Who we are
This policy covers the Vow app for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch and the website heyvow.com (together, “Vow”, “we”, “us”). We decide how the personal data described here is used and are responsible for it. You can reach us about anything in this policy at support@heyvow.com.
Vow is a self-help app for adults who want to quit habits such as smoking, vaping, alcohol, weed, porn and gambling. It is not a medical service. This policy describes the app as it actually behaves; where something cannot be promised, it says so.
What stays on your device
The following is stored only on your device and is not sent to Vow’s servers:
- the first name you enter during onboarding;
- the habits you are quitting, your quit dates, how much you used and what it cost, your triggers and toughest times, and your answers to the onboarding questions;
- your reason for quitting, and any photo or voice note you attach to it;
- your check-ins, moods, cravings, slips, notes, streaks, savings, plans and achievements;
- your settings.
Your Apple Watch receives a copy of your streaks, savings and reason from your iPhone over Apple’s WatchConnectivity, directly between your own devices. Widgets read from your device. Like other app data, this information is included in your iPhone’s own backups (iCloud Backup or a computer backup) if you use them; those backups are governed by Apple’s terms and your settings, not by Vow.
Because this information never reaches us, we cannot see it, recover it, or export it for you — and deleting the app or using Delete account & data removes it from your device.
What we collect, and why
| Data | When and why | Processed by |
|---|---|---|
| Account identifier | A random identifier created the first time you open Vow, so the app has an owner for your subscription and so our server can recognise genuine requests. It contains nothing about you. | Google Firebase Authentication |
| Sign-in details (optional) | Only if you choose to sign in. With Apple: your Apple user identifier, the email address Apple shares (which may be a private relay address) and your name if you choose to share it. With Google: your Google account identifier, email address, name and profile photo link. Used to keep your subscription tied to an account you control. | Google Firebase Authentication, Apple, Google |
| App usage events | Events such as the app opening, onboarding finishing (with the number of habits, not which ones), a paywall being shown, a purchase completing, failing or being restored, a check-in being saved, a craving being resisted or not, a relapse being logged, and signing in or out — plus device model, operating system, app version, language, approximate country derived from your IP address and an app instance identifier. These never include your habits, your reason, your name or anything you type. Used to understand how the app is used and to improve it. You can turn this off. | Google Analytics for Firebase |
| Crash reports | If the app crashes or hits an error: technical details of the crash (stack trace, device model, OS and app version), a Crashlytics installation identifier and your account identifier. Used to find and fix bugs. You can turn this off. | Google Firebase Crashlytics |
| Configuration | A Firebase installation identifier, used when the app downloads its settings (for example which offers are shown). | Google Firebase Remote Config |
| Notification token | If you allow notifications, your device registers for push messages. Vow’s reminders are scheduled on your device; the token lets us send a notification from our side in the future. | Google Firebase Cloud Messaging, Apple Push Notification service |
| Purchases and subscription status | Your account identifier and the purchase information Apple provides (product, price, currency, storefront, transaction and renewal dates). Used to unlock Premium, restore purchases, handle support requests and prevent fraud. We never see your payment card. | Apple, RevenueCat |
| Craving Shield coaching request | Only when the Craving Shield asks for a coaching line: your habit type (for example “smoking”), the trigger you tapped (for example “stressed”), your number of clean days and the app’s language, sent with a sign-in token. Our server checks the token, uses your account identifier for an hourly usage limit, and sends only the habit type, trigger, clean days and language to OpenAI to write one short line. Your name, reason, photos, voice notes, notes and identifiers are never sent to OpenAI. | Cloudflare (our server), OpenAI |
| Support messages | If you email us: your email address and what you write. Used to reply and to fix what you report. | Our email provider |
Permissions Vow asks for
- Notifications — for reminders and milestone messages. Reminders are written to be discreet on the lock screen.
- Photos — only to let you pick a photo for your reason. Vow reads the one photo you choose and stores it on your device.
- Microphone — only to record a voice note for your reason, stored on your device.
You can change any of these at any time in your iPhone’s Settings. Vow works without them.
Advertising and tracking
Vow has no ads. We do not sell your personal data, we do not share it for cross-context behavioural advertising, and we do not track you across other companies’ apps or websites. Vow does not access your device’s advertising identifier. Vow may show Apple’s App Tracking Transparency prompt; whatever you choose, the app behaves the same and no advertising identifier is collected. If that ever changes, this policy will change first, and tracking would only happen if you allow it.
Sensitive information
What you are quitting can reveal information about your health or your private life. Vow is designed so that this information stays on your device. The one exception is the Craving Shield coaching request described above, which includes a habit type and is sent only when you use that feature, without your name or any identifier reaching OpenAI. Our analytics events do not record which habits you have.
Legal bases
If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Switzerland, we rely on:
- performing our contract with you — to provide the app, your subscription, restores and support;
- our legitimate interests — in keeping the app secure, preventing abuse (such as the hourly coaching limit), fixing crashes and understanding which parts of the app help people. You can object, and you can turn analytics and crash reports off in the app;
- your consent — for notifications, photo and microphone access and optional sign-in, which you can withdraw at any time;
- legal obligations — for example keeping purchase records for tax and accounting.
Who processes your data
We use a small number of service providers, each receiving only what its job requires and acting on our instructions:
- Apple — App Store distribution, in-app purchases, Sign in with Apple and push notification delivery.
- Google (Firebase) — account identifiers and sign-in, analytics, crash reporting, remote configuration and push messaging; and Google Sign-In if you use it.
- RevenueCat — manages subscriptions and matches your Apple purchase to Premium.
- Cloudflare — runs the server that handles Craving Shield coaching requests.
- OpenAI — writes coaching lines from the limited request described above. Under OpenAI’s API policy, data sent to the API is not used to train its models, and is kept for up to 30 days for abuse monitoring unless the law requires longer.
- Vercel — hosts heyvow.com.
We may also disclose information if the law requires it, to protect someone’s safety, or as part of a merger or sale of the app — in which case this policy would continue to apply to your data.
International transfers
Our providers operate globally, so your data may be processed outside your country, including in the United States. Where the law requires it, transfers rely on safeguards such as the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses.
How long data is kept
- Account and sign-in details — until you delete your account. Firebase then removes them from its live and backup systems within 180 days.
- Usage events — kept by Google Analytics for no more than 14 months at the event level; aggregated reports that cannot identify you may be kept longer.
- Crash reports — 90 days.
- Coaching requests — the hourly usage counter expires within two hours; OpenAI keeps request logs for up to 30 days; our server keeps short-lived operational logs.
- Purchase records — for as long as needed to provide your subscription and meet tax and accounting obligations.
- Support emails — as long as needed to resolve your request and any follow-up.
Your choices
- Turn off usage analytics and crash reports in Profile → Settings → Privacy (“Share analytics & crash reports”).
- Turn notifications, photo or microphone access on or off in your iPhone’s Settings.
- Remove your reason’s photo or voice note by editing the habit.
- Use Vow without signing in, or sign out at any time.
- Delete your account and data in Profile → Settings → Delete account & data.
Your rights
Depending on where you live — including under the GDPR in Europe and the UK and US state laws such as California’s — you may have the right to access the personal data we hold about you, correct it, delete it, receive it in a portable format, restrict or object to how we use it, and withdraw consent. We do not sell or share personal data as those laws define it, and we do not use sensitive information to infer characteristics about you. We will not treat you differently for exercising these rights.
To make a request, email support@heyvow.com. We may ask for information to confirm the request is yours, and we will answer within the time the law requires (one month under the GDPR). You also have the right to complain to your local data protection authority.
Deleting your account
In the app, go to Profile → Settings → Delete account & data and confirm. Vow deletes your sign-in account from Firebase Authentication, resets its analytics identifier, signs you out of our subscription provider, and erases your quit data from the device — habits, reasons, photos, voice notes, check-ins, cravings, notes, plans and achievements. If you signed in with Apple, you will be asked to confirm with Apple so Vow can also revoke its access to your Apple ID. If a signed-in account cannot be deleted at that moment, nothing is erased and you can try again. App preferences such as language and appearance, and your analytics choice, are kept. Deletion cannot be undone.
Deleting your account does not cancel an App Store subscription — cancel that in your Apple Account settings. Apple keeps its own record of your purchases, and purchase records needed for tax and accounting are retained as described above. See Delete your data for step-by-step instructions, including how to ask us to delete data by email if you no longer have the app.
Children
Vow is rated 18+ and is not intended for anyone under 18. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has used Vow, contact us and we will delete any data we hold.
Security
Data sent between the app, our server and our providers is encrypted in transit. Our coaching server accepts only requests carrying a valid sign-in token, and access to provider dashboards is restricted. No system is perfectly secure, and we will not pretend otherwise; if a breach affects you, we will tell you as the law requires.
This website
heyvow.com does not use advertising or tracking cookies. Vercel, which hosts the site, processes technical request data such as IP addresses to serve pages and keep the site secure. We use Vercel Web Analytics and Speed Insights to count page views and measure performance without cookies and without identifying you.
Changes
If we change this policy, we will update the date at the top. If a change affects what we collect or how we use it, we will tell you in the app before it takes effect.
Contact
Questions or requests about privacy: support@heyvow.com. See also the terms of use.