Privacy Policy
Starting Over is built for the hardest chapter of your life, so we keep your words on your device. Here is exactly what the app does with your information, in plain language.
Last updated September 24, 2026
No analytics SDKs and no third-party tracking.
No advertising. We never sell your data.
No sign-up. We cannot see your records.
Off until you choose to turn it on.
How your data moves
Everything you write lives here, protected by iOS. Not in iCloud, not in backups.
Confirms the request came from the real app, then passes it on. Stores and logs nothing.
A third-party AI service writes the suggestion, and it goes straight back to your device.
In black and white
The full policy
Onboarding answers, check-ins, journal entries, Reality Vault notes, goals and progress are stored only on your iPhone or iPad using iOS file protection. They are not synced to iCloud, are excluded from device backups, and are never uploaded unless you use Personalized guidance as described below.
We have no account system and cannot see or recover these records. Deleting the app permanently deletes them.
Optional · Off by default
If you turn on Personalized guidance, the app sends a request to our secure server when you ask for a suggestion, plan, rewrite or conversation reply. A request can include your onboarding answers, recent check-ins and goals, the text you type into Rescue or Talk It Through, and short excerpts of recent journal and Reality Vault entries. Journal or Vault excerpts are left out while that section's lock is on. Your profile name is never sent.
Our server forwards the request to a third-party AI service provider, which generates the response under its own privacy terms. Our server does not store or log request content. It keeps no database of your records, and no request content is used for advertising, sold, or used for tracking.
To verify that requests come from the genuine app, the app uses Apple's built-in app verification. This creates an anonymous device key that is not linked to your identity. Our server also applies temporary rate limits to prevent abuse.
If you subscribe to Starting Over+, the app also sends Apple's signed proof of your subscription so our server can confirm it before running Plus features. It is checked and then discarded, never stored, and it is never sent to the AI service. Payments themselves are handled entirely by Apple; we never see your payment details.
You can turn Personalized guidance off at any time from the Privacy & Personalization button on the Today screen. All core tools keep working offline.
If you enable App Lock, iOS handles Face ID, Touch ID or passcode verification. The app never receives your biometric data.
Starting Over contains no analytics SDKs, no advertising and no third-party tracking.
If a request appears to describe an emergency, the app shows crisis resources instead of generated guidance. Links to crisis services open their websites, which have their own privacy policies.
Starting Over is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their information.
Because your records are kept on your device, you control them directly: you can delete journal entries, Reality Vault notes, goals and Support conversations in the app, turn off Personalized guidance, or delete the app to remove all records. Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct or delete personal information. Contact us to make a request.
If this policy changes, we will update the date at the top of this page and, for material changes, tell you in the app.
Get in touch about your privacy, your data or these terms.
simonsheddy6@icloud.com