ToneAhead is provided by an independent developer. Questions about this policy can be sent to captainlongevity@gmail.com.
ToneAhead does not require an account. You may paste or type a message, choose whether to analyze it, draft a reply, or rewrite it, select a communication goal and reply style when available, and then initiate coaching. Before the first AI request, ToneAhead asks for your explicit permission. Only after you grant permission and request coaching are the selected text, workflow, communication goal, and style sent to the ToneAhead gateway. The gateway sends the information needed for the request to DeepSeek, which generates the coaching result, including tentative communication cues for clarity, assumptions, pressure, and escalation. If you deny or withdraw permission, ToneAhead does not submit your text for coaching.
Do not submit highly sensitive personal information, access credentials, payment information, health information, or information you do not have permission to share.
Before the first coaching request, the in-app permission sheet identifies what will be sent, the ToneAhead gateway and DeepSeek as recipients, the purpose of processing, possible processing in China, and relevant retention practices. You can choose Allow and Continue or Don't Allow. Declining leaves the text in the editor and does not send a coaching request.
You can review, grant, or withdraw this permission at any time under Settings > Data and privacy > AI data sharing. Withdrawal stops future coaching transmissions. It does not retroactively affect a request you already submitted or delete completed History stored on your device; you can delete each local History record separately.
The ToneAhead gateway processes coaching text and generated results in memory for the requested action. It is designed not to write coaching text, provider prompts, generated coaching, or provider request bodies to ToneAhead databases or operational logs. Operational records may include a correlation ID, route, timestamp, status, latency, safe error category, and technical network information needed to operate and protect the service.
DeepSeek receives the selected text, requested workflow, communication goal and style instructions, and an opaque pseudonymous identifier. DeepSeek processes that information to generate the requested coaching and may use provider-managed transient API context caching. The duration and handling of that provider cache are governed by DeepSeek's Open Platform terms and policies. ToneAhead does not use coaching content or the pseudonymous identifier for advertising or cross-app tracking.
The app creates a random installation identifier that rotates approximately every 30 days. The gateway hashes this identifier before storing or deriving provider identifiers from it. ToneAhead does not use it to create an advertising profile or identify you by name.
ToneAhead uses Apple App Attest to help determine whether a request came from a genuine instance of the app. A single-use challenge is retained for up to five minutes and deleted when used. Upstash Redis stores rate-limit counters and an App Attest verification record containing a hashed installation identifier, public verification key, Apple attestation receipt, assertion counter, environment, and timestamps. The verification record expires after 180 days without a successful request. Upstash does not receive or store coaching text or generated coaching.
ToneAhead requires its service providers to process information only for the documented service purpose and to provide the same or equivalent protection described in this policy and required by applicable privacy obligations. If a provider cannot meet those requirements, ToneAhead will stop sharing information with that provider.
Completed coaching history is stored locally in ToneAhead on your iPhone so you can review it. You can delete individual history entries in the app. The optional free Face Lock can protect this local content after the app enters the background. Face ID and device-passcode authentication are handled by Apple's LocalAuthentication service on the device; ToneAhead receives only whether authentication succeeded and does not receive or store your face data, biometric template, or device passcode.
The Free plan stores the current calendar-day date and completed coaching count in the device Keychain to apply the three-request allowance consistently after an ordinary reinstall. This small state contains no message text or coaching result, resets logically each calendar day, stays on that device, and remains until the device Keychain is erased. Removing the app removes its history and drafts, subject to any backup you control, but the Keychain usage state may remain for this allowance purpose. ToneAhead does not provide a cloud account or a server-side history archive to restore. Server-side challenges and rate-limit counters expire automatically, and inactive App Attest verification records expire as described above.
ToneAhead offers optional auto-renewable subscriptions through Apple's StoreKit. Apple processes payment and billing information. ToneAhead receives entitlement status required to provide the purchased features; it does not receive your Apple ID, payment method, or full billing details.
AI data-sharing permission is a ToneAhead privacy control, separate from iOS system permissions, and can be changed in the app as described above. ToneAhead requests Face ID access only if you explicitly enable Face Lock in Settings. If you decline, Face Lock remains off and the app provides a link to iOS Settings if you later want to allow it. The current version does not request access to your camera, microphone, photos, location, contacts, or health data. It does not include advertising tracking or an advertising identifier, and ToneAhead does not sell personal information.
ToneAhead is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.
After you grant permission and request coaching, your selected text may be processed by service providers in locations other than your own. DeepSeek may process coaching requests in China. ToneAhead discloses this before asking you to allow AI data sharing. Do not grant permission or use AI coaching if you do not agree to this processing.
We may update this policy when the app or its data practices change. The effective date above identifies the latest version. A material change to how coaching data is handled will be described in an updated policy before the changed practice applies.
For privacy questions, requests concerning provider-processed information, or help exercising a privacy choice, contact captainlongevity@gmail.com. ToneAhead will coordinate with a service provider when its cooperation is needed to address a valid request. See the Terms of Service for terms that apply to use of the app.