Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

MyLife: Timeline Journal ("we," "our," or "us") respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we handle your information when you use the MyLife: Timeline Journal app (the "App").

2. Information We Do NOT Collect

MyLife: Timeline Journal does NOT collect, transmit, or store any of your personal information on our servers. We do not:

• Collect your name, email, phone number, or contact information
• Track your location beyond what you explicitly save in journal entries
• Monitor your usage behavior or app activity
• Share or sell your data with any third parties
• Use analytics, tracking, or advertising networks
• Require account creation, sign-in, or registration
• Access, view, or read your journal entries, photos, videos, or audio
• Collect device identifiers for tracking purposes
• Store your Daily Inspiration preferences on external servers

3. Data Storage

All your data is stored locally on your device using iOS's secure storage mechanisms. Your journal entries, photos, videos, audio recordings, Daily Inspiration preferences, Family Archive data, notification settings, and all other content remain entirely on your device and under your complete control.

What Data is Stored Locally

• Your birth date and expected age
• All journal entries with text, photos, videos, audio, mood tags, and location
• Milestones & Anniversaries
• Bucket List items (including achieved items)
• Letters to Future Self (including sealed letters)
• Family Archive timelines for deceased loved ones
• Life Battery data: family member names, birthdays, relationships, profile photos, dates of passing, and In Memory status
• Daily Inspiration preferences (categories, enabled/disabled state)
• In-app notification feed (stored in device memory only — never sent externally)
• Notification preferences and settings
• App settings (theme, appearance, backup preferences)
• Trial and purchase status (stored securely in device Keychain)
• A diagnostic log file (MyLife_DiagnosticLog.txt)

Diagnostic Log File

When the app encounters a technical error (such as failing to open the database after a phone crash), it saves a small diagnostic log file to your device. We want to be fully transparent about what this file contains.

What the log DOES contain:

• App version and iOS version
• The exact technical error code (e.g. "database file locked")
• Timestamps of when backups were created or restored
• Whether the database opened successfully or not

What the log does NOT contain:

• Your journal entries, photos, audio, or videos
• Your name, date of birth, or any personal information
• Your location, contacts, or data from other apps

The log file is stored only on your device and never leaves your iPhone automatically. You can find it in the Files app under On My iPhone → MyLife: Timeline Journal and delete it at any time. If you contact support because the app won't open, the recovery screen will offer to attach this log to your email — but sharing it is always your decision.

Manual Backup (Optional)

You can manually export your data as backup files. These backup files are created only when you choose to export, stored in locations you control (Files app, email, cloud storage of your choice), completely under your control, and can be used to restore your data anytime.

MyLife: Timeline Journal does NOT automatically sync to iCloud or any cloud service. All backups are manual and initiated by you. We do not have access to your backup files or where you choose to store them.

4. Optional Permissions

MyLife: Timeline Journal requests the following optional permissions to provide full functionality:

Camera Access

To take photos and videos for your journal entries. Used only when you explicitly choose to capture a photo or video. You can deny this permission and still use the app without the camera feature.

Photo Library Access

To select existing photos and videos from your device library. You can deny this permission and still use the app without photo/video attachments.

Microphone Access

To record audio notes and voice memos for your journal entries. Audio is only recorded when you explicitly tap the record button. You can deny this permission and still use the app without audio recording.

Location Services (Optional)

To tag where memories were created with geographic information. Location is only accessed when you're actively creating or editing a journal entry. Location data, if collected, is stored only on your device and never transmitted to us. You can deny this permission and still use the app without location tagging.

Notifications

To send you local reminders for daily journaling, Daily Inspiration, milestone anniversaries, and backup reminders. These are local notifications generated by your device — not push notifications from a server. You control which notifications you receive in the app's Notification Settings.

Important: All permissions are completely optional and only used for the features they describe. The app remains fully functional even if you deny all permissions — you simply won't be able to use those specific features. No data is ever transmitted outside your device regardless of permissions granted.

5. Third-Party Services

MyLife: Timeline Journal does not use any third-party services, including analytics services (no Google Analytics, Firebase, etc.), advertising networks, social media integrations, crash reporting services, or any other third-party tracking or data collection tools. The app is completely self-contained and works entirely offline.

Note on diagnostic logs: Even when a user voluntarily attaches the diagnostic log to a support email, that log contains only technical error codes and app version numbers — no journal content, no personal data. We use it solely to diagnose and fix the reported problem and do not share it with anyone.

6. Children's Privacy

MyLife: Timeline Journal is suitable for all ages (rated 4+) and does not collect any personal information from children or adults. Parents can feel confident that their children's data is completely private and secure.

7. App Features and Data Usage

Daily Inspiration

MyLife: Timeline Journal provides daily quotes and verses from a curated offline library spanning 6 categories: Bible Verses (2,920 verses across 8 themes), Wisdom & Philosophy, Motivational, Family & Love, Courage & Resilience, and Success & Leadership. All content is stored locally in the app (no internet required) and never tracked or monitored by us. Your category preferences and daily selection history are stored only on your device.

In-App Notification Center

The bell icon in the Timeline opens a feed of recent events (On This Day memories, Anniversaries, Letters arrived, Backup reminders, Inspiration previews). This feed is generated entirely from data already on your device and stored in device memory only. Nothing in the notification feed is sent to any server.

Smart Backup

When you use the one-tap Smart Backup feature, the backup file is saved to On My iPhone (Files → On My iPhone → MyLife: Timeline Journal Backups). MyLife: Timeline Journal does not upload, access, or monitor your backup files.

Family Archives

When you create Family Archives to honour deceased loved ones, all data (names, dates, photos, memories) is stored locally on your device only. We never access or collect this sensitive information.

Life Battery

Family member details you enter in Life Battery — names, birthdays, relationships, profile photos, dates of passing, and In Memory status — are stored entirely on your device. This data is never transmitted, shared, or uploaded anywhere. Profile photos are stored using Apple's secure external storage.

System Notifications

All system notifications are local notifications scheduled by your device based on your preferences. We do not use remote push notifications or collect notification interaction data. You can customise or disable notifications entirely in settings.

Purchase and Trial Information

Your purchase status is stored securely in your device's Keychain and validated through Apple's StoreKit framework. We do not collect or store payment information — all purchases are processed by Apple.

8. Data Security

Since all data is stored locally on your device, your data security depends on your device's security (passcode, Face ID, Touch ID), iOS's built-in security features and encryption, your iCloud account security (if you enable iCloud backup), and Keychain security for sensitive settings.

We recommend keeping your device secure with a strong passcode, enabling device encryption (on by default on modern iOS devices), using two-factor authentication for your Apple ID/iCloud account, regularly backing up your data via iCloud or manual exports, and keeping iOS updated to the latest version.

9. Your Rights and Control

You have complete control over your data:

• View: All your data is visible within the app at any time
• Export: You can export all your data (journal entries, photos, videos, settings) at any time from Settings → Backup & Restore
• Delete: You can delete individual entries, Family Archives, or all app data from within the app
• Backup: You control when and how your data is backed up (manual export only)
• Restore: You can restore from previous manual backups at any time
• Modify: Edit any journal entry, Family Archive, or setting whenever you want
• Uninstall: Deleting the app removes all local data from your device (unless backed up to iCloud)
• Permissions: Revoke camera, photo, microphone, or location permissions anytime in iOS Settings

Since your data never leaves your device (except to your personal iCloud), you maintain 100% ownership and control. We cannot access, modify, or delete your data.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for legal, operational, or regulatory reasons. When we make changes, the updated policy will be posted on this page, the Effective Date at the top will be updated, and material changes may be announced within the app. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically.

11. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)

For users in the European Economic Area (EEA), we process your data (which remains on your device) based on consent (provided when you download and use the app, and specifically when you grant optional permissions), contract (data processing necessary to provide the journaling service you've purchased), and legitimate interest (processing necessary for app functionality and improvement).

Since we don't collect, transmit, or process your personal data on external servers, GDPR data protection concerns are minimal. Your data remains under your exclusive control on your device.

GDPR Rights: Although we don't collect your data, you have the right to access your data (all visible in the app), rectify your data (edit entries anytime), erase your data (delete entries or all data), export your data (backup feature), and restrict processing (deny permissions).

12. California Privacy Rights (CCPA)

For California residents, we want to be transparent: we do not sell your personal information to anyone, ever; we do not share your personal information with third parties for marketing; we do not collect personal information on our servers; all data remains on your device under your control; and we don't use cookies, analytics, or tracking technologies.

If you have questions about your California privacy rights, contact us at mylifetimelinejournal@gmail.com.

13. International Users

MyLife: Timeline Journal can be used anywhere in the world. Since all data is stored locally on your device, there are no cross-border data transfers or international privacy concerns.

14. App Updates and Feature Changes

As we add new features to MyLife: Timeline Journal (Daily Inspiration, Milestones & Anniversaries, Bucket List, Letters to Future Self, Smart Backup, In-App Notification Center, Family Archives, Life Battery, etc.), our privacy practices remain the same: your data stays on your device. New features may introduce new types of local data storage, but we will never collect your personal information on external servers.

The app includes an automatic update checker that notifies you when new versions are available. This checker does not transmit personal information — it simply queries the App Store API for version information.