Privacy Policy

Aprecis · Effective 15 June 2026

Aprecis is a microlearning app that turns AI research papers into short, swipeable lessons. We built it to collect as little about you as possible. There is no account, no sign-up, and no login. This policy explains what that means in practice.

The short version

We do not ask you to create an account or sign in.
We do not collect your name, email, phone number, contacts, location, photos, or browsing history.
Your library, reading progress, streaks, daily goal, and chosen display name are stored only on your device.
We do not use third-party analytics or advertising SDKs, and we do not track you across other apps or websites.

Information stored on your device

Everything personal to you stays on your device, in the app's local storage: your saved papers ("shelf"), reading progress and resume position, daily streak, daily goal, recently opened papers, and any display name you type in. This information never leaves your device and is not transmitted to us. You can erase all of it at any time using Settings → Clear local data inside the app, or by deleting the app.

Information processed when you use the app

To deliver lessons, the app communicates with our backend and a few public services. These requests are made anonymously — they do not include your name, an account, or a personal profile.

Lesson content. The app downloads paper lessons from our backend using a shared, app-level key. No personal identifier is sent.
Anonymous usage signals. When you swipe, save, or share a lesson, the app may send the paper's ID and the action (for example, "saved") so we can understand which papers resonate. These signals are not linked to your identity or device and cannot be traced back to you.
Search. If you search for or add a paper, your query or the arXiv ID is sent to arXiv's public API (arxiv.org) and/or our backend to return results. We do not store your searches against any profile.
Technical request data. Like any internet service, our hosting and edge infrastructure may briefly process standard request metadata (such as IP address) in transit to deliver responses and protect against abuse. We do not use this to build a profile of you.

Subscriptions and payments

Aprecis offers an optional auto-renewable subscription, Aprecis Plus. All purchases are handled by Apple through the App Store. Apple processes your payment and manages billing; we never receive or store your payment card details. The app only reads your subscription status from the device to unlock paid features. Apple's handling of purchases is governed by Apple's Privacy Policy. You can manage or cancel a subscription anytime in your device's Settings → Apple Account → Subscriptions.

How we use information

To serve and display research lessons and related papers.
To understand, in aggregate and anonymously, which lessons are useful so we can improve the content.
To operate, secure, and maintain the service.
To respond to support requests you choose to email us.

We do not use your data for advertising, profiling, or cross-app tracking, and we do not sell or rent personal data to anyone.

Service providers

We rely on a small number of providers strictly to run the app, and only so they can perform services on our behalf:

Supabase — backend hosting, database, and edge functions that store and serve lesson content.
Apple — App Store distribution and in-app subscription processing.
arXiv — the public research repository queried when you search for or add a paper.

Data retention

On-device data persists until you clear it in the app or delete the app. Anonymous usage signals are retained only in aggregate form and are not associated with you. Lesson content in our backend is operational data about papers, not about people.

Your choices and rights

Because we do not maintain an account or personal profile, there is no personal profile for us to look up, export, or delete. You remain in full control of the data on your device and can remove it at any time via Clear local data or by uninstalling. Depending on where you live (for example, the EEA, UK, or California), you may have rights to access, correct, or delete personal data and to not be discriminated against for exercising them. If you believe we hold any personal data about you, contact us at the address below and we will help.

International users

Our infrastructure may process and store data in countries other than your own. Where required, we rely on appropriate safeguards for any such transfers.

Security

Data exchanged with our backend is protected in transit (HTTPS/TLS) and at rest by our hosting provider. No method of transmission or storage is perfectly secure, but we work to protect the limited data the app handles.

Children

Aprecis is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has provided us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

Changes

If this policy changes, we will update the effective date above and, for material changes, notify you in the app.

Contact

Questions or data requests: aprecisapp@gmail.com