Birthday Buddy Privacy Policy
Effective date: 2026-04-17
Birthday Buddy ("we", "us", "the app") is a personal birthday and gift-tracking app for iOS. This Privacy Policy explains what we collect, why, who we share it with, and your rights. If you have questions, email [email protected].
In plain language
- We collect your account info and the birthdays, notes, and gift history you save.
- Contacts permission is used only to import birthdays. We don't share contacts with anyone.
- When you use AI features, we send limited context to our AI processing partners so they can generate a message or gift idea. They are contractually prohibited from using your content to train their models.
- Users on the free plan see ads. You can opt out of personalized ads via iOS App Tracking Transparency, and out of "sale or sharing" via Settings.
- You can delete your account at any time in Settings. We delete your data from our servers immediately.
1. Information we collect
Account information. Email address and optional display name. If you sign in with Apple or Google, we receive the provider's user identifier plus the name and email it returns to us (including Apple's private relay email).
Contacts you save in the app. For each contact: first and last name, birthday, optional photo, relationship label, your private notes, and any gift history you record. Contacts imported from your device are limited to name, birthday, and photo.
AI inputs. When you request a birthday message or a gift idea, we send relevant context (contact first name, relationship, age range, and any notes you provide) to our AI providers and store the result.
Subscription and purchase data. When you buy a subscription or a Premium Day pass, we receive the transaction identifier and entitlement status. We never receive your card details.
Diagnostics and product analytics. Crash reports, app version, device model, iOS version, locale, and anonymized usage events such as screen views and feature usage.
Advertising identifier (IDFA), only if you allow it. If you grant App Tracking Transparency on the free plan, your IDFA is shared with Google AdMob to serve more relevant ads. If you don't, you still see ads, just non-personalized.
2. How we use your information
To provide the service; sync your birthdays and gift history across your devices; generate AI messages and gift ideas you request; send local birthday reminder notifications; process purchases and manage entitlements; diagnose crashes and improve the app; and — for users on the free plan — serve advertising.
Under the GDPR, our legal bases are contract (account, sync, purchases), legitimate interest (minimal contacts processing and diagnostics), and your consent (advertising tracking via App Tracking Transparency).
3. Who we share information with
We do not sell your personal information. We share your information only with trusted service providers who act on our behalf to help us provide and improve the app. Each is bound by a strict data processing agreement. These categories of service providers include:
- Cloud hosting and database providers — to securely store your account data, contacts, and gift history, and to operate our backend infrastructure.
- Authentication services — to process secure sign-in requests (such as Sign in with Apple or Google).
- Payment and subscription processors — to manage App Store purchases, restore sessions, and handle premium entitlements.
- AI processing partners — to generate the birthday messages and gift suggestions you request. We strictly use enterprise or paid tiers that contractually prohibit the use of your content to train their models.
- Diagnostics and analytics platforms — to collect crash reports and anonymized usage data so we can monitor app health and improve our features.
- Advertising networks — to serve ads to users on the free plan (handled via Apple's App Tracking Transparency framework).
We may also disclose information if required by law, to protect our legal rights, or to investigate fraud or abuse.
4. Contacts: special notice
When you grant contacts permission, the app reads names, birthdays, and contact photos from your device and syncs them so you can see your birthdays across devices. Because contacts are personal information about people other than you, we minimize what we store: first name, last name, birthday, and photo only — not phone numbers or email addresses. We never share, email, or advertise to your contacts. If someone whose information is stored in your Birthday Buddy contacts wants it removed, email [email protected].
5. AI-generated content
The app uses third-party large language models to generate content on your request. AI outputs may be inaccurate, incomplete, or unsuitable — always review before sending. Do not submit highly sensitive information (health, financial, or government identifiers) through AI features.
6. Retention
We delete your account data from our servers immediately when you delete your account. Routine backups may retain residual copies for up to 30 days, after which they are overwritten. Crash reports are retained by our diagnostics provider for up to 90 days. Anonymized product analytics are retained by our analytics provider for up to 12 months. Subscription and billing records may be retained by our payment processors and by Apple as required by tax and audit rules.
7. Your rights
GDPR / UK / Swiss users. You have the right to access, correct, delete, and export your data; to object to processing based on legitimate interest; to withdraw consent; and to lodge a complaint with your supervisory authority.
US residents (CCPA/CPRA and equivalent state laws). You have the right to know, to access, to correct, to delete, and to opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. Use Settings > Privacy Choices > Do Not Sell or Share. We never discriminate against you for exercising your rights.
You can delete your account and all associated data at any time in Settings > Delete Account. For anything else, email [email protected].
8. Children
Birthday Buddy is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. In EU member states with a higher digital-consent age (typically 16), you must meet the local minimum age or have parental consent. If you believe your child has signed up, email [email protected] and we will delete the account.
9. International transfers
Our providers are located primarily in the United States. If you use the app from the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, your data will be transferred to the United States under the EU Standard Contractual Clauses and the UK International Data Transfer Addendum.
10. Changes
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the effective date above. If the changes are significant, we will notify you in the app before they take effect.