Privacy Policy
You are here because you care about your privacy, especially when it comes to sharing your most personal thoughts with an app. We built Ember for our own reflection too, so we take that responsibility seriously.
WorkHive Inc. (the "Company," "we," "us," or "our") provides Ember (the "Service"), an AI-assisted journaling and coaching application. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use and protect it, whom we share it with, and the choices and rights you have. If anything is unclear, please contact us.
1. Our Commitment
Ember is a private space. What you write and say in Ember is for you. Our commitment is to keep your information as safe, secure, and private as we can while still delivering useful features, and to be transparent about how your data is handled so that you can make informed decisions. In particular:
2. Why We Store Data on Our Servers
Your journal entries are stored on our servers rather than only on your device. We chose this so that you can access your entries across devices, so that losing or replacing a phone does not mean losing your journal, and so that AI features such as reflections and reports can be generated reliably. Data is encrypted in transit and at rest, and access is restricted as described in the Security section below.
3. Information We Collect
We collect the following information, either directly from you or automatically when you use the Service.
(1) Account and profile information. Your email address and sign-in credentials (or, if you sign in with Google or Apple, the identifier and email address shared by that provider), and any profile information you choose to provide, such as your name, date of birth (including age), gender, occupation, and self-introduction.
(2) User Content. The journal entries, messages, voice recordings, goals, tasks, and other content you create in the Service, together with the AI responses, summaries, reports, and suggestions generated from them.
(3) Connected services. If you choose to connect a calendar (Google Calendar or your device calendar), we access the calendar information needed to provide that feature. You can disconnect it at any time from the app settings.
(4) Automatically collected information. Device information (model, operating system, app version, language, and time zone), IP address, app usage events (such as screens viewed and features used), crash reports, and push notification tokens.
(5) Purchase information. Your subscription status and purchase receipts, which are processed by the Apple App Store or Google Play. We do not receive your payment card details.
User Content may include sensitive information, such as information about your health or emotional state, that you choose to write about. We collect such information only because you provide it, and we handle it as described in this Policy. Providing information to us is voluntary, but if you do not provide the information we need to operate the Service, we may not be able to provide it to you.
4. How We Use Information
We use the information we collect for the following purposes, and we do not use it beyond these purposes:
5. Legal Bases for Processing (EEA, UK, and Similar Jurisdictions)
Where the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the UK GDPR, or a similar law applies, we process your personal information on the following bases: performance of our contract with you (to provide the Service); your consent (for the sensitive information you choose to include in your entries, for optional features such as calendar connection and voice input, and for marketing communications); our legitimate interests (to maintain, secure, and improve the Service and to communicate with you about it), balanced against your rights; and compliance with legal obligations. You may withdraw consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal.
6. AI Features and AI Providers
Ember's AI features (conversation, reflections, reports, suggestions, and voice) are powered by third-party AI providers acting as our service providers. When you submit an entry or message, use voice input, or request an AI-generated reflection or report, the information listed below is sent to one or more of these providers for processing. The providers act on our instructions under contracts that restrict their use of your data, and we use their services on the basis that your data is not used to train their models.
We may change which providers we use or add new ones. When we do, we will update this Policy.
7. Other Third-Party Services
We use the following services to operate, secure, and support the Service. Each provider handles information under its own privacy policy. Your journal entries are not sent to analytics, crash reporting, or advertising services.
The Service may also contain affiliate links to third-party websites. When you follow such a link, the third party may collect information such as click data and cookies under its own privacy policy. We do not send any of your User Content to affiliate partners.
8. When We Share Information
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share your journal entries or other information that identifies you with third parties, except in the following cases:
9. International Transfers
We are based in Japan, and our servers and service providers are located in Japan, the United States, and other countries. Your information may therefore be transferred to and processed in countries other than the one in which you reside, which may have different data protection laws. Where required, we rely on appropriate safeguards for such transfers, such as contractual commitments from our providers, and we take reasonable steps to ensure your information remains protected as described in this Policy.
10. Security
We take organizational, personnel, physical, and technical measures to protect your information against unauthorized access, loss, alteration, and disclosure. These include:
No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. If we become aware of a security incident affecting your personal information, we will notify you and the relevant authorities as required by applicable law.
11. Data Retention and Account Deletion
(1) We retain your information for as long as your account is active and as needed to provide the Service to you.
(2) You can delete your account at any time from the app settings. After you delete your account, you can restore it by signing in again within 30 days. After that period, your account can no longer be accessed and your data cannot be recovered.
(3) After the 30-day period, we delete your information from our systems, except that we may retain limited information for a further period where necessary to prevent fraud or abuse, to resolve disputes, to enforce our agreements, or to comply with legal retention obligations. Backups are overwritten in the ordinary course of operations.
(4) Deleting your account does not cancel an app store subscription. Please cancel the subscription separately through the Apple App Store or Google Play.
12. Your Rights and Choices
Depending on where you live, you may have some or all of the following rights with respect to your personal information:
You can update your profile information and delete your account directly in the app. For other requests, please contact us using the details in the Contact section. We may need to verify your identity before acting on a request, and we will respond within the time required by applicable law. We will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights.
You can control push notifications, calendar connection, and voice features in the app or device settings. You can opt out of marketing emails using the unsubscribe link in any such email.
California residents: we do not sell or share (as defined under California law) your personal information, and we have not done so in the preceding 12 months. The categories of personal information we collect, and the purposes for which we use them, are described in Sections 3 and 4.
13. Children
The Service is not directed to children under 13, or under the higher minimum age required in your country or region to consent to the use of an online service, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.
14. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify you by posting a notice on our website, in the app, or by email before the changes take effect. The date of the latest revision is shown at the bottom of this page.
15. Applicable Version
If you reside in Japan, the Japanese version of this Privacy Policy applies to you, and this English version is provided for reference only. If you reside outside Japan, this English version applies to you.
16. Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Policy or wish to exercise your rights, please contact us at hello@workhive.dev.
WorkHive Inc., Japan. Support hours: 9:00 to 17:00 JST, excluding weekends, Japanese public holidays, and the year-end and New Year holidays.