Witch Diary Privacy Policy

Last updated: 14 September 2026

Witch Diary ("the app", "we", "us") is an app for Apple platforms for tracking cosmetics and skincare product research, formulation, ingredient inventory, and production, developed and provided by Matic Oblak, an individual developer (no company or other legal entity). This policy explains what data the app handles, where it lives, and what we — the developer — can and cannot see.

The short version: Witch Diary has no server. Everything you enter stays on your device and, if you choose to sync it, in your own private iCloud account. We do not operate a backend, we do not collect analytics, and we cannot see your content.

What data the app handles

Everything Witch Diary stores is content you create by using the app:

Products, formulation iterations, and phased ingredient amounts
Ingredients and stored-ingredient batches (including any serial numbers or expiration dates you enter)
Production entries, notes, and yield records
Files you generate and export yourself (PDF reports, CSV exports, JSON backups)

We do not ask you to create a Witch Diary account, and we do not collect your name, email address, or any other registration information. The app identifies you only through your existing Apple ID when syncing via iCloud — Witch Diary itself never sees that Apple ID or any credentials.

Where your data lives

On your device: Witch Diary stores your data locally using Apple's Core Data framework.
iCloud sync (optional, on by default on devices signed into iCloud): if enabled, your data syncs across your own devices through Apple's CloudKit service, using your private iCloud database. This means the data is associated with your Apple ID and is not visible to us, to other Witch Diary users, or to anyone other than you. We do not have our own servers and never receive a copy of this data — Apple's iCloud infrastructure and its own privacy practices govern that sync. See Apple's iCloud data security overview for how Apple protects it.
Files you export: the app lets you export PDF reports, CSV files, and full JSON backups, and share them using the standard iOS share sheet (AirDrop, Files, Mail, Messages, etc.) or import a JSON backup back in. Where those files end up is entirely your choice and outside our visibility or control.

Local API on Mac

On Mac, Witch Diary may offer an optional Local API that lets compatible local apps, services, scripts, assistants, or automation tools connect to Witch Diary while the app is running. This feature is off by default and must be enabled by you from inside the app.

When enabled, the Local API runs on the same Mac using a loopback address such as 127.0.0.1. It is designed for tools running locally on your Mac, not for a Witch Diary server. Depending on the endpoints available in that version, the Local API may let local tools read supported Witch Diary data and request supported changes to products, formulation iterations, notes, or related Research records.

The current Local API prototype does not authenticate or identify individual local processes. Witch Diary cannot verify which local app, service, script, browser, development tool, assistant, or automation process is making a local request while the Local API is enabled.

We do not receive the data exposed through the Local API, and enabling it does not send your data to us. However, any local app, service, script, assistant, or automation tool that can reach the enabled Local API may be able to see or process the Witch Diary data exposed by supported endpoints, and supported write endpoints may modify your local app data. Only enable the Local API while using local tools you trust, avoid enabling it on a shared or untrusted Mac, review requested changes carefully, keep backups of important records, and turn the Local API off when you are done.

What we don't collect

No third-party analytics SDK
No advertising or ad-tracking SDK, no IDFA usage
No crash-reporting SDK
No account credentials, since there is no Witch Diary account
No location data
No data sold or shared with third parties, because none is collected in the first place
No content sent to a Witch Diary server through the Local API; the Local API is a local connection on your Mac
No independent server-side copy, log, or backup of Local API requests or responses
No ability for us to see, review, approve, recover, or undo data read or changed through the Local API

Push notifications

The app is configured to support Apple's silent remote-notification background mode, which is standard plumbing for NSPersistentCloudKitContainer to detect when your iCloud data has changed on another device — it is not used to send you visible notifications, marketing messages, or alerts of any kind today. If that ever changes, this policy will be updated first.

In-app purchases

Witch Diary offers an optional auto-renewable subscription, handled entirely through Apple's App Store and StoreKit. We never see or store your payment details — Apple processes the transaction, and the app only checks your purchase entitlement locally on-device. See Apple's own privacy practices for how App Store purchases are handled.

Children's privacy

Witch Diary is not directed at children and is not designed to collect data from anyone, of any age. Since we do not operate a server or collect personal data, no age-specific data-collection concerns apply.

Your data, your control

Because there is no server-side copy of your data, most of the rights you'd typically ask a company to honor (access, export, deletion) are already in your hands:

Delete data any time from within the app.
Stop iCloud sync for Witch Diary from your device's Settings → Apple ID → iCloud, which stops new data from syncing (existing synced data is governed by Apple's iCloud retention, not by us).
Export or delete everything using the app's own backup/export tools.
Uninstall the app to remove the local copy from that device.

The flip side of this is also worth being direct about: if your data is lost, corrupted, or missing, we have no way to help recover it. We don't have a copy, we can't see into your iCloud account, and there's no backend for us to check. Apple's iCloud/Account support is the only place equipped to help with that — not us.

If you're in a jurisdiction with statutory data-subject rights (e.g. New Zealand's Privacy Act 2020, GDPR in the EU/UK, or CCPA/CPRA in California), the same practical answer applies: we don't hold a copy of your personal data to access, correct, or delete on your behalf, because it never reaches us. If you have questions about this, contact us using the details below.

Security

Data stored locally is protected by your device's own security (passcode, encryption at rest). Data synced via iCloud is encrypted in transit and at rest by Apple; if you've enabled Apple's Advanced Data Protection, iCloud data is end-to-end encrypted such that even Apple cannot read it.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the app changes — for example, if we ever add a feature that changes what data is collected. We'll update the "last updated" date above when we do. Material changes will be reflected in the app's release notes.

Contact

Questions about this policy: witch.diary.admin@gmail.com.