1. Introduction
This Privacy Policy explains how Bardo ("we", "us", or "our") collects, uses, and protects your personal information when you use our application ("the App"). The short version: we don't collect anything. Your modes and thoughts live on your devices and in your own iCloud account, and we have no way to see them.
2. Information Collection and Use
2.1. Personal Information:
The App does not collect or transmit any personal information to us. We operate no servers and use no analytics, advertising, or tracking of any kind. There is no account to create.
2.2. Your Modes and Thoughts:
Your modes (their names, colors, and intentions), the thoughts and items in each mode, archived items, Thought Inbox entries, and your settings are stored on your device using Apple's SwiftData framework and the system's standard app storage.
2.3. Widgets, Siri, and Shortcuts:
Thoughts you add through Siri or the Shortcuts app are held briefly in an App Group container on your device, shared only between the App and its own widgets, and moved into your Thought Inbox the next time you open the App. The Lock Screen widget and the Control Center button only open the App to the Thought Inbox. The widgets also read the number of unsorted thoughts and the most recent one from that container so they can display them; the rectangular Lock Screen widget shows the text of that most recent thought on your Lock Screen. If you use Siri, your request is processed by Apple under Apple's Privacy Policy; the App receives only the text of the thought.
2.4. iCloud Sync:
If you are signed in to iCloud, the App syncs your modes and items between your own devices through Apple's CloudKit, in the private database of your iCloud account. That data is stored by Apple under your Apple Account and is governed by Apple's Privacy Policy. We cannot read, access, or retrieve it. The App may receive silent background notifications from Apple so that changes made on another device arrive promptly; these carry no content you can see and are not used to contact you. You can turn off iCloud for Bardo in the iOS Settings app under your name, then iCloud.
3. Data Storage, Retention, and Deletion
Nothing is deleted automatically. Items you check off in a mode move to that mode's archive when you switch modes (or sooner, if you archive them yourself), and thoughts you check off in the Thought Inbox are archived right away. Archived items stay until you delete them with Clear Archive or Clear All Archives. Your data is protected by your device's built-in security and, when synced, by your iCloud account.
You can delete your data in the App at any time. In Settings, you can delete a single mode along with its items and archive, clear every mode's archive with Clear All Archives, or remove all modes and items from every device and your iCloud account with Erase Everything, which then sets up the starter modes again. Deleting the App removes the copy on that device. To remove the synced copy without the App, open the iOS Settings app, tap your name, then iCloud, then Manage Storage (or Storage), choose Bardo, and delete its data.
4. Third-Party Services
4.1. Apple:
The App is sold through the App Store, and iCloud sync runs on Apple's CloudKit. Apple handles any purchase and your iCloud storage; we never receive payment details or your iCloud data. Please refer to Apple's Privacy Policy for how Apple handles that information. The App uses no other third-party services or SDKs.
5. Permissions Used
5.1. Notifications:
With your permission, the App schedules two optional local reminders: an evening reminder to empty your thoughts into the Thought Inbox and a morning reminder to sort them. You choose their times and can turn them off in the App's settings. These reminders are generated entirely on your device and no data is sent externally.
6. Children's Privacy
The App does not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. Since the App does not collect any personal information from any user, there is no risk of inadvertent collection of children's data. If you are a parent or guardian and have concerns, please contact us.
7. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Last Updated" date.
8. Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at:
By email: kevin@silicroncode.com