Privacy policy

Effective

The short version

We collect what you need for an account (your email, a password and your first name) and what you choose to write in the app.
Your private entries can only be read by you. Your partner sees only what you choose to share. The database enforces this, not just the app's screens.
We don't sell your data, show ads, use advertising or analytics trackers, or track your location or messages.
You can delete your data, or your whole account, from inside the app at any time.
Your data isn't end-to-end encrypted. It's encrypted on its way to us and stored securely, but the person who runs Common Ground can technically access the database. We only do so in the situations described in section 6.

1. Who we are

Common Ground is run by ("we", "us"). We are responsible for your personal data under this policy. You can contact us about privacy at , or through the support form.

2. What we collect

What	Examples	Why
Account details	Email address, password (stored only as a secure hash, which we can't read), first name, when you signed up and last signed in	To give you an account, sign you in, and send sign-up and password-reset emails
Your shared space	Which space you belong to, whether you're Partner A or B, the name your partner sees, your invite code	To link you with your partner
What you write	Feelings, reset and repair answers, guided talk answers, weekly reviews, goals, agreements, affirmations, your private log and drafts, safety and reminder settings, and when each was saved and by whom	This is the app. We store it so you, and your partner where you've chosen to share, can see it.
Messages to us	What you send through the support form or Help & feedback, the reply email you give us, and your account id if you're signed in when you send it	To answer you and improve the app
Crash reports	An error message and where in the code it happened, which screen you were on, the app version and your browser family (for example "iPhone Safari")	To find and fix bugs. Before sending, the app removes emails, links, ids, numbers and anything you wrote. Reports don't include who you are.
Technical logs	IP address, browser type and the time of each request, kept by our hosting and database providers	Security, preventing abuse, and keeping the service running

What you write may reveal sensitive things about you, such as your mental and emotional health, your sex life, your relationships, or whether you feel safe with your partner. Only write what you're comfortable storing with us. We use it only to provide the app to you and your partner.

We don't collect your location, contacts, photos or microphone, and we don't read your messages in other apps.

3. Who can see what

Only you: your Trigger Patterns log, everything in Unresolved, your Relationship Health Check answers and results (only stored if you choose Save privately), saved drafts, safety setting, check-in reminder settings, private breaks, the apology builder, and everything in an I need space check-in: how you felt, what set it off, anything you wrote and didn't send, and your reflection before talking again.
You and your partner: feelings you share, answers you add, "I need space" notices you choose to show (your return time and the message you picked or wrote), and things that belong to you both, like goals, agreements and parked issues. Most exercises keep your answers hidden from your partner until you've both answered. That hiding is done by the app; the database already lets your partner's account read answers you've finished.
Insights: the "Just you" part is worked out on your own device from your private entries and isn't saved or sent anywhere. The shared part only counts things you've both completed, which you can both already see.
Only what you choose: from your private reflections, your partner sees only what you explicitly share: the patterns you tick, the title and statement of an Unresolved item you decide to raise, or the Health Check areas you'd like to talk about (never your answers). Each needs a separate press of Share.
Nobody else: people outside your space can't see anything, even if they have an old invite link.
If your partner leaves or is removed, they immediately lose access to the space, and neither of you can see the other's shared answers any more.
Your private entries belong to your account, not to the shared space. If you leave or are removed, you keep them and nobody else gains access. They're stored separately from everything you share, and only your own login can read them.

4. Our legal basis (UK and EU)

Running your account and the app: to perform our contract with you (the terms).
Sensitive information you choose to write: some of what you write, such as your emotional health, intimacy, or whether you feel safe, is "special category" data under UK and EU law. We rely on your explicit consent, which you give by writing and saving it. You can withdraw it at any time by deleting it or your account. Because this data is sensitive, we've assessed the risks in a data protection impact assessment and designed the app to keep it private by default.
Crash reports, security logs and preventing abuse: our legitimate interest in keeping the app working and safe.
Answering your messages: our legitimate interest in helping you, or your consent where you give us a reply address.

5. Who we share it with

We don't sell or rent your data, and we don't share it for advertising. We use these providers to run the app. They process data only on our instructions:

Supabase: database, sign-in and account emails. Your data is stored in .
Netlify: hosts the website and app files.

The website's fonts and code are served from our own site, so visiting doesn't send your details to font or code libraries run by other companies.

If you use the check-in reminder's "Add to Google Calendar" button, Google receives the reminder details (the time and "Common Ground check-in") under Google's own privacy policy. Nothing else from the app is sent to Google.

We may disclose data if the law requires it, or to protect someone from serious harm. If Common Ground is ever sold or transferred, your data would move with it under this policy, and we'd tell you first.

Some of these providers may process data outside your country. Where that happens we rely on appropriate safeguards, such as standard contractual clauses.

6. Paid plans (not live yet)

Common Ground is free during early access. When paid plans launch, you'll buy them through the App Store. Apple handles the payment and we never see your card details. We'll only learn whether your couple's subscription is active, through a subscription service that links it to your shared space. Before paid plans start, we'll update this policy to name that service.

7. AI help (not switched on yet)

AI help is switched off. If we switch it on, it will be optional, and we'll update this policy and tell you in the app first. It would work like this:

Only text you choose to send for a specific task, from your own account, would go to our AI provider, Anthropic, to write a response. It would never include your partner's private entries.
We wouldn't store what you send or the reply. We'd keep only a count of your requests each month, to apply plan limits.
Anthropic doesn't use this data to train its models, and keeps it only for a limited period under its commercial terms.
AI responses can be wrong. They're suggestions to help you reflect, not advice or a diagnosis.

8. When we look at your data

Only when we need to: to fix a problem you've reported, to investigate abuse or a security issue, or if the law requires it. We don't read what couples write out of curiosity, and we don't use it to train AI.

9. How long we keep it

Your account and what you've written: until you delete it. Deleting your account removes your login, your private entries and everything you've shared, straight away.
Your private entries after leaving a space: kept for you until you delete them, either by ticking "Also delete all my data" when you leave, or by deleting your account.
Things that belong to you both (goals, agreements, parked issues): kept until the last person leaves the space, when the whole space is deleted.
Messages to us: 12 months.
Crash reports: 30 days.
Backups and provider logs: deleted data can remain in backups and logs for a limited time before they're overwritten, under our providers' retention schedules.

10. Your choices and rights

In the app: under Privacy you can delete your data, leave your space, remove your partner, change your name and delete your account.
By asking us: you can ask for a copy of your data, to correct it, to restrict or object to how we use it, or to delete it. Contact . We'll reply within one month.
Complaints: you can complain to your data protection authority. In the UK that's the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk).
California and other US states: you have similar rights to know, delete and correct. We don't sell or share personal information for cross-context behavioural advertising.

11. What's stored on your device

The app keeps you signed in by storing a sign-in token in your browser's local storage. If you open an invite link, it stores the invite code until you join. We don't use cookies for advertising or analytics.

12. Security

Connections are encrypted with HTTPS, passwords are hashed, and database rules stop anyone reading data they're not allowed to see. No system is perfectly secure. If a breach affects your data, we'll tell you and the authorities as the law requires.

If someone else can get into your phone or email, they may be able to get into your account. The app's Safety page has tips, and a button that covers the screen with a plain notes page.

13. Age

Common Ground is for adults aged 18 and over. We don't knowingly collect data from anyone younger. If you think a child has made an account, tell us and we'll delete it.

14. Changes

If we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top. For important changes, such as adding payments, AI features or new providers, we'll tell you in the app before they take effect.