1. Who we are and what this covers
This policy explains how Avishai Rajkumar ("we", "us") handles information in connection with the EarthBud app for iPhone ("EarthBud", "the app"). We are the data controller for the limited processing described here.
It covers the app and the EcoBot request service that supports it, in both the TestFlight beta and the App Store release. It does not cover any third-party website you reach by following a link from the app, or the App Store itself; those have their own privacy policies.
If you do not agree with this policy, please do not use EarthBud.
2. What leaves your iPhone, and what doesn't
EarthBud draws one clear line. Four of the five tabs are entirely self-contained: what you do in them is written to storage on your iPhone and is never transmitted to us or to anyone else. The fifth tab, EcoBot, has to send your message somewhere in order to answer it.
Never transmitted
Tabs 1–4
- Everything in Learn, Footprint, Actions and Tracker
- Your full footprint questionnaire answers
- Your complete action and progress records
- Any name you enter for yourself in the app
Transmitted when you use it
Tab 5 — EcoBot
- The messages you type
- A short summary of your activity, itemised in section 4
EcoBot messages travel to our own request service, which forwards them to our AI provider and returns the reply. That service is operated by us but stores nothing: it holds no database, writes no transcripts, and keeps no record of what you asked. Our hosting provider does generate ordinary platform-level request logs as part of running any internet service, in the same way a web server records that a request occurred.
3. Data kept on your iPhone
The following is written to the app's own local storage on your device, where it is readable only by EarthBud:
- Footprint answers and results — everything you enter about transport, home energy, diet and consumption, together with the carbon figure, the breakdown and the "Earths needed" result.
- Action activity — which actions from the library you have opened, saved, or committed to.
- Tracker records — your logged completions and the progress and impact figures derived from them.
- Learn progress — which lessons and modules you have worked through.
- App state — a name for yourself if you choose to enter one, and whether you have finished the first-run tutorial.
We have no access to any of it. It is not uploaded to us, backed up to us, or synchronised to any server we control.
Your EcoBot conversation is deliberately not written to this local storage, so it is not retained on your device after your session either.
If your iPhone is set to back itself up to iCloud or to a computer, the app's local data may be included in that backup. Those backups are governed by Apple's privacy policy, not by this one.
4. EcoBot in detail
When you send a message, EcoBot transmits only the following, and only at that moment:
- Your messages — the text you type, and the earlier messages in the same conversation so that the reply makes sense in context.
- Your footprint results, together with a small number of the answers behind them.
- The names of actions you have committed to, so that suggestions relate to what you are already doing.
- Counts — how many lessons and how many actions you have opened.
Everything else stays behind. In particular, EcoBot does not receive your Tracker records or completion logs, any name you have entered for yourself, which specific lessons you have finished, most of your individual footprint answers, or any device or user identifier. There is no identifier of any kind attached to the request, and because EarthBud has no accounts, what you send is not connected to a name, an email address, or a profile held by us.
Please do not type personal details into EcoBot. It answers environmental questions and has no need for your name, address, school, workplace, contact details, or anything about your health or finances. Treat it as you would any message sent to an outside service.
About EcoBot's answers
EcoBot is an AI assistant and its replies can be inaccurate or incomplete. They are general information, not professional, medical, financial, or legal advice. Please check anything you intend to act on.
5. App updates
EarthBud can receive improvements without a full reinstall. To make this work, the app contacts our update provider's servers when it starts, to ask whether a newer version of its code is available. That request carries the app's platform, its version identifier, and which release track it is on, along with the network information inherent in any internet request, such as your IP address.
This check exists solely to deliver app updates. It carries none of your in-app content, and it is not analytics: it does not report how you use the app, which screens you open, or how long you spend there.
6. What we do not collect
To be explicit, EarthBud does not:
- Require or offer an account, login, username, password, or email address.
- Include analytics, telemetry, crash-reporting, or attribution software.
- Include advertising of any kind.
- Track you across other apps or websites, or ask for permission to do so.
- Access your location, contacts, photos, camera, microphone, calendar, or health data.
- Use the Identifier for Advertisers or build advertising profiles.
- Sell or share your personal information, as those terms are used under California law and comparable state statutes.
The share feature in the Tracker tab uses your iPhone's own share sheet. You choose the destination, and the content goes from your device to the app you pick. It does not pass through us.
7. Information we may receive from Apple
Apple provides developers with aggregate, anonymous statistics about their apps — for example download counts and a general breakdown by country or device type. If you have enabled sharing of analytics and crash data with developers in your iPhone's settings, Apple may also give us crash reports. These are produced by Apple, not by anything in EarthBud, and they do not identify you. You can change that setting at any time under Privacy & Security in iOS.
If you take part in the TestFlight beta, any feedback or screenshot you deliberately submit through TestFlight is sent to us by Apple. Your use of TestFlight and the App Store is governed by Apple's privacy policy.
8. Service providers
We use three service providers. We share your information with no one else, and we disclose nothing for advertising or marketing purposes.
| Provider | Role | What it receives |
|---|---|---|
| Vercel Inc. | Hosts our EcoBot request service | Message content in transit, plus platform-level request information such as your IP address. |
| OpenAI Group PBC | Generates EcoBot's replies | The items listed in section 4. |
| Expo (650 Industries, Inc.) | Delivers app updates | The update-check information described in section 5. No in-app content. |
We have satisfied ourselves that each provider is contractually required to give user data protection equal to or greater than that described in this policy, and to process it only in order to deliver the service to us rather than for its own independent purposes.
Under our AI provider's standard API terms, content sent through the API is not used to train their models. Inputs and outputs are retained for up to 30 days for abuse and misuse monitoring and then deleted, unless a longer period is required by law or is reasonably necessary to protect the service or others from harm. We do not enable any feature that would extend that period or store your conversations with the provider.
We may disclose information where we are legally compelled to, or where necessary to protect our rights or the safety of others. Because we retain no conversations, there is in practice very little we could disclose.
9. Legal bases for processing (EEA and UK users)
Where the EU or UK GDPR applies to you, we rely on:
- Performance of a contract (Article 6(1)(b)) — processing your EcoBot messages in order to provide the feature you have asked for.
- Legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f)) — operating and securing the request service, preventing its abuse, and delivering app updates.
Data held only on your device is not processed by us, so no legal basis is engaged for it.
10. Retention and deletion
Data on your iPhone
Local data stays on your device until you remove it. Deleting EarthBud from your iPhone erases the app's local storage — your footprint answers and results, action activity, tracker records, learn progress and app state. This is permanent, and we cannot restore it, because we never held a copy.
EcoBot messages
We retain no copy of your EcoBot messages at any point, and they are not saved to your device either. Message content is held by our AI provider for up to 30 days for abuse monitoring, as set out in section 8, and is then deleted.
Stopping processing
You can stop all EcoBot transmission at any time by not using that tab; the other four tabs send nothing anywhere. Deleting the app ends all processing entirely, including update checks.
11. Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or port your personal information, to object to or restrict its processing, and not to be treated differently for exercising those rights.
Because EarthBud has no accounts and we keep no message logs, we generally hold no personal information about you to access, correct, or export — your data is in your hands, on your device, and section 10 explains how to erase it. If you believe we hold information about you and wish to exercise a right, write to us at the address in section 16 and we will respond within the period applicable law requires. We may need to ask for information in order to understand and answer your request.
If you are in the EEA or the UK you also have the right to complain to your local data protection supervisory authority.
12. Children's privacy
EarthBud is rated 12+ and is intended for a general audience of teenagers and adults. It is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.
EcoBot, like any AI assistant, is best used by younger users with adult guidance. If you are a parent or guardian and believe a child under 13 has sent personal information through the app, contact us at the address in section 16 and we will take appropriate steps. Parents can also manage access using Screen Time and Content & Privacy Restrictions on iOS.
13. Security
Communication between the app and our request service is encrypted in transit using HTTPS. Our AI provider credentials are held server-side and are never included in the app you download. Data on your device is protected by your iPhone's own security, so keeping a passcode enabled and iOS up to date is the most effective protection available to you.
No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
14. International transfers
Our request service runs on our hosting provider's global network, and a given request may be handled at a data centre near you. Our AI provider processes API requests primarily on infrastructure in the United States. This means that if you use EcoBot from outside the United States, the content of your messages will be transferred there.
Where required, those transfers are made under appropriate safeguards, including the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses as incorporated into our agreements with these providers.
15. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as the app changes. The revision date at the top always reflects the current version. If we make a material change to how information is handled, we will give notice in the app before the change takes effect. Continuing to use EarthBud after an update means you accept the revised policy.
16. Contact
For any question about this policy, or to make a privacy request, write to:
earthbud.app26@gmail.com
Avishai Rajkumar
This policy is governed by the laws of Texas, United States of America, without regard to its conflict-of-law provisions.