Privacy Policy

Sages of the 4th World LLC · Effective 5 September 2026

We built Sages to know as little about you as possible. The app has no accounts, no sign-in, no advertising, no analytics and no tracking. This page explains, in plain language, the little that does happen and why.

The Sages app

What we collect

Nothing that identifies you. In particular:

• No account. There is nothing to sign up for, so we never hold your name, email address or password.
• No analytics, advertising or tracking. The app contains no analytics, advertising or fingerprinting code and shares no data with data brokers or ad networks.
• Preferences stay on your phone. Your chosen tradition, subtitle setting, ambiance and volume settings are stored only on your device. Deleting the app deletes them.

Head tracking for spatial audio

If you turn on spatial audio with compatible headphones such as AirPods, the app asks for permission to use head-motion data so the sage's voice stays in place when you turn your head. That data is used in real time on your device only. It is never recorded, stored or sent anywhere, and you can decline the permission and keep listening normally.

Head gestures

With compatible headphones you can shake your head to go back a passage, or nod to ask where you are in a sitting. The motion data behind these gestures is read in real time on your device only and is never recorded or sent anywhere.

“Where am I?” explanations

When you nod, or tap the “Where am I?” button, to ask where you are, the app asks our server for a short spoken explanation of the passage you are listening to. The request carries the name of the sitting, the number of the passage, and a random identifier the app makes up once when it is installed. That identifier is not your device’s identifier, is not linked to you or to your Apple ID, and is used only to limit how many new explanations one phone can request. The explanations themselves are written for us by an AI language model from the sitting’s own source text, spoken by the same narrator, and kept on our server so that the next listener who asks about the same passage hears it at once. Nothing you say or do is recorded.

Subscriptions

The optional premium subscription is sold and processed entirely by Apple through the App Store. It is tied to your Apple ID, which is the only account involved. We never see your name, address or payment details. Apple tells the app only whether a subscription is active, and you restore a purchase on a new device with Apple's own Restore Purchases button. Apple's handling of your data is described in Apple's Privacy Policy.

Streaming and server logs

When the app loads the catalog and streams audio, our servers and the services in front of them receive the ordinary technical information every internet request carries: your IP address, the file requested and the time. Those services are DigitalOcean (hosting and audio storage) and Cloudflare (network security). These logs exist to keep the service running and diagnose problems. They are kept for a short time, are not used to identify or profile you, and are not shared.

Headsets and other stores

We are developing Sage Presence, a version of Sages for virtual-reality headsets. When it is released, the same principle will apply: head and hand tracking are processed in real time on the headset to place sound and imagery around you, and are never recorded, stored or sent to us. If we ever offer our apps through a store other than Apple's, purchases there are handled by that store's operator under its own privacy policy, and we will update this page to name it.

This website

Visitor statistics

sagesofthe4th.world uses Umami, a privacy-focused analytics service, to count visits and see which pages are read. Umami does not use cookies, does not store your IP address and cannot identify you personally. We use these counts only to understand what people find useful.

The contact form

If you write to us through the contact form, we receive the name, email address and message you type, together with the IP address and browser type of the request so we can filter automated spam. The message is emailed to us and kept in our private storage so we can reply. We use it only to answer you. We do not add you to any mailing list and never sell or share it. Ask us at any time and we will delete it.

Children

Sages is made for adults and is not directed at children under 13, or under the higher age that applies where you live. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone, and that includes children; the app has no accounts, so there is nothing to sign up for. If you believe a child has sent us information through the contact form, email us and we will delete it.

Your rights

We do not sell or share your personal information, and we never have. We do not use it for advertising of any kind.

Because we hold almost nothing about you, there is usually nothing to request. If you have written to us, you may ask what we have kept and ask us to delete it, and we will. Residents of California, the European Union and the United Kingdom have specific legal rights over their personal data. Email us and we will honor them.

Changes

If this policy ever changes, the current version will always be at this address with an updated effective date. If a change affects what the app itself does, we will also say so in the App Store release notes.

Contact

Questions about privacy? Write to [email protected] or use the contact page, or write to us by post:

Sages of the 4th World LLC
1120 Sycamore Ave, Suite 2G
Vista, CA 92081
United States