Pensieve is built so that your dreams stay with you. No account is required, there are no ads, we do not track you across apps and your data is never sold.
Dream texts, readings, notes and optional voice recordings are stored in the app's own folder on your iPhone with iOS file protection. They are included in your device backups according to your iCloud or computer backup settings. Deleting a dream or all your data removes it from the device immediately.
If you have Premium and “Keep in iCloud” is on, your dream texts, readings and notes are also stored in your private iCloud database through Apple's CloudKit, so they come back when you reinstall the app or set up a device with the same Apple Account. They are encrypted on your device before upload, count toward your iCloud storage and are handled under Apple's privacy policy; we cannot access them. Voice recordings are not uploaded. Turning the switch off removes the iCloud copy, and deleting a dream or all your data deletes it from iCloud as well. If Premium ends, what is already in iCloud stays there and can still come back, but new dreams are kept on your device only.
When online readings are on and you ask for a reading, the dream text you approved, the feeling and approach you chose, your interface language and, only if you turned on “Use past dreams as context”, the dates, titles and symbols of your last ten dreams are sent over an encrypted connection to the interpretation service, Google's Gemini models through Firebase. The service returns the reading and does not receive your name, your notes or your voice; the text is not used for advertising. Otherwise, and whenever no connection is available, the reading is composed on the device from a built-in symbol lexicon.
When a dream is painted (the first reading brings its painting on its own), only a short description of the scene, written in English during the reading, is sent to Google's Gemini image model through Firebase; the dream's text is not. The image is stored with the dream on your device. Turning off “Online readings” in Privacy stops paintings too. Readings and paintings are processed under Google's terms for the paid Gemini API: Google does not use them to improve its products and keeps them only for a limited time to detect abuse.
Spoken dreams are turned into text by Apple's speech recognition, on the device when it supports it; otherwise Apple processes the audio under Apple's privacy policy. Recordings are kept only if you turn on “Keep voice recordings”, and only on your device.
You can use Pensieve without an account; there is no sign-in. Subscriptions are handled by Apple, and we never see your payment details. To confirm that your membership is active on your devices, your App Store purchase receipt and a random app user ID are processed by RevenueCat, our subscription service.
The morning ritual, the Sunday letter and the note that a reading or painting is ready are local notifications scheduled on your device. If “Keep in iCloud” is on, Apple's iCloud quietly tells the app when your journal changed on another device; no other push service is used. Widgets and Siri shortcuts only open the app.
To learn which parts of Pensieve help and where it falls short, we measure usage events with Google Analytics for Firebase, for example that a screen was opened or a reading was shown, together with crash, freeze and performance reports from the device. They carry a random ID created on your device, not your name, email or Apple ID, and never the text of your dreams, your notes or your voice. They are not used for advertising or to track you across apps. You can turn measurement off in Privacy and data.
Pensieve is suitable for all ages (rated 4+).
Because your data lives on your device, you hold it: export it as a file or delete it from Preferences at any time. For any question about privacy, write to info@emrecanozturk.com.