Privacy Policy
Effective date: January 29, 2026
The Golden Key ("we", "us", "our") is designed to be simple and respectful of your privacy. This policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and your choices.
Information We Collect
Account Information
- Display name: When you sign in with Apple, we receive and store your display name as provided by Apple.
- User identifier: A unique identifier provided by Apple to manage your account.
Voice Input
- Speech transcriptions: When you speak into the app, your voice is converted to text on your device. This text transcription is sent to our servers to generate spiritual guidance.
- Voice recordings: We do not store or retain audio recordings of your voice. Transcription happens on your device using Apple's Speech Recognition framework.
Usage Information
- Request logs: We maintain basic logs of when guidance is requested to ensure service reliability and detect technical issues.
- Error reports: If the app crashes or encounters errors, anonymous error reports may be sent to help us improve the app.
Purchase Information
- Subscription status: If you subscribe, we store your subscription status (active/inactive) to provide access to the service.
- Billing: All payment processing is handled directly by Apple or Google. We never receive or store your payment information.
How We Use Your Information
- Provide spiritual guidance: Your text transcriptions are processed by our AI service (Anthropic Claude) to generate personalized spiritual guidance based on biblical wisdom and Emmet Fox's teachings.
- Crisis detection: We automatically scan text for keywords indicating potential crisis situations (suicide, self-harm, substance abuse) to provide immediate resource information when needed.
- Maintain and improve the service: Usage logs help us identify technical issues and improve app performance.
- Manage subscriptions: Subscription status determines access to premium features.
Third-Party Services
We use the following third-party services to operate The Golden Key:
- Apple Sign-In: For secure authentication (privacy policy: apple.com/legal/privacy)
- Amazon Web Services (AWS): For hosting our backend infrastructure (privacy policy: aws.amazon.com/privacy)
- Anthropic Claude API: For AI-powered spiritual guidance generation (privacy policy: anthropic.com/privacy)
- Apple Speech Recognition: For on-device voice-to-text conversion (processed locally on your device)
Data Retention
- Account information: Retained while your account is active and for 30 days after account deletion.
- Text transcriptions: Not permanently stored. Transcriptions are processed in real-time and discarded after guidance is generated.
- Request logs: Retained for 90 days for technical troubleshooting, then automatically deleted.
- Error reports: Retained for 1 year to track and resolve technical issues.
International Data Transfers
Your information may be processed on servers located in the United States and other countries where AWS and Anthropic operate. We ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your information in accordance with this privacy policy.
Permissions
Microphone Access
Required for voice input functionality. The app requests microphone permission when you first tap the microphone button. You can revoke this permission at any time in iOS Settings → The Golden Key → Microphone.
Speech Recognition
Required to convert your spoken words to text. Processing happens on your device using Apple's Speech Recognition framework. You can revoke this permission at any time in iOS Settings → The Golden Key → Speech Recognition.
What We Don't Do
- We do not sell your personal information to anyone.
- We do not use your voice input for advertising or marketing.
- We do not share your data with third parties except as necessary to operate the service (AWS hosting, Anthropic AI processing).
- We do not run third-party ad tracking or analytics in the app.
- We do not store audio recordings of your voice.
- We do not request access to your contacts, photos, location, or other unnecessary permissions.
Security
We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your information:
- All data transmitted between your device and our servers is encrypted using HTTPS/TLS.
- Access to user data is restricted to authorized personnel only.
- Our infrastructure is hosted on AWS with enterprise-grade security controls.
However, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.
Children's Privacy
The Golden Key is not intended for children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us at support@thegoldenkey.app.
Your Rights and Choices
- Access your data: Contact us at support@thegoldenkey.app to request a copy of your stored information.
- Delete your account: Visit our Data Deletion page for instructions on how to permanently delete your account and associated data.
- Revoke permissions: You can revoke microphone and speech recognition permissions at any time in iOS Settings.
- Opt out of error reporting: Contact us to opt out of automatic error reporting.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this privacy policy from time to time. We will notify you of any material changes by:
- Updating the "Effective date" at the top of this policy
- Posting a notice in the app
- For significant changes, sending a notification through the app or email (if you've provided one)
Your continued use of The Golden Key after any changes indicates your acceptance of the updated privacy policy.
Contact Us
If you have questions about this privacy policy or how we handle your information, please contact us:
Email: support@thegoldenkey.app
Website: www.thegoldenkey.app
California Privacy Rights
If you are a California resident, you have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA):
- Right to know what personal information is collected, used, shared, or sold
- Right to delete personal information
- Right to opt-out of the sale of personal information (we do not sell personal information)
- Right to non-discrimination for exercising your privacy rights
To exercise these rights, contact us at support@thegoldenkey.app.