Privacy Policy
Stay — Light Within Collective
Effective date: 19 March 2026
Stay is a mental wellness application created by Light Within Collective, based in South Africa. This Privacy Policy explains what information Stay collects, how it is used, where it is stored, and what rights you have over your data.
By using Stay, you agree to the practices described in this policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the app.
1. Who we are
Stay is operated by Light Within Collective, a South African organisation.
Contact: hello@lightwithincollective.co.za
Website: lightwithincollective.co.za
2. What data Stay collects
Stay collects only the data you choose to create within the app. This includes:
- Journal entries and written reflections
- Mood check-ins
- Session count and usage statistics
- Conversations with the AI companion (Talk to Stay)
Stay does not collect your name, email address, phone number, or any identifying personal information unless you voluntarily provide it within the app.
Stay does not use analytics tools, advertising trackers, or any third-party tracking software.
3. How your data is stored
The majority of your data is stored locally on your device using your browser's localStorage. This means your data lives on your device and is not transmitted to any server, except as described below.
When you use the Talk to Stay feature, your conversation is sent to our secure proxy server hosted on Netlify in order to communicate with the Anthropic API. This data is transmitted securely and is not retained by our server after the response is delivered.
Netlify may retain server logs for operational and security purposes. You can review Netlify's privacy policy at netlify.com/privacy.
4. How your data is used
Your data is used solely to provide the features of the app to you. Specifically:
- Journal entries, mood check-ins, and usage stats are stored on your device and used to power features like Your Patterns, Your Log, and Reflection.
- Conversations with the AI companion are sent to Anthropic's API to generate responses. Anthropic processes this data in accordance with their privacy policy, available at anthropic.com/privacy.
We do not use your data for advertising, profiling, or any purpose beyond providing the app's features to you.
5. Data sharing
We do not sell, rent, or share your personal data with any third parties, except:
- Anthropic, when you use the Talk to Stay feature. Only the content of your conversation is shared, and only for the purpose of generating a response.
- Netlify, as our hosting provider, which may process limited technical data as part of operating the service.
Both Anthropic and Netlify are bound by their own privacy policies and data protection obligations.
6. Data retention
Your data remains on your device for as long as you use the app. You can delete all your data at any time from within the app by going to Settings > Data > Reset all data.
Conversation data sent to Anthropic is subject to Anthropic's own retention policies.
7. Your rights
You have the right to:
- Access the data stored on your device at any time through the app's export feature
- Delete your data at any time through the app's reset feature
- Request information about how your data is handled by contacting us at hello@lightwithincollective.co.za
If you are located in the European Economic Area, you have additional rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), including the right to data portability and the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority.
If you are located in South Africa, your rights are governed by the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). Light Within Collective is committed to compliance with POPIA.
8. Children
Stay is not intended for use by children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect data from children. If you believe a child has used the app and provided personal information, please contact us at hello@lightwithincollective.co.za.
9. Security
We take reasonable steps to protect your data. All data transmitted between the app and our server is encrypted using HTTPS. Data stored on your device is subject to your device's own security protections.
No method of transmission or storage is completely secure. While we do our best to protect your data, we cannot guarantee absolute security.
10. Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the effective date at the top of this document. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.
Continued use of Stay after any changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
11. Contact
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how your data is handled, please contact us at:
Light Within Collective
hello@lightwithincollective.co.za