Jurisdiction-Aware Privacy

A default in Berlin is reckless in Dallas. The defaults are not the same.

The threat model

Post-Dobbs, US trigger-law states have introduced legal mechanisms by which cycle-tracking data can be subpoenaed, surveilled, or — in some scenarios — used to charge a user with a crime they did not commit. The threat is concentrated in a known set of jurisdictions. Outside those states, the threat profile is closer to "ad-tech misuse" than "criminal exposure."

Soulwise's period-privacy posture is strict everywhere. Jurisdiction-aware privacy sets the defaults more strictly in the jurisdictions where the threat is concentrated.

How the defaults shift

The trigger-law list includes: Texas, Idaho, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Missouri, Arizona — with the per-jurisdiction breakdowns surfaced on /soulwise/privacy.

How jurisdiction is detected

Two layers:

1. Locale detection at first launch — sets a starting guess based on language and OS region.
2. One-time setup question — "Where do you live?" with options including the trigger-law states explicitly. The answer is editable in settings forever.

We do not use background location, IP geolocation, or any always-on tracking. Detecting jurisdiction is a one-time event from a question, not a continuous signal.

What never changes by jurisdiction

• Encryption is end-to-end everywhere.
• No ad-tech SDK ships in any build.
• The non-medical-cycle-tracking boundary holds in every jurisdiction.
• The user can always dial defaults stricter.

Why this is not paternalism

Because the user is always shown what the default is and what the alternatives are. The default just is not the same in every region — because the underlying risk is not the same in every region. We default to safer for you given where you are, then let you change it.

Where to read more

The /soulwise/privacy page has a jurisdiction switcher that previews what your defaults will be before you commit to a region. Per-jurisdiction deep pages — /soulwise/privacy/texas, /soulwise/privacy/germany, etc. — break down the legal context for that region.