A birth date is used in banks and password resets. A birth time and place is enough to build a chart and, in some countries, to help guess at identity. Astrology apps collect that bundle as if it were a sun-sign joke. It is not.
This page is a reader checklist. It is not a penetration test. “We process on device” is a claim until someone independent can see it. AskSoma-style marketing already taught the Journal to say that out loud.
Buyer frame: how to evaluate an app. Leaving: cancel. Bias in models: algorithmic bias.
What to Read in the Policy (10 minutes)
- What is stored: date, time, place, name, email, partner dates, chat logs, payment tokens
- Where: company region, subprocessors (analytics, crash, LLM vendors)
- Why: “to personalize” is not a purpose. “To compute a natal chart and send a daily notification” is
- How long: until delete, or forever-with-a-smile
- Who else: advertisers, “research partners,” model trainers
- Delete: a path you can finish without emailing a founder’s Gmail
- Export: can you take the log? A journal you do not own is a leash
If there is no policy linked from the App Store listing, stop.
Sharing Is a Privacy Event
Entering a partner’s date to “see if you’re compatible” is publishing their identifier into someone else’s database. How to share a reading is the ethics cousin. Do not paste a child’s data into a toy.
What This Site Will Not Claim
We will not claim The Whisper — or any competitor — is “the most private” without an audit. We will claim you should prefer:
- a named company and address
- a delete control
- a policy that lists subprocessors
- no requirement to grant contacts or photos for a chart
If two apps are equal on sky-method, pick the one that lets you leave with your data.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a birth time really sensitive? It is specific. Specific plus name plus place is a lot. Treat it as you would a government form, not a quiz.
Does on-device calculation fix this? It can reduce server copies of the chart. Accounts, backups, and LLM prompts can still leave the device. Read the prompt-and-log section.
What about Apple / Google “Sign in”? Better than a reused password. Not a privacy policy.