This policy explains what the Herald app and this website collect, why, who we share it with and the choices you have. Herald is made by Appsolutely Ltda, a company in Brazil (“Appsolutely”, “we”, “us”). We are the controller of the personal data described here.
The short version
- No account. No email, no phone, no password. Herald asks only for a first name to address its letters, and you can skip it.
- That name, your progress, streaks, cards and settings stay on your iPhone.
- An anonymous ID, run by RevenueCat, tells us whether you have Herald Pro so the right stories unlock.
- We advertise on Instagram and Facebook, and Meta’s tools tell us which ads bring readers in. The Meta SDK in Herald sends nothing until you answer Apple’s tracking prompt, and your advertising identifier goes to Meta only if you allow tracking. Herald works the same either way.
- We see how Herald is used (which screens, stories and questions) through PostHog, our analytics provider, which keeps the data in the European Union, tied to the same anonymous ID. Never your name or anything you type. Turn it off in Settings, then Privacy.
- No ads inside the app. We don’t sell your data.
- This website sets no cookies and runs no analytics.
Herald’s App Store privacy label
This is how we describe Herald in the App Privacy section of the App Store.
- Data used to track you
- Device ID, Purchase History, Product Interaction, Advertising Data and Coarse Location, shared with Meta to measure our ads, only after you answer Apple’s tracking prompt. Your advertising identifier is included only if you allow tracking.
- Data linked to you
- User ID, Device ID, Purchase History, Product Interaction, Advertising Data, Other Usage Data, Coarse Location, Crash Data, Performance Data, Other Diagnostic Data.
- Data not linked to you
- Other Data.
Who we are
Appsolutely Ltda is a company organized under the laws of Brazil, CNPJ 61.994.241/0001-98, at Curitiba, PR. Write to us at support@readherald.com about anything in this policy. The same address reaches the person who handles data protection at Appsolutely (our encarregado under Brazil’s LGPD).
What stays on your iPhone
Your reading is stored only on your iPhone: the chapters you finished, your quiz and boss answers, streaks and freezes, hearts, hero cards, your daily goal, reminder time and other settings, the first name you give Herald (in onboarding or Settings), and the stories you download.
- Widgets read a small snapshot of your streak, next chapter and today’s edition, shared with them on your device through an App Group.
- Reminders are local notifications, scheduled and written on your iPhone. Herald doesn’t use push notifications.
- Feedback emails open in your own mail app, addressed to support@readherald.com, with the app version and build filled in. Nothing is sent until you press Send.
We don’t receive any of this stored data. What we learn about how Herald is used comes from the usage analytics described below, which you can turn off.
What the app collects
To sell subscriptions, deliver stories, measure our ads and improve Herald, some data does leave your iPhone. Here is all of it.
| Data | What it is | Who receives it |
|---|---|---|
| User ID | A random, anonymous ID created on your iPhone the first time Herald runs (it looks like $RCAnonymousID:…). It is not your Apple Account and not your name. It also labels your usage analytics. | RevenueCat; our content service; PostHog |
| Purchase history | Your Herald Pro plan, trial, renewals, cancellations, price and currency, as reported by Apple. | Apple; RevenueCat; Meta (trial and purchase events); PostHog (subscription events, from RevenueCat) |
| Device IDs | Apple’s identifier for vendor (IDFV); Meta’s anonymous install ID; an App Attest key ID that proves downloads come from a genuine copy of Herald; and the advertising identifier (IDFA), only if you allow tracking. | RevenueCat; Meta; Apple (App Attest); our content service |
| Product interaction | Standard app events: that Herald was installed and opened, and that you finished onboarding. Usage analytics: the screens you open, the chapters and slides you see, your quiz answers (right or wrong, never anything you type), the paywall and purchases, and short session replays, recordings of Herald’s screens with every piece of text hidden. | Meta (after you answer the tracking prompt); PostHog |
| Other usage data | Your choices in the app: sound, music, captions, haptics, language and downloads. | PostHog |
| Advertising data | Which of our ads you saw or tapped before installing, so Meta can tell us which campaign worked. | Meta |
| Coarse location | Your IP address reaches the services above when the app talks to them, and they can infer a country or region from it. PostHog derives your country from it. Herald never asks for GPS or precise location. | RevenueCat; Meta; Cloudflare; PostHog |
| Diagnostics | Crash and error reports, launch and loading times, device model and iOS version, so we can fix problems. Meta’s reports about its own SDK are not linked to you; PostHog’s are linked to your anonymous ID. | Meta; PostHog |
We never send your name or anything you type. Your progress stays on your iPhone; what you read and how you answer reaches PostHog only as usage events tied to your anonymous ID, and you can turn that off.
Payments. Apple processes every purchase. We never see your card, your Apple Account email or your billing address.
Support. If you write to us, we receive your email address and whatever you choose to include.
Ads, Meta and tracking
Herald shows no ads. We do advertise Herald on Instagram and Facebook, and we use Meta’s tools to learn which ads bring readers in, so we can stop paying for the ones that don’t.
- The Meta SDK in the app waits for your answer to Apple’s tracking prompt. Before that it logs nothing. After it, it logs installs, app opens and finished onboardings, with Meta’s anonymous install ID. If tracking requests are turned off on your iPhone, iOS answers for you, as no.
- RevenueCat sends Meta your trial and purchase events from its servers, with the identifiers it holds: Meta’s anonymous ID, the IDFV, your IP address and, if you allowed tracking, the IDFA.
- Before Herald shows Apple’s tracking prompt, it explains why it asks. If you allow tracking, Meta also receives your advertising identifier and can match your install to the ad you saw. If you don’t, the identifier stays on your iPhone, Meta receives the events above without it, and Herald works exactly the same.
Change your answer anytime in Herald (Settings, then Privacy, then Tracking) or in iOS Settings, then Privacy & Security, then Tracking. Meta handles this data under its own terms and privacy policy. You can also review it in your Facebook or Instagram settings, under “Your activity off Meta technologies”.
Usage analytics
We use PostHog to understand how Herald is used, so we can fix what is broken and improve what readers like: which screens and stories you open, where you stop, how you answer quizzes, how long stories take to load, and errors. PostHog also records short session replays of Herald’s screens to show us where the app confuses people. Every piece of text is hidden in them, so your name and anything you type are never recorded, and nothing is recorded during a purchase or while the share sheet is open.
These events carry the same anonymous ID RevenueCat uses (it looks like $RCAnonymousID:…), so we can see whether people who subscribe use Herald differently. If you subscribe, RevenueCat also sends PostHog your subscription events from its servers, under that ID. PostHog works for us only: it doesn’t use the data for its own purposes, it doesn’t share it for advertising, and it never receives your advertising identifier or any device identifier. PostHog stores it in the European Union (Frankfurt).
Analytics are on by default. To turn them off, open Settings, then Privacy, and switch off Share usage analytics. Herald then sends nothing more to PostHog and stops recording. Subscription events from RevenueCat don’t pass through the app, so to remove those, ask us (see below).
Why we use it, and on what legal basis
| Purpose | Data | Legal basis (LGPD art. 7 / GDPR art. 6) |
|---|---|---|
| Sell and honor your subscription, restore purchases, unlock the right chapters | User ID, purchase history, device IDs | Performing our contract with you (LGPD art. 7, V; GDPR art. 6(1)(b)) |
| Deliver story downloads and keep them for genuine copies of Herald: App Attest checks, one-hour download sessions, device limits, rate limits | User ID, App Attest key ID, IP address | Contract, and our legitimate interest in protecting the service from abuse (LGPD art. 7, IX; GDPR art. 6(1)(f)) |
| Measure which ads bring readers in, without the advertising identifier | Product interaction, advertising data, purchase history, device IDs, coarse location | Our legitimate interest in knowing which ads work (LGPD art. 7, IX; GDPR art. 6(1)(f)) |
| Understand how Herald is used and fix problems: usage analytics, session replays with all text hidden, error reports | User ID, product interaction, other usage data, diagnostics, coarse location, purchase history | Our legitimate interest in running and improving Herald (LGPD art. 7, IX; GDPR art. 6(1)(f)). You can object anytime: Settings, then Privacy, then Share usage analytics. |
| Match your install to an ad with your advertising identifier | IDFA | Your consent in Apple’s tracking prompt (LGPD art. 7, I; GDPR art. 6(1)(a)). You can withdraw it anytime. |
| Answer your messages | Your email and message | Your request and our legitimate interest in helping you |
| Keep records the law requires | Purchase records | Legal obligation (LGPD art. 7, II; GDPR art. 6(1)(c)) |
We don’t make decisions about you by automated means that have legal or similarly significant effects.
Who processes it
We use a few service providers. Each gets only what it needs for the job above.
- Apple (App Store purchases, App Attest): Apple Privacy Policy.
- RevenueCat, Inc., USA (subscription management): RevenueCat Privacy Policy.
- Meta Platforms (ad measurement): Meta Privacy Policy.
- Cloudflare, Inc., USA (stores and delivers the stories you download, runs our download checks and hosts this website): Cloudflare Privacy Policy.
- PostHog, Inc. (product analytics and session replay, with Herald’s data hosted in the EU): PostHog Privacy Policy.
- Our email provider, when you write to us.
We may also disclose data when the law requires it, or to protect our rights and our readers. We don’t sell personal data, and we don’t share it with anyone else.
International transfers
RevenueCat, Meta and Cloudflare process data in the United States and other countries. When data leaves Brazil or the European Economic Area, we rely on the safeguards these providers offer, such as standard contractual clauses, as allowed by LGPD art. 33 and GDPR chapter V. PostHog keeps Herald’s analytics in the European Union.
How long we keep it
- On your iPhone: until you reset your progress or delete the app.
- Subscription records at RevenueCat (user ID, purchase history, device IDs): while we need them to manage your subscription and keep the purchase records the law requires. We delete them sooner when you ask, unless the law requires us to keep them.
- Download checks (App Attest key ID and public key, and the anonymous user IDs that used it): kept so that copy of Herald can keep downloading stories, until you ask us to delete them.
- Rate-limit counters keyed by IP address: about ten minutes.
- Download history: our content service doesn’t record which stories you download.
- Support emails: as long as we need them to help you, and up to two years after the conversation ends.
- Usage analytics at PostHog: events for up to 12 months, session replays for 30 days, then deleted.
- Meta: under Meta’s own retention rules.
Your rights
Wherever you live, you can ask us to confirm whether we process your data, give you a copy, correct it, delete it, or stop using it for a purpose. You can withdraw consent at any time, without affecting what was done before.
- Brazil (LGPD, art. 18): confirmation, access, correction, anonymization, blocking or deletion of unnecessary data, portability, information about who we share with and about refusing consent, and revocation of consent. You can also complain to the ANPD (Autoridade Nacional de Proteção de Dados).
- European Economic Area, UK and Switzerland (GDPR): access, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability and objection, including to processing based on legitimate interests. You can complain to your local data protection authority.
- California (CCPA/CPRA): the rights to know, delete and correct, to opt out of the “sale” or “sharing” of personal information, and not to be treated differently for using these rights. We don’t sell personal information. Our ad measurement with Meta may count as “sharing” for cross-context behavioral advertising under California law. To opt out, turn off tracking for Herald (see above) and write to us.
To use any of these rights, email support@readherald.com. We reply within 15 days. We may ask for details that help us find your records, because we don’t know who you are.
How to delete your data
Herald has no accounts, so there is nothing to sign out of. Here is how to remove each part.
- On your iPhone. In Herald, open Settings, then Privacy, then Reset progress to erase chapters, hearts, streaks and cards. To remove everything, including downloads and widget data, delete the app.
- Tracking. Turn off tracking for Herald in iOS Settings, then Privacy & Security, then Tracking.
- Usage analytics. In Herald, open Settings, then Privacy, and switch off Share usage analytics. To have what we already collected deleted, ask us as below and we delete your PostHog record too.
- Our records. Email support@readherald.com and ask us to delete your data. If you ever subscribed, include the order ID from Apple’s receipt email so we can find your anonymous record. We delete the RevenueCat record, the download records and the PostHog record tied to it, and confirm when it’s done.
Deleting your data doesn’t cancel a subscription. Cancel first in your Apple Account settings (see Support).
Children
Herald is rated 13+ on the App Store and isn’t directed at children under 13. We don’t knowingly collect personal data from children under 13, and the app doesn’t ask anyone’s age. If you think a child under 13 used Herald and data about them reached us, write to us and we’ll delete it. For teenagers, we follow the best-interest principle of LGPD art. 14.
Security
The app holds no passwords or secret keys. Downloads need an App Attest proof from a genuine copy of Herald and a signed session that lasts one hour. All traffic is encrypted with HTTPS. Access to our provider dashboards is limited to the people who run Herald. No system is perfect, so if you find a weakness, please tell us at support@readherald.com.
This website
readherald.com is a static website. It sets no cookies, runs no analytics and loads no third-party scripts or fonts. Cloudflare hosts it and processes your IP address and request details to deliver pages and block attacks.
Changes to this policy
When we change this policy, we update the date at the top. If a change is significant, we also say so in the app or on the App Store page before it applies.
Contact
Appsolutely Ltda, Curitiba, PR. Email support@readherald.com.