The short version
- Use Dial Mom fully offline, no account needed — then your data never leaves your device.
- Sign in only to back up and sync across your devices. Signing in turns sync on; you can turn it off or sign out in Settings.
- We never sell your data or the data about the people you add, and we don't use it for advertising.
- Tapping Call or Text opens your phone's own apps — we don't place calls or read your messages.
Who we are
Dial Mom is operated by Jesse Tolz, an individual doing business as Dial Mom ("we," "us"). For any privacy question, email hello@dialmom.com.
What we collect
| Data | Why | Where it lives |
|---|---|---|
| Contacts you add (name, phone, email, birthday, notes, cadence, last-contact details, groups, and interaction history) | To run the core reminder loop | On your device always; these fields also go to our cloud for signed-in users while sync is on. Interaction-history sync is available to every signed-in user. |
| Your email address | To sign you in and secure your account | Our authentication provider (Supabase) |
| Voice notes you record (Pro), including their names and durations | To keep and restore spoken notes with a contact | On your device; also in private Supabase Storage and a metadata row while you are signed in with active Pro and sync is on. Encrypted disaster-recovery copies may also be retained temporarily in private Cloudflare R2 storage. |
| Reminder settings, plan status, referral code | To deliver nudges and manage your plan | On your device and, when signed in, your profile row |
| Purchase and entitlement records | To grant, restore, verify, and prevent theft of Pro | Apple for App Store purchases; RevenueCat when native purchasing is enabled; Stripe only if web purchasing is later offered. We store plan and entitlement status and protected one-way linkages to verified identity and Apple transaction evidence—not full card details. |
| Referral attribution and activation status | To show progress, prevent abuse, and grant referral-earned Lifetime Pro after five qualifying activations | Our Supabase database. We keep an auditable server ledger and non-sensitive statuses; we do not show referrers another person's contacts, cadence, or private activity. |
We do not collect your location, we do not use third-party advertising or cross-app tracking, and we do not upload your device's full address book. Contacts import is opt-in and, if you use it, only the people you specifically select are added.
You choose what to put in notes and recordings. The app reminds you not to store passwords, financial or government-ID details, medical information, or anything deeply private. That reminder does not make sensitive information safe to store and is not a substitute for appropriate security or your own legal obligations.
Dial Mom is a general-purpose relationship tool, not a medical-record, legal case-management, emergency, or regulated professional-record system. Professionals may use it personally, but should not use it as a system of record for regulated client or patient information.
Access to your phone's contacts
If you choose "Import from my contacts," the app asks your operating system for permission to read your address book, shows you a list, and adds only the entries you pick. We don't copy the rest, and you can deny or revoke the permission in your device settings at any time.
Information about other people
Most contact information in Dial Mom is provided by the user about people who may not use Dial Mom themselves. Users are responsible for having the permission and lawful basis required to add, import, store, sync, or record information about another person and for complying with applicable notice, consent, privacy, and recording laws. Dial Mom does not obtain recording consent on a user's behalf.
How we use your data
Only to make the app work for you: to show who's due, remind you of birthdays, sync across your devices after you sign in, deliver the daily notification you turn on, apply your plan and referrals, prevent abuse, and respond to support requests. We don't profile you or sell insights about you.
For referral eligibility, we record the original referral attribution, account-verification status, whether at least one contact and cadence were created, whether the referred account returned on another calendar day, qualification status, and limited proportionate anti-abuse signals such as a one-way hash of a random app-installation identifier and unusual account/referral patterns. We do not require a hardware advertising identifier, expose private activation details to the referrer, or require the referred person to purchase anything. Suspicious cases may be held for manual review.
Who we share it with
We share data only with service providers that help run the app, under contracts that limit them to that purpose:
- Supabase — authentication, database infrastructure for synced account/contact data, and private object storage for synced Pro voice recordings.
- Cloudflare R2 — private disaster-recovery storage for encrypted copies of synced voice recordings. Voice files and their recovery manifest are encrypted before upload, so Cloudflare receives encrypted backup data rather than readable recordings.
- Apple — App Store distribution, Sign in with Apple, and App Store purchases.
- RevenueCat — purchase and entitlement verification when real native purchases are enabled.
- Stripe — payment processing only if web purchasing is offered. Apple and Stripe handle payment details; we don't receive your full card number.
We may also disclose data if required by law, or to protect the rights and safety of our users. We never sell personal data.
Where data is stored and how long
Synced data is stored on infrastructure operated by our providers (primarily in the United States). Cloudflare R2 uses automatic placement for this recovery bucket rather than a guaranteed country-specific location. We keep active synced data while your account is active. Deleted contacts go to a "Recently Deleted" bin for up to 60 days before permanent deletion.
When Pro expires, cloud voice access and new uploads stop immediately, but local voice notes stay available on the current device. We retain existing cloud voice audio and its cloud metadata for a 90-day renewal grace period. The app displays the scheduled deletion date and, when notification permission is available, schedules local warnings at expiration, 30 days remaining, and 7 days remaining. Renewing during the grace period restores cloud access. After 90 days, the cloud audio and associated voice-note cloud metadata are permanently deleted. The free account, contacts, groups, settings, notes, and interaction history are not deleted because Pro expired.
A confirmed account-deletion request overrides the voice grace period. We promptly delete the active Supabase Auth account and user-controlled cloud content, including contacts, notes, interactions, voice files and metadata, groups, settings, and temporary export artifacts, and clear Dial Mom data from that device. Encrypted R2 recovery manifests are retained for up to 30 days. An encrypted voice-file version is removed after no retained recovery manifest references it, so a deleted active voice file may remain in encrypted recovery storage for up to 30 days before automated removal.
If the deleted account had paid Founding Member lifetime or referral-earned Lifetime Pro, we retain a separate minimal restoration and audit record: entitlement source and status, dates, a protected one-way linkage to the verified sign-in identity, and, for a paid Apple entitlement, a protected linkage to the original transaction. This record does not contain the deleted contacts, groups, notes, recordings, interaction history, or settings. It exists to restore valid lifetime access, prevent entitlement theft or reassignment, handle disputes, and meet limited legal/accounting needs. It is retained while the lifetime obligation remains active or as otherwise legally necessary.
Your choices and rights
- Stay local: don't sign in, and the contacts, notes, and relationship data you enter stay on that device.
- Access, correct, or export: your data is visible and editable in the app. Settings offers a local device export and, for recently authenticated signed-in users, a private cloud archive through an unguessable link that expires after five minutes. Temporary server archives are scheduled for cleanup after expiration. Exports are created only when requested, are never emailed, and can contain personal information about your contacts, so store them carefully.
- Delete: delete individual contacts in-app, or initiate permanent account and synced-data deletion from Settings. Deleting your Dial Mom account does not cancel an App Store subscription.
- Restore lifetime access: a recreated account can request restoration. Paid Founding Member lifetime requires verified Apple purchase/restore evidence; referral-earned lifetime requires the same verified sign-in identity. Changed aliases, relay addresses, Apple Accounts, or identity records may require manual support review. Restoration never restores previously deleted content.
- Revoke permissions: turn off Contacts, Microphone, or Notifications in your device settings any time.
Creating an export is separate from account deletion and does not authorize deletion. You must separately confirm any deletion request.
If you used Sign in with Apple and delete Dial Mom, you can also revoke Dial Mom's Apple authorization in iPhone Settings → your name → Sign in with Apple. Email us if you need help with a privacy request.
Depending on where you live (for example, the EU/UK under GDPR, or California under the CCPA/CPRA), you may have additional rights to access, correct, delete, or restrict use of your data, and to lodge a complaint with a regulator. Email us to exercise any of these — we won't charge you or treat you differently for doing so.
Children
Dial Mom is a general-audience service for users age 13 and older. It is not directed to children under 13, and we don't knowingly create accounts for or collect personal data from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us personal data, email us and we'll take appropriate steps to delete it.
Security
Synced data is protected by per-user access rules so each account can only reach its own data, and it's encrypted in transit. No system is perfectly secure, but we work to protect your information and will notify you of a breach as required by law.
Changes to this policy
If we change how we handle your data, we'll update the date and version above. For material changes where affirmative acceptance is appropriate, we'll explain the change in the app and ask you to accept before your next affected account or cloud action. You may continue using local-only features without accepting, and we will not delete or trap your local data.
Contact
Privacy questions or requests: hello@dialmom.com.