Effective Date: 06/13/2026 · Last Updated: 07/20/2026
1. Introduction
Unthinking AI, LLC (“we,” “us,” “our”) provides Afterword, an AI-powered journaling application (the “Service”).
This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, disclose, and protect information when you use the Service.
By creating an account or using the Service, you agree to this Privacy Policy.
2. Scope
This Privacy Policy applies to:
The Afterword iOS application (distributed via Apple)
The Afterword website, including account and informational pages
Related services and APIs
It does not apply to third-party platforms (e.g., Apple App Store billing systems), which have their own policies.
3. Information We Collect
A. Account Information
When you create an account, we collect:
Email address
Account ID
Authentication tokens
Plan/subscription status
Credit usage metrics
We do not require unnecessary personal information.
B. Journal Content (User-Generated Content)
When you use the Service, you may provide:
Text journal entries
Voice recordings
Transcripts
AI-generated enhancements
Weekly summaries
Chat messages
Photo attachments
Journal content may contain sensitive personal information.
You control what you choose to submit.
C. Voice Recordings and Transcription
Your audio recordings stay on your device. We do not upload, back up, or store your voice recordings on our servers or in our cloud. They remain in local storage on your device and are deleted when you delete the entry or the app.
By default, when you record a voice entry, the audio is sent to our transcription provider (OpenAI) solely to produce a text transcript. It is processed transiently for that purpose and is not stored by us.
On iOS, you can enable On-Device Transcription in Settings. When enabled, your audio is transcribed locally on your device using Apple’s Speech Recognition and is never transmitted to OpenAI or to us. Only the resulting text (your journal entry) may then be processed by AI as described below.
We do not manually review your journal content.
D. AI Processing Data
The iOS app asks for your explicit permission before any journal content is sent to OpenAI. You can grant or withdraw this permission at any time in the app (Settings → AI → AI Processing). While permission is off, AI features are disabled and no journal content is sent to OpenAI.
With your permission, to provide AI features we send your text and/or transcripts to OpenAI’s API for:
Transcription (unless On-Device Transcription is enabled)
Text generation and refinement of your entries
Summarization and insights
Embedding creation
Semantic search (chat with your journal)
We use OpenAI’s developer API (not a consumer product such as ChatGPT). Under OpenAI’s API data-usage policies, content submitted through the API is not used to train OpenAI’s models, and is retained by OpenAI only for a limited period (currently up to 30 days) for abuse and misuse monitoring, after which it is deleted, unless a longer period is required by law.
We do not use your journal content for advertising or profiling.
E. Usage and Operational Data
We collect limited service-related information:
Credits used
Feature usage counts
API consumption
Error logs
Performance metrics
This information is used to:
Enforce credit limits
Prevent abuse
Improve reliability
Maintain service integrity
F. Device and Technical Information
We may collect:
IP address
Device type
Operating system
Browser type (web)
Basic diagnostic information
This is used for security, fraud prevention, and service reliability.
G. Location
Afterword does not access or collect location data.
4. How We Use Information
We use collected information to:
Provide AI journaling features
Generate summaries and insights
Authenticate users
Enforce credit limits and throttles
Improve service functionality
Prevent fraud and abuse
Comply with legal obligations
We do not sell personal data.
We do not use journal content for targeted advertising.
5. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)
If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), our legal bases for processing personal data include:
You may withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.
6. Data Storage and Architecture
Local-First Storage
Afterword is designed as a local-first application.
Journal entries are stored in your device’s local storage by default.
Voice recordings are stored only on your device and are never uploaded to our cloud.
Optional encrypted cloud sync is available.
Encryption is performed client-side when enabled. When encryption mode is enabled, we do not have access to your unencrypted journal content.
Cloud Storage
If you enable cloud sync or create a backup:
Your encrypted journal text and metadata may be stored in Upstash Redis.
Encrypted journal backups (text and metadata, not audio) may be stored using Vercel Blob storage.
Hosting infrastructure is provided by Vercel.
Data is encrypted in transit using HTTPS.
No system can guarantee absolute security.
7. Data Retention
We retain personal data:
For as long as your account remains active.
As necessary to provide services.
As required for legal compliance.
If you delete your account (available in-app under Settings):
We delete your account record, journal entries, encryption keys, and cloud backups immediately, and in any event within 24 hours.
Voice recordings remain on your device under your control and can be removed by deleting the app.
Aggregate, anonymized usage metrics that no longer identify you may be retained.
8. Sharing of Information
We share information only with service providers that help us operate the Service:
AI provider: OpenAI (transcription, generation, embeddings) — only with your in-app permission, as described in Section 3D
Hosting provider: Vercel
Storage providers: Upstash (Redis), Vercel Blob
Email service provider: Resend (account and password-reset emails)
Payment processing: Apple (if and when you purchase a subscription)
Each of these providers processes data on our behalf as a service provider, under agreements that require them to protect your data to at least the same standard described in this policy and prohibit them from using it for their own purposes. In particular, OpenAI processes journal content under its API data-usage terms: it is not used to train models and is deleted within 30 days.
We do not sell personal information.
We do not share journal content for marketing purposes.
9. International Data Transfers
If you access the Service outside the United States:
Your data may be processed in the United States.
By using the Service, you consent to such transfers.
10. Your Rights
A. General Rights
You may have the right to:
Access your personal data
Correct inaccurate information
Request deletion
Restrict processing
Request data portability
You can delete your account and data directly in the app (Settings → Delete Account), or contact us at: info@unthinkingai.com
B. California Privacy Rights (CCPA)
If you are a California resident, you have the right to:
Request disclosure of the categories of personal information collected
Request deletion of personal information
Request disclosure of categories of data shared
Not be discriminated against for exercising privacy rights
If you are located in the EEA, you have the right to:
Access your personal data
Rectify inaccurate data
Request erasure
Restrict processing
Object to processing
Data portability
Lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority
11. Data Security
We implement technical and organizational measures including:
Encryption in transit (HTTPS)
Client-side, end-to-end encryption (when enabled)
Access controls
Rate limiting and abuse detection
However: No system is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security.
You are responsible for safeguarding your login credentials and, in encrypted cloud mode, your passphrase. We cannot recover content encrypted with a passphrase you lose.
12. Children’s Privacy
The Service is not intended for children under 13 (or the minimum legal age in your jurisdiction).
We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.
If we become aware of such data, we will delete it.
13. Mobile App and Device Permissions (iOS)
The iOS app may request the following permissions. Each is optional and used only for the stated purpose:
Microphone — to record voice journal entries.
Speech Recognition — only if you turn on On-Device Transcription, which transcribes your audio locally on your device. Your audio stays on the device in this mode.
Photos — to attach photos to an entry. Photos are selected through the system photo picker; we do not access your full photo library.
Face ID / Touch ID — optional app lock. Biometric data is handled entirely by iOS and is never accessible to us or transmitted off your device; the app only receives a success or failure result.
Notifications — optional reminders are delivered as local notifications on your device. We do not use remote push, and no notification tokens or content are sent to our servers.
Spotlight Search — optional and off by default; if enabled, your entries are indexed on your device so you can find them in system search.
The iOS app contains no third-party advertising, analytics, or tracking SDKs. We do not track you across other apps or websites, and the app is not used to build an advertising profile.
14. Subscriptions and Billing
Afterword offers a free tier with a limited number of starter credits, optional auto-renewing subscriptions (Plus and Pro) that include a monthly allotment of AI credits, and optional one-time credit packs.
When you purchase a subscription or credit pack:
Billing is handled by Apple.
We do not receive or store your payment card information.
We store your subscription status and credit balance for entitlement purposes.
Refunds are governed by Apple’s policies.
15. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy.
Material changes may require notice or re-acceptance.
Continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance.