Your water data stays on your iPhone

Last updated 26 October 2026 · added Meta advertising measurement

In short: Thirstgate has no accounts and no servers of its own, and shows no ads. Your glasses, goals, streaks and locked apps stay on your iPhone, and the camera check never records or sends anything. To learn which of our ads on Facebook and Instagram bring people to the app, Thirstgate uses Meta’s SDK to send Meta a few app events, like “finished setup” or “started a trial”. Your device’s advertising identifier is only shared if you choose “Allow” when iOS asks. We never sell your data.

This policy explains how the Thirstgate iPhone app (“Thirstgate”, “we”, “us”), provided by Obadia Mwakyusa, handles information. It applies to the app and to this website.

What stays on your iPhone

To work, Thirstgate saves the following on your device only:

Your settings: daily goal, glass size, minutes each glass unlocks, proof mode and reminder times.
The glasses you log: the time, the amount and how it was checked.
Daily totals, streaks, streak freezes and the milestones you’ve reached.
The apps and categories you chose to lock (see Screen Time below).

This information is stored in the app’s private storage and shared only with Thirstgate’s own extensions on the same device, which draw the lock screen and re-lock apps on time. It is never sent to us, to Meta or to anyone else. It may be included in your device backups (iCloud or computer), which Apple handles under its own privacy policy.

Camera

If you turn on a camera check, Thirstgate uses the front camera while the drink screen is open to check that a glass reaches your lips and its water level drops. This is done on your iPhone with Apple’s built-in Vision framework. Each frame is analysed in memory and discarded straight away. No photos, video or face data are recorded, saved or transmitted, and no face is identified or recognised. The only thing kept is whether the check passed.

Screen Time

Thirstgate uses Apple’s Screen Time framework (Family Controls) to lock the apps you choose. Apple only gives Thirstgate anonymous tokens for your choices; Thirstgate cannot see which apps they are, read your app usage or see your browsing. The locks are applied by iOS on your device.

Notifications

Reminders and “drink to unlock” notifications are scheduled locally on your iPhone. No push service or server is involved.

Purchases

Thirstgate Plus is bought through Apple’s App Store. Apple handles your payment details; we never see them. The app only receives confirmation from Apple of whether your subscription is active. Apple’s handling of purchases is covered by Apple’s privacy policy.

Advertising measurement (Meta)

We advertise Thirstgate on Facebook and Instagram. To see which ads work, the app includes the Meta (Facebook) SDK, which sends Meta Platforms, Inc. the following app events:

the app being installed and opened;
finishing setup;
reaching your daily goal (that it happened, not how much you drank);
starting a free trial or subscribing, with the plan, price and currency.

Along with these events, the SDK sends technical details such as your device model, iOS version, language, time zone and IP address. If you tap “Allow” when iOS asks whether Thirstgate may track you, it also sends your device’s advertising identifier (IDFA), which lets Meta connect the install to an ad you saw. If you choose “Ask App Not to Track”, the identifier is not shared and Meta only measures results in aggregate.

Meta never receives your water logs, goals, camera images, the apps you lock or your health information. Meta handles what it receives under the Meta Privacy Policy. You can change your choice any time in Settings › Privacy & Security › Tracking, and manage ad preferences in your Facebook or Instagram settings.

What we collect

Nothing else through the app. If you email us for support, we receive your email address and whatever you choose to send, and we use it only to reply to you. We delete support emails when they’re no longer needed, and no later than two years after the conversation ends.

This website has no cookies, analytics or tracking. It is hosted by GitHub Pages, which, like any web host, may keep standard server logs (such as IP addresses) for security.

Deleting your data

Delete Thirstgate from your iPhone and everything it stored is deleted with it, and every lock it set is removed. We don’t keep any account or water data on our side; if you’ve emailed us, ask and we’ll delete those emails. To have Meta delete the app events it received, use “Off-Facebook activity” (Your activity off Meta technologies) in your Facebook or Instagram settings, or email us and we’ll ask Meta on your behalf.

Children

Thirstgate is not directed at children under 13, and we don’t knowingly collect information from them.

Your rights

Depending on where you live (for example under the GDPR in the EU and UK, or the CCPA in California), you may have rights to access, correct or delete personal data held about you. Contact us to use them, and we’ll help with requests about data held by Meta too.

Changes

If we change how Thirstgate handles data, we’ll update this page and the date above. If a change means the app would share more data, we’ll tell you in the app first.

Contact

Questions about privacy: gilbertobadia830@gmail.com.