Herd Family App — Privacy Policy
Effective date: October 10, 2026
Herd Family App (“Herd”) is operated by Lomita Labs LLC, a Texas limited liability company (“we,” “us,” or “our”).
Herd helps families get one another’s attention when communication matters. Herd is designed to allow an authorized caregiver to send a signal that can temporarily restrict selected distracting apps on a family member’s iPhone until the signal is acknowledged or ends. This functionality depends on device compatibility, permissions, Apple Family Controls authorization, and other technical requirements, and may not always be available or operate as intended.
Herd is designed to help families connect without monitoring their private lives. This policy explains our information practices for the Herd app, our website, and the Early Access program.
1. Who Can Use Herd
The initial beta is free and invitation-only. It is intended for families in the United States with participating family members age 13 or older. Adults must voluntarily agree to participate. A parent or legal guardian must authorize participation by a minor and supervise the minor’s use of Herd.
The website’s Early Access form is intended for adult caregivers. Herd is not intended for children under 13. If we learn that we collected personal information directly from a child under 13, we will take appropriate steps to delete it.
2. Information We Collect
Website and Early Access information
If you join the Early Access list, we collect the email address you submit, the date and source of the submission, and whether you checked the separate, optional box to receive Herd news and product updates. Joining the Early Access list allows us to contact you about beta availability and participation. The optional marketing choice is recorded separately.
App information
Herd collects and processes information necessary to operate family communication features. This may include:
• Account and household information, such as technical account identifiers, household membership, caregiver or member roles, and names or other identifying information provided during setup.
• Invitation codes and connection records.
• Signal status, timestamps, acknowledgment, cancellation, and expiration information.
• Device registration and push-notification tokens.
• Limited technical records needed to troubleshoot errors, maintain reliability, and protect the service.
Some of this information is stored in backend systems. Herd uses Apple’s Family Controls and related Screen Time technologies.
Herd stores household membership, account identifiers, invitations, signal records, and device push tokens in Supabase. Apple Family Controls app selections and related authorization information are handled on the user’s device. Herd does not upload a list of the apps a family member selects for restriction to our database.
3. Information Herd Does Not Collect
Herd does not request access to a family member’s:
• Precise geographic location or location history.
• Contacts or address book.
• Contents of text messages or phone calls.
• Browsing history.
• Contents of other apps.
Herd is not designed to show caregivers a family member’s private messages, browsing, location, or activity inside other apps. Our service providers may process standard technical information, such as IP addresses and device or request logs, when hosting, securing, and delivering their services.
Herd does not use behavioral advertising or sell personal information.
4. How We Use Information
We use information to:
• Administer the Early Access list and beta invitations.
• Send optional news and product updates only to people who consent to receive them.
• Create and maintain accounts and households.
• Connect caregivers and participating family members.
• Deliver signals and acknowledgment confirmations.
• Manage signal status, cancellation, and expiration.
• Maintain the security and reliability of Herd.
• Respond to support, privacy, and deletion requests.
• Investigate technical problems and improve the beta experience.
We do not use household communication information to build advertising profiles.
5. Information Shared Within a Household
Herd shares limited information between authorized household members when needed to provide its features. For example, an authorized caregiver may be able to see whether a signal was sent, ended, or acknowledged. Visibility may vary depending on a person’s household role and the feature being used.
Herd does not provide household members access to a recipient’s private messages, browsing history, precise location, or the contents of other apps.
6. Service Providers
We use service providers to operate Herd, including:
• Supabase for authentication, database services, and server functions.
• Apple for iOS functionality, Apple Push Notification service, and Family Controls technologies.
• Squarespace for the Herd website, website forms, and contact storage.
• Zoho for support email and website-form notifications.
If we later use Kit to send optional marketing communications, we will transfer only the information needed for that purpose, such as the email address and consent status of people who opted in.
These providers process information on our behalf and under their own terms and privacy practices. We do not sell personal information to them or to anyone else.
Our use of Apple technologies does not mean that Apple sponsors, endorses, or has approved Herd for external distribution.
7. Data Retention
We retain information for as long as reasonably necessary to operate and secure Herd, administer the beta and Early Access program, respond to requests, and meet applicable legal obligations.
Early Access records may be retained until they are no longer needed or until you ask us to delete them. If you separately subscribe to optional marketing communications, we may retain that subscription record until you unsubscribe or request deletion.
Automated seven-day cleanup is not currently active. During the beta, operational records may remain in our systems until they are manually reviewed and deleted or until verified automated retention procedures are activated.
Backups and service-provider logs may follow separate retention schedules. We do not promise a specific deletion timeline for backups or provider logs unless and until those procedures have been verified.
8. Account and Household Deletion
You may request account deletion through Settings > Delete Account in the Herd app or by emailing support@herdfamilyapp.com.
We may need to verify your identity and authority before completing a deletion request. Requests are reviewed by a person, and we aim to complete verified deletion requests within 30 days. This is a target rather than a guarantee. Your account may remain active until the request has been reviewed and completed.
Deleting one person’s account does not automatically delete the accounts of other household members. Closing an entire household is a separate process that may require verification of the requester’s authority. Depending on the person’s household role, deleting an account may affect other household members or require coordination before the request can be completed.
Deleting the Herd app from a device does not by itself delete information stored in our systems.
Limited information may be retained when reasonably necessary for security, fraud prevention, legal compliance, dispute resolution, or other legitimate operational needs. Deleted information may also remain temporarily in backups or service-provider logs according to provider retention schedules.
9. Security
We use technical safeguards intended to protect information, including authenticated access and server-side authorization controls. Herd’s backend is designed to restrict access to appropriate household members and authenticated users.
No system is completely secure. We cannot guarantee that information will never be lost, misused, or accessed without authorization. We will investigate suspected security incidents and take reasonable corrective steps when appropriate.
10. Your Choices
You may:
• Decide whether to participate in Early Access or the beta.
• Stop using Herd.
• Withdraw from beta participation.
• Request deletion of your account or Early Access information.
• Contact us with privacy questions or concerns.
You may unsubscribe from optional marketing communications at any time. Unsubscribing from marketing does not remove you from beta consideration unless you also ask us to remove your Early Access record.
Apple device settings may allow you to control notifications, permissions, and Family Controls authorization. Removing required permissions may limit or disable Herd’s functionality.
11. Not an Emergency Service
Herd is intended for everyday family communication. It is not an emergency service, safety-monitoring service, or substitute for calling 911 or contacting the appropriate emergency provider.
Signals, notifications, acknowledgments, and app restrictions may be delayed, missed, unavailable, or fail. Restrictions may not work because of device compatibility, permissions, settings, network conditions, Apple entitlements, operating-system behavior, service interruptions, or other technical limitations.
Herd does not guarantee that a message or signal will be delivered, seen, or acknowledged, or that selected apps will be successfully restricted.
Never rely on Herd when someone may be in danger or when health or safety is at risk. Use 911 or another appropriate emergency communication method.
12. Initial United States Beta
The initial beta is intended for invited participants in the United States. Our service providers may process information in locations where they operate, subject to their own terms and privacy practices.
13. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy as Herd develops or as our practices change. If we make material changes, we will provide notice as appropriate. The effective date at the top identifies the current version.
14. Contact Us
Lomita Labs LLC
Dallas, Texas, United States