Tether is a memory logbook made by Animus Games. The short version: we don't collect any data from you. Your memories stay on your devices and in your own iCloud, and they're shared only with the people you invite.
01What Tether stores
Only what you put into it:
- Memories: each one's title, details, date and any milestone you set.
- Photos you attach to a memory.
- Comments you write under a memory.
- Reactions and Pings you send.
- Paths: their names and who has joined them.
- Your name as others see it on a shared path, so they know who added what.
Tether has no accounts, so there's no email address, password or profile for us to hold.
02Where it lives
Everything is saved on your device first, so Tether works fully offline. When you're signed in to iCloud, Tether syncs through Apple's iCloud (CloudKit), into your own iCloud account.
- Memory titles, details, comments, dates and names are stored in iCloud's encrypted fields. They're encrypted at rest, and if you've turned on Advanced Data Protection they're end-to-end encrypted, so not even Apple can read them.
- Animus Games cannot access your iCloud data. We don't operate any servers and never receive your memories, photos or names.
Apple's handling of iCloud data is covered by Apple's Privacy Policy.
03Sharing
A path is shared only when you invite someone to it, using iCloud sharing. People on a path can see and add to that path's memories, photos, comments and reactions, and see each other's names. They can't see your other paths.
- A shared path lives in the iCloud account of the person who started it, and its photos count toward that person's iCloud storage.
- The person who started a path can stop sharing it at any time, and anyone invited can leave it. Both are in Tether's Settings.
04Photos
You choose photos with the system photo picker, so Tether only ever receives the photos you pick. It never gets access to the rest of your library. Picked photos are saved with the memory, on your device and in iCloud.
When you pick a photo for a new memory, Tether reads the date it was taken from the photo itself, to suggest that date for the memory. Nothing else from the photo's details is used.
05Notifications and Ping
If you allow notifications, Tether can tell you when someone adds a memory to a path you share or comments on one, and buzz you when they send a Ping. These are delivered by Apple through iCloud; nothing passes through us. You can turn them off in Tether's Settings or in your iPhone's Settings.
06No tracking, ads or analytics
Tether contains no advertising, no analytics and no third-party SDKs, and it doesn't track you across apps or websites.
If you've chosen to share analytics with app developers in your device settings, Apple may give us anonymous crash reports and usage statistics. Apple controls that, and you can turn it off under Settings › Privacy & Security › Analytics & Improvements.
07Your control
- Export your whole logbook as text or JSON at any time from Settings.
- Delete a memory from its options menu. To make sure the deletion reaches every device, Tether keeps a hidden marker for up to 30 days before the memory is erased for good.
- Delete a comment you wrote by pressing and holding it. Its words are erased right away; a blank marker stays for up to 30 days so the deletion reaches every device.
- Delete a path to remove its memories, photos and comments everywhere, including iCloud.
- Manage or delete Tether's iCloud data in your device's Settings › [your name] › iCloud.
- Delete the app to remove everything stored on that device.
08Children
Tether isn't directed at children under 13. We don't collect personal information from anyone, children included.
09Changes
If this policy changes, we'll update this page and the date at the top. If a change ever meant Tether collecting data, we'd say so here and in the App Store before it happened.
10Contact
Questions about privacy? Email gameanimus@gmail.com. Tether is made by one person, so your email comes straight to me. You can also visit the support page.