Private by intention, specific about the current app.

1. Information Patina handles

Depending on how you use the app, Patina may handle the following categories of information:

• Journal page images you capture in the app.
• Transcripts generated from those images.
• Notebook names, page dates, tags, collections, and other journal metadata you enter or edit.
• Attachments you import into journal entries.
• Day One export files and the journal content imported from them, if you choose to import them.
• App settings such as theme choice and the bookmark used to reconnect to a folder you selected for your vault.

2. Permissions and device access

Patina currently requests camera access so you can capture journal pages inside the app.

If you choose a vault folder or import a Day One ZIP export, the app also accesses the files or folders you explicitly select through the system file picker. Patina does not gain general access to all files on your device.

3. How your data is stored

Patina stores journal content locally on your device using on-device app storage. The app also supports writing your journal vault to a folder you choose. That folder may be local-only, or it may be synced by a storage provider you use, such as iCloud Drive, Dropbox, or another Files-compatible location.

If you choose a synced folder, your data may also be handled by that storage provider according to its own terms and privacy practices. Patina does not control those services.

4. Encryption

Patina supports optional vault encryption. When enabled, vault files are encrypted and the encryption key material needed on the device is stored in the device keychain. Your passphrase is not described in the code as being stored for recovery, and the app warns that there is no recovery if the passphrase is lost.

Encryption is optional. If you do not enable it, journal files written to your chosen vault folder may remain readable in plaintext.

5. Transcription and third-party processing

The current iOS app code includes an image transcription feature that sends captured page images to OpenRouter in order to generate text transcripts. In other words, when transcription runs in the current app, the image being transcribed is transmitted off device to that service.

The code indicates that this request is sent with zero-data-retention and no-logging provider settings requested. Even so, this is still a third-party network request and is different from fully on-device transcription.

Patina does not describe this current transcription path as advertising or tracking. It is used for app functionality: generating a text version of a captured journal page.

6. Imports you choose to run

If you import a Day One export, Patina reads the ZIP file you selected, extracts the entries and attachments in that export, and writes them into your local Patina data and vault structure. This happens only when you choose to import.

7. What Patina does not do

• Patina does not use third-party advertising SDKs.
• Patina does not use cross-app tracking for advertising.
• Patina does not request the App Tracking Transparency permission.
• Patina's Apple privacy manifest declares no tracking.

8. Sharing and disclosure

Patina does not sell your personal information.

Patina may disclose data to service providers only where needed to provide a feature you use. Based on the current code, the clearest example is the transcription request sent to OpenRouter when OCR is run.

If you choose to store your vault in a synced folder, the storage provider you choose will also handle those files as part of its service.

9. Retention and deletion

Patina is designed around preserving journal content unless you delete it. The app code includes soft-delete and trash behavior for pages and notebooks, plus version history in the vault. Content may remain in trash or version folders until you purge it.

You can also remove the app from your device, delete your chosen vault folder, or remove imported files yourself. If you stored journal data with a third-party sync provider, you may need to delete it there as well.

10. Children

This policy does not describe Patina as directed to children under 13, and the app is not intended to knowingly collect personal information from children in that context.

11. Changes to this policy

Patina may update this Privacy Policy as the app changes, especially if transcription, sync, encryption, or storage architecture changes. The updated version will be posted on this page with a revised effective date.

12. Contact

For privacy questions about Patina, use the support contact listed in the App Store listing or the support channel provided with the app.