Effective: 16 September 2026 (replaces the 21 May 2026 policy)
Nerve is made by Virgin Activities LLC in the United States. Questions: NerveApp2026@gmail.com, +1 (831) 400-6618.
This policy covers the Nerve iOS app ("Nerve Manifest"), the web version at thenerveapp.com, the creator programme and our support channels. Plain language first; the detail follows.
The short version
- Your interview answers, your stories and your journal are stored on your device (and, on the web, in your browser). We do not upload the interview to build a profile of you.
- Some things do leave the device: the text of a story so it can be read aloud, what screens you use, purchases, and — if you make one — your account email. Each is listed below with who receives it.
- We do not sell personal information, and we do not use it for advertising or tracking across other companies' apps and websites.
- You can delete your account, and everything tied to it, from inside the app.
What we collect, and why
Things you type into the app. Your first name, city, what you do, how you identify and who you are drawn to, your goals, the moments you describe, your birth date and (optionally) birth time, the names of people you add, subjects you never want mentioned, journal entries and gratitude lines. These are stored on your device so the app can write stories, a daily read and affirmation cards for you. They are not sent to our servers as a profile.
- *Special categories.* "Who are you drawn to" is optional, has a "Prefer not to say" answer, and only ever changes the pronouns used inside stories on your device.
Story text sent for narration. When a story, daily read, sleep track or meditation is read aloud, its lines — which can include your first name, a partner's name and words from your answers — are sent to our server and then to a text-to-speech provider (OpenAI) to produce the audio. The audio clip is cached under a keyed identifier so the same line is not synthesised twice. The provider processes the text to produce speech and does not use it to train models.
Account data. If you create an account (email, or Sign in with Apple) we store your email address, a user ID, when the account was created and which plan it has access to. Accounts are stored with Supabase (hosted in the United States). An account is optional; it exists so access can be restored on another phone.
Purchases. Subscriptions on iOS are handled by Apple. We receive purchase events (plan, start and renewal dates, trial status, an anonymised app-user ID) through Superwall, which also shows the subscription screens. On the web, payments are processed by Stripe, which receives your card details directly; we store the subscription status and the email tied to it. We never see full card numbers.
Usage analytics. Which screens you open, which steps you reach, whether you finish a story, and money events (trial started, renewed, cancelled). Recorded with an anonymous per-install ID, your device model, OS and app version, and the IP-derived coarse location our analytics provider infers. We use PostHog and our own database for this. Analytics never include the text of your answers, stories, journal or feedback.
Story feedback. If you rate a story, we store the rating, the categories you chose, any comment you write, the story's title and opening line, and technical context about how it was generated (engine version, the sky it was written under), with your anonymous install ID and — if you are signed in — your user ID. A person reads this to improve the writing. Nothing you write is used automatically.
Creator codes. If you enter a creator's code we record that the code was used, so the creator can be credited. Creators see counts, never who you are.
Notifications. Reminders are scheduled on your device. If you allow notifications we do not receive a push token unless a feature that needs one is added, in which case this policy will say so.
Support. What you send us by email, so we can reply.
What we do not do
- No advertising identifiers, no cross-app tracking, no data brokers.
- No sale of personal information (as "sale" and "share" are defined in California law).
- No automated decisions with legal or similarly significant effects.
- No selection of tarot cards, horoscopes or stories by anything other than the rules described in the app: your daily read comes from the real positions of the planets against your birth date; it is written for reflection and entertainment.
Who receives data
| Provider | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Apple | purchases, App Store distribution, Sign in with Apple | Apple's terms |
| Supabase | accounts, subscription status, analytics ledger, feedback | United States |
| Vercel | hosts our web services, including the narration API | United States |
| OpenAI | story lines, to synthesise narration audio | United States |
| Superwall | subscription screens and purchase events; first name, goal, sign and the opening line of your latest story, so a screen can address you | United States |
| PostHog | usage analytics with an anonymous ID | United States |
| Stripe | web payments | Stripe's terms |
| Netlify | hosts these legal pages | United States |
We also disclose information when the law requires it, to protect Nerve or its users, or as part of a sale or merger, with the same protections in place.
How long we keep it
- On-device data: until you delete a story, reset the app or delete the app.
- Account and subscription records: for the life of the account, then removed or anonymised when you delete the account (below); records we must keep for tax and accounting stay for the period the law requires.
- Analytics: 24 months, then aggregated or deleted.
- Narration audio clips: cached up to 12 months and keyed only by the text.
- Feedback: 24 months, then anonymised.
Deleting your account
You ▸ Delete account removes your account, its subscription link and the data tied to it from our systems, and wipes the app on that phone. Purchases are governed by Apple or Stripe and are not cancelled by deleting the account — cancel a subscription in your Apple ID settings or through the billing portal on the web. After deletion, feedback and analytics rows are stripped of anything that identifies you.
Your rights
Depending on where you live you may have the right to access, correct, delete or export your personal information, to object to or restrict some processing, and to complain to a supervisory authority. California residents may exercise their rights under the CCPA/CPRA; we do not sell or share personal information and we do not discriminate for exercising rights. EU/UK residents: our lawful bases are performance of our contract with you (stories, subscriptions), your consent (the optional answers), and our legitimate interest in running and improving the app (analytics, security). Email NerveApp2026@gmail.com; we may verify the request before acting and will respond within the time the law allows.
Children
Nerve is for adults. It is not directed to anyone under 18 and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 13. If you believe a child has used the app, contact us and we will delete the data.
Security
Data in transit is encrypted (TLS). Databases are access-controlled with row-level security; only our server code can read account and feedback tables. No system is perfectly secure, so keep your device and account credentials safe.
Changes
We will change the effective date at the top when this policy changes and, for material changes, tell you in the app.