Privacy Policy

Who we are

Birch: Breathe, Relax & Sleep (“Birch”) is made by Tsukemen.io (“we”, “us”). This policy covers the Birch app for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, and this website, hellobirch.app. Where a law such as the GDPR applies, we are the party responsible for the personal data described here.

What stays on your device

Everything you create in Birch is stored locally on your device: your breathing sessions and history, the habits you track and log, your reminders, and your settings. We don't run accounts or servers that hold this information, so we can't see it.

• Reminders. Habit reminders and progress summaries are scheduled on your device as local notifications. You can turn them off in Birch or in iOS Settings.
• Backups. If you back up your device with iCloud or a computer, Apple may include Birch's data in that backup. Apple's privacy policy covers backups.

Apple Health

Connecting Apple Health is optional. If you turn it on, Birch asks for permission to write Mindful Minutes, so completed breathing sessions show up in the Health app. Birch doesn't ask to read any Health data, and it doesn't read any.

Information from Apple Health (HealthKit) is never sold, never used for advertising or marketing, never shared with data brokers, and never sent to our analytics provider. You can change or remove Birch's Health access at any time in the Health app or in Settings > Privacy & Security > Health.

Anonymous usage analytics

To understand which features people use and what to fix, the app sends a small set of usage events to PostHog, our analytics provider. These events are tied to a random identifier that the app creates. They aren't linked to your name, email, Apple ID, or any account, and we don't build profiles of individual people. The Apple Watch app sends its own anonymous usage events directly to PostHog, the same kinds of events as the iPhone app.

What an event can include

• App activity: the app was installed, updated, opened, or closed, which screens were viewed, and whether you finished the onboarding tour. When the app opens, it also loads its feature settings.
• Breathing: a session started, finished, or ended early, with the pattern and the planned and actual length.
• Habits: a habit was created or logged, with its type (yes/no or count) and target, and for count habits, the number you logged. Not the habit's name.
• Device basics: device model, operating system and version, app version, language, time zone, screen size, and whether you're on Wi-Fi or cellular.
• Approximate location: like most internet services, PostHog receives your device's IP address. It uses the address only to estimate an approximate location (country, region, and city) and then discards it. We don't store IP addresses, precise coordinates, or postal codes. We use approximate location only for aggregate counts, such as how many people use Birch in each country.

Analytics never include your Health data, your habit names, or anything you type into the app.

Support messages

If you contact us through the support form or by email, we get what you send: your email address, your name if you add one, your message, and any device or app version details you include. We use this only to reply to you and to fix bugs or plan features you ask about.

Support form messages are delivered to us by email through AgentMail, our email provider, and also copied into a private GitHub repository that only we can access, so we can track and fix them. They're kept only as long as we need them to help you. The website's host briefly processes your IP address to deliver the form and to limit spam.

This website

hellobirch.app doesn't use cookies, analytics, or ads. It is hosted by Vercel. Like any web host, Vercel processes basic request information, such as your IP address, browser, and the pages you request, to serve the site and protect it from abuse.

Who helps us

We rely on a few service providers. Each one gets only what it needs to do its job.

• Apple. App Store distribution, Apple Health, Apple Watch connectivity, notifications, and device backups. See Apple's privacy policy.
• PostHog (United States). Anonymous app usage analytics, as described above. See PostHog's privacy policy.
• Vercel (United States). Website hosting and processing support form submissions. See Vercel's privacy policy.
• AgentMail (United States). Email, for delivering and answering support messages. See AgentMail's privacy policy.
• GitHub (United States). To track support requests in a private repository. See GitHub's privacy statement.

These providers are based in the United States, so your data may be processed there. We may also disclose information if the law requires it, or to protect the safety of our users or others.

What we never do

• Sell your personal information, or “share” it for targeted advertising.
• Show ads, or include advertising SDKs in the app.
• Track you across other companies' apps or websites.
• Use Apple Health data for anything except saving the Mindful Minutes you asked for.

How long we keep data

• On-device data stays until you delete it in the app or delete the app.
• Analytics events are kept in PostHog for up to 1 year, the retention period of our PostHog plan.
• Support messages are kept in our inbox only as long as we need them to help you. You can ask us to delete them at any time.

Your choices and rights

• Delete your data. Deleting Birch from your devices removes the data it stores there.
• Health and notifications. Turn Apple Health access or reminders off at any time in iOS Settings.
• Support messages. Ask us to access, correct, or delete anything you've sent us.

Depending on where you live, privacy laws may give you more rights. Residents of California (under the CCPA) and of the European Economic Area, the UK, and Switzerland (under the GDPR) can ask to know, access, correct, or delete their personal information, and won't be treated differently for asking. Because we don't sell or share personal information, there is nothing to opt out of.

Under the GDPR, we process analytics and support messages on the basis of our legitimate interest in running and improving Birch and in answering you. Apple Health writing is based on your permission, which you can withdraw at any time. You can also complain to your local data protection authority.

Analytics events aren't linked to your identity, so we usually can't find the events that came from your device. To make a request, contact us. We'll reply as soon as we can, within the time the law requires.

Children

Birch is a general wellness app and isn't directed to children under 13. We don't knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, contact us and we'll delete it.

Security

We keep the data we handle to a minimum and use reputable providers that encrypt data in transit. Still, no method of storage or transmission is completely secure, so we can't promise absolute security.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we'll post the new version on this page and update the effective date at the top. If a change is significant, such as collecting a new kind of data, we'll also point it out on this website or in the app before it takes effect.

Contact

Questions or requests about privacy? Use the support form or email hellobirch@agentmail.to.

Birch is not a substitute for professional medical advice.