Decoder Ring

Privacy Policy

Effective date: July 11, 2026
Last updated: September 26, 2026

Decoder Ring is an app for iOS, iPadOS, and macOS that turns confusing text into plain language. It is free to download and includes one free decode. Unlimited decoding is a one-time in-app purchase, with no subscription and no account. Paste text into the app, share a message, email, letter, or notice into its Decode extension, point the camera at a page, or open a file, and it explains what the text says and means. The Decoder Ring extension in Safari works the same way on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, once you turn it on in Safari’s extension settings. On a Mac you can also select text in any app and choose Decode with Decoder Ring from the Services menu. It is published by Digital Javelina, LLC.

Decoder Ring is private by default. It has no user accounts, shows no ads, and contains no advertising or tracking software. It only counts anonymous feedback described below. Apple’s on-device AI or Private Cloud Compute generates the plain-language decodes, never any third-party AI service. This policy explains, in plain language, what that means for your information.

The short version

  • We do not ask you to create an account or sign in.
  • We do not collect your name, email, contacts, location, or health records.
  • The camera records nothing and sends nothing anywhere. The app reads text from it and keeps no image.
  • A photo or file you pick is read on your device and is never uploaded or kept.
  • We do not track you, show you ads, or sell or share your data with advertisers.
  • Apple processes the text you decode only with Apple’s on-device AI or Private Cloud Compute. We never see it, we do not store it, and it is never sent to any third-party AI service.
  • Decoder Ring is for education only. It explains what things say and mean. It never tells you what to do about them.

Information we do not collect

Decoder Ring does not have a sign-up or login. Because of that, we do not collect or store:

  • Your name, email address, phone number, or mailing address
  • Your date of birth or any health record
  • Your device’s contacts, microphone, or precise location
  • Your photo library or your files, beyond the single item you choose to open
  • Camera images: nothing the camera sees is recorded, saved, or transmitted
  • Advertising identifiers or cross-app tracking data
  • The text you decode

Decoder Ring asks for one optional permission, the camera, and only for pointing it at text on an iPhone or iPad. Everything else works without granting it. Choosing a photo or a document uses the standard iOS and macOS pickers, which hand over only the item you pick and need no library or disk access. On a Mac, the app runs inside the App Sandbox and can read only a file you open or drop on its window.

Information that is processed when you use the app

1. The text you decode stays with Apple’s models

Whether you paste text into the app, share it into the Decode extension, read it with the camera, or open it from a file, that text is processed in one of two ways, depending on your device and the tier you choose in Settings:

  • On device. The AI model runs entirely on your device. Nothing is sent anywhere. This works offline.
  • Apple Private Cloud Compute. On devices running iOS 27, iPadOS 27, or macOS 27 that support it, larger requests can be handled by Apple’s Private Cloud Compute, a service Apple designed so that your data is not stored and is not accessible to Apple. This processing is governed by Apple’s privacy practices.

In every case, the content is processed only by Apple’s on-device or Private Cloud Compute systems. It is never sent to us, never sent to Anthropic, OpenAI, or any other third-party AI provider, and never written to any shared store. Decoder Ring ships with no third-party AI keys. The decode result is shown to you and discarded when you leave it.

2. Reading text from the camera, a photo, or a file stays on your device

The Decode screen can read text you point the camera at, a photo you choose, or a PDF or text file you open. Apple frameworks do this work on your device:

  • Text recognition. VisionKit finds text in the camera preview and Vision reads the characters, from a captured still or from a photo you picked. The app receives text, not pictures. No frame is written to disk, added to your photo library, or sent over the network, and the app never records video.
  • Documents. PDFKit reads a PDF’s text layer, falling back to the same Vision pass for a scan that has none. The file is opened as a temporary copy. Your own file is never modified.
  • Translation. When you point the camera at text in another language, Apple’s Translation framework can show it in the language you pick in Settings, and translate what you capture. It runs on your device using language files iOS downloads, and iOS asks your permission before downloading one. Decoder Ring does not send the text to a translation service, and no translation provider receives it from us.

The camera permission is optional. If you decline it, the rest of the app works normally. The camera and translation features are on iPhone and iPad only. The Mac app has neither.

3. Siri and Visual Intelligence hand text to the app on your device

On iPhone and iPad, you can say “Open Decoder Ring and decode” to Siri, and you can send text that Visual Intelligence recognizes to Decoder Ring. Both are handled by iOS or iPadOS on your device. Siri’s part is governed by Apple’s privacy practices. Decoder Ring receives no recording of your voice, only the request to open. Text from Visual Intelligence is recognized by iOS or iPadOS on your device and handed to the app. The app keeps it on your device for up to ten minutes so that tapping the result can open it, then discards it. Nothing from either path is sent to us or to any AI service other than the ones in section 1. The Mac app does not use Siri or Visual Intelligence. On a Mac, text comes into the app from outside through the Safari extension and the Services menu, covered in sections 6 and 7.

4. Feedback is anonymous

If you send feedback from within the app, it is recorded as an anonymous tally (for example, a thumbs up or down) with an optional free-text comment, the app version, and the time it was sent. To let the app skip re-asking about text you already rated, a vote is keyed by a short mathematical fingerprint (hash) of the decoded text. The fingerprint cannot be turned back into the text, and the text itself is never stored or sent. Feedback is never tied to your identity or your device. Please do not include personal details in a feedback comment.

Feedback travels over HTTPS to a small web service we run on Vercel, which saves it to Upstash. To stop automated spam, that service counts requests per network (IP) address for about one minute. The address is used only for that count, then discarded, and it is never saved with your feedback.

5. Purchases are handled by Apple

Unlimited decoding is a one-time in-app purchase. Apple processes it through your Apple Account and tells the app one thing: whether this Apple Account owns the unlock. We never see, receive, or store your payment card, your billing address, your Apple Account name, or any other purchase detail. The app records a single yes-or-no value on your device so it knows to stay unlocked, and nothing about your purchase is sent to us or to anyone else. Restoring a purchase, on a new device or after reinstalling, asks Apple the same question again. Refunds are handled by Apple, not by us.

6. The Safari extension and the Services menu stay on your Mac

The Decoder Ring extension for Safari reads the text you have selected on a page only when you tap or click its toolbar button, and only on that page. It decodes the text the same way the app does, with Apple’s models, and shows the card in its popup. While a decode is running, the extension keeps the text and the card in memory only, so that closing the popup does not lose them. Nothing is written to Safari’s extension storage or to disk. The extension never reads a page you did not ask it to decode, never sees your browsing history, and sends nothing to us.

On a Mac, choosing Open in Decoder Ring hands the text to the app and removes it from the extension once the app has read it. On an iPhone or iPad, a Safari extension cannot open another app directly, so there is no Open in Decoder Ring button there. The text still waits for you in the app, the same way it does when Siri hands text to the app, and it is removed the moment the app reads it.

The extension has to be turned on once before it appears in Safari: in Safari’s Extensions settings on a Mac, or in Settings > Safari > Extensions on an iPhone or iPad.


7. The Services menu stays on your Mac

The Services menu entry (Decode with Decoder Ring) works the same way: the text you selected is handed to the app on your Mac and removed once the app has read it. Nothing about it leaves your Mac.

Third-party services

Decoder Ring relies on a small number of services to work. Each has its own privacy policy:

Decoder Ring does not use Google Analytics, Firebase, advertising SDKs, crash-reporting SDKs, or any social-media tracking pixels.

No tracking, no ads, no data sales

Decoder Ring does not track you across apps or websites, does not display advertising, and does not sell, rent, or share your personal information. There is no personal information to sell, because we do not collect any.

Data retention

  • Text processed on device or on Apple Private Cloud Compute is not retained by us. Private Cloud Compute is designed by Apple not to store your data after your request is served.
  • Camera frames are held only in memory while the viewfinder is open and are discarded as soon as you close it. A captured still is held only long enough to read its text.
  • Text handed over by Visual Intelligence is kept on your device for up to ten minutes, then discarded.
  • Text handed to the app by the Services menu on a Mac, or by the Safari extension on any platform, is removed the moment the app reads it. A decode running in the Safari extension itself is held in memory only and is gone when Safari unloads the extension.
  • Anonymous feedback tallies may be cleared or expired at any time.

Children’s privacy

Decoder Ring is an educational tool intended for adults. It is not directed at children, and it does not knowingly collect personal information from anyone, including children under 13 (or under 16 where a higher age applies). If you believe a child has provided personal information through the app, contact us and we will address it, though as described above the app is designed not to collect such information in the first place.

Security

Decoder Ring minimizes risk by collecting as little as possible and keeping processing on your device or on Apple’s Private Cloud Compute. The optional feedback request uses an encrypted connection (HTTPS). No system is perfectly secure, but because Decoder Ring holds no accounts and no personal data, there is no personal profile to breach.

Your privacy rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights under laws such as the EU/UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), including the rights to access, correct, or delete personal information a company holds about you.

Because Decoder Ring does not create accounts and does not collect or store personal information that identifies you, we typically hold nothing to access, correct, or delete. If you have a question about your rights or believe we hold information about you, contact us at the address below and we will respond.

Governing law

This policy and any dispute arising from your use of Decoder Ring are governed by the laws of the United States of America, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles.

Educational-use disclaimer

Decoder Ring explains what text says and means, for education only. It does not provide legal, financial, tax, medical, or any other professional advice, it never tells you what to reply or whether to sign, pay, or agree, and it never tells you what a document means for your specific situation. For decisions that matter, consult the right licensed professional.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the app evolves or as laws change. When we do, we will revise the “Last updated” date above and post the new version at https://digitaljavelina.com/project/decoder-ring/privacy. Significant changes will be highlighted where practical.

Contact us

Questions about this policy or your privacy can be sent to:

Digital Javelina, LLC
Email: [email protected]

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