Privacy policy

1. Introduction

Prowl is a job application tracking app for iOS that helps you organize and monitor your job search. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and your choices regarding your data. If you have questions, contact us at prowl.support@gmail.com.

2. What Information We Collect

Account Information

When you sign in with Google, Microsoft, or Apple, we receive your email address and name. We never collect or store your password.

Email Metadata

To detect job-related emails, Prowl requests read-only access to your inbox. We process: email subject line, sender address, a short preview snippet, received date, message ID (for deduplication), and up to approximately 500 characters of plain-text email body content. This applies to both Gmail and Outlook accounts. Email body text is never stored on your device or on any server; it is processed transiently for classification and immediately discarded.

Job Application Data

Company names, role titles, application statuses, timeline events, and notes — entered by you manually or auto-detected from your emails — are stored locally on your device.

Device & Usage Data

Prowl uses PostHog (posthog.com) to collect anonymous usage analytics, including app events such as screens viewed, features used, and errors encountered. This data is linked to a randomly generated anonymous identifier and is never linked to your name, email address, or any personal identifier. No advertising SDKs, crash reporters, or behavioral tracking SDKs are included beyond PostHog.

Payment Information

None. All in-app purchases are processed entirely by Apple. We receive only your subscription status (active or inactive) — never payment details.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information collected solely to: authenticate you with your sign-in provider (Google, Microsoft, or Apple), fetch and classify job-related emails from your inbox (read-only access), display and track your job applications locally on your device, send local push notifications (streak reminders and ghosting alerts) if you opt in, and collect anonymous usage analytics to improve the app. We do not use your information for advertising, profiling, or any purpose other than operating the app.

4. How We Share Your Information

Google / Microsoft

OAuth tokens are used to access your inbox with read-only permissions, governed by Google's Privacy Policy (policies.google.com/privacy) and Microsoft's Privacy Statement (privacy.microsoft.com).

Cloudflare (Workers)

Email metadata (subject, sender, snippet, received date, and for Gmail accounts up to ~500 characters of body text) is sent to our serverless Cloudflare Worker to perform AI classification. This data is processed transiently — it is not logged, stored, or retained by the worker.

OpenAI (via our Cloudflare Worker only)

The same email metadata described above is forwarded from our Cloudflare Worker to the OpenAI API (GPT-4o mini) for classification. No user identifiers (account email, name, or device ID) are included in these requests. OpenAI's API zero-data-retention policy applies; data is not used to train models. Our OpenAI API key never leaves our server.

PostHog

Anonymous usage analytics (app events, feature interactions, errors) are sent to PostHog (posthog.com). No personal identifiers are included. PostHog's privacy policy is available at posthog.com/privacy.

Apple

Subscription transactions are processed by Apple's App Store in-app purchase system. If you sign in with Apple, Apple provides your email address and name per Apple's privacy policy (apple.com/privacy).

We do not sell your personal information. We do not share your data with advertisers, data brokers, or any third party for commercial purposes.

5. Data Storage & Retention

All job application data, timeline events, email records, and preferences are stored locally on your device in an encrypted database (SwiftData/SQLite with iOS hardware encryption). No application data is synced to our servers or any cloud backend operated by us. Data is retained on your device until you delete it or uninstall the app. Settings → Danger Zone → Delete Account permanently wipes all local records and signs you out of the app.

6. Your Choices & Rights

Access

All your data lives on your device. You can view it in the app at any time.

Deletion

Use Settings → Danger Zone → Delete Account to erase all local data immediately and permanently.

Revoking Email Access

You can revoke Prowl's inbox access at any time through your Google Account settings (myaccount.google.com → Security → Third-party apps with account access) or Microsoft Account settings (account.microsoft.com → Privacy → Apps and services).

Notifications

Disable push notifications at any time in iOS Settings → Notifications → Prowl.

GDPR (European Users)

The rights of access, rectification, erasure, data portability, and objection under the GDPR are largely satisfied by Prowl's local-only architecture — your data is already on your device and under your direct control. For any data requests or concerns, contact prowl.support@gmail.com.

CCPA (California Users)

We do not sell personal information. You have the right to know what personal information is collected (described in Section 2) and to request deletion (Section 5 above).

7. Children's Privacy

Prowl is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, please contact us at prowl.support@gmail.com.

8. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the Effective Date at the top of this document. Your continued use of the app after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

9. Contact

prowl.support@gmail.com