Privacy policy
Last updated 25 October 2026
Ethos is a daily routine planner for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac, made by Patrick Sibale, an individual developer in the United Kingdom, trading as Undefiled Labs ("we", "us"). This policy explains what happens to information when you use Ethos. The short version: the planner lives on your own devices and, if you choose, in your own iCloud. We never receive it.
What Ethos stores, and where
Everything you put into Ethos (your routines, what you tick, the notes you write, your settings) is kept in one file on each of your devices, inside the app's own storage. It is never sent to us. Ethos has no account of its own, no sign-in, no analytics, no advertising and no tracking.
We cannot see your planner, and we cannot recover it for you. That is why Ethos saves a backup to your device once a week (see "Backups and exports" below).
When your devices talk to each other
- Apple Watch. The watch and your iPhone exchange the planner through Apple's WatchConnectivity, the system Apple provides for a watch app and its iPhone app. It travels only between your paired devices.
- iCloud, with Ethos Plus. If you have Ethos Plus and are signed in to iCloud, Ethos keeps a copy of your planner in the private part of your own iCloud (Apple's CloudKit private database), so your iPhone, iPad, Mac and watch can share it. Apple stores and processes that copy under Apple's own privacy policy and the iCloud terms you agreed with Apple. It counts against your iCloud storage. We have no access to it: we cannot read it, change it or delete it. You can remove it at any time from Settings, Sync, "Remove the iCloud copy", or from your Apple Account's iCloud settings. Without Ethos Plus, or without iCloud, nothing is kept in iCloud by Ethos.
Permissions Ethos asks for
Ethos asks for these only when you use the feature that needs them, and each one can be turned off in your device's Settings.
| Permission | What it is used for | Leaves your device? |
|---|---|---|
| Notifications | Reminders before or at a task's time, the morning summary and the weekly review. Scheduled on the device. | No |
| Alarms | An alarm for tasks you mark "Wake me with an alarm". Scheduled on the device. | No |
| Calendars | Showing today's calendar events faintly beside your tasks, if you turn "Show calendar events" on. Events are read on the device, never changed, never stored in Ethos and never sent anywhere. | No |
| iCloud | Syncing your planner between your own devices, with Ethos Plus. | To your own iCloud only (see above) |
| Siri and Shortcuts | Answering or acting on requests you make to Siri or run as shortcuts. Apple processes Siri requests under its own privacy policy. | See Apple's policy |
Backups and exports
Once a week Ethos saves a backup file into its own folder on your device (on iPhone, in Files, On My iPhone, Ethos). You can also save a backup, a CSV ledger or a printable monthly page wherever you choose. These files stay where you put them. If you back up your device with iCloud or to a computer, Apple's device backup includes Ethos's data in the same way it includes any app's; that is between you and Apple.
Buying Ethos Plus
Ethos Plus is sold through the App Store. Apple takes the payment and handles the purchase; we never receive your name, payment details or Apple Account. Ethos checks what you have bought on your device, using the signed receipt Apple provides, and sends nothing to us or anyone else about it. Apple shares sales figures with us in aggregate, without telling us who bought.
Information we do receive
We only receive information about you if you give it to us.
- If you email us (for example for support), we receive your email address and whatever you write. We use it to reply to you.
- Crash reports and app statistics. If you have chosen, in your device's settings, to share analytics with app developers, Apple may pass us crash reports and aggregated usage statistics. Apple collects these, not Ethos, and they do not identify you to us.
- Links out of the app. Ethos links to this website. What happens when you visit it is described under "This website" below.
We do not sell, rent or share personal information with anyone for marketing, and we do not use it for profiling or automated decisions.
This website
ethosplanner.app sets no cookies and stores nothing in your browser. It has no analytics, no advertising and no tracking, and its fonts and videos are served from the site itself, so opening it doesn't contact anyone else.
The site is hosted by Vercel Inc., which processes the technical details every web request carries (your IP address, browser type and the page asked for) to deliver the site and protect it from abuse, and keeps them in short-lived server logs. Vercel is in the United States and acts on our behalf under its data processing addendum, which includes the UK International Data Transfer Addendum.
Who is responsible, and our legal basis
Patrick Sibale (trading as Undefiled Labs) is the controller of the personal information described in "Information we do receive", for the purposes of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. Contact details are at the end of this policy.
| Purpose | Information | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Replying to your email | Your email address and message | Legitimate interests: answering the people who write to us |
| Serving this website | Your IP address and browser details, in the host's server logs | Legitimate interests: delivering the site and keeping it secure |
| Keeping Ethos working | Crash reports and aggregated statistics that Apple shares with us, if you have allowed it | Legitimate interests: finding and fixing faults |
How long we keep it
We keep support emails for 12 months after the conversation ends, then delete them. We keep crash reports for as long as Apple makes them available to us.
Where it is processed
Our email is provided by Migadu, in Switzerland, which processes it on our behalf. Switzerland and the EU, where Migadu stores mail, are covered by UK adequacy regulations, so no further transfer mechanism is needed. Nothing in the Ethos app itself is transferred anywhere.
Your rights
Under the UK GDPR you have the right to ask us for a copy of the personal information we hold about you, to correct it, to delete it, to restrict or object to how we use it, and to receive it in a portable form. To use any of these rights, email us at the address below. We will answer within one month.
Your planner itself is on your devices and in your own iCloud, not with us. You can see all of it in the app, export it, or delete it by clearing history in Settings, removing the iCloud copy from Settings, Sync, or deleting the app.
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's data protection regulator: ico.org.uk, 0303 123 1113, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF. We would appreciate the chance to put it right first.
Children
Ethos does not collect personal information from anyone, including children. If you believe a child has sent us personal information by email, contact us and we will delete it.
Changes to this policy
If we change how Ethos handles information, we will update this policy and the date at the top. If a change affects what leaves your device, we will say so in the app's release notes before it takes effect. The change to keeping a copy in your own iCloud, with Ethos Plus, is described above.
Contact
Patrick Sibale, trading as Undefiled Labsadmin@undefiledlabs.com
This policy is governed by the law of England and Wales.