Privacy Policy
Last updated 7 August 2026
This Privacy Policy explains how Frances Maxwell (“we”, “us”, or “our”) collects, uses, stores, and shares information when you use the Dear Jane mobile application and the related website at dearjaneapp.co.uk (together, the “Services”).
In short: Dear Jane has no accounts and no sign-up. Your game progress stays on your device. We use PostHog for product analytics (in the app and, with your cookie choice, on this website) and Sentry for crash reporting, diagnostics, and limited session replay. If you send optional feedback, that note (and any name or email you include) goes to Sentry. Optional tips use Apple In-App Purchase on iOS and Google Play Billing on Android. Tips are never required to use Dear Jane.
Questions? Email [email protected]. If you do not agree with this policy, please do not use the Services.
Contents
- What information do we collect?
- Website analytics and cookies
- How do we use your information?
- Legal bases (EEA / UK)
- When and with whom do we share information?
- How long do we keep information?
- How do we keep information safe?
- Do we collect information from minors?
- Your privacy rights
- United States privacy disclosures
- Updates to this notice
- How to contact us
- How to review, update, or delete your data
1. What information do we collect?
Information stored on your device
Dear Jane stores your progress and preferences locally on your device (for example via on-device storage). This can include:
- Completed scandals and quizzes, and related outcomes
- Which Austen novels you have marked as read
- Theme preference (light, dark, or system)
- Onboarding and in-app notice dismissals
- A random analytics install ID used only to keep analytics consistent across app launches
This local game data is not uploaded to our own servers. The analytics install ID and product events described below may be sent to our analytics provider when analytics are enabled.
Information you choose to send us
If you use the in-app “Send a note” feedback form, you may optionally provide a name and email address along with your message. That feedback is sent to Sentry so we can read and respond to it. You do not need to provide a name or email to use Dear Jane.
Product analytics (PostHog) - app
In preview and production builds, Dear Jane uses PostHog (EU cloud) to understand how the app is used and to improve it. Analytics are disabled in local development builds.
PostHog may receive:
- A durable, randomly generated analytics install ID
- Device and app technical details (such as device model, OS, app version)
- Approximate location derived from IP address (not GPS)
- App screens viewed and product events (for example starting or completing a scandal or quiz, filter choices, sharing taps, theme changes, and onboarding completion)
- Limited in-app choice data tied to those events (for example verdicts, guessed characters, quiz results, and, for some knowledge quizzes, which questions were missed)
- A small set of profile properties we set for analytics (for example novels read count, theme preference, and aficionado level)
We do not ask for your real name, and we do not use advertising identifiers for tracking across other companies’ apps or websites.
1a. Website analytics and cookies
The Dear Jane marketing website (dearjaneapp.co.uk) also uses PostHog (EU cloud) to understand visits and which download or support links people use.
When you first visit, we ask for your choice via a cookie banner. Until you choose:
- We do not store PostHog cookies or local storage for analytics
- We do not send analytics events until you accept or decline
If you accept: PostHog may store first-party cookies /
local storage so we can recognise the same browser across visits, and
may receive page views, link clicks (including autocaptured
interactions), technical details about your browser, and approximate
location derived from IP address. We tag website events with
surface=website so they can be viewed separately from app
analytics in the same PostHog project.
If you decline: we still measure aggregate visits using PostHog’s cookieless mode (a privacy-preserving server-side hash). No analytics cookies are stored on your device for that purpose.
You can change your mind later by clearing site data for dearjaneapp.co.uk (which clears the stored consent choice) and reloading the page, or by contacting us at [email protected].
Crash reporting, diagnostics, and session replay (Sentry)
Dear Jane uses Sentry to diagnose crashes and errors. Sentry may receive:
- Error and crash reports, stack traces, and diagnostic logs
- Device and app technical details
- IP address and related default diagnostic context
- Performance traces used to investigate reliability issues
- Session replay recordings for a sample of sessions (and more often when an error occurs). Replay can capture what appeared on screen in the app around the time of the session or error.
- Optional name, email, and message if you submit feedback
Optional tips
You may optionally tip to support Dear Jane. This is never required to use the app, and it does not unlock paid content.
- iOS: Optional one-time tips (for example tea, coffee, or cake) use Apple In-App Purchase. Apple processes the payment. We do not collect or store your card, Apple ID password, or full payment details inside Dear Jane. Apple may share limited purchase information with us (such as that a tip product was purchased and related App Store transaction identifiers) so we can complete the tip in the app. Payment handling is also governed by Apple’s Privacy Policy.
- Android: Optional one-time tips (for example tea, coffee, or cake) use Google Play Billing. Google processes the payment. We do not collect or store your card, Google account password, or full payment details inside Dear Jane. Google may share limited purchase information with us (such as that a tip product was purchased and related Play transaction identifiers) so we can complete the tip in the app. Payment handling is also governed by Google’s Privacy Policy.
PostHog also receives product events about tip interactions (for example that a tip option was tapped, completed, cancelled, or failed), without card details.
What we do not collect
- No user accounts or sign-in
- No precise GPS location
- No push notification tokens (Dear Jane does not send push notifications)
- No contacts, photos, microphone, or camera access for data collection
- No sale of personal information
- No intentional collection of sensitive special-category data
2. How do we use your information?
We process information to:
- Provide and operate Dear Jane on your device
- Understand usage trends and improve features, content, and reliability
- Diagnose crashes, bugs, and performance problems
- Read and respond to feedback you send
- Complete optional tips you choose to make (via Apple on iOS or Google Play on Android)
- Protect the Services against abuse or technical misuse
- Comply with legal obligations where applicable
3. Legal bases (EEA / UK)
If you are in the EEA or UK, we rely on these legal bases under the GDPR / UK GDPR:
- Legitimate interests - to operate, secure, and improve Dear Jane through analytics, crash reporting, diagnostics, and limited session replay, in a way that we believe does not override your rights.
- Consent - where you choose to send feedback with optional contact details, where you accept analytics cookies on the website, or where consent is otherwise required by law.
- Legal obligations - where we must process information to comply with applicable law.
You may object to processing based on legitimate interests, or withdraw consent where we rely on consent, by contacting us at [email protected].
4. When and with whom do we share information?
We share information with service providers who process it on our behalf to run the Services:
- PostHog - product analytics
- Sentry - crash reporting, diagnostics, session replay, and feedback
- Apple - if you install through TestFlight or the App Store, and if you choose an optional iOS tip via In-App Purchase, Apple processes that payment and related App Store data under Apple’s terms
- Google - if you install through Google Play, and if you choose an optional Android tip via Google Play Billing, Google processes that payment and related Play data under Google’s terms
We may also disclose information if required by law, to protect rights and safety, or in connection with a genuine business transfer (for example a sale of assets). We do not sell personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioural advertising.
5. How long do we keep information?
- On-device game data stays on your device until you use Fresh start in Settings, clear app data, or uninstall the app (noting that some secure-storage values may persist across reinstall on the same device depending on platform behaviour).
- Analytics and diagnostics are retained in PostHog and Sentry according to our configured retention in those tools, and no longer than needed for the purposes above unless a longer period is required by law.
- Feedback is retained as long as needed to review and respond to your note and keep a record of support issues.
6. How do we keep information safe?
We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information, including relying on reputable providers and limiting what we send off-device. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.
7. Do we collect information from minors?
Dear Jane is not directed at children under 13 (or the equivalent minimum age in your country). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided personal information through the Services, contact us and we will take reasonable steps to delete it.
8. Your privacy rights
Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or receive a copy of personal information, to restrict or object to certain processing, and to withdraw consent where processing is based on consent. EEA/UK residents may also complain to their local data protection authority (in the UK, the ICO).
To exercise these rights, email [email protected].
Fresh start in the app deletes local game progress and preferences on your device. It does not by itself delete analytics or crash/feedback records already held by PostHog or Sentry. To request deletion of server-side data associated with your install or feedback, contact us.
9. United States privacy disclosures
If you are a resident of a US state with consumer privacy laws (including California), the following summarizes categories of personal information we may collect and whether we have collected them in the past 12 months:
| Category | Examples relevant to Dear Jane | Collected |
|---|---|---|
| A. Identifiers | Analytics install ID; IP address; optional email if you include one in feedback | Yes |
| B. Customer records information | Optional name and email in feedback; feedback message content | Yes (only if you submit feedback) |
| C. Protected classification characteristics | Not collected | No |
| D. Commercial information | Optional tip purchase metadata if you tip (processed via Apple on iOS or Google Play on Android). No card numbers stored in Dear Jane. | Yes (only if you tip) |
| E. Biometric information | Not collected | No |
| F. Internet or other electronic network activity | App screens, product events, diagnostics, crash data, and session replay | Yes |
| G. Geolocation data | Approximate location inferred from IP by analytics/error tools; no GPS | Yes (approximate / IP-based only) |
| H. Audio / electronic / sensory information | Session replay may capture on-screen visual content; no microphone or camera recording by Dear Jane | Yes (session replay visuals only) |
| I. Professional or employment information | Not collected | No |
| J. Education information | Not collected | No |
| K. Inferences | Limited analytics profile properties such as aficionado level or theme preference derived from in-app activity | Yes (limited) |
| L. Sensitive personal information | Not intentionally collected | No |
We use this information for the purposes in section 2. We disclose it to the service providers listed in section 4. We have not sold or shared personal information for cross-context behavioural advertising in the preceding 12 months.
Subject to applicable law, you may request to know, access, correct, delete, or obtain a copy of personal information, and to appeal a refused request, by emailing [email protected]. We will not discriminate against you for exercising privacy rights.
10. Updates to this notice
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The “Last updated” date at the top will change when we do. If changes are material, we may also provide an additional notice (for example on the website or in the app).
11. How to contact us
Email: [email protected]
Frances Maxwell
51 Balgray Road
Glasgow G77 6PB
United Kingdom
12. How to review, update, or delete your data
Use Fresh start in Dear Jane Settings to clear local progress on your device. To request access to, correction of, or deletion of personal information held by us or our processors (including analytics, crash, or feedback data), email [email protected] with enough detail for us to locate your request (for example the email used in feedback, or approximate dates and device type). We will respond in accordance with applicable law.
Dear Jane is an unofficial fan work inspired by the novels of Jane Austen. No affiliation is claimed.