GEM App Privacy Policy

Policy Update and Clarification — September 4, 2026

This update adds to our Privacy Policy dated September 2, 2025. Where this update and the earlier text differ, this update controls.

Text messages

Text messages are off unless you turn them on. Giving us your phone number when you create your account does not sign you up for texts. You choose texts separately, the box is never selected for you, and your account works normally if you leave it off. Consent is not a condition of membership or any purchase.

If you turn texts on, we collect your mobile phone number, a record that you verified the number by entering a one-time code, and a record of your consent, including when you gave it and the wording shown at that time. We use this information to verify your number and send the messages described here.

You may receive transactional, account, safety, and service notifications that GEM also provides in the app, including check-in and streak reminders, community news, requests that need an answer, time-sensitive account or community updates, and weekly reflection reminders where applicable. We do not send marketing or promotional texts.

Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to stop, HELP for help. You may also turn texts off in the app under Settings → Notifications → Text messages. Stopping texts does not close your account or turn off in-app notifications. Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.

We retain consent and opt-out records after you stop texts and after account deletion so we can honor your choice, prevent unwanted messages, resolve disputes, and meet legal and carrier requirements. Retaining that record does not permit another message to be sent.

No mobile information will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. Information sharing with subcontractors that support the service is permitted only as necessary to provide it. Text-message originator opt-in data and consent will not be shared with third parties for their own marketing purposes. We use Google Firebase to store mobile-number and consent records and Twilio to verify numbers and deliver text messages; they process this information on our instructions to provide those services.

Email (added September 24, 2026)

Notification emails are off unless you turn them on in the app under Settings → Notifications → Email. We do not send marketing email. Every notification email includes a one-click unsubscribe link, and we do not track whether you open our emails or click their links. Emails about work activity only point you to the app; the details stay in GEM. Turning notification emails off does not affect account emails, such as password resets and security notices, which continue while you have an account. Notification emails are delivered by Resend, which handles your email address and the message on our instructions.

Analytics, diagnostics, and masked session replay

We use PostHog, hosted in the European Union, to understand app performance, diagnose errors, and measure feature usage. PostHog data is recorded under a random identifier created on your device for that installation. We do not attach your name, email address, phone number, or account ID to it, and we do not send the words you write in check-ins, goals, notes, reports, or messages.

A small, randomly selected share of sessions may be recorded as masked screen images for product quality and troubleshooting. Text, images, and embedded web content are masked before capture, and the app's network activity is not recorded. We do not use this information to track you across other companies' apps or websites, sell it, or give client-organization leaders, managers, or coaches access to it.

You can turn PostHog product analytics off under Settings → Privacy → Product analytics. This stops your device from sending PostHog usage data and session recordings. PostHog events already collected may be retained for up to seven years, and session recordings for 90 days.

Firebase Crashlytics separately collects crash stack traces, app and device diagnostics, and installation identifiers so we can diagnose crashes. Crashlytics is not controlled by the PostHog product-analytics switch. Google states that Crashlytics retains this information for 90 days before beginning removal from live and backup systems.

Account deletion and retained records

You can delete your account in the app under Settings → Delete account. Deletion starts immediately. We delete or de-identify your profile and sign-in, goals, habits, check-ins, reports, reflections, help reports, work goals and check-ins, profile photo, chat account and one-to-one conversations, Compass records, and account-linked operational analytics.

Some limited records remain where necessary: messaging and email consent and opt-out records; acknowledgements of community policies; safety and moderation history; gemstone transactions needed to preserve the shared ledger; coach-entered engagement records such as notes, rates, session counts, and meeting dates; and purchase or subscription records held by Apple and RevenueCat for tax and accounting purposes.

Your name or contributions may remain in another person's record or a shared community record, such as a mention, comment thread, or community recommendation. Contact info@gem.coach if a particular item concerns you.

We keep encrypted daily Firestore backups and point-in-time recovery copies for seven days. Deleted content may remain in those copies until they expire and is used only for disaster recovery or where legally required.

PostHog and Crashlytics diagnostic data is associated with installation identifiers rather than your GEM account, so GEM cannot locate it by your account for deletion. It expires according to the retention periods described above.

Corrections and additional disclosures

Contrary to earlier language on this page, goals and progress data are stored in Google Firebase/Firestore and are not stored only on your device. Depending on the features you use, service providers that process data for GEM include Google Firebase and Crashlytics, Stream, PostHog, Twilio, Brevo, Resend, Apple and RevenueCat, Expo, DocuSign, Google Gemini, and OpenAI. They process information to provide services to GEM under their applicable agreements. We do not sell personal information.

AI features process goals, check-ins, or reflections with Google Gemini or OpenAI only where the applicable in-app consent and feature controls permit it. Compass uses foreground location and nearby-device information only during a Compass session you start, and Compass is available only to members who are at least 18.

You may request access to or deletion of your data by writing to info@gem.coach.