Privacy Policy — Instead

Last updated: 9 October 2026 Published by MadApps Studios, LLC

Instead is a tool for getting through a craving. What you put into it is personal, so the short version is this: it is yours. There is no account, no server of ours holds it, and we can't read it.

What Instead stores on your device

All of it lives in the app's own storage on your device. We never receive it, sync it to ourselves, or have any way to read it:

• Your sobriety start date, streak, and lifetime clean days
• Your name and what your habit used to cost you
• Cravings you've beaten, XP, and your best game score
• Journal entries you write
• The contact you save as "your person" (name and phone number)
• Your settings

There is no account, no login, and no copy on any server of ours. Your phone's own backup — iCloud on iPhone, or Google on Android — may keep a copy in your private account, so your data can come back if you restore this phone or set up a new one. That copy is yours: it lives in your Apple or Google account, it is restored only to your own devices, and it still never reaches us. If you turn your phone's backup off, or uninstall without one, the data is simply gone. Use Settings → Back up your data to save a separate copy you hold yourself.

What Instead never does

• No advertising, and no ad networks
• No analytics or tracking SDKs
• No selling or sharing of personal information
• No location data
• No contacts access — "your person" is typed in by you
• No account, email, or phone number required

The one thing that reaches us, only if you send it

Settings has a Send feedback button. It does nothing unless you open it, write a note, and press Send.

When you press Send, we receive:

• The message you typed
• A random, anonymous install ID, not linked to your name, email, or device
• The time you sent it

Nothing else is included. No screenshot is taken. Your journal, streak, and saved contact are not sent. Only what you type in the note reaches us, so leave out anything you would rather keep private.

Your note is stored on our own server (Supabase, hosted in the United States). If it reads like a bug report, the start of it is also emailed to us through an email delivery service (Resend), and it may be read by automated tools we use to find and fix bugs. We use it only to understand and fix problems and to improve Instead. We do not sell it or share it with anyone else.

Earlier versions of Instead had a beta feedback button that could also attach a screenshot. That button has been removed. Feedback sent through it is covered by this section and can be deleted on request.

Crisis resources

Instead can dial 988 (the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) and a contact you save. Dialling happens in your phone's own dialer. We do not place calls, record calls, or receive any information about calls you make.

Instead is not medical care, therapy, or a crisis service. It does not replace professional treatment or emergency help. If you are in danger, call 988 or your local emergency number.

Children

Instead is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect information from them.

Your choices

• Keep a copy: Settings → Back up your data
• Delete everything: uninstall the app and remove it from your phone's backup if you have one (see Delete your data)
• Feedback is optional: nothing is sent unless you press Send in Settings → Send feedback
• Remove feedback you already sent: email us with the date you sent it and we will delete it

Changes

If this policy changes, the date at the top changes with it, and material changes will be noted in the app.

Contact

MadApps Studios, LLC houston@getmadapps.com