Privacy Policy

Effective date: April 8, 2026 · Syntopica for iOS

Syntopica is a reading companion app built by Oak Labs ("we", "us", "our"). We respect your privacy and designed Syntopica to collect only what is necessary to make the app work. We do not sell your data, we do not run ads, and we do not track you across other apps or websites.

This policy explains what data we collect, why we collect it, and how you can control it.

1. Data We Collect

Data type	Why we collect it	Linked to you?
Account information (email, user ID)	Authentication and account management	Yes
Device identifier	Session management and security (e.g., detecting unauthorized access)	Yes
Book library	Storing your reading list and syncing across devices	Yes
Reading sessions	Tracking reading streaks, time spent, and progress	Yes
Concept maps and connections	Building and displaying your cross-book concept graphs	Yes
Commonplace notes	Saving your highlights, annotations, and reflections	Yes
Quiz scores and responses	Personalized quizzes and tracking your learning progress	Yes
Voice recordings (synopsis)	Recording and playing back voice summaries you create	Yes
Photos / camera images	ISBN barcode scanning and book page OCR only; images are processed on-device and not uploaded unless you choose to save them	No
Crash reports	Diagnosing and fixing app crashes; includes device model, OS version, and crash stack traces but no personal data	No

We do not collect your location, contacts, browsing history, financial information, or health data.

2. How We Use Your Data

All data is collected for app functionality only. Specifically, we use it to:

• Provide and personalize the Syntopica experience (your library, notes, quizzes, and concept maps)
• Sync your data across your Apple devices via iCloud
• Authenticate your account securely
• Send you push notifications you have opted into (e.g., reading reminders)
• Diagnose and fix crashes and bugs
• Improve Syntopica based on aggregated, anonymized usage patterns

We do not use your data for advertising, cross-app tracking, or profiling.

3. Third-Party Services

Syntopica uses a small number of third-party services. None of them receive your personal data for their own purposes.

• Cloudflare Workers, D1, and R2 — Hosts our backend API and stores encrypted account data. Cloudflare processes data on our behalf under a data processing agreement. Cloudflare Privacy Policy.
• Apple CloudKit (iCloud) — Syncs your on-device data across your Apple devices using your iCloud account. Apple manages this data under its own privacy policy. Apple Privacy Policy.
• Google Books API — Used to look up book metadata (title, author, cover image) when you add a book by ISBN or search. We send only the search query or ISBN; no user data is transmitted. Google Privacy Policy.
• Apple Push Notification Service (APNs) — Delivers push notifications. Apple receives a device token but does not associate it with your personal information on our behalf.
• Suil (crash reporting) — Our self-hosted crash reporting service. It receives crash stack traces and basic device information (model, OS version). It does not receive your name, email, or any content you create in Syntopica.

We do not use Firebase, Facebook SDK, Google Analytics, or any advertising or analytics networks.

4. Data Storage and Security

• On-device: Your data is stored locally using SwiftData, Apple's structured persistence framework.
• In transit: All network communication uses HTTPS/TLS encryption.
• Authentication tokens: Stored in the iOS Keychain, Apple's hardware-backed secure storage.
• Backend: Hosted on Cloudflare's global network with encryption at rest.

5. Data Retention

We retain your data for as long as your account is active. When you delete your account, we permanently delete all associated data from our servers within 30 days. On-device data is removed immediately when you delete the app or use the in-app account deletion feature.

Crash reports are retained for 90 days and then automatically purged.

6. Your Rights

Regardless of where you live, we provide the following rights to all Syntopica users:

• Access: View all data associated with your account directly within the app.
• Export: Export a complete copy of your data as a JSON file via Settings → Export My Data.
• Deletion: Delete your account and all associated data via Settings → Delete Account, or by contacting us.
• Correction: Update your information at any time through the app.
• Withdraw consent: Revoke camera, microphone, photo library, or notification permissions at any time in iOS Settings.

For residents of the European Economic Area (GDPR)

Our legal basis for processing your data is contract performance (providing the service you signed up for) and legitimate interest (crash reporting to maintain service quality). You have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

For California residents (CCPA)

We do not sell or share your personal information as defined by the CCPA. You have the right to know what data we collect (detailed above), to delete it, and to not be discriminated against for exercising these rights. To make a verifiable request, contact us using the details below.

7. Children's Privacy

Syntopica is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will promptly delete it.

8. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify you through the app or by email before the changes take effect. The "effective date" at the top of this page always reflects the latest version.

9. Contact Us