🔒 Privacy Policy

This translation is provided for your convenience. The English version of this Privacy Policy is the legally authoritative one.

1. Who we are

Bipolar Bear is an independent app developed to help people living with bipolar disorder track their mood, sleep, energy and wellbeing. The app is available on iOS, Android and the web at bipolarbear.app.

Bipolar Bear and Bipolar Anonymous are made by Universal Simulation Ltd (UNI·SIM), a company in the UK. It is the data controller for the data this policy describes.

For privacy enquiries, contact: bipolar@unisim.co.uk

2. What data we collect

Journal data (stored on your device and optionally synced)

• Mood, energy level, sleep hours
• Medication taken/not taken
• Daily goals, notes
• Optional additional data you choose to track: anxiety, stress, irritability, exercise, time outside, alcohol, smoking, and/or drug use
• Step count and sleep data (read from Apple Health on iOS — only if you grant permission)

Account data (only if you create an account)

• Email address and password (used only to identify your account for cloud sync)

Personal details (optional, stored locally and synced if logged in)

• Name, date of birth, NHS or medical number, diagnosis, address, phone numbers, emergency contact and any notes you choose to enter in Personal Details. When you are signed in, these are encrypted on your device before they are synced, with the same key as your journal. So are your survival kit's medications, mood definitions, mood memories, coping strategies, commitments, reminders, gratitude list and "remember this" note.

Anonymous usage

• When you tap "I needed this today" our server adds one to a shared count. You don't need an account for this, and nothing about you is stored.
• The "(N live)" figure counts open pages: each browser tab or app session writes a random ID, made up for that tab and forgotten when you leave, with the time it was last seen. It holds nothing else and is deleted within an hour. We no longer send an install ID to the UNI·SIM suite counter.
• On Bipolar Anonymous, poll votes and the daily mood check-in are stored only as totals. How you voted stays on your device. For the check-in we keep a note that your account has checked in that day, so it counts once; it does not record which mood you chose, and it is deleted after two days. If you turn on "Check in from my journal" under Your Moniker (it is off unless you turn it on), saving a Bipolar Bear journal entry for today or yesterday checks you in: only that entry's mood (one of the five mood names) is sent, and it is added to the day's totals in the same way.
• Bipolar Anonymous posts and replies are visible to other members and are not encrypted. They show your moniker, not your name or email, and they carry no account ID, so posts can't be traced back to your account. Your email address is used to send your sign-in code. Your board profile is stored under a key our server works out from it with a secret, so the address can't be used to look the profile up.
• If you use Bipolar Anonymous inside Bipolar Bear, your moniker, your board settings and the medications you choose to show on the board are kept with your Bipolar Bear account, so the board recognises you on your other devices.

At a glance: what we keep, and who can read it

The same list is on our App Store and Google Play privacy labels. We don't track you, show ads, sell data or use analytics.

Bipolar Anonymous

Not stored at all: "I needed this today" taps (a shared total only), and the live count (a random ID per open page, deleted within an hour).

3. How your data is stored

By default, all journal data is stored locally on your device using your browser's local storage. It never leaves your device unless you choose to create an account and enable cloud sync.

If you create an account, your data is synced to Google Firebase Firestore, a secure cloud database. Data is stored under your unique user ID and is not accessible to other users. Journal entries, personal details, your safety plan and the survival kit's personal lists are encrypted on your device before they are synced.

Firebase is a Google service. You can review Google's data practices at firebase.google.com/support/privacy.

4. Health data (Apple Health / HealthKit)

On iOS, Bipolar Bear can optionally read your step count and sleep data from Apple Health to auto-fill your journal entries. This requires your explicit permission.

• We only read health data — we never write to Apple Health
• Steps and sleep read from Health are saved in your journal entries, which are encrypted on your device, and sync to your account if you sign in. They are not sent anywhere else
• You can revoke this permission at any time in iOS Settings → Privacy → Health

5. Notifications

Daily reminders are scheduled entirely on your device. If you switch on Bipolar Anonymous notifications, your device registers with Firebase Cloud Messaging (Google), and we store that registration with your moniker and the notifications you chose, so replies and announcements can reach you. Notifications never contain what anyone wrote. Switching them off deletes the registration, and the app does not contact Firebase Cloud Messaging until you switch them on.

6. Who we share your data with

We do not sell, rent or share your personal data with third parties for marketing or advertising purposes. The third-party services that may receive your data are:

• Google Firebase — sign-in, cloud sync (Firestore), our server functions and, if you switch on Bipolar Anonymous notifications, Firebase Cloud Messaging
• Cloudflare — hosts the website and the app's files. It handles your connection as any web host does; we don't keep its request logs.
• Google Cloud Translation — the text of a Bipolar Anonymous post or reply, when a member reading in another language has automatic translation switched on. Only the text of the post is sent: never your email address, your moniker or anything that identifies you.
• Universal Simulation Ltd (UNI·SIM) — Universal ID — your email address, if you sign in with Universal ID, the UNI·SIM account. It is used to sign you in and holds nothing you write in Bipolar Bear. Deleting your Bipolar Bear account does not delete your Universal ID, which other UNI·SIM apps may use; email inbox@unisim.co.uk to delete that too.
• Resend — sends our emails: your Bipolar Anonymous sign-in code, and emails to our team about feedback you send us (your message, any screenshot you attach, the name you give and your email if you give it), announcement suggestions (the suggested text and the moniker that suggested it) and moderation alerts (a post ID only, never what a member wrote).
• Wikipedia — when you open the Survival Kit's Media section, your device loads a famous person's photo from Wikipedia (the Wikimedia Foundation). Nothing about you is sent, but Wikipedia sees your connection's IP address, as any website would.

We do not use analytics services, advertising networks or any other third-party tracking.

7. Deleting your account and data

You can permanently delete your Bipolar Bear account and all associated data at any time.

In-app deletion (recommended, immediate)

1. Open Bipolar Bear on iOS, Android or the web
2. Open the Journal page → tap the account icon → Settings
3. Scroll to the bottom of Settings and tap 🗑️ Delete Account (if signed in) or 🗑️ Delete All Data & Reset Settings (if signed out / guest)
4. Confirm both warning dialogs

Deletion by email

If you cannot access the app, email bipolar@unisim.co.uk from the address associated with your account, with the subject line "Delete my account". We will permanently delete your data within 30 days and confirm by reply.

What is deleted

• Your Firebase Auth account (email and password hash)
• All encrypted journal entries (mood, energy, sleep, medication, notes, custom fields)
• Personal details (name, diagnosis, medications, contact info)
• User settings, preferences and any linked anonymous-board profile
• All locally cached data on the device where you trigger deletion

What is kept

• Aggregated, non-identifying counters (e.g. total app-wide "I needed this today" taps) — these contain no personal data and cannot be linked back to you
• Email correspondence with us, retained for support and legal purposes for up to 12 months

You also have the right to access and portability — export all your data as JSON at any time via the in-app "Backup data" option.

8. Data retention

Local data remains on your device until you delete it or uninstall the app. Your account's data is kept until you delete your account; deleting it removes everything linked to it from our database. We do not set automatic expiry on your journal entries.

Other data is deleted automatically: Bipolar Anonymous posts and their replies after 7 days without activity (reported posts after 90 days), reports after 90 days, published or refused announcement suggestions after 90 days, cached translations after 7 days, the email address on a sign-in code as soon as the code is used (an unused code within 25 hours), live-count records within an hour, and feedback and beta sign-ups after 12 months.

9. Children

Bipolar Bear and Bipolar Anonymous are for adults aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 18. If you believe someone under 18 has given us personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.

10. Sensitive data

Mental health and health information is considered sensitive personal data under GDPR. We take this seriously. Your journal entries are encrypted on your device before they are backed up, and again in transit (HTTPS) and at rest within Firebase; so are your personal details, your safety plan and the survival kit's personal lists. By default we keep a spare key, so your journal opens on your other devices and isn't lost if you forget a password. With Private journal on (in the journal's Settings) only your journal password opens it, and not even we can read it. We access your data only when necessary to provide technical support, and only with your consent.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. We will update the "last updated" date at the top of this page. Continued use of the app after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

12. Contact

For any privacy questions or data requests: bipolar@unisim.co.uk