Privacy Policy

Forge is designed with your privacy as a priority. Your journal entries are personal and we treat them that way. This policy explains what data Forge handles, how it is used, and your rights.

We do not collect, store, or have access to:

• Your journal entries or their contents
• Your AI analysis results
• Your name, email address, or contact information
• Your location data
• Device identifiers or advertising IDs

All journal entries, photos, and AI analysis results are stored locally on your device using Apple's SwiftData framework. If you have iCloud enabled, this data syncs privately across your Apple devices through Apple's CloudKit service. We never have access to your iCloud data.

When you request an analysis of a journal entry, the text of that entry is sent to Anthropic's API (our AI provider) for processing. This is required to generate your analysis. Anthropic's API does not use your inputs to train their models. No journal content is stored on our servers because we do not operate any servers. The request is sent directly from your device to Anthropic's API.

For more information on how Anthropic handles data, please review Anthropic's Privacy Policy.

Forge offers a subscription managed entirely through Apple's App Store. All payment processing is handled by Apple. We do not collect or have access to your payment information. Your subscription status is verified through Apple's StoreKit framework on your device.

Forge does not include any third-party analytics, tracking, or advertising SDKs. We do not track your usage behavior, and we do not serve ads.

Forge can optionally read health data from Apple Health, including sleep analysis, heart rate variability (HRV), resting heart rate, workout sessions, step count, and active energy. This data is used solely to personalize your journaling experience by learning your personal baseline patterns and adjusting prompts accordingly.

• HealthKit data is read-only — Forge never writes data back to Apple Health
• Health metrics are stored locally on your device alongside your journal entries and synced through your private iCloud
• Health data is not sent to any external service, including Anthropic's API — only natural-language context derived from your data (such as "sleep was below personal baseline") is included in AI analysis requests, never raw health numbers
• HealthKit data is not used for advertising, marketing, or sold to third parties
• HealthKit integration is entirely optional — all features work without it, and you can deny or revoke permissions at any time through iOS Settings

In compliance with Apple's HealthKit guidelines, Forge does not use health data for any purpose other than providing personalized journaling functionality directly to you within the app.

If you attach photos to a journal entry, those images are stored locally on your device and synced through iCloud if enabled. Photos are not sent to any external service and are not included in AI analysis requests.

Forge includes an on-device feature that detects language indicating a potential crisis. If triggered, the app displays mental health resources including the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This detection happens entirely on your device. No data about crisis detection is sent anywhere.

Since all your data is stored on your device and in your personal iCloud account, you have full control over it at all times. You can delete individual entries within the app or remove all data by deleting the app. We have no data to delete because we never had it.

Forge is not intended for use by children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect any information from children.

If we update this privacy policy, the revised version will be posted at this URL with an updated effective date.

If you have questions about this privacy policy, you can reach us at: forgejournalapp@gmail.com