← Back

Privacy Policy

Effective Date: July 27, 2026
Developer: Adam Rowe

Overview

Heathen is a meditation and affirmation app for atheists, available on iOS. Your privacy matters, and this policy explains how Heathen handles (and does not handle) your data.

The short version: your content — journal entries, session history, and streaks — stays on your device and is never sent to us. To understand how the app is used and to catch crashes, Heathen does collect anonymous product-usage and diagnostic data through PostHog and Sentry. That data is about how the app performs, not what you write or reflect on.

Data Stored on Your Device

Heathen stores the following data locally on your device using AsyncStorage. This data never leaves your device, is never included in any analytics event, and is not accessible to us or any third party:

• Journal entries - Your personal reflections and notes
• Meditation session history - Records of your completed sessions
• Streak data - Your daily meditation streak progress
• Notification preferences - Your settings for daily reminders
• Theme preferences - Your selected app appearance

All locally stored data is prefixed with heathen_ in AsyncStorage and remains entirely under your control. You can delete this data at any time by uninstalling the app or clearing the app's data through your device settings.

Analytics and Diagnostics

To understand how Heathen is used — and to find and fix crashes — the app sends anonymous usage and diagnostic data to two services:

• PostHog records product-usage events: things like opening the app, finishing onboarding, starting or completing a session, viewing the subscription screen, and starting or completing a purchase. Each event carries only a few technical properties (for example, which session was chosen or which subscription package), plus the standard device and app-version information the SDK collects. It does not include your journal entries, the content of your reflections, or your session history.
• Sentry receives crash and error reports so we can diagnose problems, along with basic session and device information.

This data is not tied to your name, email, or a login (Heathen has none), and it is never sold or shared for advertising.

Data We Do Not Collect

• We do not require account creation or login
• We do not collect your name, email, phone number, or other contact information
• We do not read, transmit, or analyze your journal entries or reflections
• We do not serve advertisements
• We do not sell or share your data with data brokers
• We do not track your location
• We do not access your contacts, photos, or other device data

App Tracking Transparency

Heathen does not track you across other companies' apps or websites, and does not participate in data brokering. The analytics described above are first-party and used only to improve Heathen itself. If prompted by Apple's App Tracking Transparency framework, you can safely deny tracking permission — Heathen does not track you across other apps regardless of your selection.

Third-Party Services

RevenueCat (Subscription Management)

Heathen uses RevenueCat to manage in-app subscriptions. RevenueCat processes subscription transactions through Apple's App Store. RevenueCat may collect anonymized purchase data as described in their privacy policy. We do not have access to your payment details — all payment processing is handled by Apple.

Apple Push Notification Service (via expo-notifications)

If you opt in to daily reminders, Heathen uses expo-notifications to schedule local notifications on your device. These notifications are scheduled locally and do not transmit data to any external server. No notification content or preferences are shared with us or any third party.

Freesound.org (Ambient Audio)

Heathen loads ambient audio files from Freesound.org's CDN during meditation sessions. These are standard network requests to retrieve audio content. No personal data or identifying information is included in these requests beyond what is standard in any HTTP request (e.g., your IP address as seen by the CDN).

Children's Privacy

Heathen is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect any data from children.

Your Rights Under GDPR (European Economic Area)

If you are located in the European Economic Area, you have the right to access, correct, or delete your personal data. Your content stays on your device, and you control it at all times — delete it by uninstalling Heathen or clearing its data in your device settings. The anonymous usage and diagnostic data described above is processed on our behalf by PostHog and Sentry; because it is not linked to your identity, we cannot single it out to a specific person, but you can find PostHog's and Sentry's own data practices in their privacy policies.

Your Rights Under CCPA (California)

If you are a California resident, you have the right to know what personal information is collected, request its deletion, and opt out of its sale. Heathen does not sell or share your personal information, and does not serve advertising. Your content remains on your device; the only data that leaves it is the anonymous usage and diagnostic data described above.

Data Security

Because your content is stored locally on your device, the security of that data depends on your device's security. We recommend using a passcode, Face ID, or Touch ID on your device to protect it. The anonymous usage and diagnostic data described above is transmitted over encrypted connections to PostHog and Sentry.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. Any changes will be reflected by updating the effective date at the top of this document. Continued use of Heathen after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Contact

If you have questions or concerns about this privacy policy, please open an issue at:
https://github.com/airowe/heathen/issues