Your privacy is precious! Read Your Body offers an account to keep your data securely and conveniently backed up with total privacy. This is an optional app feature.
It's entirely possible to use the app without an account (this is the default) - in this case all data is stored only on your phone and you'll be prompted to export regular backups.
How does the account feature work?
- You register for an account in the app by going to Menu > Account > Register
- You'll be asked to enter your email address along with a password
- You'll be asked to verify your email address by following the link in an email sent to you
- You'll be asked to enter an encryption key of your choice (this is like an additional password that makes your backups extra private and secure) - please make sure to keep a note of your encryption key somewhere safe
- When you're logged into your account then a backup of your data, settings and photos is automatically sent to our UK-hosted servers every 24 hours when you open the app with an internet connection (photos are only backed up over if the internet connection is wifi)
- You can also tap to upload a backup whenever you like at Menu > Account > Manage backups
- Up to five backups are stored at any time (typically from the past five days)
- You can log into your account in the app on multiple devices but auto-syncing across devices is not supported
- You can restore a backup at any time by tapping the download cloud icon next to your chosen backup at Menu > Account > Manage backups
- You can log out of your account at any time to stop further backups being made
- You can delete your account at any time to remove your email address and all backups from our system
- You can reset your password at any time without affecting your data in the app
- You can reset your encryption key at any time without affecting your data in the app however you will not be able to restore previous backups with your reset key (backups can only be restored with the encryption key that was in use at the time when they were generated) - this is to protect your privacy - so if there's any chance that you've forgotten your encryption key and you're inside the app charting then we recommend that you reset it
Is my data totally private?
Yes! Unlike many other menstrual cycle apps with user accounts, Read Your Body’s optional backup account feature is encrypted. This means that your data and settings are encrypted before each backup is sent to our UK-hosted servers, and your backups can only ever be restored (decrypted) back onto your device using your personal encryption key. It’s this encryption key that makes our system so extra special, private and secure.
When your data and settings are encrypted, they're a strange indecipherable array of letters / numbers / special characters that doesn’t make sense to anyone! This is the format in which they’re transferred to / from and stored on our UK-hosted servers if you choose to use the encrypted backup feature.
So long as you don’t share your encryption key with anyone, your data will be totally private. As charters ourselves, data privacy is very important to us and we’re committed to never seeing / sharing / selling your data. We’ve designed this system to keep your data totally private while allowing a convenient backup option.
What are my backup alternatives if I don’t want to use this feature?
If you don’t want to use this feature, you can still backup your data and settings manually using the app’s export function (save to iCloud / Google Drive / your chosen file storage system for safekeeping). You'll be prompted to export a backup like this at the start of each new cycle in the app, if you're running the app without an account.