Notanda · Privacy Policy
Your notes stay yours.
Notanda runs on your device by default — no servers, no accounts, no tracking. The only time data leaves your device is if you choose to add your own AI provider key.
Notanda is published by Martin Hills (sole trader), Australia (“we”, “us”, “our”). This policy explains what the App does with your information. It is written to be read, not skimmed — but the short version is at the top.
The short version
- We run no servers and hold no accounts. There is no Notanda backend, no sign-up, and no login. We never receive your notes, your voice, your transcripts, or your location.
- Everything works on your device by default. Recording, transcription (Apple SpeechAnalyzer) and note generation (Apple Intelligence) all happen on your iPhone or iPad. Nothing is sent anywhere for the App to do its core job.
- Your notes are yours. They are saved as plain Markdown files in a folder you choose (or the App’s own Documents folder). You can read, move, back up, or delete them without us.
- The only time data leaves your device is if you choose to add your own AI provider key. If you do, your capture is sent directly from your device to that provider (Anthropic, OpenAI, or Deepgram) under your account and their terms. This is off by default.
- No tracking. No analytics. No advertising. No data brokers. We do not sell, rent, or share your information, because we never collect it in the first place.
1. Who we are and how to contact us
Notanda is developed and published by Martin Hills (sole trader), based in Australia.
For any privacy question, request, or complaint: [email loads securely…]
We are the entity responsible for the App under the Australian Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs). Where the EU/UK GDPR or the California CCPA/CPRA apply to you, the relevant sections below explain your additional rights.
2. What Notanda does
You speak or type a thought. Notanda records it (for voice), transcribes it to text, and turns it into a titled, summarised, action-item note saved as a Markdown file you own. It can also answer questions about your own notes (“Ask My Notes”) using an on-device index.
Because the App is designed to be private, most of this policy is about what does not happen, and about the few optional features that can send data off your device only when you switch them on.
3. Information the App handles — and where it stays
We (Martin Hills) operate no server and therefore collect no personal information onto any system of ours. The information below is processed on your device unless you have explicitly enabled an optional third-party service (Section 5).
| Information | How it is used | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|
| Audio recordings | Captured only while you are recording a voice note or meeting | Stored on your device; transcribed on-device by default |
| Transcripts & note text | Turned into your saved note; indexed so you can search and ask questions | On your device by default |
| Your notes (Markdown files) | The output you keep | Saved to the folder you choose, or the App’s Documents folder |
| Location (optional) | Coarse “where I was” stamp on a note, shown on your private map | Stays on your device |
| AI provider API keys (optional) | Authenticate your own calls to a provider you chose | Stored in the iOS Keychain on your device |
The App’s Apple Privacy Manifest declares that it is not used to track you (NSPrivacyTracking = false), and that the only data types involved — audio data and your note content — are used solely for app functionality, are not linked to your identity, and are not used for tracking.
4. On-device processing (the default)
Out of the box, and without any setup or API key:
- Recording uses the microphone only while a capture is active.
- Transcription uses Apple’s on-device SpeechAnalyzer / Speech framework. Your audio is processed on the device to produce text. The on-device language model for your locale may be downloaded from Apple to enable this.
- Note generation and Ask My Notes use Apple Intelligence (the on-device
FoundationModelssystem language model). Your capture is processed locally on the device. This step requires a device that supports Apple Intelligence, with it turned on. On a device without Apple Intelligence, recording and transcription still run on-device and your note and transcript are still saved, but the AI title, summary and action items are unavailable until you either enable Apple Intelligence or add your own provider key (see section 5).
In this default mode, your audio, transcripts and notes do not leave your device as part of using Notanda. Apple’s on-device features are governed by Apple’s own software and privacy practices; see Apple’s Privacy Policy at apple.com/legal/privacy.
5. Optional third-party AI services (“bring your own key”)
Notanda lets you optionally use a higher-quality or speaker-aware model by entering your own API key for a third-party provider. This is entirely optional and off by default. If you never enter a key, no capture is ever sent to any of these services.
If you do enter a key and select that provider, then when you process a capture the App sends the relevant data directly from your device to that provider, using your own account:
| Provider | Used for | What is sent | Provider’s policy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anthropic (Claude) | Note generation | Your capture text / transcript | anthropic.com/legal/privacy |
| OpenAI | Note generation and/or transcription | Your capture text, or your audio file for transcription | openai.com/policies/privacy-policy |
| Deepgram | Transcription | Your audio file | deepgram.com/privacy |
Important points about this mode:
- You are directing your own data to a provider you have a relationship with. The data is handled under your agreement with that provider and their privacy policy and data-use and retention practices — not ours. We do not receive, see, or store any of it.
- We add nothing. The App calls the provider’s standard API endpoint over HTTPS. There is no Notanda intermediary server, no logging by us, and no copy kept by us.
- Your API keys are stored locally in the iOS Keychain and are sent only to the matching provider to authenticate your own requests. You can remove a key at any time in Settings.
- Before enabling a provider, please review that provider’s privacy policy (linked above), including whether and how they retain or use API inputs.
6. Microphone and audio
The App accesses the microphone only while you are actively recording a voice note or meeting, consistent with the on-screen prompt: “Notanda records audio only when you start a voice note or meeting.” Audio background mode is used only to keep an in-progress recording running. Recordings are stored on your device and are transcribed on-device by default; they are uploaded to a transcription provider only if you have enabled OpenAI or Deepgram transcription with your own key (Section 5).
7. Speech recognition / transcription
By default, transcription is performed on your device by Apple’s Speech framework (“Notanda transcribes recordings on this device so you can keep a searchable written note.”). No audio is sent to us. Cloud transcription happens only via the optional bring-your-own-key providers you choose.
8. Location (optional)
If you grant “While Using the App” location permission, Notanda can attach a coarse (≈100 m) location and place name to a note and show it on your private map (“Notanda can optionally add the capture location to a note and show it on your private map.”). This is optional, you can decline or revoke it in iOS Settings at any time, and the location:
- is used only to stamp and map your own notes,
- is reverse-geocoded to a place name using Apple MapKit, and
- stays on your device — we never receive it.
9. Your notes and storage
Notanda saves each note as a Markdown file you own, either in a folder you pick via the iOS Files picker (using a security-scoped bookmark) or, if you don’t pick one, in the App’s own Documents folder. These files live on your device. If the folder you choose is an iCloud Drive or third-party (e.g. Dropbox) folder, those files sync under your iCloud/third-party account and that provider’s terms — a choice you control. We have no access to any of it.
10. API keys and the Keychain
Any API keys you enter (Anthropic, OpenAI, Deepgram) are stored in the device Keychain and used only to authenticate requests you initiate to that provider. They are never transmitted to us and are never sent to any party other than the provider they belong to.
11. What we do not do
- We do not collect analytics, usage statistics, or crash data on our own servers.
- We do not use advertising or ad networks, and we do not track you across apps or websites (
NSPrivacyTracking = false). - We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. There is nothing to sell — we never receive it.
- We do not create user accounts or profiles.
12. Data retention and deletion
Because your data stays on your device (or in accounts you control), you control retention and deletion:
- Delete individual notes from the App or from your Files folder at any time.
- Remove API keys in Settings to stop all off-device processing.
- Deleting the App removes its on-device data (its Documents folder, index, and Keychain items). Notes you saved into a separate Files/iCloud folder remain there under your control until you delete them.
If you used an optional third-party provider, any retention on their side is governed by that provider’s policy; you may exercise deletion rights directly with them.
13. Children
Notanda is a general-audience productivity app and is not directed to children under 13 (or the equivalent minimum age in your jurisdiction). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. As the App collects nothing to any server of ours, no such information reaches us in any case.
14. Security
Off-device calls (only in the optional bring-your-own-key mode) are made over HTTPS; the App does not include any plaintext (non-HTTPS) network exception. API keys are held in the iOS Keychain. Your notes are protected by your device’s standard iOS file protection. No method of electronic storage or transmission is ever 100% secure, but by keeping data on your device and running no servers, Notanda removes whole categories of risk.
15. International users
The App works the same everywhere: by default your data does not leave your device. The optional bring-your-own-key providers may process data on infrastructure outside your country (for example, in the United States) under your agreement with them — review their policies (Section 5) for the specifics of any cross-border transfer.
If you are in the EU or UK (GDPR)
Where the GDPR applies, note that we (Martin Hills) do not act as a controller of any personal data on our own systems, because the App transmits nothing to us. For on-device processing you are in control of your own data on your own device. Where you enable an optional provider, you direct that processing yourself and the provider acts under its own terms with you.
To the extent any of your rights under the GDPR apply in relation to us — access, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability, objection, and the right not to be subject to solely automated decisions with legal effect — you may contact us at [email loads securely…]. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority. For data held by an optional third-party provider, please exercise your rights directly with that provider.
If you are in California (CCPA/CPRA)
We do not collect, sell, or “share” (as defined by the CPRA) California residents’ personal information, and we do not receive it. We therefore do not use it for cross-context behavioural advertising and there is nothing for us to disclose, delete, or opt you out of on our side. You may still contact us at [email loads securely…] with any question, and you will not be discriminated against for exercising any privacy right.
If you are in Australia (Privacy Act / APPs)
This policy is written to meet our obligations under the Australian Privacy Principles. As we collect no personal information onto any system we operate, APP obligations around collection, use, disclosure, and cross-border disclosure are addressed by the App’s on-device design and, for the optional providers, by your own direct relationship with them. If you have a privacy concern, contact us first at [email loads securely…]. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at oaic.gov.au or 1300 363 992.
16. Changes to this policy
If the App changes in a way that affects this policy — for example a new optional feature — we will update this document and change the “Last updated” date above. Material changes will be reflected in the App and/or on the policy’s public page. Continued use of the App after an update means you accept the revised policy.
17. Contact
Martin Hills — Notanda
[email loads securely…]