Effective date: September 25, 2026
This Privacy Policy describes how Vdose ("the App"), provided by the developer of Vdose ("we", "us", or "our"), handles your information. Vdose is a vocabulary-learning app for iOS: you photograph things around you or type words, and the App turns them into flashcards that it schedules with spaced repetition.
Vdose is designed to be local-first. Your words, meanings, the pictures you capture, your review history, streaks, medals, settings, name and profile picture live only on your device. There are no accounts, and Vdose never asks for permission to track you and does not collect your advertising identifier. (The App includes one open-source UI library for an animation; it receives no data.)
A few features use the internet, each described below: Capture (naming the thing you photograph), natural voices (hearing a word spoken), Today's Words (downloading the day's suggested words), the anonymous usage counts, ad measurement through the Meta SDK, and the feedback board. None of them receives your word list, your review history or your name.
None of your personal information, by default. We do not build a profile of you, and we do not sell or share personal data. What our systems keep is limited to what is described below: anonymous counts, a voice cache that is not linked to anyone, and what you choose to post on the feedback board.
All data you create while using Vdose — the words you add, their meanings, the pictures you capture, your review history, streaks, medals, settings, your profile name and profile picture — exists only on your device. It is never sent to us or sold or shared with anyone.
The camera is used only while the Capture screen is open. What you see in the viewfinder stays on your device; nothing is sent until you take a photo.
When you take a photo, the App first lifts the object out of the picture on your device. Then, to name it:
The short "try it" capture during setup uses a photo bundled with the App and runs entirely on your device.
When you tap a speaker, the App plays the word in a natural voice. To make that audio, the word (its text only), its language and the chosen voice are sent through our relay to Google Cloud Text-to-Speech. The resulting audio is kept in a shared cache on our relay, keyed only by the word and the voice — not by who asked — so the next learner who plays the same word does not need a new request. The App also keeps a copy on your device. If the relay can't be reached, your device's built-in voice speaks instead.
Google processes the text under its Cloud terms: https://cloud.google.com/terms/cloud-privacy-notice
Each day the App downloads a small catalog of suggested words and their pictures for the language you are learning. The request says which language and nothing about you. The App also downloads a few settings from our relay (for example, whether the feedback board is open).
The App generates a random identifier the first time it needs one. It is not derived from you, your Apple ID or your device hardware, and it is not the advertising identifier. It is used only to count things per install (the usage counts, the fallback Capture allowance described above, and one vote per install on the feedback board) and, when usage counts are on, to connect a subscription bought in the App to those same counts. It cannot be linked to your identity by us or anyone else.
To decide what to improve, Vdose counts how often a few actions happen — for example "a word was saved" or "a review session was completed" — and, for Capture, how a capture went (whether it worked, which plan type it ran under, how long it took). These are counts, not content: they never include your words, meanings, photos, name, or anything that identifies you. They are sent in small batches to our relay together with the App's random install identifier, and they are never shared with or sold to anyone. No third-party analytics service is involved.
You can turn this off at any time in Profile → Usage counts — the switch also deletes anything not yet sent, and Capture stops being counted too. The App works identically either way.
To learn whether the ads we run on Facebook and Instagram actually bring people to Vdose, the App includes Meta's software development kit. It reports three things to Meta: that the App was installed, that it was opened, and that a subscription or free trial was started through the App Store (the product and its price — never your payment details).
Each report carries technical device information such as the device model, operating system version, App version, IP address and an identifier generated by the SDK. It never includes your words, meanings, photos, review history, name or contact details. Vdose does not request Apple's tracking permission and does not collect the advertising identifier (IDFA), so these reports are handled by Meta under its non-tracking, aggregated measurement mode, and install attribution uses Apple's privacy-preserving SKAdNetwork.
Meta's handling of this information is governed by Meta's own policies:
Profile → Feedback board opens a board where you can post ideas and bug reports, vote on other people's posts, and comment. Everything here is something you choose to write and send.
Your data is stored locally on your device using Apple's on-device storage frameworks (SwiftData, UserDefaults and files in the App's own container). It is not backed up to any servers operated by us.
Because all data is local, deleting the App from your device permanently removes all of your Vdose data. We cannot recover it, because we never had a copy.
You can use one of your own stickers or a photo as your profile picture. Photos are chosen with Apple's photo picker, so the App never has access to your photo library; only the cropped picture you choose is saved, on your device.
Review and trial reminders use Apple's local notification system. They are scheduled and delivered entirely on your device; no notification data is sent to us.
Vdose offers an auto-renewing subscription, Vdose Essential, sold through Apple's In-App Purchase system. All purchases and renewals are processed by Apple, not by us.
We do not see, receive, or store any payment details (such as your credit card number, billing address, or Apple ID). Capture requests carry Apple's signed record of your subscription so the relay can apply your plan's daily limit, as described above; the relay checks it and keeps only the day's count under a one-way hash. When a purchase or free trial completes, the Meta SDK reports the event (product and price only) for ad measurement, as described above. When usage counts are on, a subscription you start in the App carries the App's random install identifier, so that Apple's record of the subscription (the product, its price and dates, and your App Store country — never your payment details or Apple ID) can be counted alongside that install's anonymous usage counts; with usage counts off, it carries nothing. Apple's handling of your purchase information is governed by Apple's own privacy policy:
Vdose does not knowingly collect any personal data from anyone, including children.
The third parties involved in Vdose are:
No data is shared with any other party.
You are always in control of your data:
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the effective date above. Continued use of the App after an update constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, contact us at:
Vdose
Email: vdose.app@gmail.com