Privacy Policy
Ember is built for families. We treat your emotional data with the same care you'd want for your family's most private conversations. We never sell your data. We never share individual check-in content with advertisers. Your family's emotional patterns belong to you.
1. Who We Are
Ember is a product of The Atlas Elevated Company ("we," "us," "our"). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use the Ember mobile application and the emberfamily.app website (collectively, the "Service").
2. Information We Collect
Account Information: When you create an account, we collect your name, email address, and authentication credentials. If you use Apple Sign-In or Google Sign-In, we receive your name and email from those providers.
Family Information: You provide your family name and add family members (including children). For children, we collect their first name and age to provide age-appropriate check-in experiences.
Check-in Data: Each daily check-in captures mood (1-5 scale), energy level (1-5 scale), an optional free-text thought, and optional context tags (e.g., work, sleep, health). For children ages 5-8, we collect an emoji-based mood selection. For teens (13+), check-ins flagged as "private" are processed by our AI system but are not visible to other family members.
Usage Data: We collect information about how you interact with the Service, including features used, time spent, check-in frequency, and engagement metrics. This helps us improve the product.
Payment Information: Payment processing is handled by Stripe, Inc. We do not store your credit card numbers. We receive your subscription status, plan type, and billing email from Stripe.
Device Information: We collect device type, operating system, app version, and push notification tokens to deliver notifications and ensure compatibility.
3. How We Use Your Information
- AI-Powered Insights: We process your family's check-in data using artificial intelligence (currently Anthropic's Claude API) to generate Daily Briefs, Sentiment Trend Alerts, Conversation Starters, and Appreciation prompts. This is the core value of the Service.
- Service Delivery: To provide, maintain, and improve the Service, including the Family Pulse Dashboard and Weekly Sync features.
- Communications: To send you notifications about your family's Daily Briefs, Sentiment Alerts, and important account updates.
- Analytics: To understand how the Service is used and to improve it. We use Firebase Analytics for aggregated, anonymized usage metrics.
What we never do: We never sell your personal data or check-in content to third parties. We never use your emotional data for advertising purposes. We never share individual family members' check-in details outside your family unit (except as required by law).
4. AI Processing
Your check-in data is sent to Anthropic's Claude API to generate insights. This data is processed in accordance with Anthropic's data usage policies. Anthropic does not use your data to train their models. The data sent includes mood scores, energy levels, context tags, and free-text thoughts, associated with first names only (not email addresses or full names). AI-generated insights are stored in our database and accessible only to members of your family unit.
5. Children's Privacy
Ember allows parents to add children to their family unit. We comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and similar international regulations.
- Children under 13 can only use Ember through a parent-managed account.
- We collect minimal data from children: first name, age, and simplified mood check-ins.
- Children's check-in data is only visible to parents within the same family unit.
- Teens (13+) have the option to flag check-ins as "private." Private check-ins are processed by our AI for safety analysis but individual details are not shown to parents.
- Parents can delete their children's data at any time through the Settings screen.
6. Data Storage & Security
Your data is stored on Google Cloud Platform (via Firebase/Firestore) with encryption at rest and in transit. We implement industry-standard security measures including:
- TLS 1.3 encryption for all data in transit
- AES-256 encryption for data at rest
- Firebase Authentication with secure token management
- Firestore Security Rules that restrict data access to family members only
- Regular security audits and dependency updates
7. Data Sharing
We share your information only with:
- Anthropic (Claude API): Check-in data for AI insight generation. Processed under their data processing agreement.
- Google/Firebase: Infrastructure provider for authentication, database, and analytics.
- Stripe: Payment processing. They receive your billing information under their privacy policy.
- Law enforcement: Only when required by law, subpoena, or court order.
8. Your Rights
You have the right to:
- Access: Request a copy of all data we hold about you and your family.
- Delete: Request deletion of your account and all associated data. We will delete your data within 30 days of your request.
- Export: Download your check-in history and insights in a machine-readable format (available in Ember Premium).
- Correct: Update inaccurate personal information through the app's Settings screen.
- Opt out: Disable push notifications, analytics collection, or AI processing at any time.
To exercise these rights, contact us at privacy@emberfamily.app.
9. Data Retention
We retain your data for as long as your account is active. If you cancel your subscription, your data remains accessible in read-only mode for 90 days. After account deletion, we permanently delete all personal data within 30 days, except where retention is required by law.
10. California Residents (CCPA)
If you are a California resident, you have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), including the right to know what personal information we collect, the right to delete it, and the right to opt out of the "sale" of personal information. We do not sell personal information.
11. European Residents (GDPR)
If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), our legal bases for processing your personal data are: consent (for check-in data and AI processing), contract performance (for providing the Service), and legitimate interest (for analytics and product improvement). You may withdraw consent at any time.
12. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy periodically. We will notify you of material changes via email or in-app notification at least 30 days before they take effect. Continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance.
13. Contact
For questions about this Privacy Policy or your data:
The Atlas Elevated Company
Email: privacy@emberfamily.app
Website: emberfamily.app