Motivus

Motivus

Privacy Policy

Effective date: August 29, 2026
Operator: Emily Galash, doing business as Motivus
Privacy contact: [email protected]

Motivus is a mobile app that helps people stay motivated and accountable as they work toward goals. This Privacy Policy explains what information Motivus collects, how it is used and shared, how long it is retained, and the choices available to you.

Motivus does not pay money, maintain a cash balance, or purchase or ship rewards. A reward in Motivus is a real-world item selected by the user. If Motivus says “You’ve earned it,” the user is still responsible for obtaining the item. Selecting Open reward link only opens a URL saved by the user.

Motivus is initially offered in the United States.

1. Key terms

  • Journey: A plan owned by a user that may include tasks, a schedule, milestones, a timeline, rewards, and an accountability play style. Joining a Journey adds someone to the same Journey instance. Copying a Journey creates a separate Journey owned by the person who copied it.
  • Check-in: Marking a scheduled occurrence of a task as completed.
  • Proof: A photo, a short video recording, or text submitted to support a check-in. Mark Done is an honor-system check-in and does not use AI. Prove done uses Google Gemini to evaluate submitted proof.
  • Reward: A real-world item associated with progress or milestones. A reward may include an icon or photo, a private price estimate, and a link. Rewards are never displayed to buddies, cohort members, public Journeys, or leaderboards.
  • Motivus Pro: A paid subscription that provides higher app limits and other Pro features. Purchases are processed through Apple or Google, with RevenueCat used to manage subscription entitlements. Users may also earn temporary Pro access through an in-app starter challenge; earned Pro is not a store purchase.

2. Information we collect

Account and identity information

We collect:

  • Your email address;
  • Your display name;
  • A Motivus user ID; and
  • Information received when you sign in using email and password, Sign in with Apple, or Google Sign-In.

Motivus automatically links password and Google sign-ins using the same email address to the same account. Sign in with Apple may provide an Apple Hide My Email address. An address ending in privaterelay.appleid.com is not used as a searchable address for finding friends.

Motivus does not collect a full birthdate.

Friend invitations

When you choose to invite someone, we collect the email address you type after you confirm the invitation. Motivus does not read or upload your device contacts.

The address may be sent to Resend to deliver a one-time invitation email. Invite recipients can unsubscribe using the link in the email.

Journeys and other user content

We collect content you create or save in Motivus, including:

  • Journey titles, goals, settings, play styles, and timelines;
  • Tasks, schedules, check-ins, milestones, and progress;
  • Reflections and statements about why a Journey matters to you;
  • Optional future-self notes;
  • Reward names, icons or photos, private price estimates, and saved links;
  • Accountability and cohort participation; and
  • Journey text that you choose to make public.

Proof content

Depending on how you check in, Motivus may process:

  • Photos taken with the in-app camera;
  • Text proof written in the app; and
  • Two to four still frames extracted on your device from a video proof.

Proof photos and extracted video frames are stored by default so you can review them in your Look-back journal, unless you enable automatic deletion. Text proof is stored the same way.

For a video proof, the in-app camera may record a clip of up to 15 seconds, including microphone audio if microphone permission is granted. Motivus does not upload the full video or its microphone audio to cloud storage and does not send the full clip or audio to Google Gemini. Motivus extracts two to four still frames, sends those frames for verification, and (unless auto-delete is on) stores those frames in Look-back the same way it stores proof photos.

Proofs are captured with the in-app camera only. Motivus does not use your device photo library to select proof.

Photos from your library (not proofs)

Motivus may access your photo library only when you choose to:

  • Select an image for a private reward;
  • Set a profile avatar; or
  • Optionally attach a screenshot when reporting a bug.

Bug reports

When you use Profile → Report a bug, the report is anonymous by default. You may turn on Include my email so Motivus can reply. You may optionally attach a screenshot from your photo library.

Subscriptions and purchases

Apple, Google, and RevenueCat provide information about purchases, subscription status, and Motivus Pro entitlements. Motivus does not receive or store your payment card number.

Usage and technical information

If you allow product analytics, PostHog receives product-interaction and app-lifecycle events identified with your Motivus user ID. PostHog may also receive device type, operating-system version, and app version. Motivus disables PostHog IP capture and does not use PostHog for location profiling. Production PostHog analytics for Motivus use PostHog EU Cloud (eu.i.posthog.com).

Motivus also processes technical information needed to operate, secure, and diagnose the app, including:

  • An Expo push token linked to your account if you enable notifications;
  • Device type, operating-system version, and app version;
  • Crash reports, stack traces, and related diagnostic information;
  • Your internal Motivus user ID in Sentry when you are signed in; and
  • Standard authentication, security, and API request logs, which may include an IP address.

Motivus does not collect precise GPS location.

3. Camera, microphone, and other permissions

Motivus requests camera access so that you can:

  • Capture proof inside the app; or
  • Scan a friend’s invitation QR code.

Motivus may request microphone access when you record a video proof. The video and its audio are not uploaded.

Motivus does not use your device photo gallery to select proof. This helps protect the integrity of proof verification. Photo library access, when granted, is limited to reward images, your profile avatar, and optional bug-report screenshots.

Motivus does not access or upload your contacts book. Motivus does not collect precise GPS location, HealthKit or fitness data, or payment card numbers.

4. How we use information

We use information to:

  • Create, authenticate, and secure accounts;
  • Link compatible sign-in methods to the same account;
  • Operate Journeys, tasks, check-ins, milestones, play styles, rewards, accountability features, and leaderboards;
  • Store and display Look-back proof journals;
  • Verify proof and provide optional AI features;
  • Send notifications and reminders selected by the user;
  • Send a friend invitation when requested;
  • Manage Motivus Pro purchases and entitlements;
  • Measure product use when analytics is allowed;
  • Diagnose crashes, prevent abuse, and maintain security;
  • Receive optional bug reports; and
  • Respond to privacy, deletion, and support requests.

We do not sell personal information. We do not use personal information for third-party advertising, cross-app advertising tracking, or targeted advertising. Motivus does not use Apple’s App Tracking Transparency framework for advertising tracking.

5. Analytics choices

PostHog product analytics is optional and consent-gated.

Before Motivus begins optional PostHog analytics for your account, Motivus will ask for your permission. You may allow or decline analytics without losing access to Motivus’s core features.

When in-app analytics controls are available, you can change that choice there. If you withdraw permission, Motivus stops sending future optional analytics events from your account and device. Withdrawal does not undo processing that occurred before you changed the setting.

Crash reporting, authentication logs, security controls, and other processing necessary to operate and protect Motivus are separate from optional product analytics.

6. Google Gemini and AI processing

Motivus uses Google Gemini as a service provider for certain optional AI features. Before Motivus first sends your content to Google Gemini, the app explains this processing and asks for your permission.

Depending on the feature you use, Motivus may send the following information to Google Gemini:

  • Prove done: A proof photo, text proof, or extracted video frames, together with the relevant task title, task description, and verification rubric;
  • AI Journey builder: Goal text you enter so Gemini can draft a Journey plan;
  • After-miss motivation: If you wrote why a Journey matters to you, that text may be sent with the missed task’s title and description to generate a motivational message; and
  • Public-content moderation: Journey text may be sent for moderation when you choose to make a Journey public.

These inputs are sent to Gemini for transient model processing so it can return the requested result. Google Gemini is used to operate these features, not to sell or target advertisements.

Motivus does not send your reward information or sealed future-self note to Google Gemini. A sealed future-self note is not shown before Journey completion and is not used to generate notification nudges.

When in-app AI controls are available, you may withdraw AI permission there. After withdrawal, Motivus will not send new content to Gemini unless you grant permission again. Features that require Gemini will be unavailable while permission is off.

You can continue using Mark Done without AI. Mark Done is an unlimited honor-system check-in.

7. Information visible to other people

When you participate in an accountability group or cohort on the same Journey, other authorized participants may see your Journey progress. They do not see your rewards.

Proof sharing is controlled separately for each Journey:

  • Proof sharing is private by default.
  • If you enable proof sharing for a Journey, people who already have access to that Journey may view proof you shared for that Journey.
  • Private proof appears only as a placeholder to other participants.

Your Profile settings allow you to hide your email address from friends.

Journey text that you intentionally make public may be visible outside your private Journey group. Reward information and sealed future-self notes are not included in public Journey content.

8. Service providers

We use the following service providers to operate Motivus:

  • Supabase: Authentication, database hosting, proof and reward-image storage, server functions, and request logs;
  • Resend: One-time friend-invitation emails, email-delivery logs, and unsubscribe handling;
  • Google Gemini: Proof verification, Journey drafting, after-miss motivation, and public-content moderation;
  • RevenueCat: Subscription status and Motivus Pro entitlements;
  • PostHog: Optional, identified product analytics hosted on PostHog EU Cloud (eu.i.posthog.com) and related device and technical information;
  • Sentry: Crash reports, diagnostics, device information, and the associated internal Motivus user ID;
  • Expo: Push-notification delivery and push-token handling;
  • Apple: Sign in with Apple and Apple in-app purchases; and
  • Google: Google Sign-In and Google Play purchases.

These providers receive information relevant to the services they perform for Motivus. We require service providers to protect personal information consistently with this policy and applicable privacy and security requirements.

Information processed independently by Apple or Google under their store, payment, or sign-in services is also subject to their respective privacy policies.

When you open a reward link, you leave Motivus and visit the website saved with the reward. That website’s privacy practices apply to your interaction with it.

9. Retention and deletion

We generally keep your account information, Journeys, and associated app content while your Motivus account exists.

Photo proof, text proof, and stored video still frames are retained by default for your Look-back journal. Auto-delete proof after verification is opt-in and off by default. When you enable it, Motivus deletes the stored proof media after a verification result of PASS, MANUAL, judged FAIL, or HARD_FAIL. Motivus keeps a limited verification record (including verdict, reason, and fingerprint) for integrity and anti-cheat. A retake requires a new capture. A PAYWALL response is not a verification result and does not delete proof media.

The full video and microphone audio from a video proof are not uploaded to Motivus cloud storage.

You can delete your account in the Motivus app through Profile → scroll to the bottom → red Delete account → confirm. This permanently deletes from Motivus systems:

  • Your Supabase authentication account;
  • Associated app database records, including Journeys, check-ins, proof metadata, and profile information; and
  • Files stored for you in Motivus proof and reward-image storage.

Motivus also removes or deactivates the push token associated with the deleted account, signs the app out locally, logs out of RevenueCat on the device, and resets the PostHog and Sentry user association on that device.

Where provider tools support it, Motivus deletes or requests deletion of analytics and other processor records linked to your Motivus user ID.

Account deletion does not immediately erase every limited record held by every service provider. Sentry crash events, RevenueCat subscription records, Resend email logs, security logs, and other limited processor records may remain for those providers’ normal operational, security, backup, or legally required retention periods. Backup copies roll off according to each provider’s standard backup schedule.

Invite-email delivery logs may remain in Resend for its normal email-log period. Information needed to honor an unsubscribe request may also be retained.

Deleting your Motivus account does not cancel a paid Apple or Google Motivus Pro subscription. You must separately manage or cancel the subscription through your Apple or Google subscription settings.

If you cannot access the app, email [email protected] from the email address associated with your account, or visit https://getmotivus.app/delete-account for outside-the-app deletion instructions. Signed-in users should use the in-app Delete account control rather than this website as the primary delete path.

10. Your controls and requests

You can:

  • Change proof-retention, email-visibility, and notification settings in Profile;
  • When available, change analytics and AI permissions in Profile privacy controls;
  • Control proof sharing separately for each Journey;
  • Choose whether a bug report includes your email, and whether to attach a screenshot;
  • Decline camera, microphone, photo-library, or notification permission through device settings;
  • Use Mark Done instead of AI verification;
  • Unsubscribe using the link in a friend-invitation email;
  • Manage or cancel Motivus Pro through Apple or Google;
  • Delete your account through Profile → Delete account (red button at the bottom of Profile);
  • If you cannot open the app, request deletion by emailing [email protected] or visiting https://getmotivus.app/delete-account;
  • Visit https://getmotivus.app/support for product support information;
  • To export your data as JSON (when available), email [email protected]. You may also ask to access or correct your personal information at that address; and
  • These Terms of Use also apply: https://getmotivus.app/terms

Some permissions or processing are necessary for the feature you choose. For example, Motivus cannot evaluate a proof photo without receiving the photo and sending it to the disclosed AI processor.

11. Children

Motivus is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. Motivus does not collect a full birthdate.

If you believe a child under 13 provided personal information to Motivus, email [email protected]. We will investigate and delete the information as appropriate.

12. Security

Motivus uses HTTPS to protect information in transit and account-based database and storage controls to restrict access to stored data.

No transmission or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. You should avoid placing highly sensitive personal information in Journey titles, tasks, proof, reflections, or other free-text fields unless it is necessary for your use of Motivus.

13. Processing in the United States

Motivus is operated from the United States, and its service providers may process information in the United States or other countries.

If you access Motivus from another country, your information may be transferred to and processed in the United States or other locations where privacy laws may differ from those in your location.

14. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy as Motivus changes. When we make changes, we will update the effective date on this page and provide additional notice when appropriate or legally required.

If a change requires additional permission, we will request that permission rather than relying solely on continued use of the app.

15. Contact

For privacy questions, data requests, or account-deletion assistance:

Emily Galash, doing business as Motivus
Email: [email protected]
Account deletion (in app): Profile → Delete account
Account deletion (outside the app): https://getmotivus.app/delete-account
Support: https://getmotivus.app/support
Privacy Policy: https://getmotivus.app/privacy

These Terms of Use also apply: https://getmotivus.app/terms

You may continue to use Profile → Report a bug for technical feedback. Signed-in users should delete through Profile → Delete account. Outside-the-app privacy and deletion requests should use the contact methods above.

Stay motivated. Stay accountable.