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Privacy Policy

Afterword

Effective Date: 06/13/2026 · Last Updated: 06/13/2026

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. 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

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:

  • Performance of a contract (providing the Service)
  • Legitimate interests (security, abuse prevention, product improvement)
  • Consent (where required, e.g., optional location capture)

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)
  • 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)

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

We do not sell personal information.

Requests may be submitted to: info@unthinkingai.com

C. European Union Privacy Rights (GDPR)

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 is currently free while in testing, and we cover the cost of AI processing during this period. We plan to introduce a limited free tier and paid subscription tiers.

If and when you purchase a subscription:

  • Billing is handled by Apple or the relevant platform.
  • We do not store full payment card information.
  • Subscription status may be stored for entitlement purposes.
  • Refunds are governed by the platform’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.

16. Contact Information

For privacy-related inquiries:

Unthinking AI, LLC

info@unthinkingai.com