Privacy Policy

Ergon (“the app”) is published by Cortex Solution (“we”, “us”). This policy applies to the Ergon iOS application and to this website. It does not apply to services you connect Ergon to, such as Apple iCloud or an AI provider you supply a key for — those are governed by their own policies, and we link to them below.

Everything you create in Ergon is written to a database inside the app's own storage on your iPhone or iPad. That includes:

• Tasks, sub-tasks, projects, notes, due dates, priorities and status.
• Focus sessions — when they ran, how long, and what they were for.
• Your working hours and daily routine: when you work, eat, exercise or rest.
• Weekly reviews, renewal entries and the daily shutdown record.
• Your settings, including the answers you gave during onboarding.

This data is protected by iOS file encryption and is removed when you delete the app. We never receive a copy of it.

Nothing leaves your device automatically. Each route below happens only because you switched it on or asked for it.

If you turn on sync, Ergon stores your data in your own private iCloud database so your iPhone and iPad stay in step. This uses Apple's CloudKit and your Apple Account. The data sits in your iCloud storage, governed by Apple's Privacy Policy. We have no access to it and no ability to read it.

A backup is a plain file that Ergon writes to a folder you pick through the iOS Files app — that might be iCloud Drive, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive or the device itself. We do not operate a backup service and receive nothing. Once the file is in a folder you chose, it is subject to whatever terms govern that folder, and to anyone you share the file with.

Ergon's AI features are off until you turn them on, and they require an API key that you create and pay for yourself with either OpenAI or OpenRouter.

• When you invoke an AI feature, the relevant task text and a short amount of surrounding context are sent directly from your device to that provider.
• Requests go straight to the provider. There is no Ergon server in the middle, so we never see your prompts or the responses.
• Your API key is stored in the iOS Keychain. It is deliberately excluded from backups and from iCloud sync.
• What the provider does with the request is governed by their policy and your account settings with them, not by us.

With your permission, Ergon reads your calendar so the planner works around commitments you already have, and can write planned blocks back. It can also send your Big 3 to Apple Reminders so other planners can pick them up. This happens through iOS on your device, between Ergon and your own accounts. You can withdraw either permission at any time in iOS Settings.

The Focus Shield blocks distracting apps during a session using Apple's Screen Time (Family Controls) framework, with your permission.

When you choose which apps to shield, iOS hands Ergon anonymous codes, not app names. The app genuinely never learns which apps you picked — we could not tell you if you asked. These codes work only on the device that created them, never leave it, and are not included in backups or sync.

Reminders, session alerts and the daily planning nudge are scheduled on your device by iOS. Ergon does not use push notifications and has no notification server, so no reminder you set is ever known to us.

Ergon Pro is sold through the Apple App Store. Apple processes the payment and we never receive your card details, billing address or Apple Account credentials. Ergon asks iOS whether a valid purchase exists and receives only that answer. See the Terms of Use for renewal and cancellation.

• No analytics or telemetry. The app contains no analytics SDK and no crash-reporting service.
• No tracking. Ergon does not track you across apps or websites and does not use the advertising identifier.
• No advertising. There are no ads and no ad networks.
• No data brokers. We do not sell, rent or share your information with anyone.
• No profiles. There is no account system, so there is no user record to build on.

Ergon generates one random tag to label which device wrote a backup, so that restoring across two devices can be told apart. It is created on your device, is not derived from any hardware identifier, cannot identify you, and is used for nothing else.

Ergon is a productivity tool intended for adults. It is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect information from them — a claim made easier by the fact that we collect no personal information at all.

Because your data lives on your device, you exercise most rights directly:

• See it — everything is visible in the app; export a backup file for a full copy.
• Correct it — edit or delete any item at any time.
• Delete it — deleting the app removes its data from the device. To remove synced data, delete Ergon's data in iOS Settings › your name › iCloud.
• Withdraw permission — calendar, reminders, notifications and Screen Time can each be revoked in iOS Settings.
• Stop AI entirely — switch it off in the app and delete the stored key.

If you are in the UK, EU or another region with data-protection rights, those rights apply to any personal data we hold — which, in the ordinary use of Ergon, is none. Where we do process data to provide the app, our lawful basis is the performance of our agreement with you.

Ergon relies on the protections built into iOS: app-container isolation, file-level encryption, and the Keychain for secrets such as your API key. Connections to AI providers use HTTPS. No system is perfect, and a backup file you move somewhere else is only as safe as the place you put it.

If this policy changes materially, we will update the date at the top and note the change in the app's release notes. Continuing to use Ergon after a change means you accept the updated policy.

Questions about this policy, or about privacy in Ergon, are welcome. We aim to reply within five working days.