Mona Privacy Policy

Effective date: September 21, 2026 · App: Mona, for iPhone and Apple Watch · Developer: Steel Claw Studios LLC · Contact: darren@steelclawstudios.com

Who we are

Mona is made by Steel Claw Studios LLC, a company based in the United States. This policy explains what Mona does with your information. It is written to be read, not skimmed, so it is a little longer than most. The short version is below.

Summary

• Everything you put into Mona (tasks, habits, events, projects, photos, ideas, focus history, your companion) is stored on your device. We do not run servers, there are no accounts, and the app does not send your content to us. Mona contains no networking code of its own.
• Mona can back up your data to your own iCloud Drive. That backup lives in your Apple Account, is protected by Apple, and we cannot see or access it. Automatic backups are on by default and you can turn them off.
• Mona contains no analytics, advertising, or tracking software of any kind. We do not sell, rent, or share your personal data with anyone.
• Optional features use Apple system services with your permission: Apple Calendar, Screen Time app blocking, the camera, notifications, Siri, widgets, and Apple Watch. All of them keep your data on your devices or inside your own Apple Account.
• Mona Pro is sold through Apple. Apple handles payment. We never see your card or billing details.



What Mona stores and where

On your device. Mona keeps your content in a local database on your iPhone. Some small settings (like your theme color, reminder rules, and whether you finished onboarding) are stored in the app's preferences on the device. A small summary used by widgets and Apple Watch is stored in a shared container on your iPhone that only Mona's own widgets and Watch app can read.

In your iCloud Drive (backups). If you are signed in to iCloud, Mona saves a backup file to a "Mona" folder in your iCloud Drive. This is your storage, in your Apple Account. See "Backups" below.

In your iCloud key-value storage (two small values). Mona mirrors two values to your iCloud account using Apple's key-value storage: your companion's total experience points (a single number), so your companion's level survives a reinstall and follows you to another device, and a yes/no flag recording that you completed onboarding, so a reinstall does not make you go through the introduction again. Neither value is visible to us. If you are not signed in to iCloud, nothing is mirrored.

On our servers. Nothing. We do not operate any servers that receive data from Mona, and the app has no code that talks to us.

Data you create in Mona

Mona stores what you type or add: tasks, habits, calendar events, projects and their notes, photos attached to projects, ideas, focus session history (durations, intentions, completion), focus schedules and timer presets, your companion's progress and challenge state, and your settings. Because Mona is a personal planner, this may include information you consider private. It stays under your control on your devices and in your Apple Account as described in this policy.

Backups

Where backups go. When iCloud Drive is available, Mona writes a backup file named "Mona Backup.monabackup" (and keeps one "previous" copy) in the Mona folder of your iCloud Drive. You can see these files in the Files app under iCloud Drive, Mona. They count against your iCloud storage, not ours, and only you (and anyone you share your Apple Account with) can open them. Steel Claw Studios LLC has no access to your iCloud Drive.

If iCloud is not available. If you are not signed in to iCloud, or iCloud Drive is off for Mona, backups are written to Mona's private folder on your iPhone instead. That copy is removed when you delete the app. The Backup screen tells you which location is in use.

When backups happen. Automatic backups are on by default and run when you leave the app, if the last backup is older than the interval you chose (daily, every three days, or weekly). You can also tap "Back Up Now" at any time.

How to turn automatic backups off. In Mona, open Settings, Backup, and switch off "Automatic backups." Mona will not write new backups until you turn it back on or tap "Back Up Now."

What a backup contains. Your tasks (open tasks, plus completed or canceled tasks from the last seven days), habits, calendar events, ideas, projects, project photos (full size until a 60 MB photo budget is reached, then reduced to thumbnails), focus sessions, focus schedules, focus timer presets, your companion's XP ledger and state, and a fixed list of settings: theme and companion colors, companion encouragement, home screen metrics, daily and weekly goals, reminder rules, calendar display preferences, Auto Schedule preferences, habit colors, and the onboarding-completed flag. The file also records the app version and your device's name (for example "Darren's iPhone") so you can tell backups apart.

What a backup deliberately leaves out. Screen Time app selections (these are device-specific tokens from Apple and cannot travel), Apple Calendar link identifiers, your subscription status or any purchase information, debug flags, and per-device screen state. A backup file can never unlock Mona Pro on another device; your subscription follows your Apple Account instead.

Restoring. Restoring a backup replaces what is currently in Mona. Before it does, Mona saves a copy of your current data as "Mona Backup (before restore)" in the same place, so a restore can be undone by restoring that file. On a fresh install, Mona offers to restore a backup it finds in your iCloud Drive; you can decline and start fresh.

Export and portability. Settings, Backup, "Export a Copy" creates a dated backup file and opens the share sheet so you can save it to Files, AirDrop it, or send it wherever you choose. The exported file is not encrypted by Mona, so treat it like any personal document. You can restore from any backup file using "Restore from a File."

Deleting backups. Mona does not delete your iCloud Drive backups for you, and "Delete All Data" does not touch them. To delete them, open the Files app, go to iCloud Drive, Mona, and delete the files, or manage them at iCloud.com. Deleting the Mona app does not delete files in your iCloud Drive.

Apple Calendar (Mona Pro)

Two-way Apple Calendar sync is optional and available with Mona Pro. If you turn it on, Mona asks for full access to your calendars through Apple's EventKit framework.

What Mona reads: the title, notes, start and end times, all-day flag, repeat rule, and calendar color of events in your calendars, so they can appear in Mona.

What Mona writes: events you create or edit in Mona are added to or updated in your default calendar. If you delete an event in Mona that is linked to Apple Calendar, Mona will offer to remove it from Apple Calendar as well.

Where this data goes: it stays on your device and in whichever calendar accounts you already use (for example iCloud or Google, governed by their own policies). Mona never sends calendar data to us.

Disconnecting: open the iOS Settings app, choose Mona, and turn off Calendars. Mona will keep the events it already has locally and stop reading or writing your calendars.

Screen Time and app blocking

Mona can block distracting apps and websites during a focus session or on a schedule. This uses Apple's Screen Time frameworks (Family Controls, Managed Settings, and Device Activity) and requires your explicit permission. Mona requests "individual" authorization for your own device only; it is not a parental-control product.

What Mona can and cannot see. When you choose apps, categories, or websites to block, Apple's picker gives Mona opaque tokens. These tokens are meaningful only to iOS. Mona cannot read the names, bundle identifiers, or icons of the apps you select, and neither can we. The tokens are stored only on your device, in a container shared with Mona's own Screen Time extensions. They are never uploaded, never sent to us, and never included in backups.

What the extensions do. Mona includes a Device Activity extension that iOS wakes at the start and end of a scheduled focus window. It reads your saved selection from the device, applies the block ("shield") when a window begins, and clears it when the window ends or a manual focus timer expires. A second, small extension provides the branded screen you see when you open a blocked app. Neither extension monitors, records, or reports how you use your device, which apps you open, or for how long. Mona does not use Apple's Device Activity reporting features and has no access to your Screen Time usage data.

Turning it off. You can stop blocking at any time by ending the focus session or schedule, or by turning off Lock Apps in Mona. To remove Mona's permission entirely, open the iOS Settings app, Screen Time, and remove Mona under the apps with Screen Time access. "Delete All Data" in Mona also clears all schedules and active blocks.

Camera and photos

Mona can attach photos to projects. You can take a photo with the camera from inside Mona, which requires camera permission, or pick an existing photo using Apple's photo picker, which does not require access to your photo library because iOS hands Mona only the photos you choose.

Photos are stored in Mona's database on your device and are included in Mona backups (see above). Photos taken inside Mona are not saved to your Photos library. Mona does not read your photo library, and photos are never sent to us.

Notifications

Mona schedules reminders (for tasks, events, habits, focus schedules, and focus timers) as local notifications on your device, with your permission. Some reminders use Apple's "time sensitive" level so they can break through Focus modes. Mona has no push notification server and never sends notification content anywhere.

Widgets, Live Activities, Apple Watch, and Siri

Widgets and Live Activities. Mona's Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets, and the focus timer Live Activity in the Dynamic Island, read a small summary Mona keeps in a shared container on your iPhone: task and habit titles, completion status, times, counts, your accent choice, focus timer state, and timer presets. This summary is in a plain (unencrypted) file inside Mona's own protected container on your device. It never leaves your iPhone except to your paired Apple Watch as described next.

Apple Watch. The Mona Watch app receives the same summary from your iPhone through Apple's Watch Connectivity, which runs over the encrypted connection between your iPhone and Apple Watch. The Watch app can complete tasks and habits and capture ideas; those actions are sent back to your iPhone and applied there. If you use dictation on the Watch, it is Apple's system dictation, governed by Apple's privacy terms. Nothing goes to us.

Siri and Shortcuts. Mona offers App Shortcuts (Add Task, Capture Idea, Complete Habit, Uncomplete Habit). When you use them, Apple's App Intents framework runs Mona's code on your device. How Siri processes your speech is governed by Apple's privacy terms. We do not receive your Siri requests.

Subscriptions and payments (Mona Pro)

Mona Pro is an auto-renewing subscription (monthly or yearly) sold through the App Store, currently with a one-week free trial. Apple processes the payment. We never receive your name, address, card number, bank details, or Apple ID email.

What we receive. Apple's StoreKit tells the app on your device whether you have an active entitlement (the product purchased, its status, and renewal or expiry dates) so Mona can unlock Pro features. Mona keeps a yes/no copy of that status on your device so Pro works instantly at launch. Apple also provides us aggregated, anonymized sales and subscription reports in App Store Connect that do not identify you.

Managing your subscription. You can cancel, change plans, or turn off auto-renewal in your Apple Account's Subscriptions settings. Deleting the app does not cancel a subscription. Restore Purchases in Mona asks Apple to resync your entitlements. Offer codes are redeemed through Apple's redemption sheet. Whether Mona Pro is available through Family Sharing is set in App Store Connect; if it is enabled, members of your Family Sharing group can use Pro under Apple's Family Sharing terms.

Terms. Mona Pro is governed by Apple's Licensed Application End User License Agreement: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Analytics and crash reports

Mona contains no analytics or crash-reporting software. The only diagnostics that can reach us come from Apple: if you have chosen "Share With App Developers" in iOS Settings, Privacy and Security, Analytics and Improvements, Apple may share crash logs and aggregated usage statistics for Mona with us through App Store Connect and Xcode. These are provided by Apple, are not linked to your identity by us, and are off unless you opt in. You can change that choice at any time in iOS Settings.

No tracking, no ads, no sale of data

Mona does not track you across other companies' apps or websites, does not show ads, and does not include any third-party software development kits. We do not use Apple's App Tracking Transparency prompt because there is nothing to ask permission for. We do not sell personal information, and we do not "share" it for cross-context behavioral advertising as those terms are defined in California law. We have never done so.

Mona's privacy manifests (the files Apple requires from every app and extension) declare no tracking, no tracking domains, and no collected data types.

Third-party links

Mona includes links to outside services: a Discord community server under Settings, Community, Feedback; Apple's App Store; and our website. If you follow a link, you leave Mona and the other service's privacy policy applies. Discord in particular is an independent company; joining the Discord server is your choice, you do not need to join to use Mona, and any information you share there is governed by Discord's terms and privacy policy, not ours.

Children

Mona is not directed to children under 13 (or the equivalent minimum age in your region), and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. Because Mona does not collect personal information from anyone, there is nothing for us to delete if a child has used the app. Parents and guardians can remove all Mona data using the steps in the next section.

Data retention and deletion

You control retention because you hold the data.

Delete All Data in Mona. Settings, Privacy, Delete All Data erases from your device: all tasks, habits, projects and photos, ideas, calendar events stored in Mona, focus sessions, schedules, and presets, your companion's progress and its iCloud key-value mirror, the widget and Watch summary file, any pending reminders, and all Screen Time schedules and active blocks. Pro status is unaffected because it belongs to your Apple Account.

What Delete All Data does not remove. Your iCloud Drive backup files (delete them in the Files app under iCloud Drive, Mona), events already written to Apple Calendar (delete them in the Calendar app), and any exported backup copies you saved or shared elsewhere.

Deleting the app. Removing Mona from your iPhone deletes its on-device database, settings, and shared container. It does not delete iCloud Drive backups or the iCloud key-value values, which remain in your Apple Account until you delete them (Files app for backups; iOS Settings, your name, iCloud, Manage Storage for app data).

Your own device backups. iCloud Backup or a computer backup of your iPhone may include Mona's data. Those are governed by Apple's terms and your own settings.

What we cannot delete. We cannot delete anything on your behalf because we never receive a copy of your data.

Security

Mona's on-device data is protected by iOS Data Protection and your device passcode. Files in your iCloud Drive and your iCloud key-value data are encrypted in transit and at rest by Apple; if you enable Advanced Data Protection for iCloud, Apple's end-to-end encryption covers iCloud Drive as well. The connection between your iPhone and Apple Watch is encrypted by Apple.

Some limits to be aware of: Mona does not add its own encryption or password to backup files, so an exported copy can be opened by anyone who has the file and the app. The widget summary is an unencrypted file inside Mona's protected container on your device. No method of storage is perfectly secure, and you are responsible for your device passcode and Apple Account security.

Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights under laws such as the EU and UK General Data Protection Regulation, the California Consumer Privacy Act as amended by the CPRA, and similar laws in other states and countries. These typically include the right to access, correct, delete, and export your personal data, to restrict or object to certain processing, to withdraw consent, and not to be discriminated against for exercising your rights.

Because Steel Claw Studios LLC does not collect, store, or process your personal data on its own systems, we hold no data about you to access, correct, delete, or export. You can exercise each of these rights yourself, immediately, using the tools described in this policy: view and edit everything in the app, export a copy with Settings, Backup, Export a Copy, and delete everything with Delete All Data plus removing your iCloud Drive backups. Permissions you granted (calendar, camera, notifications, Screen Time) can be withdrawn in the iOS Settings app at any time.

If you contact us with a privacy request, we will respond within the time your local law requires (for example, 30 days under GDPR and 45 days under CCPA) and will explain what, if anything, we can do given that we have no copy of your data. We will not discriminate against you for making a request. If you are in the EU, UK, or another jurisdiction with a data protection authority, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with that authority.

For California residents: in the preceding 12 months we have not collected, sold, or shared personal information as those terms are defined by the CCPA, and we do not use or disclose sensitive personal information. Mona does not respond to browser "Do Not Track" or Global Privacy Control signals because it operates no website functionality inside the app and performs no tracking.

International users

Mona is available worldwide. Your data stays on your devices and, if you use iCloud features, in Apple's iCloud in the region associated with your Apple Account, under Apple's iCloud terms. We do not transfer your data across borders because we never receive it.

Changes to this policy

When we change this policy we will post the new version at https://www.steelclawstudios.com/privacypolicy and update the effective date at the top. For material changes that affect how your data is handled, we will also tell you inside the app before or when the change takes effect. Continuing to use Mona after a change means the updated policy applies.

Contact

Steel Claw Studios LLC

Email: darren@steelclawstudios.com

Web: https://www.steelclawstudios.com

If you ask how a specific feature handles your data, we will tell you exactly what it does.