Who we are
Coleva is made by an independent developer in the United Kingdom. For the purposes of UK data-protection law (UK GDPR), the developer is the data controller for the limited processing described below. You can reach us any time at Luke@getcoleva.com.
What Coleva stores - and where
Everything you put into Coleva stays in the app on your device:
- People, relationships and groups you add or that Coleva files from your journal entries;
- Birthdays, important dates, jobs, places and "little things" (likes, notes, gift ideas);
- Your diary entries and their history;
- Photos you attach to people (Coleva Plus).
All of it is stored locally on your iPhone. Coleva operates no user database and runs no server that holds your content. We cannot read, access, recover or delete your data - only you can.
What we never collect
- No account. Coleva has no sign-up, no login, and never asks for your name or email address.
- No analytics or tracking. The app contains no analytics, advertising or tracking SDKs, and no third-party trackers of any kind.
- No advertising. Coleva shows no ads and shares nothing with advertisers.
- No sale of data. Your relationships are never for sale - there is nothing on our side to sell.
On-device intelligence
When you save a journal entry, Coleva works out the people, dates and details it contains using intelligence that runs entirely on your iPhone - Apple's natural-language frameworks, Apple Intelligence on devices that support it, and Coleva's own built-in local model. Your entries are not sent anywhere to be understood.
Cloud Assist - the one optional exception
Some Coleva Plus features can use a cloud AI service - only for Plus subscribers, only on devices that don't support Apple Intelligence, and only while Cloud Assist is switched on. For everyone else, nothing ever leaves the device. The three uses:
- Tricky sentences - when Coleva's on-device AI isn't confident about a sentence in a journal entry, that sentence (never the whole entry, and along with up to 30 first names from your map so it can match people correctly) may be sent for a second opinion.
- "Did I get it wrong?" - if you ask Coleva to take a second look at an entry, the text of that entry is sent for re-processing.
- Gift ideas - if you ask for gift suggestions for a person, a short profile of that person (their likes, notes, events and job as recorded in your map) is sent to generate ideas.
When these features run in the cloud, the text is sent over an encrypted connection through our relay to OpenAI's API for processing, and the result is returned to your device. No advertising identifiers, device identifiers or account details accompany it - Coleva has none to send. Under OpenAI's API terms, data submitted via the API is not used to train their models.
Cloud Assist is controlled by a single switch in Settings → Privacy. Turn it off and nothing ever leaves your device - Coleva simply keeps its own best local reading, and everything else keeps working exactly as before. On devices with Apple Intelligence, these features run on-device and no cloud is involved at all.
Device permissions
Coleva asks for a permission only when you use the feature that needs it. Every one is optional.
| Permission | What it's for | Where the data goes |
|---|---|---|
| Microphone | Speaking journal entries instead of typing. | Audio is transcribed on your iPhone. On devices without on-device speech recognition, Apple's speech service may process the audio, under Apple's privacy policy. |
| Speech recognition | Turning your voice into text. | On-device wherever your iPhone supports it. |
| Contacts | Matching the people you write about with your address book, so you never retype a name. | Read on-device; the details you choose to keep are stored locally. Your address book is never uploaded. |
| Calendars | Timing nudges around your real meetings (Coleva Plus). | Read-only, on-device. Events are never uploaded. |
| Face ID | The optional app lock (Coleva Plus). | Handled entirely by iOS. Coleva never sees biometric data. |
| Notifications | Birthday and important-date reminders. | Scheduled locally on your device. |
Maps and place lookups
When you record where someone lives or a place you've been, Coleva may send that place name to Apple's Maps geocoding service so it can show the place on a map. This is the same lookup any maps app performs and is governed by Apple's privacy policy. Coleva never asks for, or uses, your device's location.
Purchases
Coleva Plus subscriptions are processed by Apple through the App Store. We never see your payment details. Your subscription status is managed by Apple and checked on-device.
Backups
Because your data lives in the app, it is included in your normal iPhone backups (iCloud or computer backups), which are managed and encrypted by Apple under your Apple Account. Coleva does not run any separate sync or backup service.
Your data, your control
- Edit or delete any person, note, entry or detail directly in the app at any time.
- Deleting the app removes all Coleva data from your device.
- Because everything is stored locally, your rights of access, portability and erasure under UK GDPR are permanently in your own hands - no request forms, no waiting.
If you have any question or concern about your data, email Luke@getcoleva.com. You also have the right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk).
Children
Coleva is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect data from anyone - children included, by design.
This website
This site is a static page. It sets no cookies and runs no analytics.
Changes to this policy
If Coleva's behaviour ever changes in a way that affects your data, this policy will be updated and the effective date above revised. Material changes will also be noted in the App Store release notes.