Vent Buddy App Privacy Policy
Local-first and account-free
Vent Buddy does not require a Vent Buddy account and does not use a Vent Buddy backend. Journal entries, emotion and interaction history, chat history, personal-best scores, and app settings are stored locally on your device.
Local features such as journaling, emotion history, punching activities, and scream-intensity metering work without an OpenRouter key.
Optional OpenRouter features
Complaint generation, constructive feedback, mindful chat, and guided visualization use OpenRouter only after you add your own OpenRouter API key and invoke one of those text features. The key is stored in the iOS Keychain through Expo SecureStore and can be removed from the OpenRouter Key screen.
When you use an optional AI feature, the prompt, text, or relevant chat context is sent directly from your device to OpenRouter with your API key. OpenRouter may route the request to a model provider. Vent Buddy does not receive that request on a Vent Buddy server. Bundled punching images and image descriptions are not sent to OpenRouter.
Third-party processing and App Store labels
OpenRouter and the model provider it selects process requests under their own terms, privacy policies, account settings, and retention practices. OpenRouter processes request metadata such as model, token counts, timestamps, and latency, associated with the account that owns the API key. Provider retention practices can vary, so do not enter information you do not want disclosed to OpenRouter or a routed model provider.
Because of this optional path, Vent Buddy's App Store privacy label discloses Other User Content, a User ID represented by the OpenRouter credential, Product Interaction, and Other Usage Data as linked data used for app functionality, with request metadata also used for third-party service analytics. Those categories are marked as not used for tracking. The disclosure applies when you use OpenRouter features; it does not mean local journal entries, emotion history, or scream audio are uploaded by default.
Microphone
The Scream Chamber and Rage Release features request microphone access for local intensity metering and scoring. Vent Buddy does not upload microphone audio, add it to chat prompts, or retain it in Vent Buddy history after the active session.
Analytics, ads, and tracking
Vent Buddy does not run its own analytics service, advertising service, or account backend. It does not sell personal information or track you across apps or websites. OpenRouter may use request metadata for its own service analytics as described above.
Retention and deletion
Local Vent Buddy history remains in the app container until you remove it through any feature-specific control or remove the app. The current release does not provide a single in-app control that clears every AsyncStorage record.
Remove the OpenRouter key from the OpenRouter Key screen before deleting the app if you want to clear the Keychain item explicitly. Requests already sent to OpenRouter are controlled by your OpenRouter account and the routed model provider; use their account controls or contact them for third-party deletion questions.
Contact
Privacy questions can be sent to wes@glassbox-bio.com.