Rushmore (“we”, “us”, “the app”) is an iOS app that lets you build personal Mt. Rushmore–style lists of four people for any category and share them. This policy describes exactly what data the app touches, why, and how to remove it.
We tried to write this in plain English. If something is unclear, email us at hello@rushmore.app.
TL;DR
- Guest mode: nothing leaves your phone. We literally cannot see your Rushmores.
- Sign in with Apple: we receive your name and the email Apple gives us (which may be a private relay address). Your Rushmores back up to our database so they sync across your devices.
- No advertising. No analytics SDKs. No selling data. No tracking across other apps or websites.
- Portrait photos are fetched from Wikipedia at the time you build a list. Wikipedia sees an anonymous request; it does not see who you are.
- Delete your account at any time from Settings → Sign out, or email us to permanently wipe everything.
1. What we collect
We collect only what's needed to make the app work. Here is the complete list:
a. Information you give us by signing in
- Apple Sign-In (optional): your full name (only if you choose to share it during sign-in) and the email address Apple returns to us. Apple may return a private relay address (
*.privaterelay.appleid.com) rather than your real email — that's fine, and we never see your real email if you choose to hide it.
- Guest accounts: no name or email. We assign you a random local identifier that stays on your device.
b. Content you create
- The Rushmores you build: title, category, four “heads” (with names you type or pick from our suggestions), optional “snubs”, optional “hot takes” (short text you write to defend a pick), and which head you've crowned as #1.
- If you choose to post a Rushmore to the public Trending feed, that Rushmore (and your display name and avatar emoji) becomes visible to everyone using the app. If you don't post, no one but you sees your Rushmores.
c. Technical data the app stores on your device
- Your settings, your daily-streak counter, and a cache of portrait images the app has previously fetched, all stored in standard iOS containers (UserDefaults, the app sandbox, the keychain). This data never leaves your device unless you've signed in with Apple, in which case your Rushmores (not the image cache) sync to our backend.
d. What we do not collect
- Location.
- Contacts, photos, microphone, camera, calendar, health, motion data — none of it. The only system permission we ask for is “Add to Photo Library” when you tap Save Image on a finished Rushmore, and that's handled entirely by iOS — we never see your library.
- Advertising identifiers (IDFA). We don't ask for App Tracking Transparency permission because we don't track.
- Crash logs or analytics SDKs (Firebase Analytics is disabled in our build).
2. How we use what we collect
| Data | Why we use it |
|---|
| Apple sign-in name / email | Identify your account so we can sync your Rushmores between your devices and let other users find you by display name. |
| Your Rushmores | Save them, sync them, and (if you choose) display them on the Trending feed. |
| Display name + avatar emoji | Attribute Rushmores to you on the Trending feed and on your public profile. |
| Streak counter / settings | Power the daily Rushmore streak feature on your device. |
| Cached portrait images | Make the app fast and let it work offline after you've seen a person once. |
We do not use any of this for advertising, profiling, or sale to third parties. There are no third-party advertising networks, analytics SDKs, or data brokers in the app.
3. Third-party services we rely on
- Apple (Sign in with Apple): authenticates you and returns your name and an email or relay address.
- Google Firebase (Authentication + Cloud Firestore): stores your account record and your Rushmores when you're signed in with Apple. Firebase is operated by Google LLC; their privacy notice is at firebase.google.com/support/privacy. We have Firebase Analytics, Crashlytics, and Ads SDKs disabled.
- Wikipedia REST API (operated by the Wikimedia Foundation): we send the name of a person you're adding to a Rushmore to fetch a public portrait image. Wikipedia receives the name and a generic User-Agent string identifying our app; it does not receive your name, email, or any account identifier.
We have no other third-party services, SDKs, or trackers embedded in the app.
4. Storage, security, and retention
- Your Rushmores in guest mode stay on your device's local storage.
- When you're signed in with Apple, your Rushmores and account record are stored in Google Cloud Firestore (region us-central1) and encrypted in transit (TLS) and at rest by Google.
- Your Sign-in with Apple credential is stored in the iOS keychain (encrypted by the operating system).
- We keep your account and Rushmores for as long as your account exists. When you delete your account (see next section), everything is deleted within 30 days.
5. Your choices and rights
- Stop syncing: sign out (Settings → Sign out). Your existing local Rushmores stay on the device; nothing new is uploaded.
- Delete your account and all data: email us at hello@rushmore.app from the address tied to your Apple ID (or its relay) and we will permanently delete your account record and all your Rushmores from our backend within 30 days. We'll also revoke your Sign in with Apple token. (Apple also lets you stop using Sign in with Apple at any time under Settings → Apple ID → Sign-In & Security → Apps Using Apple ID.)
- Don't post publicly: keep your Rushmores private by simply not tapping “Post to Trending.”
- Access / correct your data: edit your display name and avatar at any time in Settings → Edit Profile. To request a copy of all data we hold about you, email hello@rushmore.app.
- EU/UK residents: we honor GDPR/UK GDPR rights to access, correct, delete, restrict, port, and object to processing. The legal basis for processing your account data is the contract to provide you the service (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR), and our legitimate interest in operating the public Trending feed for users who opt in to it (Art. 6(1)(f)). Contact us to exercise any of these rights.
- California residents (CCPA/CPRA): we do not sell or share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. You have the right to know, delete, and correct your data — use the same email above.
6. Children
Rushmore is rated 12+ on the App Store and is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has signed in with Apple and given us their data, email us and we will delete it immediately.
7. International transfers
If you use the app from outside the United States, your data will be transferred to and stored on servers in the United States (Google Cloud, us-central1). By using the app you consent to this transfer. We rely on standard contractual clauses where required.
8. Changes to this policy
If we change this policy materially, we'll update the effective date at the top and surface the change in the app the next time you open it. Continued use after a change means you accept the new terms.
9. Contact
Privacy questions, deletion requests, or anything else: hello@rushmore.app
Rushmore is built by Cody Simons. There is no parent company.