Privacy Policy

Last updated: January 2026

Vela is designed with your privacy in mind. We believe you should have full control over your personal reflections and data. This policy explains what we collect, how we use it, and your rights.

Data We Collect

Account Information

Email address for authentication and account recovery.

Content You Create

  • Explorations and open expressions
  • Goals, milestones, and initiatives
  • Weekly reflections and reviews
  • Progress notes and achievements

Usage Data

We track how you use features (which screens you visit, when you complete reviews) to improve the product. This is categorical data only - we never analyze the content of your reflections for analytics purposes.

Data Encryption

Your sensitive content is encrypted at rest using AES-256-GCM, an industry-standard encryption algorithm. This includes:

  • Your open expressions and reflections
  • Goal descriptions and completion notes
  • Weekly review responses
  • Progress notes and achievements

Encrypted data is protected even in the event of a database breach. The encryption key is stored securely and separately from the database.

AI Processing

To provide personalized insights and suggestions, some of your content is processed by our AI partner, Anthropic (Claude).

What is sent to AI:

  • Open expressions when generating reflections
  • Goals and milestones when suggesting next steps
  • Weekly progress when creating review summaries

AI Data Policies:

  • Your data is not used to train AI models
  • Anthropic may retain data for up to 30 days for trust & safety review
  • No personally identifying information is included in AI prompts

Content is decrypted on our secure servers before being sent to AI, then re-encrypted when stored.

Analytics

We use a self-hosted analytics system - no data is sent to third-party analytics services like Google Analytics.

What we track:

  • Feature usage (which screens, how often)
  • Completion rates (explorations, reviews)
  • AI feature adoption
  • Session timing

What we do NOT track:

  • The content of your reflections or goals
  • Text analysis or sentiment
  • Your location or device details

You can opt out of analytics tracking in your Settings page. When opted out, no usage events are recorded.

Your Rights

Delete Your Data

You can permanently delete your account and all associated data at any time from the Settings page. This action is irreversible.

Export Your Data

Data export functionality is coming soon. You will be able to download all your content in JSON format.

Analytics Opt-Out

Disable usage tracking in Settings. The app works fully without analytics.

Data Retention

We retain your data for as long as you have an active account. When you delete your account, all associated data is permanently removed from our systems within 30 days (including any backups).

Contact Us

If you have questions about this privacy policy or how we handle your data, please contact us at privacy@usevela.app