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Is Celo Safe?

Celo privacy label · by Celo Limited · checked November 2026

  • Recently updated
App Privacy label Developer-reported · checked November 1, 2026
Used to track you
0types

None declared

Linked to you
4types
Not linked to you
2types
Short answer

Mostly a question of trust: Celo collects data linked to you but declares no tracking. The sensitive items are contacts and user content. In total the label lists 6 data types; 14% of secure messengers we checked declare tracking.

At a glance

Celo privacy in one look

Data exposure on the label
Linked to you
  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4

Built only from the developer's App Store label. It describes disclosure, not tested behaviour.

Verdict from the label
Linked to you, no tracking

Celo collects 4 data types tied to your identity but declares no tracking.

Try it

Did Celo ask for something?

Pick the permission prompt you saw. We compare it with what Celo's developer declared.

It asked me for access to…
Tap a prompt to compare it with the label.
Not on the label

Location is not on Celo's label. That can be fine: data used only on your iPhone does not have to be declared. If the data would need to leave the phone for the feature to work, ask why it is missing.

Matches the label

Celo lists User Content on its label, linked to you. Choose Limited Access and pick only the photos you want to share.

Matches the label

Celo lists Contacts on its label, linked to you. Limited Access shares selected contacts instead of your whole address book.

Not declared on the label

Celo declares no tracking, so a tracking prompt would contradict its label. Decline it, and consider reporting the mismatch to Apple.

Not on the label

Health & Fitness is not on Celo's label. That can be fine: data used only on your iPhone does not have to be declared. If the data would need to leave the phone for the feature to work, ask why it is missing.

A permission is what the app can reach on your iPhone; the label is what the developer says leaves it. They answer different questions.

Line by line

What Celo collects, explained

Data typeWhat it coversWhere to limit it
ContactsSensitiveLinked to you The people in your address book or social graph. Settings › Privacy & Security › Contacts: choose Limited Access to share only selected people, or None.
User ContentSensitiveLinked to you Messages, photos, videos, audio recordings, documents and support chats you create or upload. Settings › Privacy & Security › Photos: choose Limited Access or None; review Microphone and Files access too.
Contact InfoLinked to you Your name, email address, phone number or postal address. Use Sign in with Apple with Hide My Email where offered, and check the app's account and marketing preferences.
IdentifiersLinked to you An account ID, screen name, customer number or a device-level ID such as the advertising identifier. Settings › Privacy & Security › Tracking: turn off Allow Apps to Request to Track, or tap Ask App Not to Track when prompted.
Usage DataNot linked to you What you tap, open and view inside the app, plus which ads you have seen. There is no single iOS switch. Look for an analytics or personalised-ads toggle in the app's own settings.
DiagnosticsNot linked to you Crash logs, launch times, hang rates and energy use. Settings › Privacy & Security › Analytics & Improvements › Share With App Developers controls what Apple passes on; the app's own crash reporting is separate.
Reading the label

What Celo's label means for you

Celo's label has 4 types under “Data Linked to You”, 2 types under “Data Not Linked to You”. A data type can appear in more than one section when it is used for different purposes — for example, identifiers used for both analytics and advertising.

Celo declares no tracking, which means the developer says it does not combine your data with other companies' data for advertising or sell it to data brokers. The data linked to you — contacts, user content, contact info and identifiers — is still tied to your identity, typically through an account, and is covered by the developer's privacy policy and retention rules.

The items that deserve the most attention are contacts and user content. Uploading contacts shares other people's details, not just yours.

Messengers see who you talk to as well as what you say. Even with end-to-end encrypted content, contact lists and metadata can be collected and linked to you. Check whether contact upload is optional, whether backups are encrypted too, and whether disappearing messages exist.

Among the 172 secure messengers in our snapshot with a label, 14% declare tracking, 54% collect data linked to you and 29% say they collect nothing. Celo lists 6 data types, more than the average of 2.8 for this group.

Medical apps may hold the most sensitive data on your phone. Whether US health-privacy law applies depends on who runs the app, not on the App Store category.

On your iPhone

Settings to check for Celo

  1. 1

    Tracking

    Settings › Privacy & Security › Tracking. If “Allow Apps to Request to Track” is off, apps cannot ask, and they are told to treat you as having declined. You can also turn it off for this app alone.

  2. 2

    Photos

    Settings › Privacy & Security › Photos. Limited Access lets you pick exactly which pictures the app can see; Add Photos Only lets it save without reading your library.

  3. 3

    Contacts

    Settings › Privacy & Security › Contacts. Limited Access shares only the people you select instead of your whole address book.

  4. 4

    Health

    Health app › your profile picture › Apps › Celo. Turn categories on one at a time; the app cannot tell which ones you declined.

  5. 5

    Microphone & camera

    Settings › Privacy & Security › Microphone and Camera. The orange and green dots in the status bar show when either is in use.

  6. 6

    Sign-in

    When creating an account, Sign in with Apple can give the app a relay address from Hide My Email instead of your real one.

Cross-app tracking

Does Celo track you?

No tracking declared

There is no “Data Used to Track You” section on Celo's label.

Does Celo track you? Full answer and how to stop it →

iOS 18 and later

Lock Celo behind Face ID

  1. Find Celo on your Home Screen or in App Library.
  2. Touch and hold the icon until the quick-actions menu opens.
  3. Tap Require Face ID (or Require Touch ID / Require Passcode, depending on your iPhone).
  4. Tap Require Face ID again to confirm. Celo now asks for authentication every time it opens.

The lock is an iPhone feature, so it works whether or not Celo has a passcode of its own. It does not change what the app sends to its developer.

Lock or hide Celo: step-by-step guide →

From the App Store record

About Celo

DeveloperCelo Limited
App Store categoryMedical
Latest version3.12.4, released October 2026
First releasedDecember 2016
RequiresiOS 13.0 or later
Size100 MB
Age rating12+
Languages1 (EN)
Bundle IDco.nz.celo.app

The current version shipped in October 2026, so the app is actively maintained and its label is likely current. Labels are updated by developers when practices change.

Read with care

What the label cannot tell you

  • A label is self-reported. Apple publishes the developer's answers and can reject apps that misrepresent them, but it does not independently verify what Celo sends.
  • It does not say where data is stored, how long it is kept, whether it is encrypted, or which companies receive it. The privacy policy covers those points.
  • Optional data counts: if a feature lets you add something (a profile photo, a phone number), the type is listed even if you never use the feature.
  • Data handled only on your iPhone is not 'collected', so a no-collection label is compatible with an app that reads your files locally.
  • Third-party sign-in, payment processors and SDKs are supposed to be included, but a label can lag behind a new version.

The question to ask Celo's developer: Is the message content end-to-end encrypted by default, including backups?

How it compares

Celo vs similar secure messengers

Data types listed on each App Store privacy label
Tracks youLinked to youNot linkedCollects nothing

Fewer types is not automatically safer: a cloud backup app has to collect your files to work. Compare like with like.

Checking another app?

Look up any of our apps in seconds, or put two labels side by side.

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All secure messengers → Who tracks you? A–Z → Apps that collect contacts → Privacy label decoder →

Do it now

Your Celo privacy checklist

Tick what you have done
Tick each step as you do it on your iPhone.

Done. You have applied every control the label points to.

Quick quiz

True or false?

  1. Q1Celo's privacy label says it uses data to track you.
    Right.
    Not quite.

    False: there is no Data Used to Track You section on Celo's label.

  2. Q2Apple tests every app to confirm its privacy label is accurate.
    Right.
    Not quite.

    Labels are self-reported by developers. Apple can reject or remove apps that misrepresent practices, but it does not audit each label.

  3. Q3Celo collects Contacts.
    Right.
    Not quite.

    True: Contacts appears on its label.

  4. Q4Data “Not Linked to You” is never sent off your iPhone.
    Right.
    Not quite.

    It is collected and sent; the developer says it is de-identified rather than tied to your account or device.

  5. Q5Tapping “Ask App Not to Track” can stop an app from working.
    Right.
    Not quite.

    Apple's rules require apps to work the same whether or not you allow tracking.

Questions people ask

Celo privacy FAQ

Is Celo safe to use?
Based on its App Store privacy label, celo collects 4 data types tied to your identity but declares no tracking. Whether that is acceptable depends on what you will store in it. The label is developer-reported, not an independent security test.
Does Celo track you?
No. Celo's label has no Data Used to Track You section.
What data does Celo collect?
Contacts, user content, contact info, identifiers, usage data and diagnostics. Of these, contacts, user content, contact info and identifiers are linked to your identity.
Who makes Celo?
Celo Limited, according to the App Store. It was first released in December 2016 and the current version is 3.12.4.
Can I lock Celo with Face ID?
On iOS 18 or later, touch and hold Celo's icon and choose Require Face ID (or Touch ID / Passcode). This is an iPhone feature and works for most downloaded apps, whether or not the app has its own lock.
How does Celo compare with other secure messengers?
Across 172 secure messengers with labels in our snapshot, 14% declare tracking and 29% say they collect no data. Celo lists 6 data types against an average of 2.8.
Is the message content end-to-end encrypted by default, including backups?
The privacy label cannot answer that. Look for it in Celo's privacy policy or support pages, linked from the App Store listing. Check whether contact upload is optional, whether backups are encrypted too, and whether disappearing messages exist.
How do I delete my data from Celo?
Apps that let you create an account must also let you start account deletion from inside the app (an App Store rule since June 2022). Deleting the app from your iPhone alone does not delete data already sent to the developer.
Facts on this page come from Celo on the App Store, as reported by the developer. Checked 2026-11-01. How we collect data · Report a correction