measure and deliver our ads.
• TikTok, to measure our ads on TikTok, in the same way. The Median app includes TikTok’s software development kit, which tells TikTok when the app is installed or opened and when a free trial or subscription starts, together with basic device information (such as the device model, iOS version, and IP address) and a random identifier. If the kit itself crashes, it may also send TikTok a report of that crash. It does not receive your name, email address, Median account identifier, morning results, the apps you choose, or what you tap in the app. Because Median never asks for permission to track, TikTok does not receive your device’s advertising identifier, and Apple reports ad installs to TikTok only in aggregate. TikTok uses this information under its own terms to measure and deliver our ads.
• Vercel, which hosts our website.
• Google, which provides Google Analytics for our website only.
• Our email provider, to receive and answer your messages.

This list is the one we use today, and we keep it current. If we change a provider we will update this page, and the effective date above with it. Naming them is not something the law requires of us; we do it because you should be able to see who touches your information.

These providers process information on our behalf under their own privacy and security commitments, and are required to protect it with the same or equal protection described in this policy. Except as described for Meta and TikTok above, we do not allow them to use your information for advertising.

We may also disclose information: when we believe in good faith the law requires it, such as to respond to a valid legal request; to protect the rights, property, or safety of our users, the public, or Median; to investigate fraud or security issues; or with your consent. If Median is transferred to a company or new owner, including a company formed by its current operator, your information may be transferred as part of that, and it will remain subject to this policy’s protections.

How long we keep information

• Account, setup, and morning history are kept while your account exists, including if your subscription lapses, so your history is there if you return. They are deleted when you delete your account.
• Subscription records are kept while your account exists. Records of subscription events may be kept afterwards where needed for accounting, fraud prevention, or legal obligations.
• Limited security records, such as records that an account was deleted and records of device transfers, may be kept only as long as needed to complete deletion, prevent abuse, and keep the Service secure.
• Answers to in-app questions are kept as long as they are useful for improving Median, stored as described above.
• Messages from the feedback box, and our replies, are kept while your account exists, and are deleted when you delete your account.
• Emails you send us are kept as long as needed to help you and keep a record of our correspondence.
• App usage records are kept as long as they are useful for improving Median.
• Website analytics are kept by Google Analytics for no longer than 14 months, then deleted automatically.
• Backups may briefly retain deleted information until they are overwritten in the normal course.

Deleting your account

You can delete your account at any time in Median, in Settings. This removes your account, setup information, morning history, and feedback messages from our systems and ends Median’s access to your Sign in with Apple account, subject to the limited records described above. Deleting your account does not cancel an App Store subscription. Manage or cancel it in your iPhone’s Settings.

Information stored only on your iPhone is removed when you delete the Median app. You can also turn off Median’s Screen Time access or notifications at any time in your iPhone’s Settings.

Your rights and choices

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to know what personal information we hold about you, to receive a copy of it, to correct it, to delete it, to object to or restrict certain uses, and to withdraw consent you have given. You may exercise any of these by writing to support@usemedian.app, including to ask for a copy of the information linked to your account, such as your feedback messages. We will ask you to confirm the request from the email linked to your account, or otherwise verify that it is you, and we will respond within the time the law requires, generally within 30 days. You may authorize an agent to make a request for you where the law allows. If we decline your request, you may ask us to reconsider by replying to our response.

We will not treat you differently for exercising your privacy rights.

United States residents. Residents of California and other states with consumer privacy laws have the rights above. We do not sell personal information or share it for cross-context behavioral advertising, and we do not use or disclose sensitive personal information for purposes that would give you a right to limit it. Because we do not sell or share personal information, we treat browser Global Privacy Control signals as already honored.

European Economic Area, United Kingdom, and Switzerland. John Greco is the controller of your personal information. We process it to perform our agreement with you (providing the Service), for our legitimate interests in keeping the Service secure and improving it, to comply with legal obligations, and with your consent where we ask for it. You also have the right to data portability and to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

International transfers

We are based in the United States, and our service providers may process information in the United States and other countries whose data protection laws may differ from those where you live. Where the law requires it, we rely on appropriate safeguards, such as standard contractual clauses offered by our providers, for these transfers.

Children

Median is intended for people 13 and older, or older where local law requires a higher age. If the age entered during setup is under 13, setup stops before an account is created, and that age is not sent to us. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we learn that we have, we will delete it. If you believe a child under 13 has used Median, please contact us at support@usemedian.app.

Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards to protect personal information, including encryption in transit, encrypted storage of sign-in tokens, and access restricted to what is necessary. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. If a security incident affects your personal information, we will notify you and the authorities as the law requires.

Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will change the effective date above, and if a change is material, we will tell you in the app or by other reasonable means before it takes effect. We will not use previously collected information in a materially different way without your consent where the law requires it.

Contact

Questions, requests, or complaints about this policy or your information:

John Greco, operator of Median
support@usemedian.app