Version 2.1 (September 2026) · Last updated September 8, 2026 · Sunny is made by ByteWise Educative Technologies (Chicago, IL)
The short version
Sunny helps a person living with dementia stay close to the people they love, and
gives their family a hand. To do that, Sunny keeps a few things, only to
help.
Sunny is an AI companion: a computer program, not a person, and
not a substitute for care from people. If your family member asks, Sunny says so
plainly.
We never use your family member's information for advertising, and
nothing that identifies your family is ever sold.
Sunny talks and listens. That is what it is. There is no voice on/off
switch: Sunny's voice is part of the product. At setup you read the microphone
facts and give one clear tap to say you understand them; we keep a
dated record of that tap.
You choose whether information with every identifying detail removed,
with no names, no faces, no voice recordings, and no addresses, may be used to
train AI models or be shared with outside partners working on
dementia care. That switch is off unless you turn it on, and even then
nothing is shared until it meets the strict de-identification standard in section 5.
As of today, nothing has been shared this way.
Usage counts, inside Sunny only: simple counts under your account's
code instead of a name, like "3 conversations today" or "10 minutes talking
with Sunny", plus which plan you are on, help us make Sunny better and help
us answer you when you ask for support. No names, no words, no places; never
shared outside Sunny; never used to train AI. This starts on,
and you can turn it off anytime in Settings.
If you write to us for help, we keep your note, your email, which
plan you are on, and the app version, so a person can help you. You can speak
the note instead of typing it; the audio is not kept.
Location and gentle activity signals are off unless you turn them on.
Sunny does not keep any voice recording. A speech service turns their
voice into words. We never keep any recording or "voiceprint". Only the
text of what was said is stored, so you can look back on
conversations.
You can turn any switch off, and ask us to delete the data,
at any time.
Sunny is not an emergency service. In an emergency, call 911.
The rest of this page is the detailed version.
1. Who this is for, and who agrees
Sunny is used by two kinds of people:
The person living with dementia (referred to here as "your family
member"). Their dignity comes first. Where they can take part in the decision, we
ask for their assent ("is this okay?").
The family caregiver setting Sunny up. Because dementia can affect a
person's ability to consent for themselves, the caregiver agrees on their behalf
as their authorized representative.
When you set up Sunny you tell us your authority to agree for your family
member (family caregiver, legal guardian, power of attorney, or other) and
whether your family member was able to say it's okay (yes / can't say right
now / said no). We record both. If your family member declines a feature, we don't
turn it on.
By setting Sunny up and using it, you agree to this notice, and, because
Sunny talks and listens as part of what it is, setup also asks you for one clear
tap on a screen that names the microphone, the transcription service, and the
fact that no recording or voiceprint is ever kept. That tap is recorded with a
date. Until a family's consent is recorded, Sunny's voice stays completely off on
that device.
2. What Sunny collects, and why
You choose which of the switches are on. The basics and talking with
Sunny are part of Sunny itself. They are what the product is.
Feature
On by default?
What it is
Why
The basics (core)
Required
Your family member's name and age, family contacts and photos, reminders and
tasks, and the messages they send and receive.
Sunny can't work without these.
Talking with Sunny (voice)
Part of Sunny, acknowledged
with one tap at setup
The phone turns their speech into text so Sunny can understand and
reply. The audio recording is never kept, only the text. There is
no off switch: Sunny talks and listens, and setup names these facts and
asks for your one clear tap on them.
Sunny is a talking companion. The voice is the product.
Safety near home (location)
Off. Opt-in
Their phone's location (precise, while this is on) and a home "safe area."
On a phone from Google Play this is part of the Family plan, and while it is
on the phone shows a small, always-visible notice that Sunny shares where they
are with their family.
So you get an alert if they go far from home, and can see the neighborhood
they're in on a map.
Gentle activity signals (ambient)
Off. Opt-in
Their daily rhythm from light touches on the screen (not the camera, not
video).
So Sunny finds good moments to reach out.
Usage counts, inside Sunny only (product improvement)
On. You can turn it off
Simple counts under your account's code instead of a name, like "3 conversations
today", "10 minutes talking with Sunny", or "2 calls placed", added up once a
day, plus which plan your family is on (Solo or Family). No names, no message
words, no places. Because the code is your account's own, these counts stay
connected to your account inside Sunny, which is what lets us answer you when
you ask for help. Never shared outside Sunny's operator, never used to train AI
(those need the separate sharing switch below, which is off). Deleted with
everything else when you ask us to delete.
So we can see what helps families, shape the Solo and Family plans fairly, and
make Sunny better.
Sharing without names (de-identified sharing)
Off. Opt-in
With every identifying detail removed, information may train the AI that
powers Sunny and be shared with outside partners working on dementia
care.
Only if you choose to help this way.
One count that is always kept for a consented family: whether Sunny was
used at all that day: a single, dated "used Sunny today" mark with no names and no
content, kept even if the usage-counts switch above is off. We keep it to
learn whether Sunny helps families day to day, and that one mark is how we know;
it can't say what you did, only that the app was opened.
Sunny also creates, from the above: conversation notes (text), a
gentle daily update, a short note about how the day went, and
things Sunny learns (preferences and things
that comfort or upset them) so Sunny stays kind and personal. Sunny never
scores or labels your family member's mood.
Things they love (caregiver-provided). You can also choose to tell Sunny
about your family member, like the music they love, people and places that matter,
and things that bring them comfort, so Sunny's conversation feels like it knows them.
This is optional: you type it, you can see it, change it, or delete any of it
in the app at any time, and it is deleted with everything else if you leave
Sunny. It lives only in your family's secure account (the same protected place as
messages, never in usage statistics), and like everything else it is never used
for ads, and never used to train AI models unless you have turned on the
de-identified sharing choice, and then only with every identifying detail removed.
The camera is used only for video calls the family starts. When family
drops in, it rings first. Your family member sees the caller's name and face, and
the caller sees them; while the camera is on, their screen says so. Sunny never
films in the background and never does facial tracking.
3. Voice: how it works and how long text is kept
No audio is stored. Their voice is converted to text by
a speech recognition service (currently the device's built-in Google
speech service). Sunny does not create or keep a "voiceprint" or any audio
recording. The audio is not retained by Sunny. The speech service that
converts speech to text is run by Google and may briefly process audio
on its servers under its own terms.
What is kept is text. The words (a transcript) are stored so Sunny can
respond, build the daily summary, and let you look back on conversations.
Conversations are private: transcripts are visible only to the primary
caregiver, plus any care-circle member the primary deliberately switches
on (off for everyone by default; being in the circle never by itself
grants it).
Retention: audio is not retained (discarded at the moment of
transcription). Voice-derived text is kept while the account is active to
power the features above. It is destroyed when the account closes, or
within 30 days of a deletion request, whichever comes first, unless the
law requires a different limit.
When Sunny listens without a button press. Sunny may also
listen for a short moment right after it speaks, so your family member
can answer without having to find a button. A clear listening light shows
on the screen whenever the microphone is on.
Voice is part of Sunny. Sunny talks and listens. That is what the
product is, so there is no voice on/off switch. Three things protect your
family instead: until your consent is recorded, Sunny's voice is completely
off on the device; at setup you read these microphone facts and give one
clear tap on them, which we record with a date; and you can withdraw entirely
at any time: stop using Sunny and ask us to delete everything, and the
microphone never runs again on that device.
4. Where your data lives, and who can see it
Stored with our secure cloud provider in a dedicated project. A HIPAA
Business Associate Agreement covering this storage is being put in place
for Sunny. Health-related AI (Sunny's replies, the nightly note) runs
only on the provider's BAA-eligible AI service, never a consumer AI
endpoint, and the provider does not use this data to train its
models.
Who can see it: the people you invite into the care circle,
the account admin, and, when you ask us for help, the person at Sunny who answers
you, who sees only what is needed to help. Every access to the record is written
to a tamper-evident audit log.
Usage statistics use your account's code instead of a name, with
numbers and counts only (e.g. "3 conversations today"), never names or
message content. A copy used for adding up across all families carries a further
scrambled version of that code.
5. Who we share with, and who we don't
We use a small number of trusted outside services only to run Sunny, things like
secure storage, connecting calls, and sending sign-in emails. We share the least we
can, and only so the app works.
Want to know more about who we work with? Just ask at
care@bytewise.ai and we'll tell you.
We do not:
share your family's information for anyone else's advertising;
share mobile phone numbers, or any information about the text messages
Sunny carries, with third parties or affiliates for their marketing purposes.
Phone numbers are used only to deliver the note the person wrote and to bring a
reply back. No one is added to a list, and nothing about texting is ever sold or
rented. Our Text Message Terms say the same thing to the
person receiving a text;
put anything in the app that shows ads or quietly tracks your family member;
use your family member's data to train AI models, unless you have turned
on the de-identified sharing choice, and then only data with every identifying
detail removed;
share data outside the companies above without your consent, except where
required by law.
Identifiable data vs. shared data
There are two kinds of information here, and we treat them differently on purpose.
Running Sunny and helping you. To answer your questions, fix problems
on your family's account, and keep the service working, we need information that is
still connected to you. That stays identifiable, inside our secure account system,
and is used only to run Sunny and support your family. This includes your account
details, your subscription record, the usage counts described in section 2, and
any note you send us for help (with your email, your plan, and the app version).
Support is possible precisely because this information is not de-identified. What
we de-identify is only what leaves Sunny, described next.
Research, product study, or anything shared outside Sunny. Before
information can be used that way it must be fully de-identified first,
and we hold ourselves to a strict standard: (1) real measures so the information
cannot reasonably be linked back to your family member or their device;
(2) we publicly commit to handle such information only in de-identified form,
and to never attempt to re-identify it; and (3) every outside partner
who receives it is bound by contract to those same rules. If all three are not
true, the information is not shared. As of today, nothing has been shared this
way.
6. Your choices and rights
Turn any switch off at any time, in Settings. Turning a switch off stops
that feature (e.g. turning location off stops location checks; turning usage
counts off stops them). Sunny's voice has no switch. It is part of Sunny
(see section 3); withdrawing entirely (below) is how you stop it.
Ask us to delete your family member's data at any time. Email
care@bytewise.ai and we will delete it
and confirm within 30 days.
Access a copy of the data we hold.
Withdraw consent entirely and stop using Sunny.
What happens when you ask us to delete: if you decide to leave Sunny and ask
us to delete your family's data, we will wipe your personal information, photos,
text transcripts, and messages within 30 days.
Two things we keep, and why.
A security record, for your safety. We keep a secure,
behind-the-scenes system record called an "audit log." This log does not contain
your photos, voice text, or messages. It records who did what, and when (for
example, who signed in, or who invited a family member) but never the content of
anything. Health and security laws require us to keep these logs so we can always
prove that your family's secure account was never accessed by anyone who
shouldn't be there.
A payment record, if you subscribed. We keep the record of your
subscription: which plan, its dates, and a scrambled reference number that lets
us match a payment or a refund back to the right household. It holds no card
number and none of your family's personal information beyond your account's
internal id. We keep it because deleting it while a subscription is still running
would break our ability to refund you, and because tax and financial rules can
require us to hold billing records for a period after you leave. If you never
subscribed, there is nothing here to keep.
One thing worth knowing if you subscribed through Google Play:
cancelling your subscription and deleting your data are two separate actions, and we
cannot do the first one for you. Google runs that billing, so it can only be
cancelled in Google Play's own subscription settings. If you ask us to delete your
data while a Google Play subscription is still active, please cancel it there too, or
email care@bytewise.ai and we will walk you
through it and sort out any refund.
Your plan and the free trial. Sunny is a subscription bought through
Google Play. Every plan starts with a free week, and Google Play asks for a payment
method up front. You see this before you agree, in the app and in Google Play.
Sunny Solo: 7 days free, then $9.99 a month (or $99 a year) automatically. Cancel any time in Google Play before day 7.
The Family plan: 7 days free, then $29.99 a month (or $299 a year) automatically. Cancel any time in Google Play before day 7.
Cancel later, and Sunny keeps working until the end of the period you paid for.
Google Play emails you before a free trial ends and a receipt after each charge.
7. Safety and limits
Sunny is an AI companion: a computer program, not a person. It is a
companion and coordination tool, not a medical device,
not a licensed mental health professional or therapy service, and
not an emergency service. It does not provide medical or clinical therapy,
does not diagnose, and can miss things. In an emergency, call 911. Safety
alerts (e.g. wandering) are a best-effort help for the family, not a guarantee.
8. If something goes wrong
If data is exposed, we will notify affected families as required by law and take
steps to contain it.
9. Contact
Have a question, or want to make a request (delete, access, withdraw)? Email
care@bytewise.ai, or use "Send us a note" in
the app, by typing or by speaking (the phone turns your words into text; the audio
is not kept). A person reads every note. Requests are honored within
30 days.
10. What you're agreeing to
By continuing, the caregiver confirms:
I am setting up Sunny for my family member as their authorized representative
(family caregiver, legal guardian, power of attorney, or other).
I have shared whether my family member was able to say it's okay.
I have read and I agree to this notice (version above), and I understand which
features I've turned on.
The voice facts (one tap, recorded with a date): I understand that Sunny
talks and listens, that a speech service turns my family member's speech into
text so Sunny can understand and reply, that no recording or
voiceprint is ever kept, and that the text is kept while the account is
open and deleted within 30 days of a deletion request.
We record the version of this notice you agreed to, which features were on, your
authority, and your family member's assent, never used for anything but
this consent record.
11. If you ask about Sunny on our website
This one is separate from everything above: it applies to anyone who fills in
the "Ask a person to reach out" form on our website, before there is any Sunny account.
That form keeps only what you type, your name, your email, and (if you choose
to add them) your city and who you're caring for, plus two ordinary technical
details every website receives: a scrambled copy of your internet address
and your browser's description of itself, kept only to stop automated spam. There
is no free-text box on purpose: please don't send us health details, and the
form says so.
We use it for exactly one thing: to talk with you about Sunny.Nothing that identifies you is ever sold: not your name, your email,
or anything about your family. It is never used for ads, never used to train AI
models, and you will not be added to any mailing list. Information with every
identifying detail removed may be used to make Sunny better, and could one day be
shared or sold only in that fully de-identified form. Ask us to delete your
information any time. Email
care@bytewise.ai and it's gone.
It is stored separately from the Sunny app, in a system that holds no family health
information at all.