Your words stay yours.

Ketchup Notes is built local-first. This policy explains what the app stores, what it can send, and who can see it.

Effective 13 September 2026

Summary

We do not run servers that receive your recordings, transcripts, or notes.
We do not use analytics, advertising SDKs, or tracking of any kind.
Everything the app records is stored on your device unless you turn on a feature that sends it somewhere you choose.

What the app stores on your device

When you record a meeting, Ketchup Notes saves audio, transcripts, speaker labels, bookmarks, photo notes, handwritten notes, summaries, and search indexes in a local database inside the app’s sandbox. Downloaded transcription models are also stored locally. This data never leaves your device unless one of the optional features below is enabled.

Permissions the app asks for

Microphone — to record and transcribe meeting audio.
Speech recognition — for Apple’s on-device speech recognition when selected as the transcription engine.
Camera and photos — to attach photo notes and recognise text in them, on-device.
Face ID — to lock the app. Biometric data is handled by iOS and is never available to the app.
Local network — to reach servers you configure on your own network and computers you pair with.

Optional features that send data off your device

Each of these is off until you set it up, and the app tells you what will be sent before you use it.

Summarisation and clinical documentation servers — if you configure a server address (for example an Ollama or Whisper instance on your Wi‑Fi, or another endpoint you control), the app sends transcript text, and where applicable audio, to that server for processing. That server is operated by you or your organisation, not by us, and its handling of the data is governed by its own policies.
Computer pairing and handoff — sends finished meetings directly to a computer you have paired with over your local network.
iCloud sync — stores your meetings and audio in your private iCloud database so they appear on your other devices. Apple’s privacy policy applies. We cannot read your private iCloud data.
Model downloads — fetching a transcription model contacts the model host (for example Hugging Face). Only a standard download request is made; no meeting content is included.

Purchases

Pro features are sold through Apple’s App Store using StoreKit. Apple processes payment and gives the app an entitlement status only. We do not receive your name, payment details, or Apple ID.

Diagnostics

If the app crashes, a diagnostic log is written to the device. It is not uploaded automatically. You may choose to share it with us when asking for support.

Data retention and deletion

You control retention. Deleting a meeting in the app removes it from the local database, and from iCloud if sync is enabled. Deleting the app removes all local data. Data you sent to your own server or paired computer is deleted there under your control.

Children

Ketchup Notes is not directed at children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them.

Changes

If this policy changes, the updated version will be posted here with a new effective date.

Contact

Questions about privacy: asharzaman@gmail.com