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Privacy Policy

Last updated: December 31, 2024

Introduction

Welcome to Reflections, the journaling app that transforms your thoughts, memories, and emotions into stunning AI-generated illustrations. We are deeply committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring that your most personal reflections remain secure and confidential.

This privacy policy provides a comprehensive explanation of how we collect, use, store, and safeguard your information when you use Reflections. We believe in complete transparency about our data practices, so you can journal with confidence knowing exactly how your data is handled.

By using Reflections, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy. If you have any concerns about our practices, we encourage you to read this document carefully and reach out to us with any questions.

Information We Collect

To provide you with a personalized and meaningful journaling experience, we collect several types of information. We are committed to collecting only what is necessary to deliver our services effectively.

Account Information

When you create an account with Reflections, we collect basic identification information to set up and maintain your personal account. This information helps us identify you and provide you with a personalized experience:

  • Email Address: Used for account authentication, password recovery, and important service communications. We will never share your email with third parties for marketing purposes.
  • Display Name: The name you choose to identify yourself within the app. This can be your real name or any alias you prefer.
  • Profile Photo: If you sign in with Google, we may receive your profile photo. This is entirely optional and used only to personalize your experience within the app.
Journal Content

Your journal entries are the heart of Reflections. We store your content securely to enable the core features of our app, including AI illustration generation and cross-device synchronization:

  • Text Entries: The written content of your journal entries, including your thoughts, reflections, and daily experiences that you choose to document.
  • AI-Generated Illustrations: The unique visual artwork created by our AI based on your journal entries, representing your memories in your chosen artistic style.
  • Character Avatars: Custom character designs you create to represent yourself in your visual biography, including all customization options you select.
  • Entry Metadata: Timestamps, dates, mood indicators, and other organizational data associated with each journal entry to help you navigate your timeline.
Usage Data

To continuously improve Reflections and provide you with the best possible experience, we automatically collect certain technical and usage information:

  • App Usage Patterns: Information about which features you use, how often you journal, and how you navigate through the app. This helps us understand what features are most valuable to our users.
  • Device Information: Technical details about your device, including device type, operating system version, and app version. This helps us optimize the app for different devices and troubleshoot issues.
  • Crash Reports: Automatic error reports when the app experiences issues, helping our development team identify and fix bugs quickly to improve reliability.
  • Performance Metrics: Data about app loading times and responsiveness to help us optimize performance across all devices.
How We Use Your Information

Your data is used exclusively to provide, maintain, and improve the Reflections experience. We are committed to using your information only for legitimate purposes that directly benefit your journaling journey:

  • Core Service Delivery: Operating the Reflections app, including storing your entries, syncing across devices, and maintaining your account.
  • AI Illustration Generation: Processing your journal entries through our AI system to create personalized visual representations of your memories and experiences.
  • Character Customization: Enabling you to create and refine your personal avatar that appears in your illustrated timeline.
  • Emotion Tracking: Analyzing the emotional themes in your entries to provide insights about your emotional patterns over time.
  • Cross-Device Sync: Ensuring your journal entries and illustrations are available across all your devices seamlessly.
  • Service Improvements: Using aggregated, anonymized usage data to identify opportunities for new features and enhancements.
  • Critical Communications: Sending essential notifications about service updates, security alerts, or changes to our terms and policies.
Use of Artificial Intelligence

Reflections leverages cutting-edge artificial intelligence to transform your written words into beautiful visual artwork. We understand the sensitivity of using AI with personal data, and we want to be completely transparent about how AI is used in our app.

Our AI Commitment

We do not use your personal data, journal entries, or any content you create to train AI models.

Your journal entries are processed by AI solely to generate illustrations and provide features within the app. This processing happens in real-time and your data is not retained for training purposes. Your thoughts, memories, and personal reflections remain yours alone and are never used to improve or train any AI systems.

How AI Processing Works
  • Illustration Generation: When you create a journal entry, the text is sent to Google's Gemini API to generate a description for artwork. This description is then used to create a unique illustration in your chosen artistic style. The AI does not store or learn from your entries.
  • Emotion Analysis: Our AI analyzes the emotional tone of your entries to help track your emotional journey over time. This analysis is performed to provide you with insights and is not used for any other purpose.
  • Character Creation: AI assists in generating and customizing your personal avatar based on your preferences. The customization data is used only to create your character.
  • Voice Transcription: Voice recordings are transcribed using AI to convert speech to text for your journal entries. The audio and transcription are stored only in your account.
Third-Party AI Services

We use Google's Gemini API and Imagen for AI processing. These services operate under Google's strict data protection policies. According to Google's terms, data sent through their API is not used to train their models. We have selected these providers specifically because of their strong privacy commitments and enterprise-grade security measures.

Data Storage and Security

Protecting your personal journal entries is our highest priority. We employ multiple layers of security and use industry-leading infrastructure to keep your data safe.

Infrastructure

Your data is stored securely using Google Firebase services, which provide enterprise-grade security:

  • Cloud Firestore: A NoSQL database that stores your journal entries, user profile, preferences, and app data. Firestore automatically encrypts all data at rest using AES-256 encryption.
  • Firebase Storage: Secure cloud storage for all images, including your AI-generated illustrations, character avatars, and any photos you upload. All files are encrypted and access is strictly controlled.
  • Firebase Authentication: Manages your account credentials using industry-standard authentication protocols. Passwords are never stored in plain text and are protected using advanced hashing algorithms.
Security Measures
  • Encryption in Transit: All data transmitted between your device and our servers is encrypted using TLS 1.3, the latest and most secure transport layer security protocol.
  • Encryption at Rest: All stored data is encrypted using AES-256 encryption, ensuring your data remains protected even in storage.
  • Access Controls: Strict authentication and authorization rules ensure that only you can access your data. Our team does not have access to your personal journal content.
  • Regular Security Audits: We regularly review and update our security practices to address emerging threats and vulnerabilities.
Data Sharing

Your privacy is paramount to us. We have a strict policy against selling, renting, or trading your personal data to third parties. Your journal entries are your private thoughts, and they stay that way.

We may share limited information only in the following specific circumstances:

  • Essential Service Providers: We work with trusted third-party services (Google Cloud, Firebase) that help us operate Reflections. These providers are contractually obligated to protect your data and can only use it to provide services to us.
  • Legal Obligations: We may disclose information if required by law, such as in response to a valid court order or subpoena. We will notify you of such requests unless legally prohibited from doing so.
  • Protection of Rights: We may share information if necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of Reflections, our users, or the public.
  • With Your Explicit Consent: We will share your data with third parties only when you have given us clear, informed consent to do so.
Your Rights

We believe you should have complete control over your personal data. Depending on your location, you may have various rights regarding your information, and we are committed to honoring these rights for all our users:

  • Right to Access: You can request a complete copy of all personal data we hold about you at any time. We will provide this information in a readable format.
  • Right to Export: You can export your journal entries, illustrations, and other data from the app. We believe your memories belong to you.
  • Right to Correction: If any information we hold about you is inaccurate, you have the right to request corrections.
  • Right to Deletion: You can delete your account and all associated data at any time. When you delete your account, we permanently remove your data from our systems.
  • Right to Opt-Out: You can opt out of non-essential data collection, such as analytics, while still using the core features of the app.
  • Right to Data Portability: You can request your data in a structured, commonly used format that allows you to transfer it to another service.
Data Retention

We retain your personal data for as long as your account remains active and you continue to use Reflections. Your journal entries and illustrations are stored indefinitely while your account is active, allowing you to build a complete visual biography of your life.

If you choose to delete your account, we will permanently delete all your personal data, including journal entries, illustrations, and account information, within 30 days. Some data may be retained in encrypted backups for up to 90 days before being permanently removed.

We may retain certain anonymized, aggregated data that cannot be used to identify you for analytical purposes. Additionally, we may retain data as required by law or to protect our legal rights.

Children's Privacy

Reflections is designed for users aged 13 and older. We do not knowingly collect, use, or disclose personal information from children under the age of 13. We take children's privacy seriously and comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and similar regulations worldwide.

If you are a parent or guardian and believe that your child under 13 has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately through the app. We will take steps to delete such information from our servers promptly.

For users between 13 and 18, we recommend that parents or guardians review this privacy policy and discuss online privacy practices with their children.

International Data Transfers

Reflections is operated from the United States, and your data may be stored and processed in the United States or other countries where our service providers maintain facilities. By using Reflections, you consent to the transfer of your information to countries outside of your country of residence.

We ensure that any international data transfers comply with applicable data protection laws. When transferring data from the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, or Switzerland, we rely on appropriate legal mechanisms such as Standard Contractual Clauses to ensure your data receives adequate protection.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technologies, legal requirements, or other factors. When we make significant changes, we will notify you through the app or via email before the changes take effect.

We encourage you to review this privacy policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your information. The "Last updated" date at the top of this policy indicates when it was last revised. Your continued use of Reflections after any changes indicates your acceptance of the updated policy.

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