Privacy Policy

Draft, last updated 2 November 2026

Gratica is run by Wrenstar. This page says what we collect, why, who sees it, and how you can remove it. We don't sell your data. We don't show ads. We don't use analytics or session recording.

What we collect

What	Why
Email and password. We store only a scrambled form (a hash) of your password.	To log you in.
First name or nickname, city, country, and state or province if you give one.	For your byline, and to draw your note's journey on a map.
Time zone.	To know when your day starts, and when to open your note.
Birth year (optional), or your confirmation that you are 16 or older.	To keep Gratica to people 16 and older. If you give a birth year, others see only your decade, like "40s".
Your notes, and when you wrote them.	This is the service. Shared notes go to strangers. "Just for me" notes don't.
Which notes went to you, when you opened them, and which you hearted.	To run the daily exchange and show you your history.
Reports you make (the reason and any words you add), and people you block.	To keep Gratica safe and stop showing you that person's notes.
Your Apple or Google account ID, and the email they share, if you sign in with them.	To log you in.
Your email preference.	To respect it if you unsubscribe.
IP address, browser type, and pages asked for, in our web server logs.	To run the service and stop abuse. We also count failed logins by IP. Those counts stay in memory and are never saved.

Please don't put private or sensitive details in your notes, such as your health or beliefs. If you do, you are choosing to share them. Our app checks shared notes for links, emails, and phone numbers, and asks you to remove them, but it can miss things.

We don't ask for your phone number, your contacts, or your exact location. There are no photo or file uploads. Gratica is text only.

Who can see what

Strangers who receive your shared note see the note, your first name, city, country, the month it reached them, and your decade if you gave a birth year. They don't see your email, your state or province, or your birth year.
Writers of notes you receive see totals, such as how many people got their note and how many hearted it. They also see the cities and countries it went to, so they may see your city. They never see your name.
Our team can read notes when needed to review a report, keep the service safe, or fix a problem. Notes are not end-to-end encrypted. A person reviewing a report doesn't see who sent it.

Companies that help us

DigitalOcean hosts our server, in New York in the United States.
Zoho sends our email. Today the only email is an alert to our team when a note is reported. It contains the text of that note and the reason.
OpenStreetMap Nominatim turns a city name into map coordinates. Our server sends it only the city, state or province, and country. It doesn't send your name, email, or IP address.
Apple and Google, only if you use their sign-in. They have their own privacy policies. Apple and Google also run the app stores.

We may share data if the law requires it, or to protect someone's safety. If Wrenstar is sold or merged, your data may move to the new owner, and this policy will still apply until you are told otherwise.

How long we keep it

Account data, notes, hearts, reports, and blocks: until you delete your account.
Web server logs: about 14 days.
Backups: we take copies of the database before updates. Deleted data can stay in a backup for up to 90 days. [Owner to confirm this period and delete old backups on schedule.]

Deleting your account

In the app, go to Account, then Delete account. On the website, log in, open History, then choose Delete my account. This deletes right away:

your account and profile,
your notes, including copies other people received,
the notes you received, and hearts on any of these,
your reports and blocks, and any reports about your notes.

Can't log in? Email privacy@gratica.app from the address on your account.

Your rights

Wherever you live, you can ask us for a copy of your data, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it. Email privacy@gratica.app. We answer within 30 days. We may need to confirm that it's really you.

If you are in the EU, UK, or Switzerland (GDPR): Wrenstar is the controller of your data. You can also object to how we use it, limit how we use it, and take it elsewhere. You can complain to your local data protection authority. Our legal reasons are:

running the service you signed up for (account, notes, deliveries),
our legitimate interest in keeping Gratica safe and secure (reports, blocks, logs, login limits),
your consent, for your optional birth year,
legal duties, where they apply.

Our server is in the US, so your data is handled there. Where the law requires it, we use approved safeguards, such as standard contract clauses. [Owner and lawyer to confirm, including whether an EU or UK representative is needed.]

If you are in California (CCPA): you can ask what we collect and why, ask us to delete or correct it, and use these rights without being treated differently. We don't sell your personal information or share it for advertising. The list at the top of this page shows what we collect and why.

Age

Gratica is for people 16 and older. We check this when you sign up, whichever way you sign up. We don't knowingly collect data from anyone under 16. If you think someone under 16 has an account, email privacy@gratica.app and we will delete it.

Security

We use HTTPS and scrambled passwords, and we limit who can reach the database. Phones keep the login in the device's secure storage. No system is perfect. If a breach affects you, we will tell you as the law requires.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy in a way that matters, we will tell you in the app or by email. If we ever add analytics or anything else that needs your consent, we will ask first.

Contact

Wrenstar, [postal address]. Email: privacy@gratica.app.