Privacy Policy
How Ask Sheldon protects your information
Effective Date: May 8, 2026
Are you a clinician using SheldonDx?
The SheldonDx clinician platform has its own dedicated privacy policy covering session recordings, clinical data retention, and GDPR/DPDP compliance. View SheldonDx Privacy Policy →
Privacy First
Built by and for the neurodivergent community, with privacy as a core value. Questions or concerns? Email us at [email protected]
🛡️ Privacy-First, Neurodivergent-First
We understand digital privacy concerns, especially for neurodivergent individuals who may be more vulnerable to data misuse. Ask Sheldon is built by and for the neurodivergent community, with privacy as a core value, not an afterthought.
Current Privacy Features
- • Data encrypted in transit and at rest
- • Automatic 30-day data cleanup
- • Download your data anytime
- • Complete account deletion
Roadmap
- • Shorter retention options (7-day)
- • Enhanced data anonymization
- • Advanced export tooling
- • Audit log for clinician data access
🌟 Let's Be Honest About Data
Data is the oil of the digital industry. Unlike most apps, we're upfront about this reality.
🧠 Our Difference
We're neurodivergent people building for neurodivergent people. Every resource and all proceeds go toward community goals. This isn't just an app—it's part of building the self-help destination for neurodivergent individuals.
- • Chat conversations → Improve Sheldon's understanding of neurodivergent needs
- • Screening responses → Better assessment recommendations
- • App usage patterns → Build features that actually help
🔒 Privacy Mode Default
Your data is automatically deleted after 30 days. You're fully protected.
🌟 Community Contributor Opt-in
Choose to contribute anonymized data to help improve the product for everyone. Coming soon.
🤝 Our Commitment
All our efforts and resources will go towards neurodivergent community goals. That's our promise. We're in this together.
Hello! This privacy policy explains how Ask Sheldon ("we", "us", or "our") handles your information. We offer this Application as a Freemium service designed specifically for neurodivergent individuals seeking mental health support.
💡 The Personalization Balance
Just like a human guide can only help you as much as they know you,Sheldon can only provide personalized support based on what you share. We collect minimal data to make your experience meaningful.
You're in control: You can delete your data anytime, use the app with minimal sharing, or go full-anonymous mode for basic features.
We care deeply about your privacy. This policy uses plain language to tell you exactly what information we collect, why we collect it, and how we protect it. By using Ask Sheldon, you agree to the practices described here.
Stored Only on Your Device (Never Leaves Your Computer)
- • App preferences and settings
- • Daily journal entries and notes
- • Mood tracking patterns and insights
- • Custom neurotype configurations
- • Offline AI conversation processing
- • Crisis support resource favorites
This data is only accessible to you and stays private on your device.
Information We Store (For Cross-Device Sync & Personalization)
- Account Details: Your email and optional username to set up your account
- Profile Information: Optional details like your neurotype, interests, and preferences to personalize your experience
- Chat History with Sheldon: Conversations to maintain context and improve responses (automatically deleted after 30 days)
- Screening Test Results: Assessment responses to provide appropriate support recommendations (automatically deleted after 30 days)
- Support Messages: Information you send when contacting us for help
Information We Collect Automatically (Minimal & Purpose-Driven)
- App Usage: Which features you use and how you navigate the app (to improve your experience)
- Device Information: Device type, operating system, and IP address (to ensure compatibility)
- Generic Location (IP-based): Very general location (city/region) for weather updates and relevant local resources
- Cookies: Small files to remember your preferences and improve app performance
🗺️ About Location Data
IP Address Location: We use your IP address to get a very general location (like "San Francisco, CA") for weather info and local Google search results.
Therapist Finder: Uses precise GPS through Google Maps for nearby therapists, but we never collect or store this precise location.
You Control It: You can disable location features entirely in settings.
🎯 Why Each Piece of Data Matters
Every piece of information we collect serves a specific purpose in making Sheldon more helpful to you. Without this data, Sheldon would be like talking to a stranger every time.
Core Functions
- • Chat History: Maintains conversation context so Sheldon remembers what you've discussed
- • Profile Data: Personalizes responses to your specific neurotype and needs
- • Mood Patterns: Helps identify trends and suggest appropriate resources
- • Account Security: Keeps your data safe and accessible only to you
Improvements & Features
- • Usage Analytics: Shows us which features help most (anonymous data only)
- • AI Training: Improves Sheldon's responses for the neurodivergent community
- • Bug Fixes: Technical data helps us fix issues faster
- • Weather/Local Info: Generic location enables contextual daily planning
🔒 Security Measures
- • Encryption in transit: All data sent between your device and our servers uses TLS/HTTPS
- • Encryption at rest: Data stored in Firebase Firestore is encrypted by Google Cloud
- • Data Minimization: We only collect what is necessary for the features you use
- • Automatic Deletion: Chat history and screening results are automatically deleted after 30 days
- • Server-side token storage: OAuth tokens (e.g. Google Calendar) are stored server-side only — never in the browser
- • Access controls: Firebase security rules restrict data access to the authenticated account owner only
🤖 How the Sheldon AI Works
Conversations with Sheldon are processed via the Google Gemini API (server-side). Your messages are sent to Google's AI infrastructure to generate responses. Google's API usage policy governs how they handle this data. We do not use your conversations to train custom AI models.
We will NEVER sell your personal information to anyone.
Our Service Providers
We work with trusted companies that help us run Ask Sheldon and SheldonDx:
- Firebase (Google LLC): Secure authentication, database storage, and cloud hosting. Data stored in Google Cloud.
- Google LLC (Calendar API): When clinicians on SheldonDx connect their Google Calendar, we use the Google Calendar API solely to create appointment events with Google Meet links. See the section below for full details.
- Google DeepMind / Gemini API: Powers the Sheldon AI assistant. Conversation inputs are processed to generate responses. Google's API data-use policy applies.
- Deepgram: Real-time voice transcription for voice-based assessment sessions. Audio is transcribed and not retained by Deepgram beyond the session.
- Razorpay: Payment processing for assessment fees on the SheldonDx clinician platform. Card and payment data is handled entirely by Razorpay; we do not store payment card details.
- Recall.ai: Session recording and transcription for clinical consultation sessions on SheldonDx, when enabled by the clinician.
- Vercel: Application hosting and deployment infrastructure. Processes request data in transit.
Legal Requirements
We may share information only if required by law or to protect safety — such as court orders or emergency situations.
What we access and why
Clinicians using the SheldonDx platform can optionally connect their Google Calendar to enable automatic creation of Google Meet links when booking video consultations with patients. This integration uses the Google Calendar API with the calendar.events OAuth scope.
Exactly what we do with Calendar access
- We create new calendar events on the clinician's primary Google Calendar when an appointment is booked. Each event includes a Google Meet link auto-generated by Google.
- We add the patient as an attendee (if their email is provided) so they receive a calendar invitation.
- We do NOT read, list, search, or modify any of the clinician's existing calendar events. We never access the clinician's calendar history or other appointments.
Token storage and security
OAuth access tokens and refresh tokens are stored server-side in Firebase Firestore, encrypted in transit and at rest. Tokens are never exposed to the browser or shared with any third party. They are used exclusively to create calendar events on behalf of the connected clinician.
How to disconnect
Clinicians can disconnect their Google Calendar at any time from SheldonDx → Settings → Google Calendar → Disconnect. Disconnecting immediately deletes the stored access token and refresh token from our database. Google Calendar access is also revocable at any time from your Google Account at myaccount.google.com/permissions.
Who this applies to
This integration is available only to verified clinicians on the SheldonDx platform. Patient users of AskSheldon do not have access to the Google Calendar integration and their Google sign-in (via Firebase Auth) uses only standard identity scopes: openid, email, and profile.
What You Can Do
- View and update your profile anytime
- Unsubscribe from promotional emails
- Request deletion of your data
📅 30-Day Automatic Cleanup
- • Chat messages: Automatically deleted after 30 days
- • Screening results: Automatically deleted after 30 days
- • Profile data: Kept until you delete your account
Active accounts: Core profile data is kept as long as you use Ask Sheldon. Transient data (chats, tests) is cleaned up monthly.
Inactive accounts: After 24 months of inactivity, accounts may be anonymized.
Deleted accounts: All personal data is deleted immediately. Some anonymized usage data may be retained for product improvement.
💾 Download Your Data: You can download all your data anytime from Settings → Account → Download My Data.
Ask Sheldon is designed for users aged 13 and older. We don't knowingly collect information from children under 13.
If you're under 18, please have a parent or guardian review these terms with you.
Parents: If you believe your child has shared information with us, please contact us at [email protected]
We use industry-standard security measures including encryption, secure servers, and access controls to protect your information.
However, no system is 100% secure. Please keep your password safe and contact us immediately if you suspect unauthorized access.
We may update this policy as Ask Sheldon evolves. We'll notify you of important changes through the app or email.
Continued use of Ask Sheldon after changes means you accept the updated policy.
Questions? We're Here to Help
Ask Sheldon is built with neurodivergent users in mind. We welcome your feedback and questions.
Contact Us