Reconcile is built to be a private aid to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We do not want to know who is using the app, what you have written in it, or what you have brought to the sacrament. This page describes how the app is built, the very small amount of information that necessarily passes through outside services, and what we do (and don't) with it.
i.The Short Version
Reconcile does not have user accounts, does not have a server, and does not transmit your confession, your examination of conscience, your journal entries, or your penance records to us or to anyone else. Your spiritual life stays on your device.
A small amount of information necessarily passes through three outside services (Apple, RevenueCat, and — only if you use the parish finder — Google). Each is described in plain detail below.
ii.What Stays on Your Device
The following information is created and stored locally on your device, in the app's private storage. It is never sent to Credoworks. It is not synced to a server. It is not visible to anyone else.
- Your responses during the examination of conscience
- Confession logs (date, parish if you record one, and any notes you write)
- Penance records
- Journal entries
- Your settings, preferences, and reminder schedule
Journal entries and other sensitive content are encrypted at rest using AES-256, with the encryption key stored in the platform's secure enclave (Apple Keychain on iOS, Android Keystore on Android).
When you delete an entry inside the app, it is removed from local storage. When you uninstall the app, the platform deletes the app's storage entirely, including everything above.
iii.Subscriptions (RevenueCat)
Reconcile uses RevenueCat to manage subscription state for premium features. When you subscribe, RevenueCat assigns your device an anonymous identifier so it can recognize that the subscription is still active across app reinstalls and devices. RevenueCat receives:
- An anonymous app-generated identifier (not your name, email, or Apple ID)
- Subscription-related events from Apple (purchase, renewal, refund, cancellation)
- Basic device metadata that Apple's StoreKit passes through
RevenueCat does not receive any examination, confession, journal, or penance content. See RevenueCat's privacy policy for details on what they do with this information.
The actual payment itself is handled entirely by Apple's App Store (or, when Android ships, Google Play). Credoworks never sees your payment information.
iv.Parish Finder (Optional)
If you choose to use the parish-finder feature to locate confession times near you, the app asks for permission to access your device's location. With your permission, your approximate location is sent to Google's Places and Geocoding APIs to search for nearby Catholic parishes. The results — names, addresses, phone numbers, and websites of parishes — are returned to the app.
Your location is used only for the duration of that lookup. It is not stored on our servers (we don't have any), and it is not associated with you in any way. You can decline location access, and you can revoke it later in your device's settings; the rest of the app works without it.
See Google's privacy policy for what Google does with API requests.
v.Notifications
If you enable reminders for examination or confession, the app schedules them locally using your device's notification system. We do not send remote push notifications, and we do not have a server that could send them. The reminder schedule lives in the app's local settings.
vi.Apple App Store
Reconcile is distributed through Apple's App Store. Apple receives standard app-store analytics — downloads, crashes (if you've enabled "Share with App Developers" in iOS settings, anonymized device crash logs may be shared with us), and any ratings and reviews you choose to leave. Their own privacy policy governs all of this.
vii.What We Do Not Do
- We do not have user accounts. We do not collect your name, email, or any other identifier.
- We do not use advertising networks, analytics SDKs that build user profiles, attribution trackers, or third-party tracking of any kind.
- We do not sell, rent, or share information with anyone. There is essentially nothing to sell.
- We do not see, receive, or store anything you write in the examination of conscience, confession log, journal, or penance tracker.
viii.Children's Privacy
Reconcile is intended for users who have made or are preparing to make a first confession (in most dioceses, age seven and up). The app does not knowingly collect personal information from anyone of any age, because it does not collect personal information at all. Parents are encouraged to supervise the use of the app by younger children.
ix.Security
Sensitive on-device data is encrypted at rest with AES-256. We strongly recommend you keep your device's operating system up to date and use a screen lock (Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode) — these protect everything stored on the device, including Reconcile's data.
x.Changes to This Policy
If we make material changes to this policy — for example, adding a new third-party service — we will note them on this page along with an updated revision date.
xi.Contact
Questions about this policy may be sent to contact@credoworks.net. Because we don't collect personal information, there is generally nothing for us to delete or share if you ask — but please write all the same if anything here is unclear.