Your stories. Your choices.

Privacy Policy

Understand what we handle, who helps us provide the service, and the choices you have over your information.

On this page

Who is responsible for your information?
Who the service is for
Information we handle
Why we use it
Service providers and overseas processing
Optional AI and your choices
Family sharing and trusted contacts
How long memories remain
Deletion, backups and independently held copies
Security, website visits and your device
Access, correction and complaints
Changes and contact

Who is responsible for your information?

My Life Story Vault Ltd, New Zealand company number 9384033. Write to us at c/- Oxford Edge Limited, 3A/335 Lincoln Road, Addington, Christchurch 8024, New Zealand, or email info@mylifestoryvault.com. Oxford Edge Limited is our care-of addressee; My Life Story Vault Ltd operates the service.

Who the service is for

Our initial launch is for adults aged 18 or over in New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom. Account holders, paying organisers and invited family members must each be 18 or over. A story may mention relatives or other people; only include their personal information when you have the right to do so. Contact us if you believe someone under 18 has an account.

Information we handle

Account and profile information, including your name, email, supplied phone number, date of birth, country, language and profile image.
Memories and documents you choose to add: text, photos, audio, video, dates, tags, transcripts, attachments and generated downloads.
Family invitations, relationships, sharing choices, questions, replies, comments and reactions.
Account and vault-security information, sessions, consent choices, activity dates and request records.
Purchase identifiers, subscription status, entitlements and billing periods. Apple or Google handles store payment details; the app does not ask you to enter a payment-card number.
App/device identifiers, version, push token, network information, crash reports and performance diagnostics where the relevant service is enabled.
Information you send to support or in a privacy request.

Stories and documents can contain sensitive information, including information about other people. Share thoughtfully and check permissions before uploading or using optional AI.

Why we use it

We use this information to operate accounts and vaults, store and display memories, deliver authorised family sharing and messages, provide chosen AI features, manage subscriptions, send service notices, investigate problems and abuse, handle requests and meet legal obligations. We use permissions for optional AI separately from the account terms. For UK users, our legal bases are performing the service contract, consent for optional processing where required, legitimate interests in service security and reliability, and legal obligations. Any additional condition needed for sensitive information must also be met.

Service providers and overseas processing

Our backend uses Supabase for accounts, database records and file storage. RevenueCat helps manage subscriptions with Apple App Store and Google Play. Resend delivers service emails. Expo and Apple/Google notification services support push messages, and Google Firebase Crashlytics/Performance supports app diagnostics where enabled. Hosting and support providers also help operate the service. Optional AI providers are described below.

Information can be processed outside your country, including Australia, the United States and other provider locations. A provider’s email-sending location is not necessarily its storage or support location. Contact us for the arrangements applicable to your information. Overseas processing and applicable contractual safeguards must be assessed for each provider; this policy does not promise New Zealand-only storage.

Optional AI and your choices

OpenAI helps with story tags and questions. Tagging sends transcript text; question generation sends language, count and tone instructions rather than saved story text. AssemblyAI receives access to selected audio or video for transcription. ElevenLabs receives selected text and voice settings to generate spoken audio. Generated results return to the service.

Before the first optional transfer to each provider, we ask you to choose Continue with AI, Not now or View Privacy Policy. You can use the core vault without optional AI and review or withdraw provider permissions in Settings. Withdrawal stops future optional transfers; it cannot recall a request already sent or itself delete provider-held data. AI can make mistakes: review results before relying on or sharing them. General policy acceptance is not an AI permission.

Provider retention, training and deletion settings depend on the actual account, endpoint and contract. We do not promise zero retention, a universal no-training arrangement, or immediate deletion by every provider. Contact us to request deletion of provider-held information associated with your account.

How long memories remain

Memories are not automatically deleted one year after upload. Active paid accounts do not have a routine one-year deletion countdown. For a lapsed subscription, the fixed one-year period runs from subscription expiry; for a terminated account, from termination. For a free account it runs from meaningful activity, such as signing in or adding a memory; qualifying activity moves that date forward. Signing into a lapsed paid account does not by itself reset its subscription-expiry clock. Renewing changes the account’s subscription status.

The policy effective date is 1 November 2026, with a transition floor preventing retention-based deletion before 1 November 2027. The retention process requires 90-, 30- and 7-day warning stages and a final eligibility check before automatic deletion. You can request earlier account deletion. See the app’s Data Retention screen for your account’s information and contact us if a warning appears incorrect.

Deletion, backups and independently held copies

Deleting your account removes your uploaded memories and your authored questions, replies and attached files from the app, including family views. Other members’ independently contributed memories, questions and replies remain theirs. Where a surviving conversation needs context, a neutral removed-contribution marker may remain without the deleted content. We cannot recall copies other people have already downloaded.

Account deletion and expiry of every retained copy are different processes. Limited billing, security, fraud-prevention, request-handling or legally required records may need to be kept for their justified purpose. Service providers and recoverable backups can have separate deletion schedules. We will explain any applicable exception, its reason and the relevant retention arrangements when confirming your request. Deleted content must not be restored to an active account from a backup.

Please keep your own usable copy of irreplaceable originals. Cloud-storage redundancy and a database backup do not by themselves recover deleted media files. This policy does not promise a verified media-backup or recovery period that has not been established. The separate Account Deletion page explains how to make a request.

Security, website visits and your device

We use account authentication, restricted access and private file storage to protect information. No service can guarantee absolute security or indefinite availability. Device biometric checks use your device’s authentication facilities; we do not receive your fingerprint or facial template. Local recordings, cached content and downloaded files also depend on your device’s security. Protect your account, keep your device updated and report suspected unauthorised access promptly.

Visiting the website sends network requests to its hosting and content providers, which may keep request and security logs. Website cookies and similar technologies, where used, are separate from app permissions. You can manage cookies in your browser and use any website choices provided; optional processing must follow applicable consent requirements. Contact us about the website information associated with you.

Access, correction and complaints

You can request access to or correction of personal information through info@mylifestoryvault.com without a paid subscription or paid export. Explain what you need and give your registered email address; if you cannot access that mailbox, tell us so we can arrange proportionate alternative verification.

Richard Benton and our company team manage info@mylifestoryvault.com. We aim to acknowledge requests within two working days. This is an acknowledgement target, not a promise to resolve every request in two days. We verify identity before disclosing personal information or deleting an account. Do not email passwords, verification codes, payment-card details or death certificates.

We respond as soon as reasonably possible. For New Zealand access/correction requests, we normally give a decision within 20 working days of receipt and explain any lawful extension; identity checks do not automatically restart that clock. For UK rights requests, the applicable period is normally one calendar month, subject to the legal rules on verification, clarification and extensions. We apply the applicable deadline rather than treating our service targets as a replacement for your rights. Australian access/correction requests are handled within a reasonable period. UK rights may also include erasure, restriction, objection and portability where applicable.

Our target for a substantive privacy-complaint response is 10 working days, with progress updates if investigation continues. We explain any justified withholding or retention and how to challenge it. You may contact the New Zealand Privacy Commissioner, the Australian Information Commissioner or the UK Information Commissioner, as applicable.

Changes and contact

We will make the current policy available here and communicate material changes appropriately. Your legal rights are not limited by this policy.