Privacy Policy

PDFChat AI · Last updated May 29, 2026 · Effective May 29, 2026

This Privacy Policy describes how PDFChat AI ("we", "us", "the app") collects, uses, and protects information when you use the iOS application. We are committed to data minimization — we collect as little as possible to make the app work.

TL;DR

· Your documents stay on your device. We never upload your PDFs or scans to our servers.

· AI processing is opt-in. When you enable AI Consent in Settings, the text chunks needed to answer your question (not the file itself) are sent to OpenAI's API via our proxy. Everything else stays local.

· No analytics, no advertising, no tracking. We do not use Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Firebase, or any third-party analytics SDK.

· No accounts, no email collection. The app works without a sign-up.

1. Information We Process

1.1 Information stored locally on your device (never sent to us)

Imported and scanned documents (PDFs, DOCX, RTF, images)
Document metadata (titles, page counts, dates added)
Extracted text content for AI search and summarization
Chat history with AI about your documents
App preferences (AI Consent flag, notification preferences, weekly digest opt-in)

All of the above is stored in SwiftData on your iPhone. If you enable iCloud sync, this data is synchronized through your own private iCloud account using Apple's CloudKit. We have no access to your iCloud data — only Apple does.

1.2 Information sent to third parties — only with your explicit AI Consent

When you opt in to AI features (Settings → AI Processing → Grant), and only when you actively use a chat, summary, or translation feature:

The specific text chunks from your document that are relevant to your question
Your question text
The conversation context for that session

This data is sent to:

Our proxy server (hosted on Vercel) — relays the request and adds rate limiting.
OpenAI API (models: gpt-4o-mini for chat, text-embedding-3-small for search) — generates the answer.

We do not log or store the content of these requests on our proxy. OpenAI's data retention policy is described at openai.com/policies/privacy-policy. As of this writing, OpenAI does not train on API requests from third-party apps.

You can revoke AI Consent at any time in Settings. After revocation, no further data is sent to OpenAI.

1.3 Information collected automatically

Subscription status via RevenueCat and Apple's StoreKit. RevenueCat receives an anonymized user identifier so we can verify your subscription. See RevenueCat's privacy policy.
Crash reports (if you allow them) via Apple's standard crash reporting. We do not use additional third-party crash SDKs.
App Attest anti-fraud token (Apple's DeviceCheck framework) — verifies that requests to our proxy come from a real installation of PDFChat AI, not from someone with a stolen API token. No user data in this token.

2. Why We Process Information

We process the limited data above to:

Render and search your documents on your device.
Provide AI answers, summaries, and translations when you request them.
Verify your subscription status.
Prevent abuse of the proxy (rate limiting).

We do not use your information for advertising, profiling, or to train AI models.

3. How Long We Keep Information

Local data is kept on your device until you delete it (per-document, or by uninstalling the app).
AI requests in transit are not logged on our proxy. OpenAI's retention follows their policy.
Subscription receipts are kept by RevenueCat and Apple for the duration of your subscription plus any required tax/audit period.

4. Children

PDFChat AI is rated 4+ but is not directed specifically at children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone, including children under 13. If you believe a child has accessed AI features, you can disable AI Consent in Settings.

5. Your Rights

You can:

Stop AI processing at any time — Settings → AI Processing → Revoke.
Delete all local data — uninstall the app from your device.
Delete iCloud-synced data — iOS Settings → Apple ID → iCloud → Manage Storage → PDFChat AI → Delete.
Cancel your subscription — iOS Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions.
Request information about data we hold — email us (see Contact below).

Because we do not store personal identifiers tied to you, we generally have no data about you to disclose, correct, or delete on request. Subscription data held by RevenueCat is tied to an anonymized identifier that we cannot link back to your name or email.

6. International Transfers

Our proxy is hosted on Vercel's global edge network. OpenAI processes requests in the United States. If you are in the EU/UK, processing your AI requests involves international data transfer to the US. By granting AI Consent, you authorize this transfer.

7. Security

Communication with our proxy uses TLS (HTTPS).
Requests to our proxy are signed with App Attest tokens, which makes API token theft useless on its own.
Local storage uses iOS's standard data protection. Your documents are encrypted at rest while your device is locked.

8. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy. Material changes will be reflected in a new "Last updated" date at the top. If changes affect how AI features process data, we will surface the change in-app and ask for renewed consent.

9. Contact

Questions about this policy or your data:

Email: support@pdfchatai.app
Developer: Artem Osetrov