Your ideas are personal.

Your thoughts stay on your iPhone by default

Spitball stores your thoughts, transcripts, recordings and any photos or places you add in its local library on your iPhone. You do not need a Spitball account. We do not upload your thought library to a Spitball server.

Spitball uses Apple’s on-device speech capabilities to transcribe recordings when supported by your device and language. It may need to download a speech model first. If on-device transcription is unavailable, the app keeps your recording rather than uploading it to a cloud transcription service.

Your device backup settings may affect whether Apple backs up app data. Local storage does not override the backup choices you make with Apple.

iCloud is your choice

You can enable iCloud Sync in Spitball’s settings. Your library then travels through iCloud using your Apple Account. Apple operates iCloud under its own terms and privacy policy. Spitball does not receive your Apple Account password or a separate copy of your library on a server we operate.

Sync depends on iCloud availability and runs while the app is open. Deletions can sync to connected devices. Turning sync off does not necessarily delete copies already stored in iCloud or device backups.

Permissions and sharing

Microphone access lets you record. Speech permission enables transcription. Camera and photo selection let you attach a picture. Location permission lets you add a place. Notification permission allows reminders. You can change permissions in iPhone Settings.

When you share or export a thought, the content you select is handed to your chosen destination. That service and the recipient control their copies. If you send us support messages or screenshots, we receive what you include.

Optional app usage analytics

Usage sharing starts off. If you turn it on, Spitball sends limited feature-use events, save and transcription outcomes, transcription-duration ranges, app version, timestamps and a random installation identifier to PostHog in the United States. These help us understand which features work and where the app fails.

Your thought text and titles, searches, recordings, photos, places and contacts are excluded. We do not use advertising identifiers, cross-app advertising tracking or screen recordings. Network requests include an IP address in transit. The analytics project has IP anonymization enabled and geographic enrichment disabled.

Turn off Share app usage in Settings → Storage & privacy to stop sending events, remove unsent events and reset the installation identifier. Events already sent are not automatically erased by that switch. PostHog’s privacy policy explains its processing.

TestFlight beta testing

Apple’s TestFlight service separately collects beta usage and crash information and shares it with the developer. This happens independently of Spitball’s optional analytics setting. Feedback you submit can include comments, screenshots and diagnostic information. We use this information to investigate problems and improve Spitball.

Apple describes this in its TestFlight privacy notice. A public-link tester’s name and email address are not shown to the developer by default.

This website

This site does not use advertising trackers, visitor analytics, accounts or marketing forms. Our hosting provider, Vercel, processes requests needed to serve and secure the site. Those requests may include IP address, requested URL, browser information and request times. See Vercel’s privacy policy.

Download links go through nik.co to Apple and TestFlight. Those services process your requests under their own policies. If you email us, we receive your address and the information in your message.

Keeping and deleting information

Your local thoughts remain until you delete them or remove the app’s local data. Cloud copies and device backups are managed through your Apple settings. We cannot restore a local library you have deleted.

Usage analytics, beta diagnostics and support correspondence are separate from your library. We keep them as needed to improve and support the app, investigate issues and meet applicable obligations. Contact us to ask about or request deletion of information we hold. Disabling analytics alone does not delete previously sent events.

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct or delete personal information, object to certain processing or withdraw consent. Contact nik@nik.co to make a request. We may need enough information to identify the relevant records. You may also contact your local data protection authority.

Contact and changes

Spitball is published by Long Wknd LLC. For privacy questions, contact nik@nik.co. We will update the date on this page when this policy changes.