When we were developing the Howdy app concept, we focused heavily on privacy and security. Our primary objective was how to make a journaling and self-reflection app easy to use but also avoid any risks for its users. It's a balancing act between the User Experience convenience and the strict requirements of software security. 

The first line of defense is making sure that nobody but you can see and access your data. Fortunately, all Apple devices come with biometric security available out of the box — your fingerprint scanner (TouchID) and face-scanning camera (FaceID) can be used to lock the access.

We make sure access is secure not only when the app is opened from the home screen but also when it's selected in the app switcher. So you can pass your unlocked phone to somebody else without the risk of them switching to Howdy! 

We also worked on making the technological backbone of the application sturdy and secure. To achieve that, we decided to not use external data storage like a centrally-managed cloud REST API. Instead, use Apple CoreData technology to store all your data directly and only on your device. This data is encrypted by the iOS and protected from unauthorized access by any other app.

You can use your iCloud account to back up and synchronize data between your devices. iCloud data is encrypted as well, so you can relax.

Your Howdy may contain some private and intimate information about you. We don't want to put you at risk so we decided to not track anything about your usage in the app. We have no idea how you use the Howdy app so feel free to let us know which feature is your favorite 😉

We took this drastic stance on app privacy because we believe that not everything should be tracked, analyzed, and sold. What you do in the Howdy app is your business and we respect your privacy.

When you set up your device the first time or during a major iOS upgrade, you might have been asked if you want to share your usage statistics with Apple and with app developers. If you chose to share your usage statistics, we may see some anonymized and aggregated numbers of usage sessions, crashes, and retention from all Howdy users. We have no control over that because it's something managed by iOS and Apple in a privacy-respecting way and you are not at risk.

We work tirelessly on making Howdy the best journaling and self-reflection app and we will keep you updated about new development related to privacy and security. We are currently drafting a Howdy Web feature but it's a story for another time.