Existential Thinker — Native App Privacy Policy

Effective October 22, 2026. Operated by Erick Alan Flores. Privacy contact: assist@existentialthinker.com.

Scope

This policy describes the current Existential Thinker app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, including its local reflection tools, optional nearby sharing, and optional support email. The app is intended for people aged 13 and older. The app and all its features are free. It does not describe a website or an online account service.

Information on your device

The app saves journal answers, their creation and update dates, prompts, journeys, and a reflection profile containing recommended journeys and a completion date in a local database on your device. It also saves local preferences such as welcome completion, reflection pace, whether reminders are enabled, and question-list position. These records support writing, browsing, searching, editing, and showing your recommendations. Journey Finder calculates recommendations on your device; it does not send your answers to an AI service or server.

Collection and sharing

The current app has no online accounts, developer-hosted database, advertising, tracking, analytics SDK, or payment processing. It does not automatically transmit your journal content or reflection profile to the developer, and the developer cannot read your local journal through the app. The app does not sell your local reflections or share them with advertising services.

Your profile → Nearby sharing pairs your devices once by comparing a verification code and approving on both. Paired devices then automatically exchange saved journal entries and prompt context over encrypted local connections whenever the apps are available nearby, without visiting the sharing screen again. Keep the iPhone or iPad app open; it reconnects when you return. The Mac app can keep sharing while you use other apps. Transfers do not use iCloud, an online account, or a developer server. This device stores its signing identity and trusted device keys in the device-local Keychain, and saves your automatic-sharing preference locally. Discovery advertises a generic label and a device-key fingerprint. Only cryptographically authenticated paired devices can share automatically. Turn off Nearby sharing or forget a device in Your profile. The other device keeps its own copy; deletions remain local. Local deletion receipts prevent deleted writing from returning, and differing versions are preserved. Reflection profiles, reminders, and other settings are not transferred.

Exports you choose

About → Download my data creates a readable JSON snapshot on your device. It includes journal writing and dates, prompts, journeys and identifiers, and saved reflection profiles. You choose the save location using the system file picker. A location such as iCloud Drive or another cloud file provider may upload that copy under that provider’s settings and policies. Exporting does not delete the originals and is not an import or restore feature. Anyone you give the file to may be able to read its contents.

Device backups and security

Local storage does not mean that data can never leave your device. Depending on your settings, Apple device backups or computer backups may include app data. The app does not provide its own cloud sync or backup service. Backups, restoration, and cloud file providers are controlled outside this app. Protect your device and exported files; this app does not provide a separate journal passcode or promise end-to-end encryption.

Optional reflection reminders

Optional reflection reminders are local notifications scheduled on this device. Alerts stay off until you choose Enable reminders; selecting a reflection pace alone does not enable them. Enabling requests notification permission if needed. Once a week schedules Sunday at 6 p.m.; twice a week schedules Sunday and Wednesday at 6 p.m., in the device’s local time. Notification text is generic and includes neither journal answers nor journey names. You can turn reminders off in About → Reflection reminders or change notification permission in device settings. Turning reminders off cancels this app’s pending reflection alerts and removes its delivered reflection alerts. No developer server is used to send these reminders.

Voluntary support email

Contact Us opens your mail app with the selected topic and the text you enter. You can review, change, or cancel the message before sending. Journal entries and answers are not attached automatically. If you send an email, the support recipient receives your sender address, message, and anything you choose to add. Email providers process and store the message under their own policies. Only the operator accesses the support mailbox. The operator uses support messages to answer requests, investigate reported problems, and improve the product. The operator does not use these messages for marketing, testimonials, research, or processing with AI tools. Avoid including sensitive journal writing you do not want to share.

Retention and deletion

Local records remain until you remove them or delete the app’s data. You can edit or delete journal answers in the app; deletion offers a brief Undo opportunity. Deleting an answer does not remove prior exports, emails, or backups. To remove the app’s local database and preferences, use Settings → General → iPhone Storage (or iPad Storage) → Existential Thinker → Delete App. Offload App keeps its documents and data. Manage exported files and backups separately with their storage providers. There is no online account to delete, and support cannot remotely delete your local journal. We keep support correspondence while a request is active or unresolved. When a request is resolved, or closed for nonresponse after a warning allowing 14 days to reply and no newer reply, we manually review and confirm the case before moving its received and sent messages to iCloud Trash. We also delete downloaded files stored in that case's designated folder. This routine does not automatically locate other separately saved or forwarded copies; those require separate handling. iCloud normally permanently erases messages in Trash after 30 days. We may retain the minimum information needed for an applicable legal obligation or dispute. Our cleanup cannot delete copies in your mailbox or provider-controlled backups. You can email the privacy contact to request deletion of support correspondence.

Optional yearly revisit notifications

Yearly revisit notifications are separate from weekly reminders and stay off until you enable them in Your profile. They use saved answer dates to schedule generic device-local notifications at 6 p.m. on the first anniversary. Notifications contain no answer text, prompt, or journey name. Tap a notification to open the dated A year ago section in Journal. Turn them off in Your profile to cancel pending and delivered yearly notifications. No developer server is used.

Privacy contact and changes

Erick Alan Flores operates Existential Thinker. For privacy questions or requests concerning support correspondence, email assist@existentialthinker.com. If the app's data practices change, we will update this policy and its effective date. The current policy is available in English at https://existentialthinker.com/privacy/ and Spanish at https://existentialthinker.com/es/privacy/.