Forth is a recovery and habit support app. Privacy is not a feature of this app; it is the foundation of it.
Recovery is personal, and we built Forth so that your recovery data belongs to you and stays with
you. This policy explains exactly what information the app handles, where it goes, and where it never
goes.
The short version
• Your recovery data (streaks, check-ins, progress, plans) stays on your phone. We do not have a
copy.
• You do not need an account to use Forth. We do not collect your name, email, or phone number.
• Coach conversations, along with a brief summary of your recovery context, are processed by an
AI provider (OpenAI) to generate responses. They are not linked to your identity and are not
stored.
• Your contacts are read on your device only, and only if you use the circle feature. They are never
uploaded.
• We do not sell data, show ads, or track you across other apps or websites.
Information stored only on your device
The following information is created and stored locally on your phone. It is never transmitted to us or
to any server we control:
• Your streaks, check-ins, and progress history
• Your recovery plan, goals, and program selections
• Journal entries and reflections
• Money-saved calculations and any figures you enter
• App settings and preferences
Because this data lives only on your device, deleting the app deletes it. We cannot recover it for you,
and we cannot access it, because we never had it.
AI coach conversations
When you chat with the coach, the text of your messages, along with a brief summary of your
recovery context (such as day counts, the habits you're working on, recent moods, and triggers), issent to OpenAI, our AI service provider, to generate a response. This context is what allows the
coach to respond intelligently to where you are in your recovery; it is used to generate the reply and is
not stored.
• Messages are transmitted securely and are not accompanied by your name, email, or any
account identifier, because Forth does not collect those.
• We do not store your coach conversations on our servers.
• OpenAI processes this data as a service provider under its API terms, which prohibit using the
data to train its models.
• Do not include information in coach chats that you would not want processed by a third-party
service, such as your full name, address, or financial details. The coach does not need them to
help you.
Anonymous community counts
Forth displays community activity, such as how many people are working through the app alongside
you. To make this count accurate without identifying anyone, the app uses a one-way hashed device
identifier. This identifier:
• Is anonymized and cannot be traced back to you, your Apple ID, or your device serial number
• Is used solely to count active participation
• Is not used for advertising, profiling, or tracking of any kind
Contacts
If you choose to build your circle of support inside the app, Forth asks for permission to access your
contacts so you can select people from your address book. This access happens entirely on your
device.
• Your contact list is never uploaded, copied, or transmitted anywhere.
• We never see who is in your contacts or who you selected.
• You can decline contacts permission and use the rest of the app fully.
• You can revoke access at any time in your phone's Settings.
Purchases and subscriptions
Subscriptions are billed by Apple through your App Store account. We never see or store your
payment details. We use RevenueCat, a subscription management service, to confirm your
subscription status. RevenueCat receives an anonymous app user ID and purchase receipt
information from Apple; it does not receive your name or payment card details.Crisis resources
The app links to crisis resources, including the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Tapping these places a
call or opens a resource directly from your device. Forth does not record or transmit your use of these
resources. Crisis resources in the app are accessible whether or not you have a subscription.
What we do not do
• We do not sell or rent any data.
• We do not show third-party advertising.
• We do not use tracking as defined by Apple's App Tracking Transparency framework.
• We do not collect your location.
• We do not require or store account credentials.
Children
Forth deals with substance use and addiction recovery and is intended for users 17 and older. We do
not knowingly collect information from anyone under 17.
Your choices and rights
Because Forth's design keeps your data on your device, most privacy rights are directly in your
hands: you can view your data in the app, and you can delete all of it by deleting the app. Depending
on where you live (including California and the EU/UK), you may have additional rights regarding
personal information, such as the right to request access or deletion. Given that we do not maintain
user accounts or store your recovery data, there is typically nothing for us to look up, but you may
contact us with any privacy request and we will respond.
Changes to this policy
If we change how Forth handles data, we will update this policy and revise the effective date above.
