12 Step Guide privacy policy

12 Step Guide is an app for working the Twelve Steps, with a guide to every Step and Tradition, the Big Book, prayers and readings, and recovery recordings. It is made by iByte Apps Limited ("we", "us"). This policy explains what information the app uses, why, who else is involved, and what you can do about it. It applies to the 12 Step Guide app on iPhone, iPad and Android, and to these pages.

The short version

There's no account. We never ask for your name, email address or phone number.
Your recovery date, what you read and listen to, and where you got to, stay on your phone.
Recordings stream from our own server. Like any web server, it briefly logs each request.
The free version shows adverts from Google AdMob. In the UK and EEA you choose whether they can be personalised, and you can change your mind at any time.
Premium users see no adverts, and the advertising software isn't started for them at all.
We use Google's Firebase to count which screens are used and to receive crash reports. Neither ever includes what you read, your recovery date or anything you type.
Apple or Google take every payment. We never see your card or bank details.
We don't sell your information.

Who we are

iByte Apps Limited, a company in Northamptonshire, United Kingdom, is the "controller" of the personal information described here under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Questions or requests: ibyteapps@gmail.com

What stays on your phone

The app keeps these on your device so it can work the way you left it:

your recovery date, if you set one, and the day count worked out from it;
where you got to in each guide, chapter and reading, and how much of each you've read;
where you got to in each recording, and your playback speed;
your settings: light or dark, text size, reminders and their hours, Wi-Fi-only downloads;
recordings you've downloaded to listen offline (Premium);
whether you have Premium, and until when (see "Paying for 12 Step Guide");
your advert consent choice, where it applies.

If you used the original 12 Step Guide app, the new version moves your recovery date, reminders, downloads and Premium across on your phone. Nothing is sent to us to do this.

None of this is sent to us. Your phone's own backup (iCloud or Google) may include your settings and progress; downloaded recordings are kept out of those backups because they can be downloaded again. You can clear your recovery date on the Recovery date screen, remove downloads under Downloads in the menu, and deleting the app removes everything it stored.

Reminders

Hourly reminders and their quotes, and the occasional "We miss you" reminder if you haven't opened the app for a while, are scheduled by the app on your phone. No server sends them and no one else sees them. The app asks for permission to show notifications only when you turn a reminder on.

What reaches our server

When you play or download a recording, your phone asks our server (scripts.12stepapp.com) for the file. Each request is recorded in the server's log with:

your IP address;
the type of device and operating system, as your phone reports them;
the file requested, and the date and time.

We use these logs only to deliver the recordings, keep the service secure and working, and investigate abuse. This is in our legitimate interests and yours. The logs are kept only as long as needed for those purposes, normally no more than 90 days, and are then deleted. We don't use them to identify you, and we don't combine them with anything else.

The guides, the Big Book, the prayers and the readings are in the app itself; reading them sends nothing anywhere.

Usage counts and crash reports (Google Firebase)

To see which parts of the app people use and to fix problems, the app uses two Google services:

Firebase Analytics counts which screens are opened, by their name in the app (for example "the Big Book" or "an album"). It also records the app version, whether you're on the free version or Premium, and your advert consent choice. Like any Google analytics, it receives your device's model and operating system, an identifier for this installation of the app, and your approximate location (country or region) worked out from your IP address.
Firebase Crashlytics receives a report when the app crashes or hits an error: what went wrong in the app's code, the app version, and your device's model and operating system. Before a report is sent, the app removes anything that looks like an email address or a date.

Neither ever receives the text of what you read, your recovery date, your reminders, or anything you type. We use this information on the legitimate-interests basis, to keep the app working and to decide what to improve. Google keeps Analytics data for up to 14 months and crash reports for 90 days.

Adverts (free version)

The free version of 12 Step Guide shows banner and full-screen adverts provided by Google AdMob, a Google service.

To show and measure adverts and to prevent fraud, Google's software in the app may collect:

on Android, your device's advertising ID, unless you have deleted it;
your IP address, and the approximate location that can be worked out from it;
information about your device, the app, and the adverts you see and tap.

Your choices:

Consent. In the UK and EEA, 12 Step Guide shows Google's consent message before any advert is requested. Adverts are personalised only if you agree. You can change your choice at any time under Privacy & ad choices in the menu.
iPhone and iPad. 12 Step Guide never asks to track you across other companies' apps and websites, so Google doesn't receive your device's advertising identifier.
Android. You can reset or delete your advertising ID under your phone's Google or Privacy settings.
Premium. Premium users see no adverts, and the advertising software isn't started for them.

The app doesn't tell Google what you read or which recordings you play.

How Google uses this information: policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites. Google's privacy policy: policies.google.com/privacy.

Paying for 12 Step Guide

Premium (no adverts, and recordings you can download to listen offline) is sold and managed by Apple (App Store) or Google (Google Play) under their own terms and privacy policies. We don't receive your name, email address, card details or billing address.

On your phone, the store tells the app what you've bought: which product it is and, for a subscription, when the current period ends or whether it will renew. The app uses this only to unlock Premium and turn off the adverts. It stays on your phone; we run no server for purchases.

Ratings

From time to time the app asks Apple or Google to show their rating prompt. The prompt, and any rating or review you leave, belongs to Apple or Google. We see reviews only as they appear publicly on the store.

When you email us

If you use Contact us in the app (it writes to ibyteappsuk@gmail.com, which is also ours) or email us, we receive your email address, your message and anything you attach. The email the app prepares also includes the app version, your device's operating system and whether you have Premium, so we can help. If you ask about a lost supporter status, you may send us your Google Play order number; we use it only to check your purchase. We use this only to reply, and we delete it once it's no longer needed to help you.

Links to other websites

Some links open other websites, such as the Daily Reflection on aa.org, our Facebook page and the app stores. Those sites have their own privacy policies; we don't control them.

What 12 Step Guide doesn't do

No account, sign-in or profile.
No access to your location, contacts, photos, camera or microphone.
No sending of your recovery date, your reading or your listening to anyone.
No selling or renting of personal information, ever.

A word about sensitive information

Using an app for people in recovery could, in itself, say something about your health. We don't collect, record or infer anything about your health or your recovery. Your recovery date never leaves your phone, and we don't send anyone what you read or listen to.

Who else is involved

Google, for adverts in the free version, and for Firebase Analytics and Crashlytics, as described above.
Apple and Google, for downloading the app, payments, subscriptions and ratings.
Our hosting provider, which runs the server the recordings stream from on our behalf.
Authorities, but only if the law requires us to share information.

Information leaving the UK

Google may process advertising, analytics and crash information in other countries, including the United States, under safeguards the UK recognises, such as the UK's adequacy regulations, the UK–US Data Bridge, or standard contractual clauses with the UK Addendum.

How long information is kept

On your phone: until you clear it or delete the app.
Server logs: normally no more than 90 days.
Firebase Analytics: up to 14 months. Crash reports: 90 days.
Emails to us: until we no longer need them to help you.
Advertising information: as set out in Google's policies.

Your rights

Under UK data protection law you can ask us to:

tell you what personal information we hold about you and give you a copy;
correct it, or delete it;
restrict how we use it, or object to our using it;
give it to you in a portable form.

Where we rely on your consent, you can withdraw it at any time. Most of what 12 Step Guide uses never leaves your phone, so you're already in control of it. For anything else, email ibyteapps@gmail.com. We'll reply within one month.

If you're unhappy with how we've handled your information, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office: ico.org.uk or 0303 123 1113. We'd appreciate the chance to put things right first.

Children

12 Step Guide is for adults. It isn't directed at anyone under 18, and we don't knowingly collect information from children.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top of this page. If a change matters, we'll also tell you in the app.

Contact

iByte Apps Limited, Northamptonshire, United Kingdom ibyteapps@gmail.com