Last updated: 10 August 2026
The short version: we collect only what we need to run Stillward, we never sell your data, and we never will. Your inner life is yours alone. This policy explains what we collect, why, who processes it, and the rights you have under the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA).
Stillward is a mood-tracking and philosophical-insight app, developed and operated as an independent product by an individual developer (the "responsible party" under POPIA). The operator is not a registered medical or mental health professional. For any privacy question, or to reach our Information Officer, email hello@stillward.co.za.
When you join our waitlist, we collect:
When you use the Stillward app, we may collect:
We do not collect your phone number, precise location, contacts, or any other personal information beyond what is listed above.
Your mood and stress check-ins, any notes you write, and any follow-up questions you ask, may reveal information about your health and wellbeing. Under POPIA this is treated as "special personal information." We process it only to provide the Service to you, and only on the basis of your consent, which you give when you accept these terms and choose to record a check-in. You can withdraw consent at any time by stopping use of the app and requesting deletion of your data.
We use the information we collect to:
We rely on your consent, and on the need to perform our agreement with you (to provide the Service you asked for), as the lawful bases for this processing. We do not use your data for advertising, we do not sell your data, and we do not share it except with the processors described below.
Stillward uses AI to generate personalised insights. When you request an insight, your mood level, stress level, and any optional note are sent to our AI provider to generate a response. This data is used to generate your insight and, in line with our AI provider's API terms, is not used to train its models.
AI-generated insights are for personal reflection only. They do not constitute medical, psychological, therapeutic, or professional advice of any kind, and nothing in the app should be treated as clinical guidance.
We share personal information only with trusted providers who process it on our behalf, under contract, to run the Service:
We do not use advertising networks, tracking pixels, or third-party analytics platforms that share your data.
Stillward is built and run by one person, so you should know exactly what that means in practice. The operator has technical access to the database that stores your account, your check-ins, any notes you write, and any follow-up conversations you have about an insight. That access exists because the Service cannot be run, supported, or kept safe without it.
It is used for three things only: keeping the app working, investigating a problem you report, and checking that the AI is responding appropriately and safely. That last one matters most while the app is in testing, because an insight that responds badly to someone having a hard day is the most serious thing that can go wrong here, and the only way to know is to read what the AI actually said.
Your entries are never read out of curiosity, never shared with anyone else, never sold, and never used for advertising, profiling, or training AI models. If you would rather no record of a check-in existed at all, you can delete your data or your account at any time by emailing hello@stillward.co.za.
Some of our processors (including Anthropic and Supabase) store or process data on servers outside South Africa. Where personal information is transferred outside South Africa, we take reasonable steps to ensure it is processed under privacy protections comparable to POPIA, and only for the purposes described in this policy. By using Stillward, you consent to this transfer.
Waitlist emails are deleted within 30 days of the app launching. If you asked to be told when Premium launches, that record is kept until Premium launches and you have been notified, or until you ask us to remove it or delete your account, whichever comes first. Your account, check-in and follow-up data are retained for as long as your account is active. Deleting a check-in also deletes any follow-up conversation attached to it. If you delete your account or ask us to delete your data, we will remove it within a reasonable period, except where we are required by law to retain certain records. You can request deletion at any time by emailing hello@stillward.co.za.
Under POPIA, you have the right to:
To exercise any of these rights, email us at hello@stillward.co.za. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (South Africa) at inforegulator.org.za if you believe your information has been handled unlawfully.
We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your data, including encrypted connections (HTTPS), access controls on our database, and keeping API keys off client devices. No system is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. If a data breach occurs that is likely to affect you, we will notify you and the Information Regulator as required by law.
Stillward is not intended for users under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect information from children under 13. If you are under 18, you should use Stillward only with the consent of a parent or guardian. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, contact us at hello@stillward.co.za and we will delete it promptly.
Stillward is a mood-tracking and personal-reflection tool operated by an individual developer who is not a registered medical or mental health professional. It is not a substitute for professional mental health care, therapy, or medical advice, and nothing within the app should be interpreted as clinical assessment or treatment.
If you are in distress or experiencing a mental health crisis, please contact a qualified professional, your local emergency services, or a crisis helpline in your country. The app's crisis support screen lists free, confidential helplines for your country. (For example, in South Africa you can call the SADAG Suicide Crisis Helpline on 0800 567 567 (free, 24 hours) or SMS 31393 for a call back.)
We may update this policy from time to time. If we make significant changes, we will notify registered users by email or in-app notice. The date at the top of this page reflects when the policy was last updated.
Questions about this policy, or want to exercise a right? Email us at hello@stillward.co.za.