Privacy Policy
Last updated: 17 October 2026. Publisher: BnC Studios LLC. Contact: teatime@bnc.rocks.
This policy covers the Teatime app on iPhone, iPad and Android, and this website.
The short version
- No account, no ads, no advertising or cross-app tracking, no third-party analytics companies.
- What you type or say in the check-in stays on your device. So do your favourites, progress and settings (and your phone's own backup may copy them).
- What leaves your device: downloads of narration voices and the helper model from our storage, and, while "Share usage data" is on, crash reports and usage events sent to our own server. The switch is on by default. Purchases are handled by Apple and Google.
- Usage data does not include your name, email, precise location, or anything you type or say. It does include the country it was sent from, and it is linked by a random id created for this install, so it is pseudonymous, not anonymous. It is not an advertising id, and we never link it to your name or store account.
What stays on your device
- Favourites, "mindful days", total minutes and settings. Your phone's own backup (iCloud or Google) may include them. The usage events described below are separate.
- Your exact reminder time. Reminders are local notifications scheduled by your phone. We run no server that sends them. Usage data records the hour you chose, not the minute.
- Anything you type or say in the "How are you feeling?" check-in, and your answers to its quick questions about mood, sleep and energy. They are turned into a short note and session suggestions on your device, using the smart notes helper (a small AI model that runs on your phone), Apple Intelligence on supported iPhones and iPads, or a simple matcher inside the app. What you type or say is not sent to us, and the original input is not kept. The only exception is a note you choose to report (see "Report this note" below). The latest note, the buttons you chose and the suggested sessions stay on your phone until they are replaced or the app is removed. Only today's note is shown.
- If your words suggest you may be in crisis, the app shows crisis support information, such as 988 in the United States. This check happens on your device, and nothing about it is sent.
Downloads
Narration voices and the optional helper model download from our storage at models.bnc.rocks, served through Cloudflare. These downloads happen whether or not usage sharing is on.
Voices: the first course in the default voice, Brittney, is built into the app. The rest of Brittney's sessions for the packs you have download on their own while the app is open, and so does any other voice you choose. Downloads pause when the app goes to the background. They wait for Wi-Fi by default; you can change this on the Voice screen ("Download on Wi-Fi only"). If a recording is not on your phone yet, your phone's own speech voice reads the session, on the device.
The helper model: the smart notes helper is LFM2.5 by Liquid AI (about 730 MB). It writes the daily note and runs entirely on your phone. Where the app offers it, on phones with enough memory (about 4 GB or more), it downloads quietly when there is enough free space. It waits for Wi-Fi by default (Settings, under "Smart notes helper", has its own "Download on Wi-Fi only" switch), and it waits while the battery is low or a battery saver is on. On iPhone and iPad, a helper download that started on Wi-Fi may finish over mobile data if Wi-Fi drops. The app also checks a small list of model versions about once a day (sooner after a failed check). On iPhones and iPads with Apple Intelligence, you can choose “Use Apple Intelligence instead” in Settings; the helper stays downloaded unless you remove it. You can remove it in Settings, which also stops future downloads.
Like any download, each request shows your IP address and which file is fetched, so it can show which packs and voices are on your device. Cloudflare handles these requests for us as our provider. We do not use download requests to identify you, and we do not link them to usage data.
Microphone and speech recognition
These permissions are asked for only when you tap the microphone button in the check-in. Typing always works without them. We only offer the microphone where your phone reports that it can recognise speech on the device, and we ask it to do so on the device. Speech recognition is provided by Apple or Google as part of your phone's system, under their own terms and settings. We never receive or keep recordings.
Notifications
Asked for when you turn on a daily reminder. You can turn it off in the app or in your system settings.
Purchases
Paid packs are one-time purchases made through the Apple App Store or Google Play. Apple and Google handle payment. We never receive your card or payment details, receipts, or the price you paid. The app confirms and restores purchases by asking the store on your device. Apple Family Sharing (iOS) is handled by Apple. On Android, packs belong to the Google account that bought them.
While usage sharing is on, usage data can still show that a pack is unlocked on this install: for example, when you play one of its sessions. It also notes when the Packs screen opens and which pack it shows, whether purchases run through the store or in test mode, and short technical error codes if the app cannot reach the store.
Crash reports and usage data
To fix bugs and see which features are used, the app sends crash and error reports and usage events to a server run by us. No third-party analytics company is involved. The server software is Sentry-compatible and self-hosted. This happens only while the "Share usage data" switch in Settings is on. The switch is on by default.
What is sent:
- Crash and error reports: the error and where in the app it happened, device details such as the model, system version, memory, free storage, battery level and time zone, and a short trail of recent technical events, such as the web addresses the app contacted (for example, which voice file was downloading). Never screenshots, taps, on-screen text or console text.
- Sampled performance timings (about one in five) and app health: app starts, and whether a visit ended in a crash.
- Screen names (such as "Settings"), and when the app opens or goes to the background.
- Listening events for free and paid sessions: session started (and whether it resumed); progress at a quarter, half and three quarters; stopped, with the position, how far through, and the reason; and completed, with the minutes. Each carries the session and pack ids, the voice, the session length and a random id for that play.
- Your answer to the optional "Did this session help?", with the same ids.
- Onboarding finished or skipped.
- Reminder turned on (the hour, not the minute) or off.
- Timer and breathing finished (the length and breathing pattern), and soundscape started (which sound and the sleep timer length).
- How the check-in answered: typed or spoken, how many suggestions, which on-device method, and short error codes.
- The Packs screen opened, where it was opened from, and which pack it showed.
Each event also carries the time, a random id for the event, an id for the current visit to the app, the app version, build and update, the release channel, the platform and system version, the language, whether this is a test build, whether purchases run through the store or in test mode, and the analytics library's version. Our server also records the country the request came from, as worked out by Cloudflare. It does not store your IP address.
The install id: a random id created by the app for this install. It is sent with every event and crash report, so we can count devices and link one install's events together. It is not your advertising id. We never link it to your name or store account. Deleting the app removes it from your device; records we already received stay on our server until they are deleted (see "Storage and retention").
What is not sent: anything you type or say in the check-in (except a note you choose to report); your name, email, contacts or precise location; your advertising id; purchase receipts, payment details or prices. Nothing about crisis support either: when a support card is shown, no check-in data is sent at all.
Report this note: sent only if usage sharing is on and you confirm. It sends the note the app wrote (up to 200 characters), which method wrote it, and the usual details above. The note was written from what you shared, so it may contain personal details. Only report a note you are comfortable sending.
Your choice: Settings, under Privacy, has the "Share usage data" switch. Turning it off stops new crash reports and usage events straight away and clears usage events still waiting to be sent. A crash report that is already being sent may still arrive.
Storage and retention
Our server and its database run on Fly.io in the United States. Requests reach it through Cloudflare, and some stored files and recovery copies are kept in Cloudflare's storage. Fly.io and Cloudflare act as our service providers. If you live outside the United States, your data is processed there.
Usage events and crash reports are deleted 90 days after they are recorded (our server checks daily). Summary counts are deleted on the same schedule. Two small records last longer: one per random device id (when it was first and last seen, the app version, platform, system version and language), kept until that device has been inactive for 90 days; and one per recurring crash type, kept until that crash has not happened for 90 days. Recovery copies of the database are kept for up to 30 days more.
Where the law asks for a legal basis, we rely on our legitimate interest in keeping the app working and improving it. You can object at any time by turning off the switch.
What we do not do
We do not sell data, show ads, build advertising or marketing profiles, use advertising identifiers, track you across other apps or sites, or send data to third-party analytics or advertising companies. If this changes, we will update this policy and the store privacy information before releasing it.
Children
Teatime is made for adults. It is not directed at children under 13, or under the minimum age in your country. We do not knowingly collect children's data. If you think a child has used Teatime and sent us data, email teatime@bnc.rocks. We will stop further collection where we can and delete what we can identify.
Your choices and rights
You can turn usage sharing off in Settings at any time. That stops further collection.
We hold no account or contact details with the install id, and the app does not show it, so we usually cannot tell which records are yours, unless you tell us something that identifies them (such as the text of a note you reported). Records expire as described under "Storage and retention".
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct or delete your data, to restrict or object to its use, or to receive a copy. Email teatime@bnc.rocks with any privacy question or request, and we will do what we can with the information you give us. In the EU or UK you can also complain to your data protection authority. If you email us, we receive your address and message and keep them only as long as needed to answer.
This website: our hosting provider, Fly.io, processes your IP address to serve the pages. There are no cookies, no analytics and no trackers here.
Wellbeing notice
This app is for relaxation and general wellbeing. It is not a medical device and does not give medical advice. The narration voices are computer-generated (AI) and pre-recorded. Nothing you say or type is used to make them. If you are in crisis, contact local emergency services or a crisis line. In the US, call or text 988.
Changes
If this policy changes in a way that matters, the app's release notes will say so. The new date appears at the top.