The short version
Unpack does not collect your data. Your voice recordings, your transcripts, and the reflections Unpack organizes from them are created and stored only on your iPhone. They are never sent to us, because there is no "us" to send them to — Unpack has no account system, no server, and no analytics. On the App Store, Unpack's privacy card reads "Data Not Collected." You can prove it to yourself: turn on Airplane Mode and Unpack still records, transcribes, and organizes your reflection.
Apple defines it plainly, and it is the definition Unpack is built to meet: "Data that is processed only on device is not 'collected' and does not need to be disclosed."
What we collect
Nothing. Specifically:
- No account. There is no sign-up, no login, no email, and no password. You open the app and use it.
- No analytics or tracking. Unpack contains no third-party analytics, advertising, crash-reporting, or tracking software. There is no advertising identifier and you will never see an App Tracking Transparency prompt, because there is nothing to track.
- No cloud. Your recordings, transcripts, and reflections are stored in a local database on your device (Apple's SwiftData) and, for recordings, as audio files on your device. None of it is uploaded anywhere by Unpack.
Two honest exceptions (and why neither is "collecting your data")
Unpack causes no first-party network activity of its own. The only times your device talks to a network on Unpack's behalf are two Apple-run services, and in both cases the data involved is handled by Apple, not by us:
- Purchases (Apple's App Store / StoreKit). If you buy Unpack Pro, the purchase is processed by Apple through the App Store. Your payment details are entered into Apple's system, not Unpack, and we never see or receive your card or account information. Apple's own rule: "If your app uses a payment service, the payment information is entered outside your app, and you as the developer never have access to the payment information, it is not collected and does not need to be disclosed."
- Apple's on-device language files. The first time your iPhone sets up on-device transcription, it may download Apple's language files from Apple so that transcription can then run offline. This is Apple downloading Apple's own files to your device — none of your recordings or words are sent anywhere. After that one-time setup, Unpack works in Airplane Mode.
That is the complete list. There is no third exception.
Where your data lives, and how it is protected
- Everything stays on your device. The local database and your audio files are written with Apple's Complete data protection, so they are encrypted at rest and tied to your device passcode.
- You can turn on Face ID / passcode lock for the app (free — a privacy feature is never a paid extra).
- Audio retention: by default, recordings are kept for 30 days so you can listen back to key moments, then automatically deleted from your device; your written note and quotes remain as text. You can change this to "delete after transcription" or "keep always," globally or per entry.
- Device backups: like any app, Unpack's on-device data is included in your own iPhone backup if you have one turned on (iCloud Backup or a computer backup). That backup is Apple's, controlled by you, and encrypted under your Apple account or your local backup — Unpack neither creates nor can read it. Unpack itself never syncs your reflections to any cloud.
What we can and can't do with your data
Because your reflections never reach us, we cannot read them, share them, sell them, or hand them to anyone — not to advertisers, not to data brokers, not in response to a request, because we simply do not have them. By the same token, if you lose your device without a backup, we cannot recover your reflections for you, because we never had a copy.
Your controls
- Delete anything, anytime, from within the app — a single reflection, its audio, or everything.
- Export your reflection to share it on your own terms (a single note for free; bulk and a PDF pack with Pro), using the system share sheet only.
- No request needed to "access" or "delete" your data held by us — we hold none. Everything is already in your hands, on your device.
Children
Unpack is intended for a general audience and is not directed to children. It collects no data from anyone, including children.
Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, we will update it here and revise the effective date. Because Unpack collects nothing, changes will be about clarity, not new data practices.
Contact
Questions about privacy: mitsi@uptrail.ai.
Unpack is a private journal, not a replacement for professional care.