Privacy Policy
The short version: Pax does not collect, store or share any personal information. There is no account, no advertising and no tracking. What you save in Pax stays on your device, unless you turn on sync, which keeps it in your own iCloud (iPhone and iPad) or your own Google Drive (Android).
This policy covers the Pax app for iPhone, iPad and Android, made by Listening Beard Productions ("we"). If you have a question about it, write to [email protected]. It is separate from the policy for our other app, Chalkwork.
What we collect
Nothing. Pax has no sign-in and does not send information about you or your use of the app to us or to anyone else. It contains no analytics, advertising or tracking software, and it does not track you across other apps or websites. We run no servers that the app talks to.
What stays on your device
To work, Pax keeps a few things on your device:
- the quotes you mark as favorites;
- the names of the people you pray for in Spiritual Bouquets, and a flower for each prayer you offer (no dates are kept);
- the triads you save to Favorites (only their text and topic; Pax rebuilds each triad from quotes already in the app);
- reflections written for quotes you've opened;
- your journal entries, if you write any;
- the days you opened Pax, shown as roses on your journal's calendar;
- for My Board, which days in the last 30 you opened each topic (nothing about what you read there);
- the Rosaries you’ve prayed toward the crown of roses, and the days you’ve prayed each novena;
- your settings, such as which voices appear, your daily reminder time, your home board, your temperament and your Black Board choice.
Spiritual Bouquets names and flowers are never read by Pax’s on-device model and never appear in widgets, Spotlight, Apple Watch or Siri.
This information never leaves your device through Pax, unless you turn on Sync with iCloud or use Handoff (both below). Pax's widgets read the Daily Triad and what you have purchased (Pax Complete) from storage shared only between the app and its own widgets on the same device.
Like other app data, it may be included in your device’s backups to iCloud or to a computer, which are handled by Apple under your own backup settings. You can erase it anytime with Settings › Reset All Local Data & Favorites in Pax, or by deleting the app.
You can also save a copy of your favorites, reflections, journal, My Board, saved triads, Spiritual Bouquets, easter eggs, Rosaries, novena days and your Black Board choice as a file, in Settings › Your Data, to move them to a new iPhone or iPad. The copy is made on your device and goes only where you send or save it; Pax never uploads it. You choose whether your journal is in it, and anyone who has the file can read what’s in it, so keep it somewhere private.
Your journal
What you write in Pax's journal is kept on your iPhone or iPad. It is never sent to us, and Pax's reflections never read it. If you turn on Sync with iCloud, it is also kept in your own private iCloud, so it appears on your other devices; deleting an entry, or your whole journal, deletes it there too. You can also write in your journal by hand, with your finger or an Apple Pencil. Your handwriting is kept with the entry on your device, and Pax reads it on your device, using Apple’s own text recognition, only so the journal’s search can find it. It is never sent to us or anywhere else, and Pax’s reflections never read it. A copy saved in Settings › Your Data includes it if you include your journal. If you turn on the journal lock, iOS checks your Face ID, Touch ID or passcode; Pax never sees your face, fingerprint or passcode, only whether iOS unlocked it. If you choose to send an entry to another app, such as Apple's Journal app, it goes through the share sheet and is then handled by that app. You can delete single entries, or your whole journal in Pax's Settings.
My Board
With Pax Complete, My Board can gather the topics you keep coming back to. To suggest them, Pax keeps only which days in the last 30 you opened each topic, on your device; older days are dropped. It is never sent to us or to any server, and Pax’s reflections never read it. If you turn on Sync with iCloud, it is kept in your own iCloud too, so your other devices share it. Topics about loss, illness and private struggles are never added on their own. You can clear it anytime with Settings › Home Board › My Board › Forget What I’ve Opened.
Reflections
On iPhones and iPads that support Apple Intelligence, Pax can write a short reflection on a quote using Apple's on-device model. This happens entirely on your device; the quote and the reflection are not sent to us or to any server. On other devices, Pax shows a prewritten reflection instead. You can turn automatic reflections off in Settings.
Daily reminder
If you turn on the daily "How is your soul today?" reminder, Pax schedules it on your device with iOS notifications. The reminder uses no push service or server, and you can turn it off anytime in Pax's Settings or your device’s Settings app. (If you turn on Sync with iCloud, Apple’s iCloud quietly tells Pax when your other devices have changed something; you see no notification.)
Sync with iCloud
Sync with iCloud is your choice. On the welcome screen, if you are signed in to iCloud, the “Sync with iCloud” switch starts on, but nothing syncs unless you tap Begin with it on, and you can turn it off anytime in Settings › Your Data. If you were already using Pax, it stays as you set it. When it is on, your favorites, reflections, journal (handwriting included), My Board, saved triads, Spiritual Bouquets, the calendar’s days, easter eggs found, the Rosaries toward the crown of roses and your Black Board choice are copied to your own private iCloud so they appear on your other iPhones and iPads. We never see them and they never go anywhere else. Turning it off keeps what is on the device, and Settings › Reset clears it on every device.
Handoff
If Handoff is on in your device’s settings, Pax offers what you have open to your other iPhone or iPad: the board or topic, the open quote’s words and where you were in its list, or your place in a prayer such as the Rosary or the Stations. Handoff is Apple’s. It works between devices signed in to your Apple Account, even with Sync with iCloud off, and goes only to your own devices, through Apple. It never includes your journal, your reflections or anything you’ve written.
Spotlight
The words and author of the quotes you can read (the free sections and any you have bought) are added to your device’s own Spotlight search, on the device, so you can find a quote from the Home Screen.
Apple Watch and SharePlay
Your favorites are sent from your iPhone to your own Apple Watch through Apple’s WatchConnectivity; no server is involved. If you pray the Rosary together on FaceTime, Pax uses SharePlay, which shares only the mysteries and the bead number.
Pax on Android
Everything above holds for Pax on Android phones too, except what belongs to Apple: iCloud, Handoff, Spotlight, Apple Watch, SharePlay, Apple Intelligence and the App Store. On Android, Pax has no server and no account, and it sends nothing to us. Here is how it differs.
What stays on your phone. The same things listed above: favorites, reflections, journal entries (handwriting included), the days you opened Pax, My Board, saved triads, easter eggs found, the Rosaries you’ve prayed and your settings (including your Black Board choice). Settings › Reset All Local Data & Favorites deletes it all, and so does uninstalling Pax.
Sync with Google Drive. It is off unless you turn it on (Settings › Your Data). Then Pax keeps a copy of your favorites, saved reflections, journal entries (handwriting included), the days you opened Pax, saved triads, easter eggs found, finished Rosary sets, your Black Board choice and My Board in a hidden folder for Pax in your own Google Drive. Pax can see only that folder, never your other files, and the folder doesn’t show in Drive. It travels over an encrypted connection straight between your phone and Google; Listening Beard has no server and never receives it. This is the Android counterpart of iCloud sync on the iPhone, and it works only between Android phones. Turning sync off stops it. With sync on, Reset All Local Data & Favorites clears it on every phone, and you can also delete Pax’s hidden data in Google Drive › Settings › Manage apps. Pax’s reflections never read your journal.
Android’s backup. Android can back up Pax’s data (your favorites, saved reflections, journal and settings) to your Google account and restore it on a new phone. That backup is Android’s own, encrypted by Google; Pax does not see or send it, and asks it to hold nothing else. You can turn it off in Android’s Settings › System › Backup (or Google › Backup), or delete a backup from your Google account.
My Board. With Pax Complete, Pax keeps only which days in the last 30 you opened each topic, on your phone. It goes nowhere else (unless you turn on Sync with Google Drive) and is never read by a model. Settings › Home Board › My Board › Forget What I’ve Opened clears it.
Reflections. On phones that support Android’s on-device Gemini Nano model, Pax can write a short reflection on a quote. It runs on the phone; the quote and the reflection are not sent to us or to any server. On other phones, Pax shows a prewritten reflection. You can turn automatic reflections off in Settings.
Daily reminder and journal lock. The reminder is a notification Pax schedules on your phone (Android asks your permission when you turn it on). The optional journal lock uses your phone’s own fingerprint, face or PIN prompt; Pax never sees your fingerprint, face or PIN, only whether Android unlocked it.
Wear OS watch. If you have a Wear OS watch with Pax installed, Pax sends your newest 40 favorites (quote, author and source) from your phone to your own watch, over Google’s Wearable Data Layer. Pax adds no network and no server of its own, and the watch keeps only the last list. As for any Wear OS app, this travels through Google Play services: by Bluetooth when the watch is near and, when it isn’t, through Google’s relay between your own devices. Nothing is sent unless you have a Wear OS watch with Pax installed, and your journal is never sent.
Purchases. Pax Complete and seasons are sold through Google Play. Google handles the payment and tells the app only which of them you own. We never see your name, email address or payment details.
Save a Copy and shared links. As on the iPhone, a shared quote card carries a link to listeningbeard.com/pax/q/ and the quote’s number, nothing about you. Settings › Your Data › Save a Copy saves your favorites, reflections, journal, saved triads, easter eggs and your Black Board choice as a file that goes only where you send or save it. On Android this is how your data moves to a new phone if you don’t use Sync with Google Drive, since Pax keeps its backups to the minimum above.
Purchases
On iPhone and iPad, Pax Complete and seasons such as Advent are sold through Apple's App Store. Apple handles the payment and tells the app only which of them have been purchased on your Apple Account. We never see your name, email address or payment details. Apple's handling of purchases is described in Apple's Privacy Policy.
Links and sharing
Pax connects to the internet only when you choose to: when you tap a link, or if you turn on Sync with iCloud. Tapping a quote's source opens a page on another website, such as Bible Gateway (for the Douay-Rheims Bible), Project Gutenberg (for the Baltimore Catechism) or Wikipedia, in your browser, where that site’s own privacy policy applies. On the Discernment board, an episode of Before the Collar opens on YouTube, and The Priesthood and Religious Life link to the U.S. bishops’ vocations page and the VISION Vocation Network. When you share a quote card, it goes wherever you send it through the share sheet; Pax does not see or keep a copy. A shared card also carries a link, listeningbeard.com/pax/q/ and the quote’s number, so whoever receives it can open the quote in Pax. The link holds only that number, nothing about you or who you sent it to. If you report a problem with a quote, Pax opens an email to [email protected] with that quote and the app's version filled in; it is sent only if you send it, from your own email app, and we use it only to answer you and fix the quote.
Children
Pax is suitable for all ages and collects no information from anyone, including children under 13.
Our website
This website, listeningbeard.com, has no accounts, forms or cookies of its own. It is hosted by Cloudflare, which may count visits to its pages in aggregate (without following you across sites), and Cloudflare’s privacy policy applies to that. One page, Follow along, loads a YouTube player from Google, which can set its cookies once that page is open, and Google’s privacy policy applies to it. The Pax app, this privacy page and the rest of the site load nothing from YouTube or Google.
Changes to this policy
If Pax ever changes how it handles information, we'll update this page and the date above before the change reaches the app.
Contact
Listening Beard Productions
Michigan, United States
[email protected]