Patterns: Privacy Policy

Last updated: 2026-10-21

Patterns is a habit tracker made by Carl Topham ("I", "me"). This page explains what Patterns does with your information.

The short version

• Your habits, notes and history live on your device. I do not have an account system, and I cannot see your habits.
  
• If you leave iCloud sync on, your habits are copied to your own private iCloud storage so your devices stay in step. That storage belongs to your Apple ID. I cannot read it.
  
• Patterns sends anonymous crash reports to Google Firebase Crashlytics so I can fix bugs. They are not linked to who you are and contain none of your habits or notes.
  
• There are no ads, no tracking, and no analytics about how you use the app.

What Patterns stores, and where

Patterns keeps what you enter and what the app works out from it: your habits and their schedules, what you ticked each day, any notes you write, your experience points, landmarks and achievements, streak freezes, and your settings (such as reminder times). All of this is stored in the app's own storage on your device. Deleting the app deletes it from that device.

iCloud sync

Sync is on by default and you can turn it off in Settings, under iCloud Sync (a change applies the next time Patterns opens). When it is on and you are signed in to iCloud:

• Your habits, history, progress and achievements are stored in your private database in iCloud using Apple's CloudKit.
  
• Two settings, your late check-in time and your morning reminder time, are stored in iCloud key-value storage so your devices agree.
  
• This data is tied to your Apple ID and protected by Apple. It is not sent to me and I have no way to read it.
  
• Apple's own terms and privacy policy govern iCloud.

Turning sync off does not remove what is already in iCloud. You can delete it from your device's iCloud storage settings. Your notification permission, your reminders and the home screen widget stay on each device and are not synced. Your Patterns Pro purchase follows your Apple ID through Apple, not through me.

Crash reports

The versions of Patterns on the App Store and TestFlight use Firebase Crashlytics, a service from Google, to send a report when the app crashes. A report contains technical information: the crash trace (a record of what the app was doing), the type of device, the iOS version, the app version, and a random identifier made for the app on your device so repeat crashes can be counted. Patterns does not add your name, your habits, your notes or any other personal detail to a report, and the reports are not linked to your identity.

I use them only to find and fix problems. Google processes them under the Firebase terms and privacy policy. Versions of the app built for development do not send reports.

What I do not collect

I do not collect your name, email address, phone number, location, contacts, photos, health data, advertising identifier or browsing activity. I do not run ads, I do not sell or share information about you, and I do not track you across other companies' apps and websites.

Notifications, widgets, Siri and Shortcuts

Reminders are notifications that Patterns schedules on your device; they are not sent from a server of mine. The widget, the Control and the "Log a habit" shortcut work from information kept on your device. Siri and Shortcuts are Apple features and are covered by Apple's privacy policy.

Purchases

If you buy Patterns Pro, Apple takes the payment. I do not receive your payment details or your name. Patterns only learns whether Pro is unlocked on your Apple ID.

Exporting and sharing

If you export your data you create a file that you choose where to save or send. If you share a landmark or achievement picture, it shows the landmark or achievement, your level and the Patterns name; it does not show your habits, streaks or notes. You choose where it goes through the iOS share sheet.

Children

Patterns is not designed for children under 13, and I do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

Keeping and deleting your data

Data on your device stays until you delete it or delete the app. Data in iCloud stays until you delete it from your iCloud storage. Crash reports are kept by Google for a limited period and are not linked to you, so I cannot look up reports about a particular person.

Your rights

If you live in the UK or the European Economic Area, you have the right to ask what information a company holds about you, to have it corrected or deleted, and to object to how it is used. Because I do not hold your habits, and crash reports are not linked to you, there is usually nothing for me to look up, but you can write to me at [CONTACT EMAIL] and I will help. I use crash reports because keeping the app working is a legitimate interest of mine and they carry no personal details. You can also complain to your data protection authority; in the UK that is the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk).

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes, I will update the date at the top and describe significant changes in the notes for the app update