Privacy Policy

This policy covers two separate things: the ReadApptive iPhone app, and this website. They work differently, so they are described separately.

It is written to be read. Where something might sound better than it is, we have tried to say what actually happens instead.

The ReadApptive iPhone app

No account, and nowhere for your information to go

ReadApptive has no accounts and no sign-in. We do not operate a ReadApptive server or an online account database. The app keeps some data locally on your device, as described below.

ReadApptive does not send your settings, reading activity, camera information, or other app data to us. ReadApptive does not operate a server or service that receives that information.

No advertising, external analytics, or third-party tracking

The app contains no advertising, no external analytics service, no crash-reporting service, and no third-party tracking. It does not include any third-party software kits at all — everything in it is either written by us or provided by Apple as part of iOS.

Your settings stay on your iPhone

Your preferences — text size, reading settings, which features you have turned on — are stored by the app on your device. They are not sent to us, and ReadApptive does not sync them to iCloud. Removing the app removes them.

One thing worth knowing, because it is easy to assume otherwise: iPhone backups can include app data. If you back your iPhone up to iCloud or to a computer, your ReadApptive settings may be included in that backup, according to your Apple backup settings. That is Apple’s backup of your own device, not something ReadApptive sends or can read.

The app does not collect your email address, your name, or any other contact details.

TrueDepth and ARKit face data — how text follows your reading distance

ReadApptive uses Apple’s ARKit face-tracking APIs, including TrueDepth on supported devices, to help size reading content. The app reads whether a face anchor is tracked, the estimated look-at point, and the face anchor’s position relative to the camera. It calculates face-to-device distance from that position. This processing happens on your device.

ReadApptive does not read, record, store, or upload camera images or video frames. Apple’s face-tracking system processes camera input locally to produce tracking information. ReadApptive does not read or save depth maps, face mesh, or blend shapes.

In this policy, face data includes these live tracking values and any calibration distances or session summaries derived from them. ReadApptive does not send, sell, rent, or share that face data with us or with third parties. It is not used for advertising, marketing, authentication, or identifying you. Device backups are explained below.

ReadApptive processes face visibility, look direction, and face-to-device distance on your iPhone. Distance controls the size of reading content, and face visibility helps the reader respond when tracking changes. Look direction is processed in memory but is not used to control reading content in this version. The app does not save camera photographs, video, depth maps, face mesh, blend shapes, or a gaze history. Some recent tracking values can remain in memory while the app is paused or in the background; they are not all cleared when you leave a reading surface. Memory-only values are released when the app process ends.

Two distance numbers can be saved on your iPhone: a baseline distance and a preferred reading distance. They are measurements derived from face tracking, expressed in centimetres. Setup saves the distance you confirm, and later calibration can replace the baseline. The baseline is used again after relaunch; the preferred distance records your setup choice. Repeating setup can replace both numbers. The reading-setup reset in Settings or Help replaces them with defaults, but does not clear the local summaries described below. Deleting the app removes these values from the device.

The app also keeps local running averages of reading distance and text scale, sample counts, a session count, and a rate of scroll/zoom conflicts. These summaries are saved when the app enters the background. They are retained for on-device observation of reading sessions; they are not sent to us or used to identify you. In the current version they do not change how the app behaves. Later sessions update them, but they have no automatic expiry or in-app reset. Deleting the app removes them from the device.

An iPhone backup may include these on-device values if you back the phone up. Backup copies are governed by your Apple backup settings and may be restored with a backup. ReadApptive does not receive or control those backups.

iOS asks for camera permission before tracking starts. You can withdraw it in iOS Settings under Privacy & Security → Camera → ReadApptive. This stops new face tracking and distance-based text adjustment; other app features remain available. It does not erase saved calibration or local summaries. To remove those values from the device, use Delete App for ReadApptive; Offload App preserves its data. We cannot remotely delete these local values because we do not receive or have access to them. Backup copies are governed by your Apple backup settings.

Screenshots — optional, and off unless you turn it on

If you turn this on, the next time you open ReadApptive after taking a screenshot, it can show that screenshot. It is off by default. The app does not open itself.

When you turn it on, iOS asks for permission to your photo library. The permission iOS shows you is broader than what ReadApptive does with it, and we would rather explain that than let it look suspicious. Apple’s photo library permissions offer only two levels: one that allows an app to add photos, and one that allows an app to read and change them. There is no read-only option. Reading is what this feature needs, so the second level is the only one that works — and it carries the ability to change your library as an unavoidable extra.

ReadApptive never adds, edits, or deletes anything in your photo library. It looks for one thing: the most recent screenshot, and only if it was taken in the last few seconds. That image is held in memory while you read it. It is not copied into ReadApptive, not stored, and not sent anywhere. You can withdraw photo access at any time in Settings.

Web pages you open

When you open a web page in ReadApptive, your iPhone requests that page directly from the website hosting it, the same way a browser would. ReadApptive does not keep a record of the pages you open on any server, because there is no server.

Those websites are not ours, and this policy does not cover them. They may set cookies, run analytics, or track visitors exactly as they would in any other browser. What they do is governed by their own privacy policies, not this one.

Diagnostic information

Released versions of ReadApptive keep the local session summaries described in the camera section above, but do not keep detailed diagnostic recordings of your reading sessions. Development builds we use ourselves record diagnostic information to help us find problems; that recording is not part of the app you download.

This website

What the site does

This site is a set of static pages. It sets no cookies, asks for no personal information, and includes no advertising or third-party tracking scripts. It is hosted by Vercel, whose servers process standard technical request information — such as IP address and browser type — in order to deliver the pages to you.

The reading demonstration

The slider demonstration on the home page needs no camera and no permission. It runs entirely in your browser and involves no personal information at all.

The optional camera demonstration

Below the slider there is an option to try the same thing with your camera. Nothing happens until you choose it and your browser asks for permission. The page requests video only. It never asks for your microphone.

If you allow it, face detection runs locally inside your browser tab. The face-detection software is served from the ReadApptive website rather than loaded from a separate third-party service.

Camera frames are processed locally in your browser. They are not uploaded, recorded, stored, or sent to ReadApptive, to MediaPipe, or to another face-detection service. Each frame is measured for the position of a face and immediately discarded. What the page works with is how much the size of your face changes relative to where it started — not a picture, and not a distance in any real unit. We checked the network traffic while the demonstration was running and confirmed that no request goes to any other website.

You can stop it at any time with the Stop camera button, and it stops on its own if you switch tabs or leave the page.

Children

ReadApptive is not directed at children, and does not knowingly collect personal information from anyone.

Keeping your information safe

The strongest protection here is structural rather than procedural: information that is never collected cannot be leaked, and information that never leaves your device cannot be intercepted in transit. Your settings are stored by iOS on your iPhone and protected by your device passcode and Apple’s own protections.

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes, the revised version will be published on this page with a new date at the top. Material changes will be described rather than made quietly.

Contact

Questions about this policy can be sent to support@readapptive.com. Email sent to us for support is used to answer you, and nothing else — it does not sign you up for anything.