Terms of Use
These guidelines describe how to use the Thoughts app and supplement any license terms that have been effectively agreed upon. They are intentionally written to be easy to understand: Thoughts is a private journal—there are no accounts with the provider, no costs, and no ads.
1. Provider and Scope
The provider of Thoughts is the person named above. Thoughts is offered free of charge as a non-commercial project.
These terms describe the use of Thoughts. To the extent that they contain contractual provisions, these apply only if they have been validly incorporated into the user agreement. Mere publication here or continued use of the app does not constitute the legally required consent.
For licensing via the App Store, Apple’s standard End User License Agreement applies, unless a separate, valid license agreement for Thoughts has been agreed upon there. Mandatory statutory rights remain unaffected.
2. Purpose and Functionality
Thoughts is a personal digital journal in the form of a private chat interface. The app is intended solely for recording and managing your own thoughts, texts, photos, and files for personal use.
The content is not intended for other users. Thoughts has no social features, no contacts, no recipients, and no public profiles, and there is no way to share entries with others within the app.
You can export a chat yourself and share it using your iPhone’s Share feature. What you share from the app in this way is solely your responsibility.
Voice input creates a temporary audio file and converts speech to text. The app’s own recognition takes place exclusively on the device; if it is unavailable or fails, there is no fallback to an online service. The app is designed to delete the temporary recording upon completion or cancellation. Details and exceptions are outlined in the Privacy Policy.
Thoughts is not a medical device and is not a substitute for medical, psychological, or therapeutic counseling. The app does not provide a diagnosis and is not intended to treat or manage medical conditions. If you are in a crisis situation, please seek professional help or call emergency services.
3. Cost of Use
Thoughts is offered free of charge.
The app contains no paid subscriptions, no in-app purchases, and no advertisements.
You are responsible for the costs of your Apple device, your internet connection, and, if applicable, the iCloud storage provided by Apple.
4. Right of Use
You are granted a simple, non-transferable right to use Thoughts for personal purposes on the Apple devices that you own or lawfully control.
The app itself—including the source code, name, icon, design, and technical implementation—remains the property of the provider or the respective rights holders.
In particular, the following are not permitted: distributing or reselling the app outside the channels provided by Apple; renting or otherwise exploiting the app commercially; making unauthorized modifications; or circumventing security and access protection features such as the app lock.
Decompilation or other reverse engineering is permitted only to the extent expressly allowed by law. Mandatory statutory rights remain unaffected.
In addition, the currently valid terms and conditions of Apple and the App Store apply.
5. Your Content
All text, photos, files, and other content that you save using Thoughts remains your content. The provider claims no ownership or usage rights to it.
The provider does not operate a server for your journal entries and has no access to your local or personal iCloud content. If you send content to the provider yourself—for example, via a support email—the provider will receive that message and its attachments.
If you use iCloud synchronization, the data required for this is processed via the iCloud services provided by Apple and synchronized across your Apple devices. Apple’s terms and conditions and privacy policy also apply here.
You are personally responsible for ensuring that the content you store is lawful and does not infringe on the rights of third parties.
6. Storage, Synchronization, and Backup
Entries are stored locally. The optional iCloud synchronization syncs supported content across your devices. Other data transfers—in particular, enabled link previews and the map loaded when opening the Developer section—are described in the Privacy Policy.
Attachments larger than 200 MB and chat background images are not transferred via app synchronization. Synchronization depends, among other things, on your internet connection, iCloud availability, and storage limits.
Synchronization is not an independent backup: Changes and deletions may also be transferred to other devices. Under Data Management, you can create a backup file. It contains the data and attachments available at the time of export and does not have its own password encryption.
Store backups in a secure location. When restoring, existing chat and journal data will be replaced by the backup. If sync is enabled, restored data can subsequently be transferred to iCloud. These notes do not exclude any legal claims arising from data loss.
Deleted chats remain in “Recently Deleted” for 7, 30, or 90 days, depending on your settings, or indefinitely if automatic deletion is disabled. The default is 30 days. Once the time period expires, the data is permanently removed through automatic cleanup. After that, it cannot be restored from this section; separate backups may still contain copies.
7. Responsible Use
Thoughts must not be used to store illegal content or to infringe on the rights of others.
Please do not use the app in situations where your attention is needed elsewhere, such as while driving or in traffic.
Existing security features of the app, such as locking with Face ID, Touch ID, or a device passcode, must not be bypassed without authorization.
8. Children and Adolescents
Minors are subject to the legal provisions regarding legal capacity and, where necessary, the consent of their legal guardians. For Apple services, Apple’s account and age requirements also apply.
Thoughts does not have its own registration process or user account. However, the network features described in the Privacy Policy may still transmit data. An App Store age rating does not replace any required consent.
9. Availability and Changes
The provider strives to ensure the reliable operation of Thoughts but cannot guarantee uninterrupted availability at all times.
The availability of individual features may depend on technical requirements, the operating system version, and third-party services such as Apple. Certain features require a supported operating system version; iCloud synchronization additionally requires a compatible Apple ID and iCloud to be enabled.
The Provider may further develop, modify, or discontinue features to the extent permitted by law.
Statutory claims regarding required updates, as well as other mandatory statutory rights, remain unaffected.
10. Liability and Third-Party Services
The provider is liable in accordance with statutory provisions. These notes do not limit statutory liability claims.
Apple and other third-party providers operate their services under their own terms and conditions. The provider of Thoughts cannot guarantee their availability or performance. Its legal responsibility for its own actions—in particular, the selection and integration of such services—remains unaffected.
The operators of linked websites are generally responsible for their content. This does not exclude statutory obligations or any liability the Provider may have.
11. Termination and Deletion
You can stop using the service at any time. Turning off synchronization does not delete journal entries or existing cloud copies.
You can use “Reset App Data” to remove local content and settings. Copies already stored in iCloud or exported will not be automatically deleted as a result.
Simply uninstalling the app does not reliably remove iCloud copies, exported backups, or messages that have already been sent. For details, see the Privacy Policy.
12. Privacy
The Privacy Policy—which you can also find in Settings—explains what personal data Thoughts processes, the purposes for which this is done, and the rights you have under data protection law.
In short: There is no provider server for your entries, no tracking, no personalized advertising, and no analysis of your usage for advertising purposes.
For Apple services, particularly iCloud, additional data processing may take place by Apple. Details can be found in the Privacy Policy and in Apple’s Privacy Policy.
13. Governing Law
The laws of the Federal Republic of Germany apply.
With respect to consumers, this applies only to the extent that it does not deprive them of the protection afforded by mandatory provisions of the country in which the consumer has their habitual residence.
14. Changes to This Notice
The description of the app may be updated to reflect technical or legal changes. A new version of the text does not automatically amend existing contracts. If consent to amended contractual terms is required, it must be obtained separately.
Should any validly agreed provision be invalid, the statutory provisions regarding its consequences shall apply.
The version applicable to this app version is available here within the app. A web version can be accessed via the link provided on this page.