Momentum for iPhone — privacy notice

Updated 15 October 2026. Applies to the current native iPhone app, including the TestFlight beta. The website mailing list has a separate notice.

Momentum is developed by Sam Radford. Contact momentum@samradford.com about privacy or support.

Your library and iCloud

Momentum stores plans, activities, books, saved quotes, Journal writing, drafts and preferences on your iPhone. The beta syncs these library records with a private CloudKit database associated with your Apple Account when available and any history review is complete. Momentum’s copy of Apple Health readings and workouts, and your current weight target, stay on this iPhone. Older Momentum weight values may remain in preserved history or exports. It does not use a separate Momentum account or a Momentum-operated server to store your library. Offline changes remain on your device until delivery is confirmed. Sam cannot browse another user’s private CloudKit library through the developer dashboard. Apple operates iCloud under its own privacy terms. Private storage does not mean your content is anonymous, and recovery history can retain older copies.

Optional services

Book-cover lookup sends book title, author or ISBN to Open Library (Internet Archive) and Google Books when needed. Automatic lookup may fall back to a verified edition ISBN at Pan Macmillan or Penguin Random House. Change cover also checks matching editions and may use those services or HarperCollins. Imported or manually selected covers may load a previously saved provider URL. These providers receive the requested URL, IP address, request time and normal network/client information. Momentum uses a cookie-free session and does not send Journal writing, quote passages or Health data for cover lookup. Automatic lookup is on by default and can be switched off in Momentum; a cover you select can still be downloaded. Covers are cached locally. Provider handling and retention are governed by the Internet Archive policy, Google policy and the relevant publisher’s privacy policy (Pan Macmillan, HarperCollins, Penguin Random House); Momentum does not control their server logs or promise an API-specific deletion period.

Apple Health access is optional. With your permission, Momentum can read supported workouts and weight readings to help recognise matching activity and display measurements. In versions with direct weight entry (0.4.1 onwards), you can enable Save weight to Apple Health once in Settings; weight you enter is then saved there when you tap Save. Weight write access is separate from readings and completion sharing. Momentum does not write workouts or send older or imported readings back to Health. From 0.4.1 build 118, you can confirm deletion of an individual weight reading created through Momentum. Readings from Withings or other apps cannot be deleted through Momentum.

Health-derived display copies and any pending weight entry are protected on your iPhone and excluded from Momentum’s synced library and backups. A pending entry retains its value and measurement time for explicit retry; closing the screen or turning weight saving off does not cancel a save already sent to Apple Health. Turning a reading type off clears its local display copy; it does not delete Apple Health records, a pending entry or your other Momentum records.

Sharing Health-derived completions through private iCloud is a separate, per-device opt-in and is off by default. This shares completion dates, observed times and matching keys, not weights, detailed workout records or Journal writing. Delivery depends on device access, connectivity and iCloud availability; it is not guaranteed to be immediate. Switching sharing off stops new sharing from that device. An exchange already in progress may finish, and previously shared history remains in iCloud.

Momentum does not create a new Spotlight index of Journal writing or send writing to a Momentum AI service. Old Momentum search caches are retired when protected storage is available. If you explicitly request a saved Note through the supported Siri integration on iOS 27, Momentum can provide that Note’s title, text and timestamps to Apple after its authentication and storage checks. Siri, dictation and Apple Intelligence are handled by Apple according to your device settings and Apple’s privacy terms; Momentum does not record or upload your voice itself.

Reminders are scheduled locally with your permission. Their content may appear on your lock screen, depending on iOS settings. The widget uses a derived local App Group cache.

Journal photos in upcoming photo-enabled betas

Journal photo attachments are being prepared and are not available in every current build. Where available, you choose photos through Apple’s picker or request camera access. Momentum keeps an optimised, uncropped copy with the entry and removes embedded location and camera metadata. Preview subject detection runs on your device. Uncertain results use a centred crop, and you can adjust the preview or show the full photo without changing the stored image.

These saved attachments are intended to sync through your private iCloud account alongside your writing. Full-library backups include the photo files, order and descriptions. Copy day includes photos for apps that support rich text with attachments; plain-text destinations receive writing only. Journal exports can include photos in Rich Text (RTFD) or Markdown, with a writing-only option. Share entry includes the writing and photos belonging to that entry. Files exported or shared are not encrypted by Momentum. Removal does not promise erasure of preserved recovery copies and does not delete the original in Photos.

Capturing a quote from a photo

You can optionally take a photo or choose one through Apple’s photo picker when adding a quote. The camera is used only after you choose Take photo and grant access. Momentum recognises text on your device with Apple’s Vision and Live Text tools; it does not upload the page image or transcript to a Momentum server or an external AI service. Apple may download a selected iCloud Photos image through its own service.

The working image, recognised transcript and selection are temporary capture-session information. Momentum does not save the original image to your library, backups or iCloud sync. Only the passage you choose with Use selected text or Use reviewed text is placed in your quote draft; saving the quote then stores that text and its attribution in your library. Cancel closes the capture without adding a passage. A photo already in your Photos library remains there under Apple’s controls.

Recovery, removal and copies

Earlier versions, including removed writing, are retained for recovery. Deleting an entry is not a promise that every historical copy has been permanently erased. Complete cloud-history erasure is not available inside this beta. Contact us for help before taking destructive steps. Uninstalling does not itself erase confirmed iCloud history and may lose unconfirmed local changes.

Journal exports contain dated Markdown or rich-text (RTF) files with current writing, drafts and related Journal context. Quote exports contain full quote text, title and available attribution in Markdown or RTF; bulk export packages individual files in a ZIP. Share quote creates a PNG and offers the full quote text to the destination you choose. Copy actions place the requested text, and supported rich formats where applicable, on the system clipboard. Receiving apps may handle image and text differently. Temporary share files remain available for the native handoff and are then cleaned up; Momentum cannot erase a copy a receiving app or Files provider has kept. Full-library backups are separate and contain your current saved Momentum library, including writing and drafts. They do not contain every preserved iCloud version, Momentum’s local Health caches or your local weight target. Momentum does not add encryption to exported files. Store and share these files carefully; copies saved or sent elsewhere are outside the app’s control.

Feedback and diagnostics

Apple may provide Sam with app crash and performance reports according to your Apple settings and distribution terms. TestFlight also provides beta diagnostics and feedback. Momentum has local diagnostic logs and no automatic Momentum telemetry uploader. Feedback you choose to send may include your contact details, writing or screenshots; review it before sending. Support email is received by Sam and the email service used for that address and is used to respond, investigate faults and keep necessary correspondence. Do not send Health records or full library archives as routine feedback; any exceptional request should be separately explained and agreed.

Momentum’s native app has no advertising or third-party advertising analytics SDK. This does not describe the public website mailing-list service.

Your choices and privacy rights

You can manage Health access, weight saving, completion sharing, automatic covers and reminders in Momentum and the relevant iOS settings. Revoking permission stops future permitted access; it does not undo a request already sent or remove previously stored copies. You can edit or remove current entries and export your saved library through You → Your data. The recovery-history limits above still apply.

Momentum uses information to provide the features you request. Optional Health access and sharing depend on your explicit permission. Support and fault investigation use the information you choose to provide for the legitimate interests of answering you and maintaining a reliable app, rather than advertising. Support information is kept for as long as needed to resolve and follow up the request, or where a legal obligation or dispute requires it; you can ask us to review or remove it. We do not set or control Apple’s or cover providers’ retention periods.

Contact momentum@samradford.com to request access, correction, deletion, a portable copy, restriction or to object to processing where applicable. We will explain what we can access and what must be managed in your own Apple Account; this is not a promise of remote access to or immediate erasure of your private iCloud history. You can withdraw optional consent for future processing. Apple and other providers may process information outside your country under their own privacy terms and safeguards. You can also raise a privacy concern with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office or your local data protection authority.

Questions and changes

Contact momentum@samradford.com for questions about this notice or your information. Material changes to the app’s data use will be reflected in an updated notice.