guidEase
Last Updated: July 15, 2026
guidEase was built by and for autistic, ADHD, and AuDHD people. We know that trust, especially around something as personal as a journal, isn't given automatically, and shouldn't be. This policy is written to be actually readable, not just legally defensible. If something isn't clear, please reach out.
guidEase is operated by guidEase, Inc., a Delaware corporation ("guidEase," "we," "us," or "our"). You can reach us at hello@guidease.app.
guidEase provides general wellness and self-reflection tools. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any mental health condition and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding your mental health.
If you use Face ID or Touch ID to access guidEase, that authentication is handled entirely by your device's operating system. Your biometric data never leaves your device and is never transmitted to us.
We know some users would prefer a fully local, offline-only app. Here's why guidEase uses cloud storage and why we think it's the right call for our users:
Your entries sync to our encrypted database so you can access them across devices, recover them if your phone is lost or replaced, and never lose data to a local storage failure. For users who rely on their journal for pattern recognition and self-understanding over time, losing that history would be a significant harm. We made a deliberate choice to protect against that, with encryption, not local-only storage.
If this tradeoff doesn't feel right for you, you can export all your data at any time and delete your account.
We run a scholarship program that funds Premium access for autistic, ADHD, and AuDHD adults who apply at guidease.app/scholarship. This section describes how we handle the data you provide when applying. Scholarship application data is kept entirely separate from your guidEase app account. Applying does not create an app account, and using the app does not enroll you in the scholarship program.
We do not ask for diagnosis information, medical records, financial information, or any data about your situation beyond what you choose to write in the optional message.
Your application is used only to administer the scholarship program: to notify you if you are selected in a drawing, to grant you Premium access if you accept, and to honor any deletion request you make. It is not used for marketing, analytics, AI training, or any other purpose. It is never linked to your guidEase app data even if you become a guidEase user.
Scholarship application data is stored in Airtable, our backend for scholarship intake and partnership tracking. See Airtable in the Third-party data processors section below.
Scholarship applications are read only by guidEase to administer the program. Applications are not shared with donors. Donors do not pick recipients. Selections are made by random drawing among applicants when funded slots are available. If you are selected, you are not named publicly. Only the donor appears on the Guides page or in-app credits, and only if they chose to be acknowledged.
The one exception to this is the optional message field on the application form. If you choose to write a message there, and you are selected for a scholarship, we may display the message text publicly on the Guides page in our "Voices" section. We do not display your contact information alongside the message. The default attribution shown next to a published message is "A guidEase user." If you would like a different attribution displayed with your message (your name, initials, or a chosen name), you can tell us in your reply to the selection email. If you leave the message field blank, nothing about you is ever displayed publicly.
Scholarship applications are retained for up to 12 months from the date you applied. Before the 12-month mark, we send one email asking whether you would like to renew your application for another 12 months. If you choose to renew, your application stays in the pool for another year. If you choose not to renew, or do not reply, the application is deleted at the end of that month.
If your application is selected and you are granted Premium access, the application is retained for the duration of the grant plus 6 months after the grant ends, for support and audit purposes. After that, it is deleted.
You can withdraw your application and request immediate deletion at any time. Email hello@guidease.app with "Delete my scholarship application" in the subject line. We honor deletion requests within 30 days. This includes requesting permanent removal from Airtable's backups via Airtable's data subject request process (privacy@airtable.com).
By applying to a program reserved for autistic, ADHD, and AuDHD individuals, you may be revealing information about disability, which is a special category of personal data under GDPR Article 9. We process this data only on the basis of your explicit consent, given via the consent checkbox on the application form. You may withdraw this consent at any time using the deletion path above. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal.
We offer guidEase partnership tiers to organizations through our corporate page. When you reach out about a partnership, we collect information to follow up. Partnership inquiry data is kept entirely separate from your guidEase app data.
This data is used only to respond to your inquiry, coordinate any partnership that results, and follow up on partnership terms. It is not used for marketing, analytics, or any other purpose.
Partnership inquiry data is stored in Airtable in our Team-Org Partnerships table. See Airtable in the Third-party data processors section.
Partnership inquiries are read by guidEase to coordinate the partnership. We do not share inquiry data with third parties.
If a partnership is established, the contact information is retained for the duration of the partnership plus 6 months after it ends, for support and audit purposes. If no partnership is established within 12 months of the initial inquiry, the data is deleted. Active partnership inquiries are retained while the conversation is ongoing.
If you would like your partnership inquiry data removed, email hello@guidease.app and we will honor your request within 30 days.
We acknowledge Guides who fund scholarship access for autistic, ADHD, and AuDHD people, primarily through Artizen patron tier purchases (other funding paths may also apply). (See "What's a Guide?" at guidease.app/guides.) Recognition is opt-in. The default is no public recognition; we display your information publicly only if you affirmatively choose to be acknowledged.
When you fund a scholarship tier through Artizen, we ask whether you would like to be publicly credited and how you would like to be named. You can choose to be listed with your real name, a chosen name, your initials, or "Anonymous." You can also choose not to be listed at all.
You can withdraw your consent to public recognition at any time by emailing hello@guidease.app. We will remove your name from any public recognition surface within 30 days.
We do not use your journal content to train AI models. We do not sell your data to third parties. We do not serve ads.
All journal entries, mood data, memories, and AI insights are encrypted before being stored in our database using AES-256-CBC with HMAC-SHA256 integrity verification, the same encryption standard used in financial and healthcare applications. Each entry uses a unique initialization vector (IV), so no two entries look alike in storage even if the content were identical.
Your data is encrypted and protected. However, guidEase does not use a "zero-knowledge" or "end-to-end" architecture. This means that in a situation where our encryption key were compromised alongside our database, your data could theoretically be decrypted. We want to be honest about this rather than use language that overstates our protections.
While we use commercially reasonable safeguards to protect your data, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
What we can tell you with confidence:
All communication between the app and our servers uses TLS 1.2 or higher.
We use the following third-party services to operate guidEase. Each has its own privacy policy. We only send the minimum information needed for each feature to work. Different features use different providers, and your journal content is never shared more broadly than necessary.
What we send: Decrypted journal entry text when you request AI analysis or use voice transcription.
Why: To generate the AI-powered insights that are core to guidEase's functionality.
Their commitment: OpenAI does not use data submitted via their API to train their models.
Their policy: openai.com/policies/privacy-policy
When you tap "Analyze," your entry is decrypted on your device and sent to OpenAI. We send only the content needed for analysis. We do not send your username, account ID, email address, or any other identifying information alongside your entries. OpenAI has no way to associate the text they receive with your guidEase account.
What we send: When you tap read-aloud on an entry, the text being read is sent to ElevenLabs to generate voice audio. Only the passage you chose to hear is sent, with no username, account ID, email, or other identifying information.
Training: We have opted out of ElevenLabs using text submitted through our account to train their models.
Why: ElevenLabs provides the voices for read-aloud. If synthesis is unavailable, the app falls back to your device's built-in voice.
Their policy: elevenlabs.io/privacy-policy
What we send: Encrypted journal data, account information, push notification tokens, and support tickets.
Why: Supabase is our database and authentication provider.
Their policy: supabase.com/privacy
What we send: Pseudonymous usage events (e.g., "entry created," "AI analysis viewed," "entry revisited"). We use pseudonymous IDs to see how the app is used. Never your name, email, or anything that identifies you. Events may include a property indicating your account type (PIN-only or email) to help us understand how different users interact with the app. No journal content, entry text, or personally identifiable information is ever sent to Mixpanel.
Why: To understand how the app is being used so we can improve it for neurodivergent users.
Their policy: mixpanel.com/legal/privacy-policy
What we send: Crash reports, stack traces, device information, and anonymized interaction breadcrumbs. No journal content or entry text is ever sent to Sentry.
Why: To identify and fix bugs quickly. Sentry is disabled during development. It only runs in production builds.
Their policy: sentry.io/privacy
What we send: Purchase information for Premium subscriptions through Apple's In-App Purchase system.
Why: App distribution and in-app purchases are handled through their platform.
Their policy: apple.com/legal/privacy
What we send: Subscription and purchase records (which product you bought, subscription status, renewal or expiration dates) and a pseudonymous app-user identifier so your subscription can be matched to your account. We do not send journal content, mood data, or any encrypted-at-rest content to RevenueCat.
Why: RevenueCat manages subscription state and validates App Store receipts so we can confirm your Premium access. Payment itself is handled by Apple; neither RevenueCat nor guidEase ever sees your payment card details.
Their policy: revenuecat.com/privacy
What we send: Your device's Expo push notification token (a unique identifier for your app install) and the content of any transactional push notifications we deliver (e.g., journal reminders, insight-ready alerts).
Why: Expo's push notification service delivers notifications to your device. We use Expo as our notification infrastructure so we don't need to manage Apple's APNS or Google's FCM directly.
Their policy: expo.dev/privacy
What we send: Scholarship application data (the email or username you choose, optional self-description, consent confirmations) and partnership intake data (organization name, contact name, contact email for organizations exploring a guidEase partnership).
Why: Airtable is our backend system for managing scholarship applications, scholarship drawings, and corporate partnership intake. Scholarship application data and partnership data are kept entirely separate from your guidEase app data.
Their commitment: Airtable does not use customer data for AI training. Deleted records are removed from active databases immediately. Encrypted copies may persist in Airtable's backups for a limited period; to request permanent removal from backups, contact privacy@airtable.com.
Cookies: The Airtable scholarship application form is embedded as an iframe on guidease.app/scholarship. When you interact with the embedded form, Airtable may set its own cookies in your browser. See Airtable's cookie policy for details.
Their policy: airtable.com/company/privacy
What we receive from Artizen: When patrons support guidEase through the Artizen crowdfunding campaign, Artizen shares with us the patron's Artizen handle (their display name on Artizen), the patron's email address (provided to us when the patron purchases an Artifact or boosts the project), and transaction information (number of Artifacts collected, supporter tier, dollar amount of sale). We do not receive payment card information or home addresses. Payment processing is handled by Artizen and their payment processors; we never see patron payment details.
What we send to Artizen: We do not send guidEase app user data to Artizen.
Why: Artizen is the crowdfunding platform hosting the guidEase patron program. They share patron contact details with us so we can fulfill patron rewards (including Premium access grants funded through scholarship tier purchases) and acknowledge Guides who have opted in to public recognition.
Legal basis: The information patrons provide to Artizen and that Artizen shares with us is processed on the basis of the patron's consent to the Artizen platform and the contractual relationship between the patron, Artizen, and the project they choose to support.
More information: For details on how Artizen handles patron data, contact Artizen through their platform. For questions about how guidEase uses the patron information Artizen shares with us, contact hello@guidease.app.
What we send: Your email address for two purposes: (1) to deliver one-time password (OTP) authentication codes during email-based login and account creation, and (2) to send transactional and marketing emails to users who have opted in.
Why: Authentication and, where you've consented, product updates and announcements. We do not share journal content with Resend.
Their policy: resend.com/legal/privacy-policy
What we send: Your email address, only if you explicitly opted in to marketing emails.
Why: Kit was used to manage our early beta waitlist and tester communications. We may phase this out in favor of Resend as our primary email platform. If you were added to Kit as part of beta signup, you can unsubscribe at any time from any email we send.
Their policy: kit.com/privacy
guidease.app does not set first-party cookies. We do not use Google Analytics, advertising pixels, retargeting tools, session replay scripts, or any other tracking technology on our website. We do not need to know who visits our website or what pages they read.
Some pages embed third-party services that may set their own cookies in your browser when you interact with them:
If your browser sends a Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal, we honor it across our website. We treat the GPC signal as an explicit "do not track and do not share" request.
The guidEase mobile app does not use cookies. Cookies are a browser technology and do not apply to native apps. App data practices are described in §2 above.
We keep your data for as long as your account is active. When you delete your account:
This action is permanent and cannot be undone.
You can request account deletion from within the app under Settings → Account → Delete Account.
A note on database backups: guidEase uses Supabase Pro, which maintains automated point-in-time recovery backups with a 7-day retention window. When you delete your account, your data is removed from our active database immediately. Encrypted copies may persist in automated backups for up to 7 days before being permanently overwritten. We cannot restore deleted data from these backups. They exist solely for infrastructure disaster recovery, not user data recovery.
Support ticket records may be retained for up to 12 months for legal and operational reasons, even after account deletion.
Regardless of where you live, you have the right to:
You additionally have the right to access a copy of your personal data, restrict or object to certain types of processing, data portability, and to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority.
Our legal basis for processing your data is contract (providing the service you signed up for) and legitimate interests (improving the app through pseudonymous analytics).
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at hello@guidease.app.
Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights under state privacy laws, including the right to request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal information. We honor these rights for all users regardless of location. To make a request, contact hello@guidease.app.
guidEase is intended for individuals who are at least 13 years old. We do not knowingly collect, use, or store personal information from children under the age of 13.
If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child under 13, we will delete that information as soon as reasonably possible. If you believe that a child under 13 has provided personal information through the app, please contact us at hello@guidease.app.
If you are between 13 and 17, you may use guidEase only with the involvement and consent of a parent or legal guardian. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy with them.
If you are using guidEase through TestFlight as a beta tester, the same privacy practices described in this policy apply to your data. Beta versions may be less stable, but we treat beta users' data with the same care and protections as public users.
If guidEase, Inc. is ever acquired, merges with another company, or transfers its assets, your personal data may be part of that transition. If this happens, we will notify you via in-app notice (and by email if you have one on file) before your data is transferred to any new entity. The new entity would be required to honor the privacy commitments in this policy or give you the opportunity to delete your account first.
guidEase, Inc. is based in the United States. Most of our service providers are also based in the United States. This means that personal data we process about you may be transferred to and processed in the United States, regardless of where you live.
Where data is transferred from the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland to the United States, we rely on appropriate safeguards including Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission, Data Processing Agreements with our service providers, and other transfer mechanisms as they apply to each provider. The specific legal basis varies by processor and by the nature of the data shared.
The list of our current service providers is in §5 above, with links to each provider's privacy documentation where available. If you would like more information about the specific legal basis we rely on for a transfer involving your data, or a copy of our processor data protection documentation, contact hello@guidease.app.
For scholarship application data, processing is based on your explicit consent given via the application consent checkbox, as described in §2b.
In the event of a data breach that affects your personal information, we will notify affected users promptly (within 72 hours of becoming aware of the incident where technically feasible) and will describe what happened, what data was involved, and what steps we are taking.
When we make significant changes to this policy, we'll notify you in the app and update the "Last Updated" date above. Your continued use of guidEase after changes are posted means you accept the updated policy.
We'll never make changes that substantially reduce your rights without giving you a chance to review them and, if needed, delete your account before the changes take effect.
All privacy questions and requests: hello@guidease.app
Website: guidease.app
We're a solo-founded company. We read every message and respond as quickly as we can.
guidEase is not a medical device and is not a substitute for professional mental health care. See our Terms of Service for the full disclaimer.