Privacy Policy

Last updated 17 October 2026

Ember is a Christian faith companion app for iPhone. You talk to it; it remembers what you tell it so it can be useful tomorrow. That only works if you trust us with what you say, so here is exactly what we do with it.

The short version. We store your first name, your settings, and your conversations so Ember can reply and remember. We don't sell data, we don't run ads, and you can delete everything from inside the app in two taps.

Who we are

Ember is made by Dalyn Butler, an independent developer. You can reach us at dalynbutler@gmail.com. We are the "data controller" for the information described here.

What we collect

Your first name, so Ember can address you. You can use a nickname or leave it blank.
Your settings: the time you want your morning verse, your time zone, and the growth areas you chose (for example patience, prayer, anxiety).
Your conversations: every message you send to Ember and every reply it gives, stored on our server. This is how Ember replies in context and remembers things like "interview Thursday" or your kids' names.
Memories Ember extracts from your conversations: short facts, dated events, prayer requests, and notes about your growth areas. These are derived from what you say and are stored alongside your conversations.
A push notification token issued by Apple, so we can deliver your morning verse and check-ins to your phone. It identifies your device to Apple's notification service, not to anyone else.
Your Apple subscription receipt (or the transaction identifiers Apple gives us), so we know your subscription is active. We never see your card number, your Apple ID password, or your billing address. Apple handles all of that.
Technical logs: timestamps, message counts, AI token usage, and error logs, kept so we can keep the service running and keep costs sane.

We do not collect your phone number, contacts, location, photos, or anything else from your device.

How we use it

To generate Ember's replies and your morning message.
To remember what you've shared and follow up on it.
To send push notifications at the times you chose.
To check your subscription status.
To run a safety check on each message before Ember replies (see "Crisis policy" below).
To fix bugs and understand aggregate usage (how many messages per day, how much the AI costs us). We look at aggregates, not at your individual conversations, unless you ask us to help with a specific problem.

Ember is AI

Ember's replies are generated by a large language model. It is not a person, a pastor, a counsellor, or a medical professional. We say so in the app, on our website, and Ember will tell you itself if you ask. Its answers can be wrong. Please treat it as a companion, not an authority.

Who else sees your data

We don't sell your data. We don't share it with advertisers. We don't show ads. The only third parties that touch it are the services we need to run Ember:

Anthropic, whose Claude models generate Ember's replies. Your messages (and the memories Ember has about you) are sent to Anthropic's API to produce each response. Under Anthropic's commercial terms, API data is not used to train their models.
Apple, for push notifications and for processing your subscription.
Our hosting provider, where our server and database run.

We will disclose information if the law genuinely requires it. If that ever happens we will tell you unless we are legally prevented from doing so.

Crisis policy

Before Ember replies to any message, an automated check looks for signs that you may be in danger: self-harm, abuse, or an emergency. If it sees one, Ember sets aside the devotional conversation and responds with care and practical help, including the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and 911 in the United States, or an equivalent line for your country. We may log that a crisis response was triggered so we can review how well it worked. We do not contact anyone on your behalf.

Deleting your data

You can delete everything from inside the app: Settings → Delete everything. After you confirm, we erase your name, settings, conversations, memories, and push token from our database. It is immediate and we cannot undo it. Server backups that include your data are overwritten within 30 days.

Deleting your data does not cancel your Apple subscription, because Apple manages that, not us. Cancel it in iPhone Settings → your name → Subscriptions. You can also email us at dalynbutler@gmail.com and we will delete your data by hand.

How long we keep it

For as long as you use Ember. If your subscription ends and you don't come back, we delete your conversations and memories after 12 months of inactivity. Technical logs are kept for up to 90 days.

Security

Data travels over HTTPS and sits in a database on a server only we have access to. No system is perfectly secure, and we're a small team, so please don't share things in Ember that would be catastrophic if leaked — for example passwords, card numbers, or someone else's private medical details.

Children

Ember is for people 17 and older. We don't knowingly collect information from anyone younger. If you believe a child has been using Ember, email us and we'll delete the account.

Your rights

Wherever you live, you can ask us what we hold about you, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it. Email dalynbutler@gmail.com. If you're in the EU, UK, or California, you have additional statutory rights, and we will honour them.

Changes

If we change this policy in a way that matters, we'll tell you in the app before it takes effect. The date at the top always shows the current version.

Contact

Questions, worries, requests: dalynbutler@gmail.com.