Terms of service

What you agree to by using Howday

Howday is one emoji a day, shared with friends. These terms are the deal between you and the person who runs it. They are short because the app is small, and written to be read rather than scrolled past.

Last updated 22 September 2026

What Howday is

Howday is an iPhone app. Once a day you pick an emoji, and friends who also use Howday can see it once they have picked theirs. It is run by [YOUR NAME OR COMPANY] (“we”), and installing or using it means you agree to these terms and to the privacy policy, which says what Howday stores and what it never takes.

If you do not agree, do not use the app. Deleting your account from Settings → Delete account ends the agreement, and everything attached to the account goes with it.

What Howday is not

Howday is a way to share one emoji a day with friends. It is not a medical, mental health, counselling or crisis service, it does not monitor anyone, and nobody reads check-ins on your behalf. An emoji means whatever the person who picked it meant by it, and a day without one means nothing at all. Nothing in the app is advice, and it is not a way to find out whether you or anyone else needs help.

If you are in crisis or worried about someone who is, contact local emergency services. In the United States you can call or text 988 at any time. Elsewhere, findahelpline.com lists free, confidential helplines by country.

Your account

You sign in with your phone number, and the number is the account: there is no username, password or profile. You must be at least 13 years old to use Howday, the number must be yours, and you are responsible for what happens under it, so keep your phone locked.

Signing in sends a one-time code to that number by SMS. These are the only text messages Howday sends: no marketing, no reminders, no “your friend checked in” by text. Standard carrier rates apply. Requesting the code is how you accept these terms and the privacy policy, and it means you agree to receive it; if you would rather not, there is no other way in.

One person, one number, one account. You cannot transfer an account to someone else, and we may close an account that breaks these terms.

Your address book

Friends come from your address book. If you allow access, the app hashes the phone numbers on your device and uploads only the hashes, which is how it can tell that two people have each other's number without ever seeing either address book. The privacy policy describes this in detail, including that hashes of people who have never used Howday are kept so a later signup can match backwards.

Only allow access if you are comfortable with that. You can turn contact access off in iOS Settings at any time, and deleting your account removes everything you uploaded.

What not to do

The list is short because there is very little to misuse.

• Do not sign in with a number that is not yours, or try to see the check-ins of people who have not matched with you.
• Do not probe, overload, scrape or interfere with the service, or try to work around its limits or its security.
• Do not use Howday to harass anyone, or in any way that breaks the law where you are.
• Do not copy, resell or redistribute the app. The source is published for reading; no licence to reuse it is granted.

Your check-ins are yours. You give us only what is needed to run the app: permission to store each emoji and show it to the friends it is meant for.

The beta

Howday is currently distributed through TestFlight as a beta. Features will change, some will break, and data may be reset between builds. Apple's TestFlight terms also apply while you use a beta build. If the app one day moves to the App Store, these terms carry over unless the page says otherwise.

No promises

Howday is free, made by one person, and provided as is. To the fullest extent the law allows, we make no warranty of any kind, express or implied, including that it will be available, error-free, secure, or fit for any particular purpose. A friend's emoji may arrive late or not at all; a notification may not fire; the service may go away.

Some places do not allow a warranty to be excluded. If you are a consumer in the EU, UK or another jurisdiction with mandatory consumer protections, nothing here takes those away.

Limits on liability

To the fullest extent the law allows, we are not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or for any loss of data, goodwill or opportunity, arising out of or connected with Howday, however caused and even if we were told it was possible.

To the same extent, our total liability for everything arising out of these terms or the app, taken together, is limited to the greater of fifty US dollars (US$50) and the amount you paid us for Howday in the twelve months before the claim. Howday is free, so that is fifty dollars.

None of this limits liability that cannot legally be limited, such as for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or under mandatory consumer law where you live.

If we disagree

Talk first. Before either of us starts any formal proceeding, the one with the complaint writes to the other, describing it and what would put it right, and both of us try in good faith for 30 days to settle it. Our address for this is at the bottom of the page.

Then arbitration, individually. If that fails, any dispute between you and us arising out of these terms or the app is resolved by binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, before a single arbitrator, rather than in court. The arbitration is on an individual basis: you and we each waive any right to take part in a class action, class arbitration or representative proceeding, and the arbitrator may not combine claims from different people. Either of us can instead bring an individual claim in small claims court where it has jurisdiction. The Federal Arbitration Act governs this section.

You can opt out. If you would rather keep the right to go to court, email us within 30 days of first accepting these terms and say so, with the phone number your account uses. Everything else in the terms still applies.

Law and place. These terms are governed by the law of the State of New York, without regard to its conflict of laws rules. Anything that is not arbitrated is heard in the state or federal courts sitting in Kings County, New York, and you and we both accept their jurisdiction.

If you are a consumer in the EU or UK, the arbitration and class waiver above do not bind you. You keep the protection of the mandatory law of the country you live in and may bring a claim in its courts, and the EU's online dispute resolution platform is available to you.

Apple

You get Howday through Apple's App Store or TestFlight, and Apple asks every developer to say the following. These terms are between you and us, not Apple, and Apple is not responsible for the app or its content. Your licence to use Howday is limited, non-transferable, and covers Apple devices you own or control, as set out in the App Store's Terms of Service. Apple has no obligation to maintain or support the app. If the app fails to meet a warranty, you may tell Apple and Apple will refund what you paid for it, which for Howday is nothing; anything beyond that is on us, not Apple. We, not Apple, handle any claim about the app, including product liability, legal compliance and consumer protection, and any claim that the app infringes someone's intellectual property. You confirm you are not in a country under a US government embargo or designated as supporting terrorism, and not on any US government list of prohibited parties. Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these terms and may enforce them against you.

Changes to these terms

If these terms change, the date at the top changes with them, and a material change is announced in the app before it takes effect. Using Howday after that date means you accept the new terms; if you do not, delete your account. If any part of these terms turns out to be unenforceable, the rest still stands. These terms and the privacy policy are the whole agreement between you and us about Howday.