Privacy Policy
Encara (“the app”) is an iPhone app provided by John White, an individual developer (“we”, “us”), who is responsible for the personal information described here. This policy explains what information the app handles and why.
The short version
- Encara has no accounts. We don’t ask for your name, email address or phone number.
- The lines you write in Encara stay on your device.
- Usage analytics are off unless you choose to share them, and you can change your choice at any time.
- A purchase service manages your subscription (or your earlier Encara purchase) so access can be confirmed and restored.
- We don’t show ads, track you across other companies’ apps or websites, or sell your personal information.
- To see whether our own ads lead people to install Encara, the app uses Apple’s privacy-preserving ad attribution — see Advertising measurement.
Information stored on your device
Encara stores your preferences (language, how often Encara changes, the current schedule), onboarding progress, your Usage Analytics choice (and, only while Usage Analytics is on, its random analytics ID — see below) and any lines you add yourself on your iPhone, in storage shared with the Encara widget. Encara also remembers that it has registered its installation with Apple’s ad attribution (see Advertising measurement). This information is not sent to us. It may be included in your own device or iCloud backup, according to your device settings.
Settings → Start over deletes your preferences, schedule and your own lines, and replaces the analytics ID. It doesn’t affect your subscription or purchase. Deleting the app removes everything Encara stores on your device.
Purchases
Using Encara requires Encara Annual, an auto-renewing yearly subscription bought through Apple’s App Store. Payment, renewal and cancellation are handled entirely by Apple; we never receive your payment details. You can manage or cancel the subscription at any time in your Apple Account settings. If you bought Encara before version 1.1, that purchase still unlocks Encara — no subscription needed. You can restore access at any time with Restore Purchases.
To confirm your subscription status (active, renewed, in a billing grace period, cancelled or expired) or your earlier purchase, and to restore access, the app uses RevenueCat, a purchase-management service. RevenueCat receives your purchase record (receipt and transaction details), a random identifier created by the app (not linked to your name or contact details; it may change if you reinstall Encara), and basic technical information (such as app version, operating system version, device type, country/storefront and IP address in transit). We use this only to unlock Encara, restore access and understand purchase activity.
Purchase information — including RevenueCat’s identifier — is not shared with our analytics provider. RevenueCat’s privacy policy: revenuecat.com/privacy (opens in a new tab).
Usage analytics (only with your consent)
Usage Analytics is off by default. After you unlock Encara, the app asks you once whether you’d like to share privacy-minimised usage data. If you shared usage data with an earlier version, Encara 1.1 asks you again once, because analytics now uses a stored ID (below). Nothing is collected before you choose, and nothing is collected if you choose Not Now. You can change your choice at any time in Settings → Privacy → Usage Analytics.
If you choose to share, Encara sends product-usage events from that point on, such as:
- that the app was opened;
- widget setup progress and which widget type was added;
- the language you select, and how often you choose Encara to change (for example, during onboarding);
- interactions with the purchase screen, if you see it again (viewing it, or starting a purchase);
- which features are used (for example, Next, Browse wisdom, Settings, adding your own line).
Analytics is processed by PostHog on its EU Cloud (servers in the European Union). If you choose to share, Encara creates one random analytics ID for this installation and stores it on your device while Usage Analytics is on. It is deleted when you turn Usage Analytics off or use Start over, and a new one is created if you turn it back on or reinstall Encara. It may be included in your device backup. Each launch also gets a separate random identifier that is kept in memory only. The analytics ID isn’t your name, email address, Apple Account, advertising identifier or purchase identifier, and we never combine it with purchase data or create a profile of you. Because it lets us see activity from the same installation over time, we treat this data as pseudonymous personal data linked to that installation.
Analytics never includes: the text of lines you write, quote text, author or source text, anything else you’ve written, your name, email address or any account identity (Encara has no accounts), RevenueCat’s identifier or your purchase details, your precise or approximate location (location lookup is turned off and IP addresses are discarded), advertising identifiers, or activity from other apps or websites.
PostHog receives basic technical information needed to process events: the Encara version and build number, whether it is a development or production build, operating system version, device model and type, the analytics library version, and your IP address in transit (discarded rather than stored).
Withdrawing consent: turn off Settings → Privacy → Usage Analytics at any time. Encara stops sending analytics immediately and deletes the analytics ID from your device. If you turn it back on, a new random ID is created — nothing from before is restored or linked. Your choice never affects your subscription, purchase or any Encara feature.
PostHog’s privacy policy: posthog.com/privacy (opens in a new tab).
Advertising measurement
We advertise Encara on Meta (Facebook and Instagram). To find out whether an ad led to Encara being installed and opened, Encara uses Apple’s privacy-preserving ad attribution (SKAdNetwork). When you first open Encara, the app tells Apple, on your iPhone, that it has been opened. That is the only thing Encara reports — it doesn’t report what you do in the app or whether you subscribe.
If you installed Encara after seeing one of its ads, Apple — not Encara — may later send that advertising network a delayed, cryptographically signed report about the ad campaign. Apple limits the detail in these reports so they don’t identify you, and they contain no name, Apple Account, advertising identifier or device identifier. If you didn’t install Encara from an ad, no advertising network receives a report about your install.
Encara doesn’t ask for App Tracking Transparency permission, doesn’t access your device’s advertising identifier (IDFA), doesn’t include Meta’s software, and doesn’t send Meta any identifiers, information about your device or your activity in the app. This is separate from usage analytics, which stay off unless you choose to share them.
Widget information
To show whether Encara is on your Lock Screen, the app asks iOS which Encara widgets are installed. This happens on your device. If you’ve chosen to share usage analytics, only the widget type (for example, the Lock Screen widget) may be included.
How information is sent
Encara communicates only with Apple (App Store purchases), RevenueCat and — only if you’ve chosen to share usage analytics — PostHog, over encrypted HTTPS connections. Apple’s ad attribution reports (see Advertising measurement) are sent by Apple, not by Encara.
What we don’t do
- No ads in the app and no advertising identifiers (IDFA).
- No tracking across other companies’ apps or websites, and no App Tracking Transparency prompt — nothing is used for tracking.
- No sale or sharing of personal information for advertising.
- No account or login, and no access to your contacts, photos, location or microphone.
Legal bases (UK/EU)
- Subscriptions, purchases and restoring access (Apple, RevenueCat): performance of a contract — providing the Encara features you subscribed to (or bought before version 1.1).
- Usage analytics (PostHog): your consent. You can withdraw it at any time in Settings → Privacy → Usage Analytics; withdrawing doesn’t affect Encara’s core features or your purchase, or the lawfulness of processing before you withdrew.
Retention
- On-device data: until you use Start over or delete the app. The analytics ID is deleted as soon as you turn Usage Analytics off.
- Purchase and subscription records (RevenueCat): kept while needed to provide and restore access, and to meet legal and accounting obligations.
- Usage analytics (PostHog): events are retained for up to 12 months.
International transfers
Usage analytics are stored by PostHog in the European Union. Where RevenueCat processes purchase data in the United States, RevenueCat’s Data Processing Addendum provides contractual safeguards for restricted transfers, including the applicable Standard Contractual Clauses and, where relevant, the UK transfer addendum.
Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, restrict or object to the processing of your personal information, and to withdraw consent at any time. Because Encara doesn’t know who you are and the analytics ID is random and never shown to us alongside your name or contact details, we usually can’t single out your analytics data — turning Usage Analytics off deletes the ID from your device straight away. For purchase data, contact us and we’ll help; Apple can also help with App Store purchases.
If you’re in the UK and unhappy with how your information is handled, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO): ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint (opens in a new tab). If you’re in the EU, you can contact your local data protection authority. We’d appreciate the chance to help first — please contact us.
Children
Encara is not specifically directed at children. Encara does not require users to create an account or provide a name, email address or profile. If you are a parent or guardian and have a concern about information relating to a child, contact encarasupport@gmail.com.
Changes
We’ll update this policy when Encara’s data practices change, and show the new “Last updated” date above.
Contact
John White
encarasupport@gmail.com