Privacy Policy

Your privacy is important to us

Last Updated: February 11, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how Don’t Panic (“we,” “our,” or “us”), published by GAME TRAIL LABS, LLC, collects, uses, stores, and protects your information when you use the Don’t Panic mobile application (“App”). We are committed to protecting your privacy and being transparent about our data practices.

Our Core Privacy Principles

  • Your data stays on your device. We do not operate backend servers that store your personal information.
  • We never sell your data. Not now, not ever.
  • No advertising or tracking. The App contains no ads, no analytics SDKs, and no third-party trackers.
  • No account required. You can use the App without providing an email, name, or any identifying information.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information You Create in the App

As you use the App, you may create or input the following data:

  • Journal entries: Personal reflections, mood ratings, and notes
  • Goals: Personal goals, action items, and progress updates
  • Onboarding preferences: Anxiety triggers, symptoms, and experience level you share during initial setup
  • Progress data: Lessons completed, breathing sessions, meditation sessions, panic-free streaks, and exercise completions
  • Exposure hierarchy: Fear ladder items and progress ratings
  • Situation logs: Notes about anxiety situations and coping strategies used

All of this data is stored locally on your device using iOS’s UserDefaults and secure storage mechanisms. It never leaves your device unless you explicitly enable iCloud sync or export your data.

1.2 Information Collected Automatically

We do not use third-party analytics services. The only automatically collected information is:

  • Crash reports: If you have opted in through Apple’s iOS Settings, anonymous crash reports may be shared with us through Apple’s App Store Connect crash reporting. These contain technical information (device model, iOS version, crash stack traces) but no personal data.
  • App Store analytics: If you have opted in through iOS Settings, Apple may share anonymized, aggregate usage statistics with us (e.g., number of sessions, retention rates). This data cannot identify individual users.

1.3 Information We Do NOT Collect

  • Names, email addresses, or contact information
  • Location data
  • Device identifiers or advertising IDs
  • Browsing history
  • Contacts or photos
  • Microphone or camera data

2. Apple HealthKit

With your explicit opt-in permission, the App may write “Mindful Minutes” to Apple HealthKit when you complete meditation sessions. We:

  • Never read any data from HealthKit
  • Never share HealthKit data with third parties
  • Never use HealthKit data for advertising or marketing
  • Never sell HealthKit data

You can revoke HealthKit access at any time in iOS Settings > Privacy & Security > Health > Don’t Panic.

3. iCloud Sync

If you enable iCloud sync in the App, your data (journal entries, goals, progress, and settings) is stored in your personal iCloud account using Apple’s CloudKit framework. This data is:

  • Encrypted in transit and at rest by Apple
  • Stored under your personal Apple ID
  • Accessible only by you across your own devices
  • Not accessible by us—we cannot read, view, or access your iCloud data

You can disable iCloud sync in the App’s settings. To delete iCloud data, go to iOS Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud > Manage Account Storage.

4. Subscriptions and Payments

All subscription purchases are processed entirely by Apple through the App Store. We do not collect, process, store, or have access to:

  • Credit card or payment card numbers
  • Billing addresses
  • Apple ID credentials

We receive only a limited subscription status indicator from Apple’s StoreKit framework (active, expired, or grace period) to determine which features to unlock. This status check is performed on-device and does not transmit personal data to our servers.

5. How We Use Your Information

Your data is used solely to:

  • Power the App’s features (e.g., displaying your journal entries, tracking your progress)
  • Sync your data across your Apple devices if you enable iCloud
  • Write mindful minutes to HealthKit if you enable it
  • Send optional local notification reminders if you enable them (these are scheduled on-device; we do not use push notification servers)

We do not use your data for advertising, marketing, profiling, or any purpose beyond providing the App’s functionality.

6. Data Sharing

We do not sell, rent, lease, or trade your personal data to anyone. Ever.

We may disclose information only in the following limited circumstances:

  • At your direction: When you explicitly export or share your data using the App’s export feature (e.g., sharing a journal entry via the iOS share sheet)
  • Crash reports: Anonymous crash reports may be shared with Apple’s crash reporting service if you opted in via iOS Settings
  • Legal requirements: If required by law, subpoena, court order, or government request—though given that we do not store your data on our servers, we would have no data to produce

7. Data Retention and Deletion

Your Data, Your Control

  • View: You can view all your data within the App at any time
  • Export: Premium users can export goals and journal entries in JSON, CSV, or text format
  • Delete individual items: You can delete specific journal entries, goals, or other content from within the App
  • Delete all data: Deleting the App from your device removes all locally stored data
  • Delete iCloud data: Manage or delete your iCloud data through iOS Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud

Retention

Since your data is stored locally on your device (and optionally in your personal iCloud), we do not have a data retention policy—you control how long your data exists. We do not retain any copy of your personal data on our own servers because we do not operate data-storage servers.

8. Data Security

Your data is protected by the security mechanisms built into iOS and iCloud:

  • Local data is protected by your device’s passcode, Face ID, or Touch ID
  • iCloud data is encrypted in transit (TLS) and at rest by Apple
  • The App does not transmit your personal data over the internet (except iCloud sync if enabled)
  • No third-party SDKs, analytics frameworks, or ad networks are included in the App

9. Children’s Privacy

The App is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. Users between 13 and 17 must have permission from a parent or legal guardian (see our Terms of Service). If you believe a child under 13 has provided personal information through the App, please contact us and we will take steps to delete that information.

10. Your Privacy Rights

All Users

Regardless of where you live, you can:

  • Access all your data within the App
  • Export your data in standard formats
  • Delete your data at any time
  • Disable HealthKit, iCloud sync, and notifications independently

California Residents (CCPA/CPRA)

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act and California Privacy Rights Act, you have the right to:

  • Know what personal information we collect and how it is used
  • Delete your personal information
  • Opt out of the sale of personal information—we do not sell your personal information
  • Non-discrimination for exercising your privacy rights
  • Correct inaccurate personal information
  • Limit use of sensitive personal information—we do not collect sensitive personal information as defined by CPRA

In the preceding 12 months, we have not sold or shared personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising.

European Economic Area, UK, and Switzerland (GDPR/UK GDPR)

If you are in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, you have the right to:

  • Access your personal data
  • Rectification of inaccurate personal data
  • Erasure (“right to be forgotten”) of your personal data
  • Restriction of processing
  • Data portability—receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format
  • Object to processing of your personal data
  • Withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent

Our legal basis for processing is your consent (which you can withdraw at any time) and legitimate interest in providing the App’s functionality. Since your data is stored on-device and in your personal iCloud, exercising these rights is done directly through your device rather than by contacting us.

Brazil (LGPD)

Users in Brazil have rights under the Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados, including the right to access, correct, delete, and port your data. The App’s local-storage architecture means these rights can be exercised directly on your device.

11. International Data Transfers

Your data is stored locally on your device. If you enable iCloud sync, your data may be stored in Apple data centers in various countries according to Apple’s Privacy Policy. We do not independently transfer your data internationally.

12. Third-Party Links

The App or our website may contain links to external resources (e.g., crisis hotlines, Apple Support). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party websites or services. We encourage you to review their privacy policies.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes by updating the “Last Updated” date at the top of this page and, for material changes, through a notice in the App. Your continued use of the App after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

14. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:

Email: support@dont-panic-app.com

For privacy-specific inquiries, you may also reach us at privacy@dont-panic-app.com.