Matter’s Privacy Policy

Effective May 16, 2023

For the Matter app to be useful and effective, we ask for some sensitive personal details — for example, your emotion ratings. It’s important that you provide that information accurately. But you should also be wary about trusting anyone with that kind of information.

We get it. Our goal is to keep your data as safe and secure as possible. So, we only collect the information we absolutely need to make Matter work. 

With that safety and security comes responsibility. Below we outline what we do — and don’t do — with your data, as well as what you need to do. Please take the time to be familiar with these policies.

Terms 

For the purposes of this privacy policy, we, us, and our refer to Matter Neuroscience, dba Matter. 

This policy describes how we collect and use information about people who use our services, which refers to our website (matter.xyz), the Matter app (the app), services, tools, and features.

You and your means you as the user of our services, whether you are an app user, website visitor, or another individual whose information we have collected according to this policy.

Exceptions and additions

We may provide additional privacy notices to different groups of people at the time we collect your data. For example, if you are a participant in a research study, please refer to the informed consent document provided to you in connection with your participation in the study (if needed, ask the administrator of the study for a copy).

Data collection, storage, and deletion 

All of your Matter app data only lives on your device and in your own iCloud storage. We can’t access individual memory data or emotion ratings. We also can’t identify individual users of the Matter app. 

Data we collect 

Matter collects some specific pieces of information from users of the Matter app, for research purposes only.

None of this data is personal data or personally-identifiable. This means that it can’t reasonably be linked to a specific person or otherwise used to identify them. If you live in the UK or EU, you have special rights under GDPR, but again, we do not collect any personal data.

The data we collect includes:

• Data about memories, including 

  • Date and time a memory is created

  • The total Matter Score of the memory (but not any individual emotion ratings or reward systems scores) 

  • The memory ID — a unique string of characters that has no connection to other data 

• Data about individuals

  • Device model (e.g. “iPhone 14 Pro”) 

  • Operating System version

  • A unique identifier (a string of characters used to keep the data we capture unique to each user but that can not be tied back to someone’s identity)

  • Cumulative Matter Score 

  • Highest Matter Score

• Events, such as

  • when the app was opened or used

  • how long the app was open or in use

Please note that we intentionally do not collect your mobile carrier or specific location information. But our analytics platform can and does infer some non-precise location information based on the IP address the analytics came in from. 

Data we store

We do store data associated with memories (such as photos and videos). But we do not have the ability to view (or otherwise inspect) the content of these. 

Your data is encrypted before it’s sent to us and can only be decrypted on your device. So, we never get access to image or video data directly, even though we do store it.

How to delete your data

To delete data associated with Matter, delete the Matter app and delete all associated files in your iCloud. 

If you delete your data, we will not be able to restore it for you.

Risks and responsibilities

Your (decrypted) data is only stored in places you control — your device and your iCloud account. You are responsible for backing it up and managing your devices and accounts.

Because we don’t store decrypted data, we are unable to do things like recover your account. If you lose access to all of your devices and your iCloud account, we cannot recover your Matter data. If you delete all the data associated with Matter in your iCloud settings, we cannot recover your Matter data.

What you should do to protect your data

You can backup and restore your data in Settings, in the Matter app.

Backup your data regularly. We recommend at least weekly, but backing up daily limits your loss to a single day. You are responsible for transferring and storing this data in a secure and safe way. (E.g. do not email it, transfer it only to devices you trust, and store in a place others can’t access, ideally on an encrypted volume.)

You can also choose to use Apple’s Advanced Data Protection for iCloud.

Because the value of your Matter memories may be significant, we’re working on a way to better support backing up and storing them. In the future, we’ll be able to automatically backup your data for you. You’ll be able to restore it using a paper recovery key (a code that you’ve written down in a safe place, separate from your digital assets). This method will align with how we currently handle your data: we will not be able to view or inspect it. Your data is your data. 

Changes to this policy

If we make changes to this privacy policy, we will update it here and update the effective date at the top. (We can’t email you about changes because we don’t collect email addresses.) Changes to this policy will not apply retroactively.

If you have questions or concerns about this policy or your data, please email feedback@matter.xyz.