Last Updated: February 20, 2026

Overview

IntelliNote (“the App”) is developed by Liqun Chen (“we”, “us”, “our”). We are committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how the App handles your data.

The short version: We do not collect, store, or transmit any of your personal data. Everything stays on your device or in your private iCloud account.

Data Storage

On-Device Storage

All your data — notes, pages, workspaces, portfolio assets, tracked topics, and settings — is stored locally on your device using Apple’s SwiftData framework. This data never leaves your device unless you enable iCloud Sync.

API Keys

IntelliNote uses a “Bring Your Own Key” (BYOK) model. You provide your own API keys for AI providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Mistral) and data sources (GNews, Reddit, X/Twitter, Polygon.io). These keys are:

  • Stored on your device only, in the iOS Keychain (encrypted hardware storage)
  • Never transmitted to our servers — we have no servers
  • Used only to make direct API calls from your device to the respective service providers
  • Your responsibility to manage — we have no access to your keys or API usage

iCloud Sync

If you enable iCloud Sync (available for Pro and Premium subscribers), your data is synced via Apple’s CloudKit service to your private iCloud account. This sync is:

  • Encrypted in transit and at rest by Apple
  • Governed by Apple’s Privacy Policy
  • Accessible only to you through your Apple ID
  • Not accessible to us in any way

Data We Do NOT Collect

We do not collect, store, process, or have access to:

  • Your notes, pages, or any content you create
  • Your API keys or credentials
  • Your financial portfolio data or holdings
  • Your search queries or tracked topics
  • Your device information or identifiers
  • Your location data
  • Usage analytics or behavioral data
  • Crash reports (the App includes a crash reporter interface but uses a no-operation implementation — no data is sent anywhere)

Third-Party Services

When you use features that connect to external services, your device communicates directly with those services using your own API keys. We are not an intermediary in these connections.

Services the App may connect to (only when you configure them):

Service Purpose Their Privacy Policy
OpenAI AI text generation openai.com/privacy
Anthropic AI text generation anthropic.com/privacy
Google (Gemini) AI text generation policies.google.com/privacy
Mistral AI AI text generation mistral.ai/terms
Google News RSS News headlines No API key needed; public RSS feed
Yahoo Finance RSS Financial news No API key needed; public RSS feed
GNews News aggregation gnews.io/privacy
Reddit Discussion threads reddit.com/policies/privacy-policy
X (Twitter) Social media posts x.com/en/privacy
Polygon.io Order book data polygon.io/privacy

Your interactions with these services are governed by their respective privacy policies, not ours.

Subscriptions

IntelliNote offers optional subscriptions (Pro and Premium) managed entirely through Apple’s App Store. We do not process payments or have access to your payment information. Subscription management is handled by Apple and governed by Apple’s Terms and Conditions.

Data Retention

Since all data is stored locally on your device (or in your private iCloud account if sync is enabled), data retention is entirely under your control:

  • Notes and content: Stored until you delete them within the app
  • API keys: Stored in Keychain until you remove them from Settings
  • App data: Removed entirely when you uninstall the app
  • iCloud data: Managed through your iCloud storage settings; removing the app may leave data in iCloud which you can delete via Settings → Apple ID → iCloud → Manage Storage
  • We retain no data: Since we have no servers and collect no data, there is nothing for us to retain or delete

Your Rights (GDPR / CCPA)

Because IntelliNote does not collect, process, or store any personal data on our servers, most data protection regulations (such as the EU General Data Protection Regulation and the California Consumer Privacy Act) do not apply to us as a data controller. However, we want to be transparent:

  • Right to access: All your data is already on your device. You can export it at any time via the app’s export features (Markdown, PDF, HTML, or workspace bundles).
  • Right to deletion: You can delete any data within the app at any time. Uninstalling the app removes all local data.
  • Right to portability: The app supports exporting your data in standard formats.
  • Right to object: Since we do not process your data, there is no processing to object to.
  • Third-party services: When you use AI providers or data sources via your own API keys, your interactions with those services are governed by their respective privacy policies. You should review their data handling practices.

If you have concerns about your data rights, please contact us.

Children’s Privacy

IntelliNote is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect any information from children.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated “Last Updated” date. Continued use of the App after changes constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

Contact

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us: