Last updated: April 2026
Overview
Photo Habit Tracker keeps your habits and proof photos on your device. Some optional features — the Accountability Buddy, daily insight cards, and anonymous usage analytics — use our own backend hosted on Amazon Web Services. This policy explains exactly what leaves your device and what doesn’t.
Data That Never Leaves Your Device
Your proof photos, check-in notes, and completion history are stored only in the app’s private container on your device. They are never uploaded to our servers or shared with any third party. Deleting a habit removes its photos and notes from disk immediately. Uninstalling the app removes all local data permanently.
Anonymous Usage Analytics
The app sends anonymous usage events to our backend so we can monitor feature usage and fix bugs. Each event includes an event name (e.g. checkin_recorded), a timestamp, and context such as app version, iOS version, device model, and locale. A random install ID (UUID) is generated on first launch and used to group events from the same install — it is not your Apple ID, not your IDFA, and not linked to your identity in any way. Events never include your habit names, notes, photos, or phone number.
Accountability Buddy (Optional)
If you enable the Accountability Buddy, the following is stored on our backend so friends can find you and see your habit progress:
- Your display name
- A SHA-256 hash of your phone number (never the number itself)
- Habit metadata: name, icon, color, streak, last check-in date, and frequency
- Reactions and reminders exchanged with buddies
Your proof photos and notes are never synced. A random device ID and auth token are stored in the iOS Keychain so the app can authenticate without asking for an account.
Contact Discovery
If you tap Find Friends from Contacts inside the Accountability Buddy, the app reads your local contacts and computes SHA-256 hashes of their phone numbers. Only the hashes are sent to our server to look up existing users.
Raw phone numbers and contact names are never transmitted.
Daily Insight Cards
When the app shows a daily insight card, it requests today’s card from our backend using your buddy auth token. Your read state (seen, saved, dismissed) is stored on the server so the same card doesn’t repeat. No photos or personal habit data are sent as part of this feature.
Camera, Photo Library, Contacts, and Notifications
The app asks for camera and photo library access only when you capture a proof photo. It asks for contact access only when you use Find Friends from Contacts in the Buddy section. It asks for notification permission so we can deliver habit reminders (scheduled locally on your device) and optional buddy nudges (which can be delivered as push notifications via Apple Push Notification service).
Where Data Is Stored
Our backend runs on Amazon Web Services in the us-west-2 (Oregon) region.
- Analytics events are stored in Amazon CloudWatch Logs.
- Buddy and content data are stored in Amazon DynamoDB.
- Push notifications are delivered through Apple Push Notification service (APNs).
We do not use any third-party analytics SDKs, advertising networks, crash reporters, or tracking code inside the app.
What We Never Do
- We do not sell your data.
- We do not use your data for advertising.
- We do not profile you.
- We do not share data with any third party for marketing.
- There are no ad networks or tracking SDKs in the app.
Data Retention & Deletion
On-device data is removed when you delete a habit or uninstall the app. Buddy and content data stored on our backend is kept for as long as your buddy profile exists. You can remove your buddy profile and associated server-side data by contacting us via the support channel below, or by deleting the app (the device auth token is erased from the Keychain on uninstall; unlinked server-side records are periodically cleaned up).
Children’s Privacy
Photo Habit Tracker is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect data from them. If we learn we have collected data from a child under 13, we will delete it.
Changes to This Policy
If this policy changes in a future version of the app, the updated policy will be included in that version and noted in the release notes. Continued use of the app after an update means you accept the revised policy.
Contact
If you have questions about this privacy policy or want to request deletion of your buddy data, please contact us through the support link on the Photo Habit Tracker App Store page.
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