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Previously.

Privacy Policy

Effective 7 November 2026

The short version

Who we are

Previously is made by Tomer Abramovich, an individual developer. For data protection law, that person is the "controller" of your data. Contact: support@getpreviously.app.

What the app collects

Anonymous usage events

To learn what works, the app sends a short, fixed list of events to PostHog, our analytics provider. For example: a chapter was started or finished, where someone stopped listening, the next chapter started, a choice was made in The Call, a home screen widget was opened, or the paywall was shown. Events contain only chapter names, counts and yes/no values. Nothing about you.

The app also records when it is installed, updated, opened and closed. That is how we count how many people come back.

Each install gets a random ID, so events from one phone can be grouped. It is not linked to your name, email, Apple ID or advertising ID. Deleting the app resets it.

Device details

Each event includes basic details: device model, iOS version, app version, language, time zone and screen size. Your IP address reaches PostHog with each request, but our project is set to discard it: it is not stored with your events. Before it is discarded it may be used to estimate a rough location, such as your country.

Crash reports

If the app crashes, it saves a technical report and sends it to PostHog the next time it opens. The report shows where in the code the crash happened. It contains no personal content.

Experiments and surveys

We sometimes test two versions of a screen. The app asks PostHog which version to show, using the same random ID. Now and then the app may show a short survey with multiple-choice questions. Answering is optional. Your answers go to PostHog under the same random ID.

Purchases

Apple processes every payment. RevenueCat, our subscription provider, receives the App Store record of your purchase: which plan, price, currency, country, dates, trial status and renewals. It uses this to unlock Premium and to restore it on a new phone. RevenueCat gives you its own random ID. We store the analytics ID there too, so RevenueCat can send subscription events (like a trial starting) to PostHog under the same anonymous user. This lets us see whether the paywall works, without knowing who you are.

Narration and photos

Narration and photos stream from our content storage at Cloudflare. Like any web server, it logs IP addresses and request details. Chapters you download are saved on your phone.

Protected chapters

Premium chapters will be delivered by our own content server, also at Cloudflare. To check that a request comes from the genuine app on a real iPhone, the app uses Apple's App Attest. Our server then receives a key identifier created on your device, the random RevenueCat ID described below, a random installation ID, and which chapter or file was asked for. None of these is linked to your name, email or Apple ID. We use them only to deliver what you have unlocked and to stop copying.

What stays on your phone

Your progress, saved chapters, downloads and settings are stored on your device, and are included in your iPhone backup. Home screen widgets and Siri read them on your phone. We never receive them.

Syncing progress through your own iCloud account is built but switched off. If we turn it on, your progress will be saved in your iCloud so it follows you to your other devices. We cannot read your iCloud data, and we will update this page first.

Notifications (such as a daily chapter reminder or a note before a free trial ends) are scheduled on your phone. We run no push server.

What we never collect

Your name, email, contacts, photos, location (beyond the rough estimate above), microphone or camera. No advertising ID, no tracking prompt, no session recordings, no ads.

Links and sharing

Chapters link to their sources, such as Wikipedia or archive.org. When you open one, that site's own privacy policy applies. When you share a chapter, the app you share to handles it.

Test versions (TestFlight)

If you test Previously through Apple's TestFlight, Apple shares with us the name and email address you were invited with, and any feedback or crash reports you send through TestFlight.

Test versions also have a Send feedback button. When you use it, the app sends what you chose to send to PostHog: the topic you picked, your note, the chapter and sentence it is about, the screen you were on and, unless you turn it off, a screenshot of that screen, with the app version, iOS version and device model. Because you choose to send it, it is sent even when “Share anonymous usage data” is off. We use it only to fix the app and its chapters. App Store versions have no feedback button.

This website and the waitlist

This site is hosted by Vercel, which logs visits with IP addresses. The site sets no cookies. It uses PostHog to count which pages are visited, which link brought you here and which buttons are tapped, with no cookies, names or emails, so we can see which outreach reaches people. We also use Vercel Web Analytics, which counts page views without cookies. If you email us for a beta invite, we keep your email address to send the invite and to tell you when the app launches. Ask us and we will delete it.

Emails to us

If you email us, we see your email address and what you write. We use it only to answer you or fix the error you reported.

Why we are allowed to use it (legal bases)

Who processes data for us

They may only use the data to provide their service to us.

International transfers

Most of our providers are in the United States. So your data may be processed outside your country. Where the law requires it, we rely on safeguards such as the EU Standard Contractual Clauses or the EU-US Data Privacy Framework.

How long we keep it

Usage events, crash reports, survey answers, beta feedback and purchase records are kept only as long as we need them to run and improve the app, within our providers' retention limits. Data on your phone stays until you delete the app. Beta and waitlist emails are kept until launch or until you ask us to delete them.

Your rights

Depending on where you live, you can ask to see, correct, delete or export your data, to object to or limit how we use it, and to withdraw consent. Email support@getpreviously.app. We will answer within one month.

Because the app data is anonymous, we may not be able to tell which records are yours. Deleting the app removes everything on your phone, including downloads, and resets the random ID. For purchase records, the Order ID in Apple's receipt email helps us find them.

You can also complain to a data protection authority, such as the one in your country.

California and other regions

California residents: we do not sell or share personal information as defined by the CCPA, and we do not use it for targeted advertising. Wherever you live, you can use the rights above.

Children

Previously is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect data from them. Its chapters describe war, and some describe violence and genocide. If you think a child has sent us data, email us and we will delete it.

Changes

If we change what the app collects, we will update this page and its date first. For significant changes, we will also tell you in the app.

Contact

Tomer Abramovich. Email: support@getpreviously.app.