Inky Photo Backup Privacy Policy
Inky Photo Backup (the "App") is developed and operated by 墨鱼卷 ("we" or "us"). We understand how important your personal information is. This policy explains what information the App accesses, how it is used, where it is stored, and how you can manage it. Please read it carefully before using the App.
1. Our Commitments
- The App runs entirely on your device. It does not connect to any of our servers and contains no third-party SDKs for advertising, analytics, or crash reporting.
- We do not collect, upload, share, or sell any of your personal information. Your photos, videos, and all data created by the App are stored only on your iPhone and on the drive you choose. We have no access to them.
- The App requires no account and never obtains your phone number, contacts, location, or device identifiers (such as IDFA).
2. How We Use Permissions and Information
Each permission below is requested only when you use the related feature. You can decline or turn it off at any time in the Settings app. If you decline, only that feature is unavailable; everything else keeps working.
1. Photos (read and write access)
- Purpose: browsing your library; backing up original photo and video files to a drive; restoring photos from a drive to your library; and deleting photos from your library after you confirm.
- What is read: original photo and video files, plus attributes such as capture time, original file name, file size, video duration, and whether an item is a Live Photo or screenshot.
- How it is processed: to tell which photos are already backed up, the App builds a library index on your iPhone (containing the attributes above and the internal identifiers assigned by the system). The index stays on your iPhone and is never uploaded.
- Deleting photos: only happens when you choose to delete and confirm twice — once in the App and once in the system prompt. Deleted photos move to Recently Deleted in Photos and can be recovered within 30 days. Deleting photos from your iPhone does not delete backups on the drive.
2. The drive folder you choose (file access)
- Purpose: backing up photos to the drive, and browsing, restoring, and sharing photos on it.
- Scope: the App only accesses the folder you select in the Files interface and its subfolders — never any other location on the drive.
- What is read: metadata of photos and videos in that folder, such as file name, size, modification time, and capture time (to build a drive index and thumbnails), and the drive's name, capacity, and file system format (to determine whether it can be used for backup).
- Saved access permission: so you don't have to choose the folder every time, the App saves the access credential (a bookmark) provided by the system on your iPhone. Use Remove Drive in Settings to delete it.
3. Photo content analysis (optional)
- Purpose: letting you search photos with keywords such as "cat" or "receipt."
- How it is processed: Apple's on-device Vision framework recognizes object categories and text in photos locally on your iPhone. Recognizing text means content such as receipts, IDs, or screenshots may be read. Results are stored only in the local database for on-device search and are never uploaded or shared with anyone.
- When it runs: only while your iPhone is charging, the App is in the foreground, and no backup or restore is in progress. It uses only thumbnails already on your iPhone and never downloads photos from iCloud for this purpose.
- How to turn it off: turn off the switch in Settings → Content Search to stop analysis, and tap Delete Analysis Results to remove all analysis data.
4. Device information
- Device model name (for example, iPhone 16 Pro Max): shown on the home screen and written to the backup list on the drive, so backups from multiple iPhones on the same drive can be told apart. The App does not read the name you have given your device.
- Battery state: used only to check whether your iPhone is charging, to decide whether content analysis may run, and to remind you to connect to power when the battery is low.
5. Background execution
On supported system versions (iOS 26 and later), after you start a backup the App asks the system for permission to keep backing up when it moves to the background, and the system shows the progress. No additional information is collected.
6. Sharing
When you share photos, the App uses the system share sheet (for example AirDrop, WeChat, or Save to Files). To share photos from your iPhone, the App first exports the original files to a temporary folder on your iPhone and deletes them as soon as sharing finishes. Once photos are sent to another app or device, they are handled under that recipient's own privacy policy, not ours.
7. iCloud Photos
If iCloud Photos is on and an original exists only in iCloud, the system Photos service downloads the original during backup; the App itself does not connect to the network. You can turn off "Download Originals from iCloud to Back Up" in Settings → Backup Options.
3. Where Information Is Stored and for How Long
Data stored on your iPhone (inside the App's sandbox, inaccessible to other apps):
- the library index, drive index, backup records, and backup/restore job records (used to recognize backed-up photos and resume interrupted backups);
- photo content analysis results (if enabled);
- the drive access credential and your settings;
- the thumbnail cache for drive photos, and temporary files for sharing (deleted as soon as sharing finishes).
This data is kept until you clear it in the App or delete the App. When you delete the App, the system deletes all of it.
Data stored on your drive:
- the original photo and video files you back up;
- the backup list in the drive's "PhotoBackup/.meta" folder, including file paths, original file names, capture times, file sizes, internal library identifiers, device model names, backup times, and file fingerprints used to avoid duplicates;
- a notice file reminding you not to rename or move the backup folder.
You are responsible for keeping the data on your drive safe; deleting the App does not delete any files on the drive. Please note that anyone who has this drive can view its photos and backup list. Keep the drive in a safe place and, if needed, encrypt it on a computer (for example, using an encrypted APFS format).
The App never transfers any data to any server, in any country.
4. Third-Party Components
The App uses only one open-source component:
- GRDB.swift (a local SQLite database library): used to store the indexes and records above on your iPhone. It runs entirely on the device and does not collect or transmit any data.
The App integrates no other third-party SDKs.
5. Your Rights
- Access: you can view photos in your library and on the drive, and their backup status, in the App at any time.
- Deletion: clear the thumbnail cache and temporary files in Settings → Storage; delete analysis results in Settings → Content Search; remove the drive and its index on your iPhone in Settings → Drive; delete the App to remove all of its data from your iPhone; and delete files on the drive yourself using a computer.
- Revoking permissions: you can turn off the App's photo access at any time in Settings → Privacy & Security.
- Withdrawing consent: you can withdraw your consent to this policy in Settings → About → Withdraw Privacy Policy Consent. The App will then stop processing your information until you agree again. Withdrawal does not affect processing carried out before it.
- Account deletion: the App has no accounts, so there is nothing to delete.
6. Children
The App does not offer services specifically for children under 14 and does not knowingly collect their personal information. If you are a minor, please read this policy and use the App with the guidance of a parent or guardian.
7. Security
The App's data is stored in the iOS sandbox, protected by system encryption and access controls. Because the App transmits no data, there is no risk of leaks during network transmission. The security of data on your drive depends on how you keep the drive; see the recommendations in Section 3.
8. Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy, for example when features change. After an update, we will show you the new version the next time you open the App and ask for your consent again. We will not process your information under a new policy without your consent.
9. Contact Us
If you have any questions, comments, or complaints about this policy or your personal information, please contact us. We will reply within 15 business days.
- Developer: 墨鱼卷
- Email: tuoxie15@gmail.com