This policy explains what Golden Thread does with your information and what it does not do.

1. Overview

Golden Thread is a private life-timeline app for memories, milestones, people, pets, and places. Your archive is stored on your device by default. If you turn on iCloud sync, it syncs through your Apple iCloud account. We do not run ads, sell your data, or train AI on your memories.

2. No Account Required

Golden Thread does not ask you to create an account. There is no Golden Thread username or password.

The app does not ask for or build:

• Your name, email address, or phone number
• Your contacts, location, or address book
• Biometric data. Face ID and Touch ID are handled by iOS; Golden Thread only gets a yes/no result.
• Profiles built from your usage for advertising

3. Your Memories Stay on Your Device

Memories you create, including notes, photos, dates, tags, people, pets, places, and optional locations (latitude and longitude), are stored locally on your device using Apple’s SwiftData framework. We do not have a server copy of your archive.

Photos you attach to a memory are copied into Golden Thread’s storage so the memory still has its photo if the original changes later.

Locations on memories are entirely user-driven: you can search a place, drop a pin, or accept a suggested place name. Reverse geocoding (turning a coordinate into a place name) and the small map images shown in the app and in Year in Review PDFs are produced by Apple’s MapKit services. Those calls go to Apple, not to us. Golden Thread does not access your device’s current location and does not run any location-tracking background process.

4. Optional iCloud Sync

iCloud sync is an optional Plus feature, off by default. When you have purchased Plus and turned it on, your archive syncs through your private iCloud database (CloudKit) so it can appear on your other devices signed in to the same Apple ID.

• Your data goes to your iCloud, not to our servers.
• We do not have access to the contents of your iCloud database.
• You can turn sync off at any time. Disabling sync does not delete your local archive.
• For details on how Apple handles iCloud data, see Apple’s privacy policy.

5. Private Memories & Biometrics

You can mark a memory as private. Private memories stay hidden until you unlock them with Face ID, Touch ID, or your device passcode. iOS handles the authentication; Golden Thread only receives a success or failure result.

6. Notifications

If you allow notifications, Golden Thread can remind you about anniversaries and upcoming dates. These reminders are scheduled locally on your device. We do not run a push-notification server and we do not see when reminders fire.

7. Spotlight & iOS System Search

Memories that are not marked private may be added to iOS Spotlight so you can find them from system search. Private memories are excluded. Spotlight is handled by iOS on your device.

8. Export & Import

You can export your archive as a single .gtarchive file. The file is created on your device and saved wherever you choose, such as Files, AirDrop, or email. We never see exported archives.

9. App Analytics & Third-Party Services

Golden Thread uses the following third-party services to keep the app reliable and to manage Plus access:

• Firebase (Google) — anonymized app analytics and crash reporting
• RevenueCat — purchase status and Plus entitlement management
• Anonymized or aggregated data from the Apple App Store and TestFlight

The data shared with these services may include app version, device type, OS version, broad usage events, purchase status, crash reports, and performance information. It never contains the content of your memories, photos, notes, tags, people, pets, places, locations, private memories, or exported archives.

We do not include advertising SDKs, sell analytics data, or use analytics to build ad profiles.

10. AI & Machine Learning

Golden Thread does not include AI features. Your memories, photos, notes, tags, people, pets, and places are not sent to an AI service, used to train a model, or used to generate suggestions.

11. Children’s Privacy

Golden Thread is rated 4+ and does not require an account. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has sent personal information to us through support, please contact us.

12. Data You Send to Support

If you email us for support or feedback, we receive your email address and the contents of your message. We use that information to respond. We do not add your address to a marketing list.

Support email: [email protected]

13. Deleting Your Data

• Delete the Golden Thread app from your device to remove its local archive.
• If iCloud sync was enabled, you can additionally remove Golden Thread data in iOS Settings → your name → iCloud → Manage Account Storage.
• If you previously exported a .gtarchive file, delete those exported files from wherever you saved them.

Because there are no Golden Thread accounts, there is no server-side account for us to delete.

14. Security

Local data is protected by your device’s encryption and your device passcode or biometrics. iCloud sync uses Apple’s encrypted CloudKit infrastructure.

15. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy as Golden Thread changes. When we make material changes, we will update the “last updated” date below.

16. Contact

Questions about this policy or about how Golden Thread handles your information?

Email: [email protected]

Last updated: May 7, 2026