For the Ask a Page app for iPhoneEffective: 27 September 2026Last updated: 27 September 2026
The short version
We have no servers. Your questions, kept pages, and notes stay on this iPhone — there is nowhere to upload them to.
No accounts, no ads, no tracking, no third-party SDKs. The app uses only Apple's system frameworks and makes no network requests of its own.
The microphone is on only while you hold the mic button. Apple's SpeechAnalyzer turns what you say into text on the device; the audio is never saved or uploaded.
Things leave this phone only when you send them: exporting a backup, sharing a page card, or exporting a usage summary — and you choose where each one goes.
1. Who provides this app
Ask a Page (问页 in Chinese, "the app") is developed and published by gwongsam ("we"), an individual developer, and runs on iPhone. It is a small book that answers you: write or say a question, open the book, and read one line on paper; if you like, keep the page and note down your own answer.
This policy explains how the app handles your information. The premise running through all of it: we operate no backend servers, so nothing you write ever reaches us. What follows describes how data moves on your own device.
2. What data the app handles
The following is created while you use the app. All of it stays on your device:
Category
Details
Your question
A question you type, or text transcribed on the device from what you say while holding the mic. Writing one is optional
Kept pages
Pages you choose to keep, the day you opened them, and anything you jot down about how you felt or your own answer
Bookplate
The name you write on your bookplate
Settings and preferences
Jacket and paper, Follow the time of day, Show weather, Tap to open, Haptics, and other interface preferences
On-device usage counts
A few number-only counts, such as how many times the book has been opened (see section 7)
The app does not request or collect: government ID numbers, phone numbers, email addresses, payment details, contacts, photos, calendars, location, advertising identifiers, or device fingerprints. The weather is generated on the device from the date and does not read your location. The app has no account system; there is nothing to register or sign in to.
3. Where the data lives
The app's sandbox container. Kept pages, notes, and your bookplate are stored here with Apple's SwiftData, on this iPhone only.
Local preferences. Settings and preferences are kept in the system's UserDefaults.
The app itself does no cloud sync and writes to no server. If you back up your whole iPhone with iCloud Backup or to a computer, that system backup may include the app's data; this is governed by your system settings, independently of the app.
4. Microphone and speech to text
The only permission the app requests is the microphone, used for Hold to speak:
It listens only while you hold the mic button, and stops when you let go.
What you say is turned into text on the device by Apple's SpeechAnalyzer and placed in the question field, where it's treated just like typed text.
The audio is never saved or uploaded — not to us, not to anyone.
It's fine to leave microphone access off; the mic on your keyboard works too. You can revoke it at any time in iOS Settings › Ask a Page, or Settings › Privacy & Security › Microphone.
5. Network access
The app contains no custom networking code and we run no servers. Your questions, pages, and notes are never sent anywhere by the app. Network traffic happens only in these cases, each handled by Apple's system:
Downloading and updating the app, through the App Store.
Preparing on-device speech recognition (only if you use Hold to speak). The first time, the system may need to download language resources for on-device recognition from Apple. It is a download only; nothing you say is uploaded.
Helpline website links on the help page open in the system browser, not inside the app. Beyond this, the app uploads no content, checks for no updates, sends back no logs, and connects to no advertising, analytics, or attribution network.
6. What you take off the phone
Data leaves the app in three cases only, each started by you, with the destination chosen by you in a system sheet:
Export backup. Tapping Export backup in Settings creates a JSON backup file and saves it, through the system save sheet, wherever you choose (for example Files or iCloud Drive). It contains your kept pages and notes in a readable text format, so please keep it somewhere safe. Import backup reads only the file you pick.
Share a page. Share this page creates an image card and hands it, through the system share sheet, to the app you choose. The card shows the page's line and a tiny signature; the preview says clearly whether your question is on it; your answer and notes are never on the card. The name on your bookplate is included only if you tick that option.
Export usage summary. See section 7.
Once sent, the file is handled by the app or service you chose, under its own privacy policy.
7. On-device usage counts
The app keeps a few number-only counts on the device — for example, how many times the book has been opened or how many pages were kept — to help us understand how the book is used.
These counts stay on this iPhone and are never sent automatically.
They leave the device only if you tap Export usage summary in Settings and choose to share it yourself.
The summary contains numbers only — no text at all: none of your questions, page contents, or notes.
8. When a question mentions self-harm
If a question mentions hurting yourself, the app does not open a page. It shows a page of help instead: local helpline numbers based on your iPhone's region, or a pointer to findahelpline.com.
This check happens entirely on the device. No one is notified, and nothing is sent to us.
The app does not assess emotions, builds no psychological profile, and gives no psychological, medical, legal, or financial advice.
9. Purchase
The app is a paid download, bought once; there are no in-app purchases and no subscription.
Purchases are handled by Apple through the App Store, and we never see your Apple Account, payment method, or billing details.
Refunds, Family Sharing, parental approval, and similar matters are handled by Apple under their rules.
10. Diagnostics and crash data
The app includes no crash-reporting or performance-analytics SDK and sends back no logs of its own.
If you have enabled "Share with App Developers" under Settings › Privacy & Security › Analytics & Improvements, Apple may provide developers with aggregated, non-identifying crash reports and performance metrics. That data is collected and de-identified by Apple, contains none of your questions, pages, or notes, and can be turned off at any time in Settings.
11. Third parties: what we don't do
Stated item by item, to leave no ambiguity:
We do not sell your personal information (including "sale" and "sharing" as defined by US state laws);
We do not use or disclose your information for targeted advertising, and the app contains no advertising SDK;
We integrate no analytics, event-tracking, A/B testing, crash-analytics, attribution, or profiling service;
The app contains no third-party SDKs and uses only Apple's system frameworks;
We do not use your questions, pages, or notes to train any model, and make no automated decisions;
We receive no information from you, so there is no cross-border transfer initiated by us.
The only third party involved is Apple: the App Store handles downloading and buying the app, and Apple provides the resources for on-device speech recognition (section 5). See the Apple Privacy Policy.
12. Retention and deletion
We hold none of your data, so there is no retention period on our side. How long anything lives is entirely up to you:
One page: open it and tap Delete this page.
All pages: tap Erase all pages in Settings. This is permanent and can't be undone.
All data and settings: removed when you delete the app.
Backups you exported, cards you shared, and usage summaries you exported: delete them wherever you saved or sent them.
You can do all of the above without contacting us, and we have no copy to delete.
13. Your rights
Under applicable law — including China's PIPL, the EU GDPR, and California's CCPA/CPRA — you have rights to be informed about, access, copy, correct, supplement, delete, and port your personal information, and to withdraw consent.
In this app, exercising those rights requires neither contacting us nor waiting for our approval, because the data has been in your hands all along:
Right
How to exercise it
Access / copy
Your kept pages and notes are all in the app's bookmarks
Portability
Export backup gives you a standard JSON file
Correction
Manage your kept pages and notes in the app
Deletion
See section 12 above
Withdraw consent
Turn off microphone access in iOS Settings › Ask a Page
Object to automated decisions
The app makes no automated decisions and builds no profiles
If you believe your rights have not been honoured, or have any question about this policy, contact us as described in section 17. We answer within 30 days of receipt. You also have the right to complain to your local data protection authority.
14. Children
The app is not directed at children under 13 and does not knowingly collect children's personal information — it sends us nothing at all, and we hold no age information about any user. If you are under 14, please use the app with the consent and guidance of a guardian; parents can manage purchases through Apple's Screen Time and Ask to Buy.
15. Security
The app runs in the iOS application sandbox and can reach only its own container.
The app has no custom networking code, so there is no channel through which your questions, pages, or notes could be sent out by it.
We hold none of your data, so there is no "our database was breached" risk to speak of.
An exported backup file is readable text (see section 6) — keep that in mind when storing or sending it.
At the same time, please note: the security of the device itself underpins all of this. Set a passcode, enable Face ID or Touch ID, and keep the system updated. No technical measure can guarantee absolute security.
16. Changes to this policy
If the way the app handles data changes, we will update this page and the "Last updated" date at the top. For material changes we will say so prominently inside the app and, where required, ask for your consent again. Earlier versions of this page can be read in this site's public code repository.
17. Contact
For any question about this policy or your data, email gwongsam@gmail.com
Mentioning the app version and your iOS version helps us answer faster. There's no need to include your questions or notes.
问页