Legal
Privacy Policy
Last updated: July 7, 2026
This Privacy Policy explains what data Columnam ("we", "us") collects through the iOS app and this website (together, the "Service"), why we collect it, and how you can control it.
1. What we collect
| Category | Examples | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Account info | Email address, chosen username, authentication method (email/password, Google, Apple) | You, directly |
| Quiz & profile answers | Your stated goal, self-assessment, and the derived focus/relationship scores used to personalize the app | You, via the onboarding quiz |
| Usage & session data | Deep focus session length, break count, schedule/classes you set up, completion timestamps, and background app activity during a session — including how many times you unlock your phone or leave the app open (phone pickups) | Automatically, as you use the app |
| Community content | A profile photo, if you choose to add one; the one-line summary of your day and the quality rating you choose to share; which posts you react to; and reports or blocks you file | You, directly — nothing here is shared unless you turn sharing on |
| Payment status | Whether your membership is active, your Stripe customer/subscription ID | Stripe, via webhook — we never receive your card number |
| Device & technical data | Basic device/browser info needed to operate the Service | Automatically |
On phone pickups specifically: this is background activity data — how often you check your phone while a focus session is running — not the content of what you view. It's the same category of information Apple's own Screen Time already measures on your device if you have it turned on; we simply measure it ourselves, in the context of your session, so the app can show you the connection between pickups and how long your focus actually held.
On community content specifically: your session history and quiz answers are never shown to anyone else. The only things other members can see are the ones you deliberately post — a profile photo, and a day you chose to share. Adding a photo is optional; without one, other members see the first letter of your username. A photo you upload is stored at a public web address so it can load next to your name wherever you post, which means anyone who has that address can view the image — treat it as public rather than private. Removing it in Account clears it from the app immediately and takes the address out of use. Profile photos and shared days can be reported by other members, and content reported by three separate people is removed automatically.
2. How we use it
- To create and secure your account, and let you sign in.
- To run the core product: build your schedule, run focus sessions, and show you your own history.
- To personalize guidance based on your measured session history, as described in-app.
- To show the things you choose to post — your photo and any day you share — to other members, and to run the reporting and blocking tools that keep that space usable.
- To process membership payments and know whether your account is entitled to paid features.
- To maintain, secure, and improve the Service, and to fix bugs.
We do not sell your personal data, and we do not use your quiz answers or session history for advertising.
3. Who we share it with
We share data only with the service providers that make Columnam work, each bound to use it solely to provide their service to us:
- Supabase — hosts our database and handles authentication.
- Stripe — processes membership payments on the web.
- Google / Apple — if you choose to sign in with those providers, they authenticate you; we only receive your basic profile info (name, email) from them.
- Vercel (or our hosting provider) — hosts this website.
We may also disclose data if required by law, or to protect the rights, safety, or property of Columnam, our users, or the public.
4. Data retention
We keep your data for as long as your account is active, so the app can keep working the way it's described above. If you delete your account, we delete your profile, quiz answers, and session history from our database. Some records may persist briefly in backups or with our payment processor as required for accounting, fraud prevention, or legal compliance.
We don't keep personal information longer than reasonably necessary for the purpose it was collected. We determine how long to keep each category by these criteria:
| Category | Kept for |
|---|---|
| Account info | The life of your account; deleted on account deletion. |
| Quiz & profile answers | The life of your account; deleted on account deletion. |
| Usage & session data | The life of your account; deleted on account deletion. |
| Community content | Until you remove it or delete your account. Deleting your account removes your profile photo and your shared days. Records of reports you filed are kept so a removal decision can be reviewed. |
| Payment status & Stripe IDs | As long as needed for billing and as required by tax, accounting, and fraud-prevention law (typically several years), even after account deletion. |
| Backups | Rotated on a rolling basis; deleted data ages out within our normal backup cycle. |
5. Automated processing
Columnam personalizes your experience automatically. It scores your quiz answers on internal focus and relationship measures, and it adjusts the guidance, session lengths, and prompts you see based on your own measured session history — this is the core of how the app works, and it's described to you in the app itself.
This processing personalizes a productivity tool. It does not make legal, financial, employment, credit, housing, or similar decisions about you, and it produces no consequence outside the app. A human is not required to review it because nothing it decides affects your rights or access to anything beyond how the app coaches you. You can stop this processing at any time by deleting your account.
6. Your rights
- Delete your account at any time from Account settings in the app — this removes your data as described above.
- Access or correct your account info directly in the app (e.g., your username, classes, goals).
- Request a copy or deletion of your data by emailing us (below), if you need something the app doesn't yet expose directly.
7. Children's privacy
Columnam is not directed at children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect data from them. If you believe a child under 13 has created an account, contact us and we'll delete it.
8. Security
We use industry-standard measures (encrypted connections, access controls, row-level security on our database) to protect your data. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we can't guarantee absolute security.
9. California privacy rights (CCPA/CPRA)
If you're a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the CPRA, gives you the following rights over the personal information described in Section 1:
- Right to know — what personal information we've collected, used, and disclosed about you, and why.
- Right to delete — request deletion of your personal information, subject to certain legal exceptions.
- Right to correct — request correction of inaccurate personal information we hold about you.
- Right to opt out of sale/sharing — not applicable here: we do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising.
- Right to limit use of sensitive personal information — not applicable: we don't collect sensitive personal information beyond standard account credentials.
- Right to non-discrimination — we won't deny you the Service, charge you a different price, or provide a different level of quality for exercising any of these rights.
- Rights regarding automated processing — you can ask about the automated personalization described in Section 5. As noted there, it does not make decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects.
In the twelve months before this policy's "Last updated" date, we collected the categories of personal information listed in Section 1 (identifiers, account and quiz/profile information, internet/app activity, and payment status), from the sources and for the purposes described in Sections 1–2. We have not sold or shared any personal information for monetary or other valuable consideration.
To exercise any of these rights, email info@columnam.com from the address on your account. We may need to verify your identity before completing your request. You may also designate an authorized agent to submit a request on your behalf.
10. Geographic scope
The Service is intended for use within the United States, and this Privacy Policy is written for U.S. law. We do not knowingly direct the Service at, or process personal data under, the laws of the European Union, the UK, or other jurisdictions with their own data protection regimes (e.g., GDPR). If you access the Service from outside the United States, you do so on your own initiative and are responsible for compliance with local law; our service providers may still process data wherever they operate.
11. Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we'll post the update here with a new "Last updated" date.
12. Contact
Questions, or want to exercise your rights above? Email us at info@columnam.com.