Fourth Watch

Privacy Policy

Effective October 27, 2026

Fourth Watch is an iPhone app for tracking a baby's or toddler's sleep, feedings, meals, diapers, growth and medicine. It is made by Logan VanDyke ("I", "me"). This policy explains what happens to the information you put into the app.

The short version

• Everything you log is stored on your iPhone.
• If you turn on iCloud sync, a copy is kept in your own iCloud account, encrypted so that only your family's devices can read the contents.
• I don't run any servers for Fourth Watch, and I can't see your data.
• There are no accounts, ads, analytics or tracking, and nothing is sold or shared for marketing.
• The only outside service the app contacts on its own is Open Food Facts, and only with a formula barcode when you scan one.

Information you enter

You may enter:

• your child's name, birthday and growth curve choice (girl or boy);
• sleep times, night wake-ups, feedings and amounts, formula names, meals and foods (including any reactions you note), diaper changes, growth measurements, medicines and doses, and notes;
• settings such as bedtime goals, reminder preferences and formula supply.

This information is saved in the app's storage on your iPhone. It never leaves your device unless you turn on iCloud sync, use a feature described below, or choose to export or share it yourself.

iCloud sync and family sharing (optional)

If you turn on iCloud sync, Fourth Watch stores a copy of your log in your private iCloud database using Apple's CloudKit service. This uses your iCloud account and storage; it is not sent to me, and I have no access to it.

• Encryption. The contents of every entry (names, times, amounts, notes and so on) are stored in CloudKit's encrypted fields. They are end-to-end encrypted with keys kept in your iCloud Keychain, so Apple can't read them. iCloud still keeps basic technical details needed to sync, such as record identifiers and when a record last changed.
• Inviting someone. If you invite someone, for example a partner or a caregiver, through the app's Family & iCloud screen, they can see and add to your family's log. You choose who to invite, and you can remove people or stop sharing at any time using Apple's sharing controls.
• Joining a family. If you accept someone's invitation, their family's log is copied to your iPhone and stays in sync with theirs. If you leave the family or are removed, the shared log is deleted from your iPhone. It remains in the owner's iCloud.
• Notifications. When a family member logs something, iCloud tells your iPhone through Apple's push notification service so the app can update and, if you allow it, show a notification. These notifications are created on your iPhone.

Apple's handling of iCloud data is described in Apple's Privacy Policy.

Formula barcode lookup

When you scan a formula can's barcode, the camera image is processed on your iPhone to read the barcode and is never saved or sent anywhere. To find the product's name, the app sends only the barcode number to Open Food Facts, a free public food product database. No information about you or your child is included. Open Food Facts handles that request under its own privacy policy. The name you confirm is remembered on your iPhone (and in iCloud, if sync is on) so the next scan is instant.

Features that stay on your iPhone

• Reminders and notifications (nap windows, feedings, bedtime, milestones, medicine, formula running low) are scheduled on your iPhone.
• Lock Screen Live Activities show the sleep timer using information already on your iPhone.
• Siri and Shortcuts actions run on your iPhone. Apple handles Siri requests under its own privacy policy.
• Insights, milestones, growth percentiles and the pediatrician report are calculated on your iPhone.

Exporting and sharing

You can export a CSV file or create a PDF report. These are only created when you ask, and they only go where you send them (for example, to your pediatrician by email or AirDrop). Once you share a file, the recipient's handling of it is outside the app.

What I don't do

• No sign-up or account with me.
• No advertising, and no advertising or analytics software inside the app.
• No tracking across apps or websites, and no selling or renting of information.
• No collection of your location, contacts or photos.

Children's privacy

Fourth Watch is meant to be used by parents and caregivers, not by children. Information about a child is entered by a parent or caregiver and stays on their devices and in their iCloud account as described above. I don't collect personal information from children, or from anyone else.

Health information

Fourth Watch is a record-keeping tool, not a medical device, and it doesn't give medical advice or suggest medicine doses. Anything you log about feeding, growth, reactions or medicine stays under your control as described in this policy. Always follow your pediatrician's guidance.

Keeping and deleting your information

• One child's log: Settings → "Erase [name]'s log" deletes every entry for that child.
• Everything: Settings → "Erase everything and start over" deletes all children, entries and settings from your iPhone. If iCloud sync is on, the deletion syncs to iCloud and to anyone you've shared with.
• iCloud copy: turn off sync in Settings → Family & iCloud. To remove the copy stored in iCloud, go to the iPhone's Settings → [your name] → iCloud → Manage Storage (or Storage) → Fourth Watch.
• Leaving a family: Settings → Family & iCloud → "Leave this family".
• Deleting the app removes everything stored in the app on that iPhone.

Security

Data on your iPhone is protected by iOS's built-in data protection, which is tied to your passcode. Data in iCloud is protected by Apple's iCloud security and the end-to-end encryption described above. Keeping your iPhone locked with a passcode and your Apple Account protected with two-factor authentication helps keep your log private.

Changes to this policy

If Fourth Watch changes in a way that affects your privacy, I'll update this page and change the effective date above. Significant changes will also be mentioned in the app's release notes.

Contact

Questions about this policy or your information: [email protected].