On-device privacy: what a backup includes.
The log stays on your iPhone and is never sent to us. Your iPhone backup is a separate choice, made in iOS. What that backup includes, and who can read it, depends on settings Apple explains better than we can.
What the app stores, and where
Max HP has no account and no server for your log. The doses, sites, symptoms, weights and supply counts are stored in the app’s own container on your iPhone. Nothing in that log is sent to us, because there is nowhere for it to go. The app’s only outside service is TelemetryDeck, for anonymous usage counts you can switch off, and purchases go through Apple.
That is the on-device part. It is not the whole privacy picture, because an iPhone can make a backup. A backup is a copy of the device’s data, and a copy can be stored somewhere else. Whether the log is in that copy is a choice the app asks you to make.
The How privacy works page lists every place the log can live and what is sent. This article is about the backup half, using Apple’s own documentation rather than our summary of it.
What an iPhone backup includes
Apple describes iCloud Backup as a copy of the information on the device that is not already synced to iCloud. The key sentence for an app like this one is: “iCloud Backup includes app data for the apps that you’ve downloaded on your device.” That is the general rule. An app can exclude its data from backup, and the app asks you whether to do that.
Apple also says: “If you turn off iCloud Backup for a device, any backups stored in iCloud are kept for 180 days before being deleted.” Turning off the backup does not instantly erase the old copy. If the goal is to remove a backup, the deletion is a separate action, and Apple’s support page explains where to find it.
A backup made to a computer is a different path with different settings. The principle is the same: a copy exists outside the phone, and the app’s backup choice determines whether the log is in it. The iOS backup settings are the place to check, not the app alone.
“App data” is broader than the entries you see on screen. It can include preferences, cached files and the app’s local database. That is why an app’s backup choice is made once, by the developer, rather than by ticking individual records. The app’s choice applies to the log as a whole, not to a subset of doses.
Old backups are part of the picture. A backup made before you changed a setting still contains what it contained then. Apple keeps an iCloud backup for 180 days after iCloud Backup is turned off, which is a window, not an erasure. If you are changing your backup choice because of a privacy concern, check the old copies as well as the new setting. The same applies to a phone you have replaced: an old backup can outlast the device it came from, and the setting on the new phone does not rewrite the old copy. If you want the old copy gone, that is a separate deletion, and it is worth checking before you rely on the new setting alone to protect the record that was made before it. The old copy is outside the setting you just changed.
Standard and Advanced Data Protection
Apple offers two encryption modes for iCloud. The default is Standard data protection. Apple’s description is precise: “Standard data protection is the default setting for your account. Your iCloud data is encrypted, the encryption keys are secured in Apple data centers so we can help you with data recovery, and only certain data is end-to-end encrypted.” In that mode, Apple holds the keys to the backup, which is what makes account recovery possible.
Advanced Data Protection is optional and changes that. Apple says: “If you choose to enable Advanced Data Protection, your trusted devices retain sole access to the encryption keys for the majority of your iCloud data, thereby protecting it using end-to-end encryption. Additional data protected includes iCloud Backup, Photos, Notes, and more.” With ADP on, the backup is end-to-end encrypted, and Apple cannot recover it if you lose access to your account.
Those are different trade-offs, not a simple ranking. Standard protection gives Apple the ability to help you recover an account. ADP gives the backup a stronger lock and takes away that recovery path. The choice belongs to you, and it is made in iOS, not in the app.
The choice the app gives you
During setup, Max HP asks whether the log goes in your iPhone backup or stays only on this iPhone. The first option, and the default, is “Fully private”: the log is left out of the backup, so the only copy is on the phone. The second is “Private + backup”: the log is included in the device backup, so a new phone can restore it. The app does not sync between devices either way.
Neither option sends the log to us. The difference is what happens when the phone is backed up, lost or replaced. A backup is a convenience and a risk at the same time; the setting lets you decide which side matters more for your record.
If you choose Fully private, the log is still in the app’s container on the phone, and it is still included in an archive export if you make one. The archive is a file you control, which is a third option: a copy you keep deliberately, rather than a copy the system makes automatically.
Questions
- Does the app send my log to a server?
- No. There is no server for the log, and no account. The app’s only outside service is anonymous usage counts through TelemetryDeck, which you can switch off. Purchases go through Apple.
- Is my GLP‑1 log in my iCloud backup?
- It depends on the choice you made at setup. Private + backup includes the log in the device backup; Fully private leaves it out. Apple’s iCloud Backup includes app data by default, so the app’s setting is what changes the answer.
- Is an iCloud backup encrypted?
- With Standard data protection, iCloud data is encrypted and Apple holds the keys so it can help with recovery; only certain categories are end-to-end encrypted. With Advanced Data Protection, iCloud Backup is among the categories protected by end-to-end encryption.
- What happens to my log if I lose my phone?
- If the log is in a backup, it can be restored to a new phone through the normal restore process. If you chose Fully private, the log is not in the backup, and the copy on the lost phone is the only one. An archive export is the way to keep a copy you control.
Sources
- Apple Support, “What does iCloud back up?” Published 1 May 2025. Read 3 November 2026.
- Apple Support, “iCloud data security overview.” Read 3 November 2026.
- Apple Support, “How to back up your iPhone or iPad with iCloud.” Published 24 September 2026. Read 4 November 2026.
- Max HP, “How Max HP stores your GLP‑1 log.” Read 3 November 2026.