Orbit (“the app”) is a private journaling app made by thebbit.lab. This policy explains what happens to what you write. The short version: it stays on your phone.
Your notes never leave your device
Everything you write is stored only on your device, encrypted at rest with a key held in your device’s secure keychain. There are no accounts, no servers, and no sync. We cannot read, access, or recover your notes — not for support requests, not for anyone.
What we collect
We collect nothing from your journaling. thebbit.lab runs no servers or accounts for your notes, and no analytics, so nothing about you or what you write ever reaches us. Data is involved in only two optional places — advertising, handled by Google (see “Ads”), and inviting friends (see “Inviting friends”) — and neither ever includes your notes.
Ads
Orbit is free, and you can earn paper clips by watching optional rewarded video ads served by Google AdMob. An ad is requested only when you choose to watch one — if you never watch an ad, no ad request is ever made. To serve and measure ads, Google collects device identifiers, coarse location inferred from your IP address, device and app information, and ad-interaction data, under Google’s own privacy policy (policies.google.com/privacy). We never send Google — or anyone — your notes, captions, or anything you write.
Orbit does not track you
Every ad Orbit requests is non-personalized. Ads are chosen from the moment, not from a profile of you: nothing Orbit collects is linked with data from other companies to target advertising, and nothing is ever shared with a data broker. That is why Orbit never asks for App Tracking Transparency permission — there is no tracking to ask about, and the app is built so that it cannot request one. Google still uses device identifiers for things like showing you the same ad too often, measuring ads, and preventing fraud, which Apple does not treat as tracking.
Your choices
Where local law requires it (for example the EEA and UK), Google’s consent form is shown before the first ad, and your choices there govern what Google may use. Everywhere, you can simply not watch ads: they are optional, and paper clips can also be earned free each day. iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Apple Advertising lets you limit ad tracking system-wide.
Inviting friends
Orbit lets you invite a friend and earn a free peek when they join. This is the one feature that uses a small server run by thebbit.lab. Only when you open the invite screen or enter a friend’s code does the app create a random invite code and an anonymous random ID for your install and send them to that server, which stores nothing but those random codes and how many referrals each has. It never receives your notes, name, email, or any personal information; it is never used for advertising or tracking; and the random ID is not linked to your identity. If you never use invites, your device never contacts this server.
Sharing
If you choose to share when burning a note, the app composes an image containing your caption and the note’s text, and hands it to the system share sheet. Content leaves your device only when you choose a destination there. What you share, and where, is entirely under your control.
Purchases
Paper-clip purchases are processed by Apple through the App Store. We never see or store your payment details. Purchase records are handled under Apple’s privacy policy.
Notifications
All notifications are local: scheduled and delivered entirely on your device. No push tokens are created and nothing is sent to a server.
Backups
Your data is included in your device backup (iCloud or computer), protected according to your own backup settings. The encryption key travels in your keychain so restored backups keep working on a new phone.
Children
The app is not directed at children under 13 and is rated 12+ for infrequent mature themes users may write themselves.
Changes & contact
If this policy changes, the updated version will ship inside the app with a new date above. Questions: thebbit.lab@gmail.com.