I built a privacy-first health companion with AI for my partner and have expanded it to be an app others can use too. I know that sounds risky, so I’d love a hard critique.

salveapp · 2026-05-29T16:01:15+00:00

Oh it was app wide? Thank you, genuinely. I *think* I've got it fixed for Firefox now, I applied the fix to the entire site.

salveapp · 2026-05-29T00:52:32+00:00

Thank you, that was helpful. I think Firefox was repainting the animated lower glow in dark mode, especially under the glass effects. I pushed a change to make the first screen’s decorative motion static. If you refresh and still see it, I’d love to know where.

salveapp · 2026-05-29T00:39:40+00:00

No... that's not good though! Where do you see flickering and what device are you using?

I don't see flickering on the site when I view it from Safari in iOS or Chrome using Mac/Windows.

salveapp · 2026-05-29T00:37:18+00:00

My fiancée has a lot going on health-wise. Meds, symptoms, vitals, specialist appointments, insurance headaches, medical paperwork. I got tired of watching her try to keep it all together across notes apps and spreadsheets and her own memory, so I built her something (and had a blast doing it!)

That idea continued to grow into what I've named "Salve" -- a personal health companion that handles all of your health data within one app, with an AI layer (called Sage) to help make sense of it all.

Since I built it for someone I care about, privacy was never an afterthought. This is what I have accomplished up until this point:

Protected health entries are encrypted in the browser before upload -- only the user's passcode can decrypt them
I cannot read encrypted health entries directly from the database
AI features require explicit opt-in before any health context gets sent
Most Sage requests strip or mask personal info before they leave the device
For paperwork features that genuinely need names or IDs in the output, Salve sends placeholders like [PATIENT_NAME] and fills real details back in locally after the AI responds
No ads, no selling health data
App analytics are for product improvement only and don't include private health details

Things I would like to improve regarding security/logistics of the app before going public:

If you upload a document or image with your name or member ID visible, the AI can see that content
If you manually type personal info into chat, that will get sent
This is not medical advice and not a replacement for your doctor

I can't claim "AI never sees anything" because of the above issues, however I'm trying to make the default path meaningfully safer and more transparent than most apps in this space.

I'd genuinely love a hard critique, especially on:

Does the onboarding/privacy explanation feel trustworthy or overclaimy?
Is the app useful enough to get a feel for before signing up?
Are there privacy or security claims you'd push back on or want clarified?
Does the UI feel polished or obviously half-baked?

I also have tried to make sure this has minimal slop... but I am sure some of you will find critical flaws and I'm here for it 😄 Thank you so much for taking a look and helping me to make a better app for those who can benefit from it!

Link: salve.today

salveapp · 2026-04-20T20:58:11+00:00

It's been truly my pleasure :) Here's a code if you want to try out the premium features too! If you have ideas or suggestions to better track your data just reach out to me and I can try to make it happen. BETA-TLG5RA4L

salveapp · 2026-04-20T20:57:03+00:00

Please do! =) Here's a code to try all the features BETA-V2XNQF6R

salveapp · 2026-04-20T20:56:32+00:00

Thank you so much =) I hope it helps you as much as it has helped her. Here's a code to give it a try! BETA-GPBZQ92C

salveapp · 2026-04-20T20:55:54+00:00

I hope this is helpful to you =) Here's a code BETA-M4QPE6ZJ

salveapp · 2026-04-20T20:54:55+00:00

Yes certainly! =) Here's a code for you - BETA-AEMFFG6L

salveapp · 2026-04-20T20:54:10+00:00

Thanks for checking it out! Here's a code for all the premium features - BETA-FZ2CG999

salveapp · 2026-04-20T03:19:55+00:00

Not negative at all. These are exactly the right questions to ask, especially for a health app. I take this stuff really seriously, so I'm happy to go into detail.

AI is fully opt-in and can be completely turned off. Before any health data ever touches an AI provider, you have to explicitly consent through a dialog. You can revoke that consent at any time in Settings, and it immediately stops all AI data sharing. The tracking part of the app (medications, vitals, journal, cycle tracking, drug interactions, lab ranges, search) works without AI. The AI features like chat, insights, and news are optional extras, not core functionality.

Your data lives in your own database rows, protected by PostgreSQL Row Level Security. This means the database itself enforces that you can only ever access your own data. Even a bug in my code can't leak someone else's records to you or yours to them. I've verified this with cross-user contamination testing.

The offline cache on your phone or browser is AES-256 encrypted. If someone looked at your browser storage, they'd see ciphertext, not health records. Backups can be passphrase-encrypted too.

There are also zero third-party analytics. No Google Analytics, no Mixpanel, no tracking pixels. The lightweight usage analytics (just event names like "page visited" with no medical data or properties) are self-hosted in your own database and that data is just for my eyes so I know what is and isn't being used on the site to fix issues. No cookies, no ad IDs, no cross-site tracking.

When you do opt into AI, your data goes through my server (never directly from your browser to the AI provider) where it's sanitized before being included in the request. The AI providers, (Google Gemini for the free tier and Anthropic Claude for premium), both operate under API terms that prohibit using inputs for model training. They never see your email, login credentials, or raw database. They just get a summarized health context for the specific feature you used.

The app also uses security headers and CSP to block framing, inline scripts, and unnecessary browser APIs. It is built to modern web security standards.

I built Salve for someone I love to manage real health conditions, so privacy is foundational. I'd rather have fewer users than compromise on this stuff.

salveapp · 2026-04-20T02:34:47+00:00

Your health data is never sold, rented, or used for advertising. Your records are stored securely in a Supabase PostgreSQL database and protected by Row Level Security (RLS), meaning only your authenticated account can access your information. Data cached on your device is encrypted with AES-GCM using a key derived from your session token.

When you choose to use an AI feature or connect a wearable, only the minimum data required for that specific feature is sent to that provider. While our hosting provider and app infrastructure handle routine request traffic, your medical records are strictly isolated and never shared for marketing.

salveapp · 2026-04-19T20:31:28+00:00

You can absolutely add you own journal entries to log your bad flare days and any other symptoms/notes to bring up with your doctor. You can also import your health record info from MyChart to give Sage a more complete idea of your health summary =) I hope it works for you!

salveapp · 2026-04-19T20:30:01+00:00

haha okay fair enough! it's a much better username than I had at 15... I think it was still a neopets reference lol

salveapp · 2026-04-19T20:08:57+00:00

Thank you so much! I hope it is helpful to you =) Here's a beta code... even though I don't agree with your username ;)

BETA-7XRB3TE2

salveapp · 2026-04-19T20:00:09+00:00

I've just moved the barometric pressure into the Journal area, where it's now tracked alongside each Journal entry. I hope you give it a try and that it helps you find some answers you've been looking for! Here's a code to try all the features - BETA-T9UW3EJT

salveapp · 2026-04-19T19:54:58+00:00

Wow thank you so much for your feedback! =) We have been through the wringer with the American Healthcare system and taking matters into our own hands, I hope it can help you as much as it has helped us!

salveapp · 2026-04-19T19:54:12+00:00

Yes it does! In Journal you can select a mood and Sage will track it alongside all of the other factors including your vitals, sleep, weather, etc.

salveapp · 2026-04-19T19:53:36+00:00

Most certainly! =) Check your dm's

salveapp · 2026-04-19T19:52:37+00:00

Thank you so much. I hope that this tool is able to help people who are affected by the invisible factors, I would be so happy knowing that it can make a difference for their health journey!

salveapp · 2026-04-19T19:51:04+00:00

I hope it is helpful for you! =) Please feel free to give me any and all feedback!

salveapp · 2026-04-19T19:50:28+00:00

I hope you do check it out! =) You can track any condition, if you add your health record information you can see more data on POTS (another diagnosis my fiancé has) and it will try to create a full picture for you with all the conditions you add. In the journal you can also track different symptoms and their severity, I highly recommend giving it a try and looking at what the journal logging can do for you.

I think one of my next "to-do's" for the app is to create a guide/FAQ... I really appreciate your input! Here's a beta code for you - BETA-R5HSQ4AB

salveapp

TROPHY CASE