Your mood data, explained
“Private” should describe a system, not hide the details. Here are Mental’s main data flows: where data goes, when it moves, why it is used, and what you can control.
What moves where
Your journal content and anonymous product analytics take different paths. Optional AI and Apple Health add separate, user-controlled paths.
Product data flows were reviewed September 5, 2026. The privacy policy remains the legal source of truth.
| Data | Where it goes | When and why | Your control | Policy detail |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Journal entries | Your iPhone and your private iCloud; Mental keeps no server copy of the journal. | When you save a check-in, note, tag, or Mirror response, so the journal can persist and sync. | Edit, export, or delete from the app. | Storage details |
| iCloud sync | Apple CloudKit tied to your Apple ID, not a Mental account. | To keep the journal available through your private iCloud sync. | Apple governs iCloud access; deleting Mental history removes its synced copy too. | iCloud details |
| Anonymous analytics | PostHog, under a random identifier; journal text, mood content, name, sex, and birth year are excluded. | Usage events are on by default to understand product use and fix problems. | Turn analytics off in Settings. | Analytics details |
| Optional AI | Selected note and mood data pass through Mental’s non-storing relay to a third-party AI provider. | After you enable AI, the features you turn on may process check-ins to generate tags, summaries, or reflections, including automatically after you save an entry. | AI is off until enabled and can be turned off in Settings. | AI details |
| Apple Health | Exact Health values stay on device. A separate AI opt-in can send coarse ranges with a request. | After Health permission, to add context or save State of Mind; coarse AI context requires another opt-in. | Revoke Health access or the separate AI-context permission. | Health details |
| Export and deletion | An export becomes a file you control. Deletion removes check-in history and summaries from the device and iCloud sync. | Only when you choose an export or deletion action. | Export the full journal or delete history and summaries in the app. | Control details |
What no account means
Mental does not ask you to create a Mental login with an email address and password. The journal is stored on your device and synced through your Apple ID’s private iCloud rather than a Mental journal database.
What it does not mean
No account does not mean that the app uses no outside services. Anonymous product analytics are on by default and can be disabled. Optional AI sends selected content only when enabled and used. Apple Health and its AI-context option have their own permissions.
That distinction is why this page avoids blanket claims. The useful question is not “does anything ever leave the phone?” but “which data moves, for which feature, under whose control?”
Journal content is not analytics
Mental’s product analytics can record that a screen opened or a check-in started. They do not include your note text, mood content, name, sex, or year of birth. Optional AI is a separate path and is not silently activated by analytics.
Read the exact terms
This page is a readable map, not a replacement for the policy. Read the current Mental privacy policy for provider details, retention language, Apple Health permissions, purchases, children, and future changes. Questions can be sent to [email protected].
Choose the tool whose data flow you understand.
See the check-in and visual history on the Mental mood tracker overview. If its choices fit yours, it is available for iPhone.
Download for iOS