Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Pause (“we,” “us,” or “our”) operates the Pause mobile application and the website at getpausenow.com. If you have questions about this policy, contact us at hello@getpausenow.com.

2. What information we collect

Information you give us directly:

• Account information — email address and password (or third-party sign-in credentials) when you create an account in the app.
• Profile preferences — tone preference, personal reminders, and relationship context labels you configure inside the app. These are stored on your device and, if you opt in to cloud sync, on our servers.

Information generated by app use:

• Session metadata — anonymous logs of when a pause session occurred, the emotion and trigger category you selected, urge intensity, and outcome (not sent / sent / rewritten). This does not include your message text.
• AI request metadata — when you request an AI intervention or rewrite, we log anonymized metadata (e.g. word count, selected emotion category, timestamp). We do not store the text of your draft message on our servers.
• Quota counters — counts of AI interventions and rewrites used in the current billing period, stored server-side to enforce free-tier limits.
• Usage analytics — aggregate, anonymized crash reports and performance data to improve app stability.

What we do NOT collect:

• The text of your draft messages — these remain on your device.
• The names or identities of the people you are considering messaging.
• Your contacts, location, photos, or microphone access.

3. How AI processing works

When you tap “Pause this message,” the text of your draft is transmitted to our servers transiently to generate your personalized reflection. This transmission is encrypted in transit (TLS). The text is not stored on our servers after the response is returned to your device, and it is never used to train or fine-tune any AI model.

We use third-party AI infrastructure (currently OpenAI) to process these requests. OpenAI's API data usage policy prohibits using API inputs for model training. Your message content is covered by that agreement.

4. How we use your information

• To operate, maintain, and improve the Pause app.
• To enforce free-tier quotas and manage premium subscriptions.
• To generate your personalized AI reflections (transient processing only).
• To understand aggregate usage patterns and improve the product.
• To respond to your support requests.

5. Data storage and security

On-device (default): Draft messages, session history, and pattern data are stored locally on your device using encrypted on-device storage. This data does not leave your device unless you opt in to cloud sync.

Cloud sync (opt-in, premium): If you enable cloud sync, encrypted session metadata and profile preferences are stored in Google Cloud Firestore in the United States. Message text is never synced to the cloud.

We use industry-standard security measures including encryption in transit (TLS 1.2+) and at rest. No system is perfectly secure, but we design Pause to minimize the amount of sensitive data we ever hold.

6. Data sharing and third parties

We do not sell your personal data. We do not share your data with advertisers or data brokers. We may share limited data with:

• Service providers — Firebase (Google) for infrastructure, OpenAI for AI processing, and Apple/Google for payment processing. These providers are contractually required to protect your data and may not use it for their own purposes.
• Legal requirements — if required by law, court order, or to protect the safety of our users or the public.
• Business transfers — if Pause is acquired or merges with another company, your data would transfer as part of that transaction. We would notify you before your data becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

7. Your rights and choices

• Access and portability — you can request a copy of the data we hold about you by emailing hello@getpausenow.com.
• Deletion — you can delete your account and all associated data at any time from within the app settings. Data is permanently deleted within 30 days. No friction, no dark patterns.
• Correction — you can update your profile preferences at any time within the app.
• Opt out of analytics — you can disable anonymous usage analytics in app settings.

If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or California, you may have additional rights under GDPR, UK GDPR, or CCPA respectively. Contact us at hello@getpausenow.com to exercise any of these rights.

8. Children's privacy

Pause is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we learn we have collected such information, we will delete it promptly.

9. Retention

We retain account data for as long as your account is active. Anonymized aggregate analytics may be retained indefinitely. On-device data is retained until you delete it or uninstall the app.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes via the app or by email. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision. Continued use of Pause after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

11. Contact us

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact us at:
hello@getpausenow.com