← Back to home

Privacy Policy

Last updated: September 30, 2026

Overview

Hive is a care tracking companion for expectant parents, partners, and support members. We collect only the information needed to deliver the features you see in the app (maps, diaries, reminders, PDFs) and store that data securely in Firebase-backed services. This policy describes what we ask for, why we need it, and how we keep it safe.

Data We Collect

  • Account & Hive membership: When you sign up or join a hive we store your display name, email, role (mother, partner, guest), and hive identifier. This data drives access control, role-based permissions, and notifications between hive members.
  • Location: We request Location When In Use permission to center the Map tab on your position, search for hospitals, maternity, and OB/GYN care near you, and show pinned favorites. Nearby-place searches use Apple's MapKit services and your search region. Hive does not request background location tracking.
  • Photos & Media: Access to your photo library is required to upload profile photos or add images to your entries. Uploaded media is stored in Firebase Storage, including shared Hive photos, and is available according to the relevant Hive permissions.
  • Notifications: With your permission we send reminders and updates — such as daily facts, weekly pregnancy milestones, and new activity in your Hive — timed around your due date and your family's activity. Appointment reminders in the Planner are scheduled using your chosen lead times (for example, 1 day before, 1 hour before, or at the time of the event) and can be adjusted per appointment.
  • Voice & microphone:The voice quick-log feature uses Apple's speech recognition (SFSpeechRecognizer) and your device's microphone. Depending on your device, language, and settings, Apple may process audio on its servers; Hive does not require on-device recognition. Hive does not keep audio recordings. For quick logging, the resulting text transcript is parsed locally by the app and, when you confirm, the resulting structured entry (e.g. a feeding or sleep record) is saved to your Hive in Firestore. You can stop listening at any time by closing the voice sheet, and you can revoke microphone or speech recognition access at any time in iOS Settings.
  • AI assistant: Dictation in the assistant uses the same Apple speech recognition as quick logging. When you send a message, its text and conversation history are sent through Hive's authenticated backend to Google Gemini to generate a reply. If you allow Hive context, family context is included too. This is separate from quick-log parsing on your device. Hive does not send raw microphone audio to its AI backend.
  • Siri & Shortcuts (App Intents): If you enable the Hive Siri Shortcuts (e.g. "Log sleep on Hive" or "Log feeding on Hive"), Apple's services handle the spoken request according to your device and Siri settings. Hive saves the resulting care entry and does not keep Siri audio recordings.
  • Widgets & App Group: The Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets read a small, read-only snapshot of your Hive (for example, baby name, age, pregnancy week, and quick actions) from a shared App Group container on your device. The widget does not run a separate analytics service. Widget actions can open Hive or perform supported care actions, which use the app's normal data-saving and syncing paths.
  • Service operations: Firebase-backed services process account identifiers and operational information needed to authenticate requests, sync records, and deliver notifications.

How We Use Your Data

  • Personalizing the app's appearance across themes and rebuilding your shared views immediately when you switch.
  • Generating PDFs on your device. A Visit Summary can include shared care records from your Hive, including entries made by other caregivers. Review the export before sharing it with anyone.
  • Running notifications, map lookups, and reminder scheduling tied to your logged due date and your Hive's activity.
  • Enforcing role-based permissions per hive (who can edit entries) and syncing with real-time listeners.

Data Sharing & Retention

  • We do not sell your data or share it outside of the services that run Hive (Firestore, Storage, Authentication, and the AI assistant provider that answers your questions). Backups follow Google Cloud security best practices.
  • Exported PDFs are generated on your device. Their contents depend on the export and its available options; review the PDF before sharing.
  • You can request account deletion in the app's Settings. Account deletion does not automatically erase every shared Hive record. Contact support@hivefamilyapp.com for help removing shared records or making a data request.

Security

  • The AI assistant's Gemini API key is held by Hive's backend, rather than included in the app.
  • We use Firebase Authentication; writes are scoped to the signed-in user's hive and role.

Data We Do Not Collect

  • Audio recordings stored by Hive. Hive does not keep recordings of voice quick-log or Siri sessions. Apple's speech services may process audio as described above.
  • Precise background location. We do not request Always-Allow location, and we do not track your location when the app is in the background.
  • Contacts, calendar, or health-kit data. Hive does not access your iOS Contacts, Calendar, Apple Health, or any on-device health records. Appointment entries live inside the Hive app and are not synced to Apple Calendar or Reminders.

Contact & Updates

Send privacy questions or deletion requests to legal@hivefamilyapp.com. For product support, write to support@hivefamilyapp.com. For general inquiries, write to hello@hivefamilyapp.com. We update this policy when a significant new feature or data flow is introduced; each change is recorded with a new version date.