01Who is responsible for your data
Ahval (“Ahval”, “the app”, “we”, “us”) is a journaling application for iPhone and iPad, distributed through the Apple App Store.
For the limited processing described in this policy, the controller — the party that decides why and how personal data is processed — is:
Mustafa Çoban, the independent developer of Ahval.
Email: contactahvalapp@gmail.com
An important boundary: for the journal content itself — your entries, photos, voice notes, and the folders they live in — we are not a controller or a processor at all, because that content never reaches us. It is stored by you, in storage you control (your device, or your own Apple iCloud account). Our responsibility begins at the few narrow flows described in section 03.
This policy covers the Ahval iOS app and this website. It does not cover Apple’s services, the App Store, or any other app or website you reach from Ahval; those are governed by their own policies.
02What Ahval stores, and where
Everything in this section is stored on your device or in your personal iCloud Drive. None of it is transmitted to us.
Your journal
Each entry is written as a plain Markdown file — the same format any text editor can open — inside a folder for that entry. Photos and voice recordings are saved as ordinary image and audio files next to it. Nothing is locked in a proprietary database, which is why you can open, copy, back up, or delete any of it without the app.
Where those files live
By default the journal is stored in Ahval’s own folder in your iCloud Drive, so it syncs between your devices and is included in your Apple backups. That folder is deliberately visible in the Files app, and the app permits file sharing over a USB connection, so your writing is reachable without us.
You can switch storage to on-device only, in Me → iCloud Sync. Entries then live in the app’s Documents folder, visible under “On My iPhone” in Files, and stop syncing. Switching is not destructive; it changes where the app reads and writes.
03What leaves your device
This is the complete list of network activity in the app. Each row is triggered by a specific action, and only two rows involve a company other than Apple in normal use.
| Recipient | What is sent | When | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple iCloud | Your journal files, exactly as stored: text, photos, audio. | Continuously, while iCloud storage is enabled. | To sync your journal across your own devices and back it up. Apple processes this under your iCloud terms; we cannot read it. |
| Apple Maps | A coordinate, or a place name you typed, plus the request metadata Apple receives (including your IP address). | When you attach a location to an entry, or when the Map screen resolves a saved place name to a pin. | To turn coordinates into place names and back. Handled by Apple’s MapKit geocoding service under Apple’s privacy policy. |
| Apple App Store | Purchase and subscription data handled by Apple, and — if you choose — your App Store review. | When you subscribe, restore a purchase, or respond to the rating prompt. | To sell and validate Ahval Pro, and to collect ratings. We never see your payment details. |
| RevenueCat | An anonymous, randomly generated app-user identifier, your App Store receipt data, subscription status, and basic device and app metadata. | On launch and whenever your subscription changes. | To determine whether Ahval Pro is active on this device. RevenueCat acts as our processor. |
| Mixpanel | Anonymous product-usage events, a randomly generated analytics identifier, and standard device and app properties collected by the Mixpanel SDK — such as device model, operating system version, app version, and locale. Mixpanel also derives an approximate, city-level location from the network IP address of the request. | Only if you have switched analytics on. Nothing is sent, and no identifier is written to your device, before you consent. | To understand which features are used, so the app can be improved. Mixpanel acts as our processor. |
04What we never receive
The following are never transmitted to us or to any analytics provider, in any form — not as content, not as a summary, not as a derived statistic:
- Anything you write in an entry
- Entry titles, tags, or moods
- Your photos, or any part of them
- Your voice recordings
- Place names or coordinates you saved
- Your precise device location
- The name you entered in the app
- Your contacts, calendars, or health data
05Analytics and your consent
Analytics are off until you turn them on. During onboarding the app asks a plain question with the switch already off; declining is the default outcome of doing nothing. You can change the answer at any time in Me → Share anonymous usage data, and the change takes effect immediately, without restarting the app.
06Purchases and subscriptions
Ahval Pro is sold through Apple’s In-App Purchase system. Apple processes the payment; we never see your card number, billing address, or Apple Account credentials. Apple’s handling of that transaction is governed by Apple’s privacy policy.
We use RevenueCat to check whether your subscription is active. RevenueCat receives an anonymous identifier generated on your device, your App Store receipt data, and the resulting entitlement status. It does not receive your name or any journal content.
07How long data is kept
- Journal content and preferences. Kept until you delete them. They are in your storage; we have no retention control over them and no ability to remove them for you.
- Analytics events. Retained by Mixpanel under our project configuration, and in any case no longer than needed for product analysis. Opting out clears the identifier and the queued events on your device.
- Subscription records. Retained by RevenueCat for the life of the subscription and for the period required to meet tax, accounting, and refund obligations.
- Support email. Kept while the matter is open and for a reasonable period afterwards to handle follow-ups.
08International data transfers
Our two processors, Mixpanel and RevenueCat are established in the United States. Where personal data of individuals in the EEA, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland is transferred to those countries, the transfer is made under the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses (and the UK International Data Transfer Addendum where applicable), supplemented by the technical measures described in this policy. The only data crossing a border is anonymous, and that your journal never enters these flows at all.
Your journal files are stored in Apple’s iCloud infrastructure, in the region Apple assigns to your Apple Account; that transfer is between you and Apple, under Apple’s terms.
09California privacy rights (CCPA/CPRA)
This section applies to California residents and uses the definitions of the California Consumer Privacy Act as amended by the CPRA.
Categories of personal information
| Statutory category | Collected? | Source and purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Identifiers | Yes — limited | A random analytics identifier (only with consent) and a random subscription identifier, generated on your device. No name, email, or account ID unless you email us. |
| Commercial information | Yes | Subscription and receipt status, from Apple via RevenueCat, to deliver Ahval Pro. |
| Internet or network activity | Yes — limited | In-app feature-usage events, only with consent, to improve the app. |
| Geolocation data | Not collected by us | Location is used on your device and saved to your own files. Mixpanel derives a coarse, city-level location from IP if analytics are on. |
| Audio, visual, or similar | Not collected by us | Photos and voice notes stay in your storage. |
| Sensitive personal information | Not collected | We collect no sensitive personal information. |
| Biometric, education, employment, inferences | No | Not collected. |
We do not knowingly sell or share the personal information of consumers under 16.
10Children
Ahval is not intended for children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16.
11Deleting your data
- Individual entries. Delete them in the app, or delete the entry’s folder in the Files app.
- Everything on the device. Delete the app. This removes all preferences, the analytics identifier, and — if you were storing on-device — your journal files with it. Copy them out first if you want to keep them.
- The iCloud copy. Deleting the app does not delete your iCloud Drive folder. Remove the “Ahval” folder in the Files app, or via iCloud Drive on another device, and empty Recently Deleted.
- Analytics data. Turn analytics off to stop collection.
12Changes to this policy
This policy may be updated at a later time. The effective date at the top of this page is the authority. The version published here is always the one in force, and it replaces every earlier version.
By continuing to use Ahval, you accept the most recent privacy policy.
13Contact
Mustafa Çoban
contactahvalapp@gmail.com