Manawa
Effective date: April 18, 2026 · Last updated: May 23, 2026
Manawa is a Hawaiian lunar calendar and celestial navigation app. It tracks the 30 nights of the Hawaiian lunar month (Nā Pō o ka Mahina), shows the star compass (Nā Hale Hōkū), and lets you keep a personal journal of observations and insights called your kilo. All calculations are performed on your device using astronomical algorithms. The app is designed to work fully offline — no internet connection is required.
Manawa also has a web companion at manawa.app that includes free tools — the lunar calendar (Kaulana Mahina), star compass (Nā Hale Hōkū), Makahiki tracker, and a web journal (My Kilo) for users who have synced their data. The same privacy principles apply to the web companion.
Location
Manawa requests access to your device's location (while the app is open) to calculate accurate moon rise and set times, sunset and sunrise times, and star positions for your exact place on Earth. Your location is used only for these calculations. It is processed on your device, never stored in a database, and never transmitted anywhere.
You can deny location access and the app will still function using a default Hawaiian latitude. Star and moon positions will be approximate rather than precise.
Camera
Manawa's AR Sky View uses your device camera to overlay the moon, Makaliʻi (the Pleiades), and navigation stars on the live image of the sky around you. The camera feed is processed entirely on your device in real time — it is never captured, stored, or transmitted.
The app lets you write personal journal entries and insights tied to specific lunar nights. This content — your text, your source notes, your observations — is stored locally on your device using iOS standard storage.
You can delete any entry at any time from within the app.
If you choose to sign up for beta testing through our website (at Kilo Hōkū on the web companion), we collect your first name, last name, and email address. This information is used solely to contact you about TestFlight access and app updates. It is stored in Google Firestore, is never sold or shared with third parties, and can be deleted at any time by emailing us.
Beta tester signups are voluntary. You can use all Manawa features without participating in the beta program.
Manawa offers an optional sync feature. If you choose to enable it by tapping Sign in with Apple, your journal entries are backed up to a secure cloud database (Google Firebase / Firestore) so you can access them across devices or restore them to a new phone.
What is synced: Your journal entries and insights (text, source, category, lunar night number, timestamps). Photos are stored on-device only and are not synced.
How it is stored: Your data is stored in Google Firestore under a unique identifier assigned to your Apple ID. Firestore data is encrypted in transit and at rest. Ikaika Bishop (the developer) has administrative read access to the database for debugging and support purposes only.
Sync is opt-in. If you never tap "Sign in with Apple," nothing leaves your device. The app works fully offline without sync.
Anonymous session: On first launch, Manawa creates a temporary anonymous authentication session with Firebase to prepare the sync infrastructure. No personal data is transmitted and no record is created in our database. This session is replaced by your Apple ID record if you later choose to sign in.
To delete your synced data: Contact us at the address below and we will remove your records from the cloud database. Deleting the app removes all local data; cloud data is removed upon request.
Google Firebase / Firestore is subject to Google's privacy policy.
Manawa uses Apple's built-in iOS frameworks (ARKit, CoreLocation, CoreMotion) and Google Firebase (Authentication, Firestore, and Storage). Firebase is used for optional cloud sync and, on the web companion, for the beta tester signup form. If you use the web companion or submit a beta signup, Firebase services are contacted even without Sign in with Apple. Apple's and Google's standard privacy practices apply to their respective services.
Manawa is rated 4+ and is appropriate for all ages. Cloud sync requires Sign in with Apple, which Apple restricts to users 13 and older. Users under 13 can use all app features that store data locally on-device without any account or sync.
All data created in the app (journal entries, insights, settings) is stored on your device and under your control. To delete all local app data, delete the app from your device. iOS will remove all associated local data.
If you used Sign in with Apple, your synced data persists in Firestore until you request deletion. Contact us at the address below and we will permanently delete your cloud records within 30 days.
You can also delete individual journal entries and insights from within the app at any time.
You have the right to access, export, or delete the data you've stored in Manawa. Local data is always under your direct control. For any cloud-synced data (if you used Sign in with Apple), submit a deletion or export request by email below and we will fulfill it within 30 days.
If Manawa's data practices change, this policy will be updated and the effective date will reflect the change. Material changes will be noted clearly.
Questions about this privacy policy or Manawa's data practices:
"I ka wā ma mua, ka wā ma hope."
The future is found in the past.
— Mary Kawena Pukui, ʻŌlelo Noʻeau