Privacy Policy

We take your family's privacy seriously — especially when children are involved.

COPPA Compliant GDPR Aware CCPA Compliant iOS 17+

Effective Date: April 18, 2026  ·  Last Updated: April 18, 2026  ·  Version 1.0

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Important Notice for Parents & Guardians

HabitTrail is designed for family use. Children as young as 2 years old may interact with the app under a parent or guardian's supervised "Kid Session." We comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and do not collect personal information from children without verified parental consent. See the Children's Privacy section for full details.

1. Introduction

HabitTrail ("we," "our," or "us") operates the HabitTrail mobile application (the "App") available on iOS. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, with whom we share it, and your rights regarding your data.

By creating an account or using the App, the parent or guardian managing the account agrees to the practices described in this Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the App.

This Policy applies to:

2. Information We Collect

We collect only what is necessary to provide the habit-tracking and family management features of the App.

2.1 Account Information (Parent/Guardian)

Data Type Purpose Stored Where
Email address Account creation, sign-in, password recovery Firebase Authentication
Password (hashed) Authentication — never stored in plaintext Firebase Authentication
Family name Personalizing the household experience Firebase Firestore
App preferences Dark mode, notification settings, onboarding state On-device (UserDefaults)

2.2 Family Member Profiles

Data Type Purpose Stored Where
Member name (e.g., "Emma") Identifying household members Firebase Firestore
Age group (e.g., "5–7 years") Tailoring habit templates and gamification Firebase Firestore
Role (Parent / Child) Access control and UI personalization Firebase Firestore
Avatar color / emoji Visual identification in kid sessions Firebase Firestore
PIN (4-digit, hashed) Kid Session login — not linked to identity On-device (Keychain)
XP points & level tier Gamification — engagement and motivation Firebase Firestore

2.3 Habit & Activity Data

Data TypePurposeStored Where
Habit names, descriptions, categories Core app functionality Firestore + on-device
Habit completion timestamps Progress tracking, streaks, charts Firestore + on-device
Weekly challenge progress Motivational challenges feature Firestore + on-device
Reward history Star-based reward system Firestore + on-device

2.4 Device & Technical Data

We collect limited technical data to operate the service:

2.5 Biometric Data

⚡ Biometric data (Face ID / Touch ID) is processed entirely on your device by Apple's secure enclave. HabitTrail never receives, stores, or transmits any biometric data. We only receive a boolean result ("authenticated" or "not authenticated") from the iOS LocalAuthentication framework. This data is never sent to our servers or any third party.

2.6 Widget Data

The HabitTrail widget reads a limited snapshot of your next scheduled habit from a shared App Group container stored locally on your device. No additional data is collected or transmitted by the widget.

2.7 Data We Do Not Collect

3. Children's Privacy (COPPA)

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COPPA Notice — Children Under 13

HabitTrail is designed to be managed by a parent or guardian (18+). Child profiles exist only within a family account controlled by the parent. We comply with the U.S. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and similar international regulations.

3.1 How Child Profiles Work

Children do not create independent accounts. A parent or guardian creates the family account using an adult email address and then adds child profiles. Each child profile contains:

Children's profiles are not tied to an email address, phone number, or any unique identifier beyond an internal system ID generated by Firebase.

3.2 Parental Consent

By creating a child profile, the parent or guardian provides verifiable consent for the limited data collection described above. Parents can:

3.3 Kid Session Access

The Kid Session is a restricted UI mode accessible via a PIN. Within Kid Session, children can mark habits complete, collect stars, and view their rewards. The Kid Session does not allow internet browsing, does not send analytics tied to a child identifier, and does not display advertising of any kind.

3.4 No Behavioral Advertising to Children

We do not use child profile data for advertising, profiling, or any commercial purpose beyond operating the App's core features.

3.5 International Children's Privacy

For users in the European Economic Area, we treat all child profiles as requiring explicit parental consent under GDPR Article 8. For users in the UK, we comply with the UK GDPR and the Age Appropriate Design Code (Children's Code). For Canadian users, we comply with PIPEDA requirements for minors.

4. How We Use Your Data

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App Functionality

Syncing habits, family member profiles, challenges, and rewards across your devices in real time.

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Notifications

Sending morning habit reminders (default 8:30 AM) and optional evening check-ins based on your preferences.

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Gamification

Calculating XP, level progression (Seedling → Grand Master), streaks, and reward stars to motivate kids.

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Improvements

Aggregate, anonymous crash reports and usage analytics to fix bugs and improve app performance.

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Security

Detecting unauthorized access, preventing abuse, and maintaining the integrity of family accounts.

⚖️

Legal Compliance

Meeting our obligations under applicable laws including COPPA, GDPR, and CCPA.

Legal Bases for Processing (GDPR)

Processing ActivityLegal Basis
Account creation and authenticationPerformance of contract (Art. 6(1)(b))
Real-time sync via FirestorePerformance of contract (Art. 6(1)(b))
Push notificationsConsent (Art. 6(1)(a)) — can be withdrawn at any time
Child profile dataParental consent (Art. 8 / COPPA)
Crash analyticsLegitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f))

5. Third-Party Services

HabitTrail uses the following third-party services. By using the App, you acknowledge these sub-processors:

ServiceProviderData SharedPurposePrivacy Policy
Firebase Authentication Google LLC Email, hashed password, UID User authentication View ↗
Firebase Firestore Google LLC Habit, family, and reward data Real-time cloud sync View ↗
Firebase Crashlytics Google LLC Anonymous crash logs, device model, iOS version Bug reporting View ↗
Apple Push Notifications (APNs) Apple Inc. Device push token Habit reminders View ↗

Google Firebase is certified under the EU–US Data Privacy Framework and commits to GDPR-compliant data processing. All Firebase data is processed per Google's Data Processing Addendum.

We do not sell, rent, or share your personal data with advertisers, data brokers, or any commercial third parties for marketing purposes.

6. Data Retention & Deletion

6.1 Retention Periods

Data TypeRetention Period
Account (email, UID)Until account deletion is requested
Family profiles and habit dataUntil account or individual profile deletion
Crash logs (Crashlytics)90 days (automated by Firebase)
On-device UserDefaults dataUntil app uninstall or manual clear
Push notification tokensRefreshed automatically; invalidated on uninstall
Backups (Google)Up to 180 days after deletion per Google policy

6.2 How to Delete Your Data

You can delete your data in the following ways:

📌 After account deletion, residual data may remain in Google's backup infrastructure for up to 180 days before being permanently purged. This is governed by Google's data retention policies and is outside our direct control.

7. Data Security

We implement industry-standard measures to protect your data:

While we take commercially reasonable steps to secure your information, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure. Please use a strong password and enable biometric lock for additional protection.

8. Notifications

HabitTrail may send the following types of push notifications:

You can manage or disable notifications at any time via Settings > Notifications in the App, or through your device's iOS Settings > Notifications > HabitTrail.

9. Your Privacy Rights

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at habittrail.app@gmail.com. We will respond within 30 days (or 45 days where permitted by law).

10. International Data Transfers

HabitTrail is based in the United States. If you use the App from outside the U.S., your data will be transferred to and processed in the U.S. and other countries where Google maintains Firebase infrastructure.

Google participates in the EU–US Data Privacy Framework and has entered into Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) for transfers from the EEA, UK, and Switzerland to the U.S., providing appropriate safeguards for your personal data.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically. When we make material changes, we will:

Continued use of the App after the effective date of the revised policy constitutes your acceptance of the changes.

12. Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please reach out:

🌱 HabitTrail Privacy Team

We aim to respond to all privacy inquiries within 5 business days and fulfill all requests within 30 days.

📧 Email: habittrail.app@gmail.com
🌐 Website: habit-trail.com
📋 Terms of Service: habit-trail.com/terms

For GDPR-related requests, EU residents may also file a complaint with their national Data Protection Authority (DPA). For UK residents, this is the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.