Privacy policy

Last updated 3 October 2026

UrgeCheck is a self-control and behavior-change app. What you log in it can be some of the most sensitive data you have, so we collect as little as we can and keep the rest on your device unless you choose otherwise. This policy explains, in plain words, what the app does with your information.

The short version

• No account, name or password is needed.
• Your log stays on your device, encrypted, unless you turn on backup.
• Backup is off by default. If you turn it on, your data is encrypted before it is stored on our servers.
• No ads, no tracking across apps, no selling or sharing of your data, no data brokers.
• You can export or delete everything from inside the app.

Who we are

“UrgeCheck”, “we” and “us” mean the team that makes the UrgeCheck app and this website. We are the controller of the personal data described here. You can reach us at karan@bindalinfotech.com.

What UrgeCheck is, and isn’t

UrgeCheck is a lifestyle app for noticing and interrupting urges. It is not a medical device, not therapy and not a diagnosis tool, and it is not for emergencies. If you are in immediate danger, contact your local emergency services.

Information on your device

Anonymous device identifier

If you subscribe, restore a purchase or turn on backup, the app registers an anonymous device identifier and a random secret with our server. Until then, nothing identifies your install to us. The secret is stored in your device’s secure keychain, and we keep only a one-way hash of it. This identifier is not linked to your name, phone number or any advertising ID.

Your log

Everything you enter (your behaviors, urge checks, rules, Circle contacts, plans, replacements, settings and Coach conversations) is stored on your device by default. It is encrypted at rest with a key kept in the iOS Keychain or Android Keystore.

Optional email

When you agree to the terms you may enter an email address. In this version of the app it is stored on your device only. It is not sent to our servers.

Information that leaves your device

Backup to UrgeCheck (optional, off by default)

If you turn on “Back up to UrgeCheck” in Settings, the app sends a snapshot of your log to our servers. The snapshot includes:

• your behaviors;
• urge checks, including intensity, trigger and outcome;
• your rules, plans and replacements;
• Circle contact names, their roles and the permissions you gave them;
• your settings.

It does not include your Coach chat transcripts. The snapshot is encrypted at the application layer with AES-256-GCM before it is stored. It is stored in a Postgres database on Neon (Postgres) infrastructure, and our service runs on Vercel (hosting). It is deleted when you delete your data.

Product analytics (only when backup is on)

When backup is on, the app sends event names and timestamps, such as “urge_completed”, linked to your anonymous device identifier. These events never contain free text you type. We use them only to understand whether the app is working and helping. They are never used for advertising. When backup is off, no analytics are sent.

Crash reports

If the app crashes, a crash report is sent through Google Firebase Crashlytics. It contains the crash stack trace and device and operating system information, plus a random installation ID that Crashlytics creates to count crashes per install. It contains no behavior data, and we never link it to your device identifier or anything else about you.

Purchases

Subscriptions to Coach & Intelligence are processed by Apple (App Store) or Google (Google Play). We receive your subscription status and transaction identifiers from Apple or Google so we can unlock the features you paid for. We never see your payment card or other payment details.

Coach

Coach chat transcripts stay on your device. They are not included in backup.

Notifications

Notifications are scheduled locally on your device. They never name a behavior, so someone glancing at your lock screen won’t learn what you are working on.

Your Circle

We never contact anyone in your Circle. When you ask for help, the app opens your phone’s share sheet with a message, and you choose whether and how to send it yourself.

What we never do

• Show ads, or use your data for advertising.
• Track you across other companies’ apps or websites.
• Sell, rent or share your data, or pass it to data brokers.

This website sets no cookies and runs no analytics or third-party scripts.

Waitlist

If you join the waitlist on this website, we store your email address so we can tell you when the app is available. Ask us at karan@bindalinfotech.com and we will remove it.

Age

UrgeCheck is for adults aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 18.

How long we keep data

• Data on your device stays until you delete it in the app or uninstall the app.
• A server backup is kept until you delete your data, or until 12 months pass without any activity from your device, whichever comes first.
• We keep a short audit log of actions such as backups and deletions for security. Audit log entries contain no content from your log.
• Subscription records (status and transaction ids from Apple or Google) are kept so Restore Purchases keeps working. When you delete your data they are unlinked from your device identifier.

Your rights and choices

Wherever you live, you can:

• Get a copy. Export all your data as a JSON file from inside the app.
• Delete it. Use “Delete all data” in Settings. This deletes the data on your device and any backup on our servers. You can also email karan@bindalinfotech.com. See Delete your data.
• See or correct it. Everything you logged is visible and editable in the app. For anything held on our servers, email us.
• Stop sharing. Turn off backup at any time. Analytics stop with it.

If you are in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, the GDPR and UK GDPR give you the right to access, correct, delete, restrict or object to the use of your personal data, to data portability, and to withdraw consent at any time. We process backup and analytics data on the basis of your consent (you turn backup on), and purchase data to perform our contract with you. You may complain to your local data protection authority.

If you are in California, the CCPA gives you the right to know, delete and correct personal information and to opt out of its sale or sharing. We do not sell or share personal information, and we will not treat you differently for using your rights.

If you are in India, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act gives you the right to access information about your data, to correct and erase it, to have your grievances addressed, and to nominate someone to act for you. Write to karan@bindalinfotech.com for any of these.

We will reply to requests within 30 days. Because there is no account, we may ask for the device code shown in Settings → Backup so we can find your backup.

Where data is processed

Our servers and service providers may be located outside your country. Where the law requires it, we rely on appropriate safeguards for these transfers.

Security

• On-device data is encrypted at rest with a key held in the iOS Keychain or Android Keystore.
• Backups are encrypted with AES-256-GCM at the application layer before storage.
• All traffic to our servers uses HTTPS.
• Requests to our servers are authenticated with your device’s random secret.
• Access to production systems is limited to the people who need it.

No system is perfectly secure, but we design UrgeCheck so that there is as little as possible to expose.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy we will update the date at the top of this page. If a change materially affects how we use your data, we will tell you in the app before it takes effect.

Contact

Questions, requests or complaints: karan@bindalinfotech.com.