Effective date: May 12, 2026 | Last updated: May 12, 2026
Mellow is designed to be a calm, private space. We built it so that we never see your data:
Our App Store privacy label reflects this: Data Not Collected.
This policy applies to the Mellow iOS app ("Mellow," "the app," "we," "us") published by Casey Millstein. It does not cover Apple's services, your device, or any other apps or websites.
Mellow does not:
Mellow has no backend servers of its own. There is nowhere for your data to be sent.
To work, Mellow keeps some information locally on your iPhone, inside the app's private storage (its sandbox and its App Group container). This data never leaves your device except as part of your own device backup (see "Backups" below):
You can erase all of this at any time by deleting the app from your device.
If you have iCloud Backup or encrypted device backups enabled, the on-device data above may be included in those backups, like any other app's data. Those backups are created, encrypted, and controlled by Apple under Apple's terms — Mellow has no access to them.
Mellow uses Apple's Family Controls / Screen Time framework to shield the distracting apps you choose during your morning window. Mellow requests this permission in individual mode — meaning you are managing your own device. It is not a parental-controls feature and does not involve Family Sharing, a parent or guardian account, or any second device.
Because of how Apple designed this framework:
You can revoke Screen Time access for Mellow at any time in iOS Settings → Screen Time.
If you enable morning reminders, Mellow schedules local notifications on your device (for example, a gentle nudge near your wake time). These are generated entirely on your device — Mellow does not operate a push-notification server and does not send your information anywhere to deliver them. You can turn notifications off any time in iOS Settings → Notifications → Mellow, or within Mellow's settings.
Mellow Plus is sold as an auto-renewing subscription (monthly or yearly) through the Apple App Store, using Apple's StoreKit. Apple processes the payment and manages the subscription. Mellow never receives or stores your credit card number, billing address, or other payment information. Mellow only learns from Apple whether your subscription is active, so it can unlock the corresponding features. To view, change, or cancel a subscription, use iOS Settings → [your name] → Subscriptions. Apple's handling of purchases is covered by Apple's Privacy Policy and the Apple Media Services Terms.
Mellow Plus includes short, calming "morning reflections." In this version of the app these are generated entirely on your device from a built-in library of pre-written lines, chosen based on the mood you select. No reflection text and no mood data is sent to any AI service, model provider, or server. If a future version of Mellow ever uses a hosted model to generate reflections, this policy will be updated first to describe exactly what would be sent and to whom, and such a feature would be clearly disclosed in the app.
Mellow is a personal wellbeing app intended for a general audience and is not directed to children under 13 (or the equivalent minimum age in your country). Mellow does not knowingly collect personal information from children. As noted above, Mellow's use of Screen Time is the self-management ("individual") mode and is not a parental-controls product. If you believe a child has provided us information, contact us at cmillstein1@me.com — though, as described above, Mellow has no servers and collects nothing, so in practice there is nothing for us to hold or delete.
We don't. Mellow does not sell, rent, trade, or otherwise share your personal information with anyone. There are no advertisers, data brokers, or analytics partners. The only third party in the picture is Apple, solely in its role of running the App Store and providing the iOS system features (Screen Time, notifications, in-app purchases) that Mellow builds on — and Apple's own privacy policy governs that.
We may disclose information only if required to do so by law — but since we hold no personal data about you, there would be nothing meaningful to disclose.
Data stored by Mellow lives only on your device, for as long as the app is installed. Deleting Mellow from your device deletes that data. You can also clear or change your settings within the app at any time. We retain nothing on our end because we collect nothing.
Your Mellow data is stored within the app's sandboxed storage on iOS, which is protected by the operating system and, where you've set one, your device passcode and hardware encryption. No method of storage is ever completely immune to risk, but because Mellow does not transmit your data, the usual risks of data in transit or in a cloud database do not apply here.
Depending on where you live (for example, the EU/UK under the GDPR, or California under the CCPA/CPRA), you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or port your personal data, and to not be discriminated against for exercising those rights. Because Mellow does not collect or store your personal data on any server we control, there is no profile for us to provide, correct, or erase — the data is on your device and fully under your control. We do not "sell" or "share" personal information as those terms are defined under these laws. If you have questions about your rights in relation to Mellow, contact us at cmillstein1@me.com.
If we change how Mellow handles information, we will update this page and revise the "Last updated" date above. For material changes, we'll also make a reasonable effort to notify you in the app. Your continued use of Mellow after an update means you accept the revised policy.