Privacy

Who makes it

My Chapters is made by me, Sy Douglas. If you have a question about your data, email hello@mychapters.co.uk and you’ll get a reply from me.

What the app keeps, and where

The app keeps what you put into it: your letters, photos and captions, the memories you jot down or record, and the details you add for each child, such as their first name, the day they arrived, their reference number and their social worker’s email address.

All of it is stored on your iPhone, iPad or Mac, encrypted, and you can lock the app with a passcode, Face ID or Touch ID. None of it is copied to me.

What I never collect

You don’t sign up, so I don’t have your name or email. The app has no analytics, no adverts and no tracking. It doesn’t use your location, and it doesn’t follow you across other apps or websites.

Why there’s no analytics

I’m not interested in analytics. I don’t want to tweak algorithms, sell data, or nudge anyone to buy or upgrade based on how they use the app. I’d rather not know.

I’m confident My Chapters will find the people who need it.

When something leaves your device

Only when you choose to send it, share it or back it up.

Sending. Tapping Send opens your own email app with the letter attached as a PDF. It goes through your email provider like any other email you send, to the people you choose. It doesn’t pass through me.

Sharing and printing. If you share a letter or a book, for example with AirDrop or to a printer, it goes where you send it.

Backups. You can turn on automatic backups to a folder you choose, such as iCloud Drive. Backups are protected by a password you set, and only you have it. Your device’s own iCloud backup also includes the app’s data.

Sharing with your partner

Sharing is off unless you turn it on. If you invite your partner, your children, letters, photos and memories are copied to a private area of your own iCloud account, using Apple’s CloudKit, so you can both write. They never pass through me, and I can’t see them.

The words are kept in end-to-end encrypted fields, and photos, drawings and recordings are encrypted on your device before they’re uploaded. Your passcode, reminders and backup settings are never shared. If you stop sharing, the shared copy is deleted from your iCloud and each device keeps the letters it already has.

Writing suggestions and voice notes

Suggestions use Apple Intelligence on your device. When you turn a voice memory into words, that happens on your device too. Your words aren’t sent to me, to Apple or to any AI company, and it all works in Aeroplane Mode. Suggestions are only ever suggestions: nothing changes unless you choose it.

A child’s information

You and your fostering service decide how a child’s information is recorded and shared, just as you would with a Word document or a paper letter. Check with the child’s social worker about what to include, who to send letters to, and whether you can share photos. Titles and processes differ between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, so follow the ones your own fostering service uses.

Because I don’t hold any of it, I can’t look anything up, change it or delete it for you. Deleting the app, and any backups you made, deletes everything. If you shared with your partner, stop sharing first so the shared copy in your iCloud is deleted too.

Paying

Subscriptions are handled by Apple. Apple tells me how many people have subscribed, not who you are.

If you stop subscribing, nothing is deleted. Everything you’ve written stays on your device to read and export.

If a fostering service buys the app for its carers, I keep the service’s name and invoice contact so I can bill them. I don’t know which carer used which code, and nothing a carer writes is shared with me or with the service.

If you email me

I keep your email so I can reply, and to tell you about a launch if you asked me to. I don’t share it with anyone. Ask me to delete it at any time.

This website

mychapters.co.uk uses no cookies and no analytics. Like any website, the company that hosts it may keep basic server logs, such as IP addresses, for a short time to keep the site secure.

Android

An Android version is coming. Before it launches, this page will be updated to explain exactly how it stores and protects your letters.

Your rights

Under UK data protection law you can ask what information I hold about you, ask me to correct or delete it, and complain if you’re unhappy. For most people the answer is that I hold nothing, but you’re welcome to ask.

If you’re not happy with my reply, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk.