Privacy Policy
Last Updated: August 19, 2026
Our Commitment
At PingCircle, your privacy isn't a feature. It's our foundation. The core of this app, your Check In, is emotional self-tracking data, and we treat it that way: private by default and private in storage, not just private in a settings menu. Here's exactly what we do (and don't do) with your data.
The Short Version: Your Check In data (your feelings, notes, and topics) stays on your device and in your own private HealthKit and iCloud storage. It is never sent to our servers, never sold, and never used for advertising or to train any model. Only what you explicitly choose to share with a circle, one entry at a time, ever leaves your device.
What We Collect
Account Information
- Your sign-in identifier (via Sign in with Apple, Google, or email)
- Display name and avatar (chosen by you)
- Date of birth (used only to confirm you meet our 13+ age requirement)
- Account creation date
Circle Data
- Which circles you belong to and who else is in them
- Check Ins you actively choose to share with a circle (they expire from that circle's room after 24 hours)
- Notification preferences
Technical Data
- Device type and iOS version (for compatibility)
- App version (for bug tracking)
- Crash logs (anonymous, for debugging)
What Stays On Your Device, Never Ours
This is the most important section of this policy. Your Check In history, the feelings, headlines, topics, and notes you log, is stored in Apple HealthKit and/or local storage synced only through your own private iCloud account. It is:
- Never written to our servers, unless and until you actively choose to share a specific entry with a circle
- Never included in any analytics event
- Never used for advertising, model training, or any purpose beyond showing it back to you
- Never a "score" we compute about you. Patterns are generated on-device from your own history to describe it in plain language, never to rate, diagnose, or evaluate you
Sharing a single Check In with a circle shares only that entry's chosen content, never your history, your patterns, or any other entry.
What We DON'T Collect
- Your location - we never request location access; the only place a city name is used is to forward-geocode text you typed yourself
- Your contacts - unless you explicitly pick one to invite, one at a time, through Apple's contact picker
- Your photos or videos - PingCircle has no camera access and no photo library access
- Browsing history - no tracking outside the app
- Advertising identifiers - we have no ads
- Clinical or diagnostic data - PingCircle never runs a screening or assessment of any kind
- Payment information - all transactions go through Apple
How We Use Your Data
We use your information solely to provide PingCircle's core functionality:
- Showing circle membership and shared Check Ins to the people you've chosen to share them with
- Sending notifications, only the ones you've turned on
- Improving app performance and fixing bugs
- Preventing fraud and abuse
- Complying with legal obligations
What We NEVER Do
- Sell your data: Ever. To anyone. For any price.
- Share with third parties: No advertisers, no data brokers, no "partners."
- Use for advertising: We don't have ads, so we have no reason to track you.
- Train AI models on your Check Ins: Your feelings data stays yours.
- Produce a wellness score or diagnosis: Patterns are descriptive only, never evaluative.
- Share without consent: We only share what you explicitly choose to share, entry by entry, with a circle.
Data Security
We protect your information using industry-standard security measures:
- On-device and private-iCloud storage for your Check In history, never our servers, by design
- Secure Firebase infrastructure for circle/account data, with strict access controls
- TLS/SSL encryption for all data in transit
- Automated backup systems to prevent data loss of circle data
Your Rights
You have complete control over your data:
Access & Export
Your Check In history is already on your device. Export it anytime from Settings → Privacy → Export Data.
Delete
Delete your account from Settings → Account → Delete Account. This removes your circle memberships, pending invites, and account information from our systems and cannot be undone. Your private Journal lives in your own iCloud account and isn't something we hold, so it isn't affected by deleting your PingCircle account; manage or erase it directly on your device.
Modify
Update your display name, avatar, or circle preferences anytime from the Profile tab.
Object
Opt out of notifications or any non-essential data processing anytime in Settings.
Data Retention
- Active accounts: Circle/account data stored as long as your account exists
- Shared Check Ins: Automatically expire from a circle's room 24 hours after sharing
- Your private Journal: Stored on your device and your own iCloud account, kept until you delete an entry yourself; we don't hold a copy
- Deleted accounts: Circle and account data removed from our systems; backups age out over time
- Legal holds: Data may be retained longer if required by law
Sharing Your Data
We only share your data in these limited circumstances:
With Your Circles
A Check In you actively choose to share appears to the people in that circle, for up to 24 hours. This only happens when you make that choice for that entry; it is never the default.
Service Providers
We use trusted third-party services to operate the parts of PingCircle that aren't your private Check In data:
- Firebase (Google): Circle/account database, authentication, cloud functions, push notifications
- Apple: Sign in with Apple, HealthKit and iCloud storage for your private Check In data, push notifications
All providers are bound by data processing agreements and cannot use your data for their own purposes.
Legal Requirements
We may disclose data if required by law, court order, or to:
- Comply with legal process
- Protect our rights or property
- Prevent fraud or abuse
- Protect user safety in emergencies
We'll notify you of legal requests unless prohibited by law. Note that we cannot disclose Check In data stored only on your device and in your own iCloud account; we don't have access to it.
Children's Privacy
PingCircle is not intended for users under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from children. If we discover underage usage, we'll delete the account immediately and notify parents if possible.
Users aged 13-17 should have parental consent before using PingCircle.
International Users
PingCircle is operated from the United States. If you use our app from outside the US, your account and circle data will be transferred to and stored in the US; your private Check In data stays in your own device/iCloud account regardless of where you are.
Cookies & Tracking
The PingCircle mobile app does not use cookies. Our website (pingcircle.app) uses minimal cookies for session management. You can disable cookies in your browser settings.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this privacy policy to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. Material changes will be announced via:
- Email notification (30 days in advance)
- In-app notification
- Banner on this page
Continued use after changes means you accept the updated policy. The "Last Updated" date at the top shows when changes were last made.
Contact Us
Questions about privacy? We're here to help:
Email: privacy@pingcircle.app
Response time: Within 48 hours
Data Protection Contact:
PingCircle, Inc.
Attn: Privacy Team
[Your Address]
privacy@pingcircle.app
Our Promise: How you're actually doing is not a product. We built the storage model around that: your feelings data lives with you, not with us. If we ever need to change that, we'll be transparent about it and give you plenty of notice.
Document Version: 2.0
Last Updated: August 19, 2026
Effective Date: August 19, 2026