Privacy Policy

Who is responsible

Best and Worst is developed by Benjamin Ottensten. This policy covers the iPhone app, bestworst.app, and information you send for support or beta testing. Benjamin is responsible for personal information received through these activities. For privacy questions, contact benjamin.ottensten@gmail.com.

You do not need to create a Best and Worst account. An Apple Account signed in to iCloud is needed for iCloud backups.

Your journal and saved places

Your written entries, dates, favorites, saved places, and app preferences are stored locally on your device. Saved places can include names, addresses, precise coordinates, and a place radius. The app can also generate local trip information from your photo library’s dates and locations.

The app does not send your journal to a server operated by Benjamin. It contains no advertising or third-party analytics SDKs, and does not sell your data or use your journal for advertising or AI model training.

Photos, locations, Health, and calendars

You choose whether to grant access to these sources. You can write journal entries without connecting them.

• Photos and videos: the app reads accessible media and metadata, including capture dates and embedded locations, to display your days, create backgrounds, group visits, and suggest familiar places or trips. Familiar-place discovery can examine metadata across your accessible photo history, including patterns that suggest Home. That analysis takes place on your device.
• Apple Maps: place searches and lookups may send search terms or coordinates derived from your photos or selected places to Apple to obtain names, addresses, and time zones. The app does not continuously track your phone’s live location.
• Health: with your permission, the app reads step counts to show daily activity. It does not write Health data, include it in journal backups, or send it to Benjamin.
• Calendars: with your permission, the app reads events from your selected calendars to show them beside your journal. It does not modify those events or include them in journal backups.

Photos and videos remain managed by your Photos library. Displaying media stored only in iCloud Photos may involve downloading it through Apple’s services. Best and Worst does not upload your photo or video library to Benjamin.

You can change Photos and Calendar access in iPhone Settings and Health access in the Health app. Changing a permission stops future access but does not automatically remove previously saved places or backups.

iCloud backups

Automatic iCloud backup is enabled by default when iCloud is available. You can turn it off in Settings → iCloud Backup within the app.

Backups contain written entries and saved places, including saved location coordinates, together with information needed to manage and verify the backup, such as dates, entry counts, checksums, and app version. Photos, videos, Health data, calendar events, and generated trip records are not included in these app-created snapshots.

Backups are stored using Apple CloudKit in your private iCloud database. They are not a shared public database, and Benjamin does not have access to their contents through the app’s developer account. Apple provides and operates this storage under its own terms and privacy policy.

The app normally retains the latest two successful snapshots, replacing older snapshots as new ones are saved. Existing backups are not deleted just because you turn automatic backup off or delete the app. A fresh, empty installation may automatically restore a valid backup from your iCloud account; an existing local journal is not automatically replaced.

Beta testing and support

When you use TestFlight, Apple provides beta-testing information to the developer, including crash reports, usage information, and feedback you submit. Depending on how you join and submit feedback, this may include your name, email address, device details, and screenshots. See TestFlight & Privacy.

If you use Send Feedback in the app, it opens an email for you to review and send. The draft includes the app version, device description, and operating-system version. Your email address, message, and any attachments you choose to send are received through Gmail. Journal entries are not automatically attached.

Support messages and beta diagnostics are used to respond to you, investigate problems, and improve the app. Avoid including journal text, photos, or other sensitive information you do not want to share. Support records are kept only as long as needed to handle the request and related issues or meet applicable legal obligations; Apple controls availability and retention within TestFlight.

Keeping, exporting, and deleting data

Local journal data remains until you delete it or delete the app. Offloading the app or removing its Home Screen icon is not the same as deleting its data. You can export written entries as a CSV file from Settings → iCloud Backup → Export Journal Entries. You control where that exported file is saved or shared.

Deleting an entry does not immediately remove it from older iCloud snapshots. Turning off automatic backup stops future app backups but leaves existing snapshots in iCloud. To remove cloud copies, first turn off Automatic Backup to iCloud in the app on each device using it. Then open iPhone Settings → your name → iCloud → Storage (or Manage Account Storage), select Best and Worst, and use the option to delete its stored data. See Apple’s guide to third-party app data. If you cannot find the app in that list, contact Benjamin for help. Benjamin cannot remotely read or delete your private journal backups. Turning backup on again can create a new snapshot of the journal still on your device.

Temporary place-label and time-zone caches expire after seven days and are cleaned up by the app. Saved places and generated trips are stored separately and do not expire with those caches. Copies made by iOS device backups, iCloud Photos, calendar providers, or exported files are managed separately from the app’s journal snapshots.

This website

bestworst.app is hosted by Vercel. When you visit, Vercel processes technical request information such as your IP address, requested page, and browser information to deliver and secure the website. This is separate from the journal stored in the iPhone app. See Vercel’s privacy notice.

The website does not use advertising cookies, Vercel Web Analytics, Speed Insights, or external log drains. Vercel may retain technical service and security logs under its applicable service policies; these are separate from any information you choose to email to Benjamin.

Why information is processed

The app uses your entries and the sources you choose to connect to provide the journaling features you request. Optional Photos, Health, and Calendar access is controlled by your device permissions, which you can withdraw at any time.

For personal information received by Benjamin, support correspondence and beta diagnostics are processed on the basis of legitimate interests in answering requests, fixing faults, and maintaining the app. Website request information is processed to deliver and secure the site. Where processing requires consent under applicable law, it relies on that consent rather than these interests. Information may also be retained or disclosed when required by law.

Your privacy rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, restrict, or receive a copy of personal information held about you, and to object to certain uses. Where processing relies on consent, you can withdraw it. You may also complain to your local data-protection authority.

Contact benjamin.ottensten@gmail.com to exercise rights concerning support or beta information held by Benjamin. Information kept only on your device or in your private iCloud database must be managed through your device or Apple’s controls.

Apple services and policy changes

Apple’s handling of information for iCloud, Maps, Photos, Health, and TestFlight is also described in Apple’s privacy information. Apple, Vercel, and Google (which provides Gmail for support correspondence) may process information outside your country, including in the United States. Their privacy information describes the relevant safeguards and transfer arrangements. See also Google’s privacy policy.

This policy will be updated when the app’s data practices change. The date at the top identifies the latest revision. Material changes will be communicated in the app or its release information.