Privacy policy

Last updated 6 September 2026

Philosophilo is an iPhone app for studying philosophy with a mentor. This policy explains what information the app collects, what it is used for, and how you can see or delete it. It is written to be read.

What we collect

• Your account. Your email address, or the identifier Apple or Google gives us when you sign in with them. Sign in with Apple lets you hide your email; we then only see the relay address Apple provides.
• Your profile. The name you choose and, if you add one, a profile photo. The camera and photo library are used only for that photo, only when you ask.
• Your study. Which mentor you are studying with, which sessions you have completed, your standing with each mentor, your days in a row, and the passages and sessions you save.
• Your journal. The reflections you write in response to a session's question. They are stored so you can read them back on your devices. We do not read them, analyse them, or use them for anything else.
• Your dialogues. The messages you exchange with a mentor, so the conversation is there when you come back.
• Notifications. If you turn on reminders, a device token so we can send them. Turning reminders off deletes it.
• Technical data. Standard server logs from our hosting provider, including IP address and request times, kept for security and debugging. The app contains no advertising or third-party analytics trackers.

How the mentor dialogue works

A mentor's replies are generated by a large language model. When you send a message, that message and the recent conversation are sent to OpenAI's API, together with the mentor's instructions and the passage you are asking about, to produce the reply. We do not send your name, email address, or journal. Under OpenAI's API terms, content sent this way is not used to train their models. Do not put information in a dialogue that you would not want processed by a third party.

Where it is stored

Your data is stored with Supabase in the European Union (West EU region). Push notifications are delivered through Apple's and Expo's notification services. Widget data, which is the next session's passage and your streak, is stored only on your phone.

Why we use it

To run the app: to sign you in, keep your place in a course, show your journal on your devices, generate mentor replies, and send reminders you have asked for. Our legal bases under UK and EU law are performing our agreement with you and, for reminders and the optional photo, your consent. We do not sell personal information and do not use it for advertising.

How long we keep it

For as long as you have an account. When you delete your account, everything above is deleted from our systems immediately; server logs expire within 30 days. Backups are overwritten within 30 days.

Deleting your account

Open Settings in the app and choose "Delete account". This removes your account, profile, study progress, journal, saved items, dialogues, and notification tokens. It cannot be undone. You can also email us and we will do it for you.

Your rights

You can ask for a copy of your information, ask us to correct it, object to how we use it, or ask us to delete it. Email hello@philosophilo.app and we will respond within one month. You can also complain to the data protection authority where you live, such as the Information Commissioner's Office in the UK.

Children

Philosophilo is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect information from them. If you believe a child has created an account, email us and we will delete it.

Changes

If we change this policy in a way that matters, we will tell you in the app and update the date at the top of this page.

Contact

Philosophilo, hello@philosophilo.app