Our Commitment to Privacy

At Beanotes, we believe your personal notes and memories are sacred. We built this app with privacy at its core, and we are committed to protecting your data and being transparent about how we handle it.

This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and your rights regarding your data.

1. Information We Collect

Information You Provide

Beanotes uses iCloud to automatically sync your data across all your devices. iCloud sync is always enabled. You directly provide us with:

Account Information: Phone number for authentication
Being Information: Names, nicknames, and birthdays of people you create (not encrypted, public information)
Relationship Information: Relationship types you define (not encrypted, public information)

What "Public Information" Means

Certain information about the people (beings) you create in Beanotes is classified as "public information." This includes:

Names of beings
Nicknames of beings
Birthdays
Relationship types

"Public" in this context means:

Visible to Collaborators: When you share notes about a being with another user, they can see the being's name, nickname, birthday, and relationship type to provide proper context for the shared notes
Not Encrypted: Unlike your notes and moments (which are end-to-end encrypted), this information is stored in a readable format in our cloud database to enable app functionality across your devices and collaborative features
Not Publicly Searchable: This information is NOT published to the internet, searchable by search engines, or visible to users who don't have access to your account or shared notes
Used for App Functionality: This data enables features like displaying beings across your devices and providing context in collaborative notes

Important: Only share notes with people you trust, as they will be able to see the public information about the beings associated with those notes. Your actual note content and moments remain encrypted and private even when shared.

End-to-End Encrypted Content (Synced via iCloud)

Your privacy is paramount. All your content is end-to-end encrypted and automatically synced via iCloud across your devices. Neither Apple nor Beanotes can read or access this encrypted content:

Notes: Your notes are end-to-end encrypted and synced via iCloud. We cannot read them.
Conversations: Your conversations are end-to-end encrypted and synced via iCloud. We cannot read them.
Moments: Your moments and memories are end-to-end encrypted and synced via iCloud. We have no access to this content.
Stories: Your stories are end-to-end encrypted and synced via iCloud. We cannot read them.
Questions: Your questions are end-to-end encrypted and synced via iCloud. We cannot read them.
Gratitude: Your gratitude entries are end-to-end encrypted and synced via iCloud. We cannot read them.
Locations: Location data you add for people in your network is end-to-end encrypted and synced via iCloud. We cannot read it.
Photos: Photos you add are end-to-end encrypted and synced via iCloud. They are not accessible to us.
Audio: Audio recordings you add are end-to-end encrypted and synced via iCloud. They are not accessible to us.

Automatically Collected Information

Device Information: iOS version, device model, and unique device identifiers
Usage Data: Features used, session duration, and crash reports (anonymized)
Technical Data: App performance and diagnostic information

2. How We Use Your Information

We use your information solely to provide and improve the Beanotes service:

Provide the Service: Authenticate your account and sync your encrypted content and beings across all your devices via iCloud
Account Management: Verify your identity and manage your account
Service Improvements: Understand how features are used to make the app better (using anonymized data)
Support: Respond to your questions and troubleshoot issues
Security: Protect against fraud, abuse, and security threats
Ask AI Feature: Process your notes, conversations, stories, questions, and gratitude entries locally on your device using Apple Intelligence to provide AI-powered summaries and answers (all processing happens on-device; we do not collect or transmit your queries or AI responses)

We never use your content for advertising, marketing to you, or selling to third parties.

3. Ask AI Feature (Beta)

The Ask AI feature is a beta feature designed to help you quickly summarize notes, conversations, stories, questions, and gratitude entries, and get answers about your content. This feature uses Apple Intelligence with complete on-device processing to protect your privacy.

Complete On-Device Processing with Apple Intelligence

All AI processing happens entirely on your device using Apple Intelligence. When you use Ask AI:

Your notes and questions never leave your device
We do not collect, store, or transmit your AI queries
We do not collect, store, or transmit the AI responses
Apple Intelligence processes everything locally on your device
No data is sent to Apple's servers or any external servers
Your data remains completely private and under your control

How It Works with Your Data

With Mentions: To query your end-to-end encrypted iCloud-synced content (notes, conversations, stories, questions, and gratitude entries), you must use @mentions to specify which people's content you want to query. This is required due to the end-to-end encryption of your iCloud-synced data.
Without Mentions: If you don't specify mentions, Ask AI uses an on-device Named Entity Recognition (NER) model to detect names in your query for privacy protection.

Apple Intelligence Privacy

Apple Intelligence is Apple's AI system that runs entirely on your device. Because we use Apple Intelligence's on-device processing:

Your data is never transmitted to Apple's servers
All processing happens locally using your device's hardware
Apple does not collect or have access to your queries or content
Your privacy is protected by Apple's on-device AI architecture

For more information about Apple Intelligence, including system requirements and capabilities, please visit https://www.apple.com/apple-intelligence.

Limitations

Ask AI is designed for quick questions and summaries, not extended conversations. This helps manage device resources while maintaining complete privacy.

4. Data Storage and Security

iCloud Sync with End-to-End Encryption

Beanotes uses iCloud to automatically sync all your data across all your iOS and macOS devices. iCloud sync is always enabled and cannot be disabled. Your notes, conversations, moments, stories, questions, gratitude entries, locations, photos, and audio recordings are end-to-end encrypted before being stored in iCloud. We use industry-standard encryption protocols (AES-256) to protect this data. Because your content is end-to-end encrypted, neither Apple nor Beanotes can read it — only you can access it with your decryption PIN.

Important about your decryption PIN: Your decryption PIN is automatically stored in your iCloud Keychain for convenience. If you use the same iCloud account on all your devices, your PIN will be automatically available to decrypt your data. However, you can also manually enter your PIN if needed. We strongly recommend storing your PIN in a secure password manager or other safe location as a backup. Without your PIN (and without access to your iCloud Keychain), your encrypted iCloud data cannot be decrypted—even by us or Apple. This zero-knowledge encryption ensures maximum privacy.

Important: The following information is not encrypted when synced to iCloud, as this data needs to be accessible for the app to function properly across your devices and for collaboration features (see "What 'Public Information' Means" above for details):

Names of people (beings) you create
Nicknames of people (beings) you create
Birthdays you add
Relationship types

Cloud Infrastructure

Beanotes uses a combination of iCloud (by Apple) and Firebase (by Google) for cloud infrastructure:

iCloud: All your end-to-end encrypted content (notes, conversations, moments, stories, questions, gratitude entries, locations, photos, and audio recordings) is automatically synced via iCloud across your devices. This data is stored in Apple's secure data centers.
Firebase: Authentication and public being information (names, nicknames, birthdays, relationship types) are stored in Firebase's secure data centers with strict access controls.

5. Data Sharing and Disclosure

We do not sell, rent, or share your personal information with third parties for their marketing purposes. We may share your information only in these limited circumstances:

With Your Consent: When you explicitly choose to share notes with other Beanotes users
Service Providers: With trusted vendors who help us operate the service (iCloud for encrypted data sync, Firebase for authentication and public being data storage, analytics) under strict confidentiality agreements. These providers cannot access your end-to-end encrypted content (notes, conversations, moments, stories, questions, gratitude entries, locations, photos, and audio recordings).
Legal Requirements: If required by law, court order, or to protect our rights and safety
Business Transfers: In connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets (users will be notified)

6. Your Rights and Choices

You have control over your data:

Access: View and export all your data at any time through the app
Correction: Edit or update your information directly in the app
Deletion: Delete individual notes or your entire account. Deleting your account will remove your data from iCloud and our servers.
Data Portability: Export your data in a standard format
Collaborative Sharing: You can choose to enable or disable collaborative sharing of notes with other users

Note about iCloud Sync: iCloud sync is always enabled and cannot be disabled. This ensures your data is always backed up and available across all your devices. Your data is end-to-end encrypted before syncing to iCloud for maximum privacy.

7. Data Retention

We retain your iCloud-synced data for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you services. When you delete your account, we will delete your data from iCloud and our servers within 30 days, except:

Data we must retain for legal or regulatory compliance
Backup copies in iCloud or our servers that are deleted according to our standard deletion schedule
Anonymized usage data that cannot identify you

8. Children's Privacy

Beanotes is not intended for children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe we have collected information from a child under 13, please contact us immediately.

9. International Data Transfers

Your data is automatically synced via iCloud and may be stored and processed in the United States or other countries where Apple, Firebase, and our service providers operate. Your iCloud-synced content is end-to-end encrypted, ensuring privacy regardless of storage location. We ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your data in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

10. Third-Party Services

Beanotes uses the following third-party services:

iCloud: For automatic sync of all your end-to-end encrypted content (notes, conversations, moments, stories, questions, gratitude entries, locations, photos, and audio recordings) across your devices (iCloud sync is always enabled). Learn more at https://www.apple.com/icloud/
Firebase Authentication: For phone number authentication (subject to Google's privacy policy)
Firebase Cloud Storage: For storing public being information (names, nicknames, birthdays, relationship types)
Apple Intelligence: For on-device AI features in the Ask AI feature (all processing happens locally on your device; no data is transmitted to Apple or any external servers). Learn more at https://www.apple.com/apple-intelligence
Analytics: To understand app usage and improve performance (anonymized data only)

These services have their own privacy policies. We encourage you to review:

Apple's privacy policy (for iCloud services) at https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/
Google's privacy policy (for Firebase services) at https://policies.google.com/privacy

Note on Apple Intelligence: Apple Intelligence is used for on-device AI processing only. Your data is never sent to Apple's servers for AI processing. All processing happens locally on your device using Apple's on-device AI technology.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes through the app or via email. Your continued use of Beanotes after changes are made constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

12. Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your data, please contact us at:

Email: support@beanotes.app

13. California Privacy Rights

California residents have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA):

Right to know what personal information is collected
Right to know if personal information is sold or disclosed
Right to say no to the sale of personal information
Right to access your personal information
Right to equal service and price

To exercise these rights, please contact us at support@beanotes.app.