Privacy Policy

Effective date: 13 August 2026

Anchor is operated by Beau Schmitz, a United States individual operator ("Anchor", "we", "us", or "our"). Beau Schmitz is the controller of personal information described in this Privacy Policy. This Policy explains how information is handled when you use the Anchor iOS app, this website, and the services that support them.

1. Information stored on your device

Anchor may store the following information locally so the app can provide your personalized experience:

• an optional name and onboarding choices;
• your spiritual goals, guidance preferences, preferred Bible translation, anchor time, repeat days, and notification choices;
• daily rhythm entries, including reflections, releases, prayers, intentions, truths you write, quiet-time duration, and completion history;
• Bible reading progress, completed chapters, highlights, favorites, annotations, and notes;
• daily verse favorites and app appearance, accessibility, alarm, and reader settings; and
• limited operational state, such as whether onboarding has been completed and a short-lived timestamp used to open Anchor from an alarm.

Some of this information may reveal religious or spiritual beliefs and can be considered sensitive information under applicable privacy law. You choose whether to enter it. Anchor uses it to provide features on your device and does not transmit the text of these entries to our backend.

Local Anchor data is stored using iOS file protection. It may also be included in an encrypted iPhone or iCloud backup according to the backup settings you control through Apple. Apple handles those backups under its own privacy terms.

2. Information handled by supporting services

Content feedback

If you select Helpful or Not for me, Anchor sends a randomly generated feedback identifier, the relevant content identifier, your fixed response, an optional fixed reason, the feature where you responded, Bible translation, app version and build, device locale, and time. Anchor does not send your journal text, prayers, name, Bible notes, or a user account identifier with feedback.

Optional analytics

If you enable Analytics and Diagnostics in Settings, Anchor uses Google Firebase Analytics to understand broad feature use and improve the app. This may include an app-instance identifier, general device and operating-system information, app version, approximate region derived by the service, and low-cardinality events such as an onboarding step being viewed or a feature being completed. Anchor does not place your entered spiritual or emotional text in analytics events.

Optional crash reporting

If you enable Analytics and Diagnostics, Anchor also uses Firebase Crashlytics to diagnose crashes and reliability problems. Crash reports may include installation identifiers, crash traces, device model, operating-system version, app version, memory or process state, timestamps, and IP address used during transmission. Anchor does not intentionally add your journal text, prayers, notes, or name to crash reports.

Remote configuration

Anchor uses Firebase Remote Config to deliver limited operational settings, such as whether the content-feedback service is available. Firebase may receive a Firebase installation identifier, device country and language codes, time zone, operating-system and app version, Firebase app identifier, and bundle identifier to provide this feature. Anchor does not send journal entries, prayers, Bible notes, or your optional name to Remote Config.

App integrity

Anchor uses Firebase App Check with Apple's App Attest service to help confirm that requests to our feedback service come from an authentic copy of the app. These services may process technical attestation tokens and device or request information for security and fraud-prevention purposes.

Subscriptions and purchases

Purchases and free trials are processed by Apple through StoreKit and your Apple ID. Apple provides Anchor with subscription product, transaction, purchase-status, renewal, and entitlement information needed to unlock paid features. We do not receive your payment card number or full Apple ID account details.

Messages you send us

If you contact us for support or privacy help, we receive the information you choose to include, such as your email address and message. Please do not include journal entries, prayers, or other sensitive information unless it is necessary for us to help you.

This website

This website does not use advertising cookies, tracking pixels, or website analytics. It is hosted through GitHub Pages. GitHub may process request information such as an IP address and browser information to deliver and secure the site under the GitHub General Privacy Statement.

3. Permissions and Apple system features

Anchor may ask for access to the following iOS features:

• Alarms and notifications: to schedule your chosen anchor time and show daily verse or rhythm reminders. These are scheduled through Apple system frameworks.
• Add to Photos: to save a verse image you create. This permission allows Anchor to add the selected image to your library. Anchor does not upload your photo library to our servers.

You can change these permissions at any time in iOS Settings. Some features may not work if the related permission is disabled.

4. How we use information

We use information only as reasonably necessary to:

• provide and personalize Anchor's on-device Bible, journal, daily rhythm, alarm, and notification features;
• process subscriptions and restore purchases;
• remember your settings and progress;
• respond to support and privacy requests;
• measure feature performance when you have opted in;
• detect, investigate, and repair crashes or security issues when you have opted in; and
• protect Anchor and its services from abuse.

5. Service providers and disclosure

We disclose limited information only to service providers that help operate Anchor, or where required by law:

• Apple: App Store distribution, StoreKit subscriptions, App Attest, alarms, notifications, Photo Library access, and optional device or iCloud backups.
• Google Firebase: app hosting, remote configuration, feedback processing and storage, App Check, and, only when enabled, Analytics and Crashlytics.
• GitHub: hosting and delivery of the public Anchor website.

These providers process information under their own terms and contractual obligations. We may also disclose information if reasonably necessary to comply with law, protect users, investigate fraud or security issues, or protect our legal rights. If the business is reorganized or transferred, information may be transferred subject to this Policy and applicable law.

6. International processing

Anchor is operated from the United States. Apple, Google, GitHub, and their subprocessors operate globally, so limited service data may be processed in the United States and other countries where those providers or their subprocessors operate. Privacy protections in those countries may differ from those in your country.

When a transfer from the European Economic Area requires a safeguard, we use an available lawful transfer mechanism, which may include an adequacy decision, standard contractual clauses, or another mechanism permitted by applicable law. You may contact us for information about the safeguard relevant to your information.

7. Retention

• On-device data: retained until you delete individual content, use Reset Anchor Data, or remove the app and its local data. Copies in Apple-managed backups follow your Apple backup settings and retention.
• Submitted content feedback: detailed feedback records are scheduled for deletion after 180 days. De-identified aggregate counts may be retained longer to evaluate content quality.
• Firebase Analytics: user-level and event-level data is retained for up to 14 months when analytics is enabled. Aggregated reports may remain after that period.
• Firebase Crashlytics: crash reports are generally retained for 90 days when diagnostics is enabled.
• Support messages: retained for as long as reasonably necessary to respond, keep an appropriate business record, resolve disputes, and meet legal obligations.
• Subscription records: retained by Apple under Apple's policies and by Anchor only as needed to verify access and meet legal obligations.

8. Your controls

• Change your profile, goals, translation, alarms, notifications, and reading preferences in Anchor's Settings.
• Turn optional Analytics and Diagnostics on or off in Settings. Turning it off stops future optional collection from Anchor. Reset Anchor Data also resets the app's analytics identifier where supported.
• Delete annotations, notes, favorites, and journal content using the controls provided in the app.
• Use Reset Anchor Data to erase Anchor's local app state and pending, unsent feedback from the device.
• Manage or cancel your subscription through your Apple ID subscription settings.
• Manage system permissions in iOS Settings.

Submitted feedback is deliberately not linked to an account or identity, so we normally cannot identify a particular feedback record as yours. It expires automatically under the retention period above.

9. Access, correction, deletion, and complaints

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to request access to, correction of, or deletion of personal information we hold, to object to or restrict certain processing, or to complain about our privacy practices. Most Anchor content is visible and editable directly on your device, and we generally do not possess a server copy of it.

To make a privacy request, email managementnanchor@gmail.com. We may need to verify your request and may retain information where required by law or where an exception applies.

10. European Union and EEA information

If European Union or European Economic Area data-protection law applies, Anchor relies on the following legal bases for the limited personal information it processes:

• Contract: to provide the app, subscription access, purchase restoration, requested support, and other features you ask us to provide.
• Consent: for optional Analytics and Diagnostics. You may withdraw this consent in Settings at any time. Withdrawal does not affect processing that occurred before withdrawal.
• Legitimate interests: to secure Anchor, prevent abuse, maintain app integrity, understand fixed content feedback, and operate reliable supporting services, where those interests are not overridden by your rights.
• Legal obligations and claims: when processing is necessary to comply with law or establish, exercise, or defend legal rights.

Your prayers, journal writing, spiritual goals, Bible notes, and similar content can reveal religious beliefs. Anchor is designed so the text of that content remains on your device and is not received by our backend. Please do not send sensitive content in a support message. Where applicable law requires separate consent for sensitive information, we will request it separately and will not infer it from acceptance of the Terms.

You may have the right to access, correct, erase, restrict, or receive a portable copy of personal information we hold, and to object to processing based on legitimate interests. You may also withdraw consent and lodge a complaint with the data-protection authority where you live or work, or where you believe an infringement occurred. Anchor does not make decisions based solely on automated processing that produce legal or similarly significant effects.

To exercise these rights or ask about Anchor's transfer safeguards, contact the controller at managementnanchor@gmail.com. We will respond within the period required by applicable law.

11. United States state privacy rights

Depending on the law that applies where you live, you may have rights to know or access personal information, correct it, delete it, receive a portable copy, or appeal a decision about a request. You may also have rights concerning the sale, sharing, or use of personal information for targeted advertising.

Anchor does not sell personal information, share it for cross-context behavioral advertising, or use it for targeted advertising. We will not discriminate against you for exercising a privacy right. Submit a request or appeal by emailing managementnanchor@gmail.com.

12. Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational safeguards, including iOS file protection, encrypted HTTPS connections, restricted backend access, App Check, and limited data collection. No storage or transmission method is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security. If we become aware of a data breach, we will assess and respond to it as required by applicable law.

13. Children

Anchor is intended for a general audience and is not designed specifically for children under 13. If you are below the age at which parental consent is required in your country, use Anchor only with the permission and supervision of a parent or guardian. If you believe a child has sent personal information to our remote services without appropriate consent, contact us so we can investigate.

14. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy as Anchor changes or legal requirements develop. We will post the revised Policy at this URL, update the effective date, and provide additional notice in the app when a change is material.