Privacy Policy

The short version: memorials are private and invitation-only, we never sell your information, and you can delete your account at any time from Settings in the app. Questions go to support@thewakefulapp.com.

1. Introduction

The Wakeful App (the "App") is operated by The Wakeful App LLC ("we," "us," "our"). The App helps family and friends coordinate around a loved one's memorial, funeral, and burial arrangements through private, invitation-only memorials. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use and share it, how long we keep it, and the choices and rights you have.

By creating an account, you agree to the practices described here. If you don't agree, please don't use the App.

2. Information We Collect

Account information. When you sign up we collect your name, email address, and password. The password is handled by our authentication provider and stored only in hashed form; we never see it. You may also choose to add a mobile phone number, your date of birth, and a profile photo. These optional details are stored on your own profile and are not shown to other members. Your name, initials, profile photo, and your relationship to the deceased (for example "daughter" or "college friend") are shown to the other members of each memorial you join.

Business Plan subscription. The App is free to download, and each account can create or join up to three memorials on the Free plan. If you subscribe to the Business Plan to remove that limit, Apple processes the payment; we do not receive your card details, Apple ID password, or billing address. We record on your profile whether your account has an active Business Plan and when it started or ended, so the plan follows you across devices. Our subscription-management provider, RevenueCat, receives your account ID, your device's app-store identifiers, and your subscription status from Apple, and nothing else about you. Apple may give us aggregated, non-identifying sales reports.

Email verification. We may send a one-time verification email to confirm that you own the email address on your account.

Memorial content. Information added about the deceased: their name, photo, dates of birth and passing, a short description, a eulogy or tribute text, and the cemetery or burial location; the event schedule (for example viewing, service, burial, reception), including each event's date, time, address, and notes; and photos added to the shared photo album.

Invitations. Each memorial has a short invitation code, stored with the memorial it belongs to, who created it, when, and whether it is still active. When you join with a code, we record which code you used. When a member invites someone by email, we store the invitee's email address together with the memorial's name, the inviter's name, and whether the invitation has been accepted. Invitation messages (email, text, or any other app, or a QR code that links to the App Store) are sent from the inviter's own device, not by us. When a person signs in with a verified email address that matches a pending invitation, they are added to that memorial automatically, subject to the Free plan limit.

Photos you upload. Before a memorial photo is uploaded, the App resizes it on your device and uploads the resulting image. We do not use photos for facial recognition or for any purpose other than displaying them to the relevant memorial's members.

Location information. The GPS coordinates of a burial plot, saved only when an administrator chooses to pin the location on a map, and your device's location if you grant the App location permission for that feature. We only access device location while you are actively using the map feature, and only with your permission through iOS's location prompt.

Device permissions. The App may request access to your camera or photo library (to take or choose a profile or memorial photo), your location (see above), and notifications. Each is requested through iOS's standard permission prompt, is only needed for the feature that uses it, and can be turned off later in your device's Settings.

Technical and diagnostic information. Device type, operating system version, app version, IP address, crash logs, and basic usage data, collected to keep the App working, secure, and free of bugs. If you allow push notifications, a notification token that identifies your device is stored so we can deliver them; it is deleted when you delete your account. We use notifications to remind members of a memorial about its upcoming events. A reminder contains the event type, the deceased's name, and the event's date, time, and address, and is delivered through Apple's push notification service. You can turn notifications off at any time in your iPhone's Settings.

3. How We Use Information

We use the information above to: create and operate your account and the memorials you belong to; show memorial content to that memorial's members according to their role; deliver invitations and add invited people to the right memorial; apply the three-memorial Free plan limit and your Business Plan status; let administrators manage members and roles; open driving directions when you ask for them; diagnose and fix technical problems; enforce our Terms of Service; and contact you about your account or about changes to this Policy or the Terms.

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use memorial content — photos, descriptions, eulogies, or events — for advertising. We do not send marketing communications; if that ever changes, we will offer a clear opt-out.

Within a memorial. The memorial profile, eulogy, events, photo album, map, and member list are visible only to that memorial's members — never public, never searchable. The member list shows each member's name, initials, profile photo, relationship to the deceased, and role (Super Admin, Administrator, or Member). Your phone number, email address, and date of birth are not shown to other members.
Burial-plot location. The pinned location is shown inside the App only to that memorial's signed-in members. If a member chooses to open the pin in Apple Maps for directions, the pin's coordinates and the deceased's name are passed to Apple Maps on that member's device.
Event addresses. When you tap an event's address, that address is passed to Apple Maps on your device to show driving directions.
Map display. Maps inside the App are drawn using OpenStreetMap map tiles, which means your device requests map images from OpenStreetMap's servers (sharing your IP address and the area being viewed, as with any web map).
Service providers. We share information with companies that help us run the App, each bound to use it only to provide their service to us: Google Firebase (account sign-in, database, file storage, and crash reporting), Apple (App Store downloads, subscriptions, payment and refunds, Apple Maps, and push notifications), RevenueCat (subscription status), and OpenStreetMap (map images).
Legal and safety. We may disclose information if required by law or legal process, or if we believe in good faith it is necessary to protect someone's safety or to investigate fraud or misuse of the App.
Business transfers. If we are involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction; we will notify you if this materially changes how your information is handled.
We do not share your information with third parties for their own marketing purposes.

5. International Data Transfers

Your information may be stored and processed in the United States or in another country where our service providers operate, which may not be where you live. Where required by law, we rely on appropriate safeguards for any such transfer.

6. Data Security

Passwords are stored only in hashed form by our authentication provider. Data is encrypted in transit and at rest by our hosting provider. Access to memorial content is enforced by server-side security rules: only members of a memorial can read it, only its administrators can change it, and only the memorial's Super Admin can delete it. No system can guarantee complete security; if a security incident compromises your personal information, we will notify affected users and relevant authorities as required by law.

7. Data Retention and Account Deletion

We keep your account information for as long as your account exists.

Deleting your account. You can delete your account at any time from Settings → Delete Account. For your security, you may be asked to sign in again first. When you confirm:

your login, your profile (name, email, phone number, date of birth), and your profile photo are deleted;
you are removed from every memorial you belong to;
for any memorial you created (where you are the Super Admin), the Super Admin role passes to the longest-standing administrator of that memorial, or to its longest-standing member if there is no other administrator, so the family keeps the memorial. If nobody else belongs to it, the memorial is deleted;
content you contributed to a memorial that stays with the family — such as memorial photos and events — remains visible to that memorial's members as part of its shared history. Contact us if you want specific photos removed.

Residual copies may remain in encrypted backups for a limited period before being overwritten.

Deleting a memorial. When a memorial's Super Admin deletes it, it is removed for every member and cannot be recovered. Diagnostic logs are kept for a limited period (for example, 90 days) and then deleted or anonymized.

8. Your Choices and Rights

You can review and update your profile in Settings, delete your account in Settings, and turn off camera, photo, location, or notification permissions at any time in your device's Settings. An administrator can remove you from a memorial; the Super Admin can delete a memorial.

9. Additional Rights for Specific Regions

Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights, which we honor regardless of your location:

Access — know what personal information we hold about you.
Correction — fix inaccurate information.
Deletion — delete your information (available directly in the App under Settings → Delete Account), subject to Section 7.
Portability — receive a copy of your information in a portable format.
Objection or restriction of certain processing.
Non-discrimination for exercising any of these rights.
If you are in the EU/EEA or UK, you may also complain to your local data protection authority.

California residents have these rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA). We do not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined under California law. To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details in Section 12.

10. Children's Privacy

The Wakeful App is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect information from a child under 13. If you believe a child has given us information, contact us so we can delete it.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy. If we make material changes, we will notify you in the App, update the version and date above, and may ask you to accept the updated policy before you continue.

12. Contact Us

Questions about this policy, or want to exercise a right described above? Contact The Wakeful App LLC at support@thewakefulapp.com, or visit thewakefulapp.com.