PenPalPenPal Privacy Policy
Last updated: 8 October 2026
This policy explains what information PenPal uses, where it's stored, and who can see it. In short: your study material stays on your device or in your own iCloud account. We don't collect it, sell it, or use it to track you.
PenPal is provided by Blossom Osiuhwu ("we", "us"), who is the data controller for any personal data we process. Contact: support@penpalstudy.com.
1. What PenPal stores, and where
| Information | Where it's stored | Who can see it |
|---|---|---|
| Your name and email addresses, and your university or college if you add it | On your device, and in your iCloud account if iCloud sync is on | Only you |
| Lecture recordings | On your device. Deleted after 14 days unless you keep them. Kept recordings sync to your iCloud account if iCloud sync is on | Only you |
| Transcripts, notes, scans, study sets, quizzes, study plans, and references | On your device, and in your iCloud account if iCloud sync is on | Only you |
| Settings, such as your colour, language, and referencing style | On your device | Only you |
| How many free transcription minutes you've used (a single number) | In your device's Keychain, so it isn't reset by reinstalling PenPal, and in your iCloud account if iCloud is on | Only you |
We (the developer) don't receive or have access to any of this. We don't run our own servers for PenPal.
2. Processing on your device
- Speech recognition (turning lectures into text) uses Apple's speech recognition on your device.
- Text recognition (reading scanned pages and barcodes) uses Apple's Vision framework on your device.
- AI features (slides, notes, explanations, breakdowns, quizzes, study plans, and the tutor) use Apple Intelligence's on-device model. Your content isn't sent to us or to an AI company to do this.
3. Information shared with other services
PenPal only contacts other services when you use a feature that needs them:
- Book lookups. When you scan a page that shows an ISBN, PenPal sends only the ISBN number to Google Books and, if needed, Open Library, to get the book's title, authors, publisher, and year. Your scanned text and images are never sent. Like any website, these services can see your device's IP address. See the Google Privacy Policy and the Internet Archive (Open Library) Privacy Policy.
- Links you paste. When you paste a link to reference an online source, PenPal fetches that page from its website, just as a web browser would.
- Sign in with Apple. If you sign in with Apple, Apple shares a private identifier and, the first time, the name and email address you choose to share. Apple's Privacy Policy applies.
- iCloud. If iCloud sync is on, your PenPal data is stored in your private iCloud account, which is protected by Apple and covered by Apple's privacy policy. We can't access it.
- Purchases. PenPal Pro subscriptions are bought and managed through Apple. Apple handles your payment details; we never see them. PenPal only checks with Apple whether your subscription is active. Apple's Privacy Policy applies.
4. What we don't do
- We don't collect analytics or usage data.
- We don't show ads or use advertising identifiers.
- We don't track you across apps or websites.
- We don't sell or share your personal information.
5. Permissions
PenPal asks for permission before using:
- the microphone, to record and transcribe lectures;
- speech recognition, to transcribe lectures on your device; and
- the camera and photos, to scan pages.
You can change these at any time in Settings › Apps › PenPal.
6. How long information is kept
- Lecture recordings you don't keep are deleted automatically after 14 days.
- Everything else stays until you delete it. Deleting a study set deletes its recording too.
- Deleting PenPal removes its data from your device. To delete PenPal data from iCloud, go to Settings › [your name] › iCloud › Manage Account Storage.
7. Your rights
Under data protection law, including the GDPR, you have rights to access, correct, delete, and move your personal data, and to object to or restrict how it's used. Because your PenPal data is stored on your device and in your own iCloud account, you can view, change, and delete it yourself at any time in the app or in your device settings. We don't hold copies. If you have a question or request, contact us at support@penpalstudy.com.
You also have the right to complain to a data protection authority. In Ireland this is the Data Protection Commission.
8. Age
PenPal is for people aged 16 and over. We don't knowingly allow anyone under 16 to use it.
9. Security
Your data is protected by your device's security and, if you use iCloud, by Apple's iCloud security. Keep your device protected with a passcode, Face ID, or Touch ID.
10. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy. If we make important changes, PenPal will ask you to review them before you continue using it. The date at the top shows when it was last updated.
11. Contact
Questions about privacy? Contact us at support@penpalstudy.com.