Cairn

Privacy Policy

Last updated: 11 September 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how the Cairn app for Android, iPhone and iPad ("Cairn", "the app", "we", "us") handles your information. Where the two versions differ, this policy says so. By using Cairn, you agree to the practices described here. If you do not agree, please do not use the app.

1. Information stored on your device

Cairn is built to be a private, on-device notebook. The following are created and stored locally on your device and are not transmitted to us:

• Your thoughts — the text you write.
• Photos you attach to a thought.
• Voice notes you record.
• Places you choose to attach to a thought, including a location read from a photo you attach.
• Derived data — mathematical representations ("embeddings") of your thoughts, the connections between them, and any Cairn+ topic tags, used to power search and the wall.
• Your settings and preferences.

We do not have a server that receives, stores, or reads this content. We cannot see your thoughts.

2. What we do not collect

• We do not use advertising or advertising identifiers.
• We do not use analytics or crash-reporting SDKs, and we do not build a profile of you.
• We do not require you to create an account or provide your name, email, or phone number to use the app.
• We do not sell your personal information or share it for advertising.

3. AI — on-device and cloud

On-device models

To power search and connections, Cairn downloads AI model files the first time they are needed. These files are hosted publicly on GitHub Releases (github.com/ShreyPinnada/Recollect-models). This is a one-way download to your device — none of your thoughts or personal content is sent in the process. As with any web request, the host (GitHub, a service of Microsoft) may automatically log technical information such as your IP address; this is governed by GitHub's own privacy policy.

Cairn+ cloud topic tagging

If you subscribe to Cairn+, Cairn labels your thoughts with short topic, feeling and intent tags (for example "travel", "ideas", "health") so that related thoughts connect even when they are worded differently. To do this, the text of your thoughts is sent to Google's Gemini API, through Google's Firebase service. The tags come back to your device and are stored there.

• Only the text of a thought is sent. Photos, voice recordings and location are never sent for tagging.
• Tagging happens only while Cairn+ is active. If you do not subscribe, your thoughts are never sent.
• The request goes through Google's Firebase and Gemini services, not through any server of ours. We never receive or store the text or the tags. Google handles this text under the Gemini API Additional Terms of Service and Google's Privacy Policy. Cairn currently uses Google's free tier of this service, under which Google may use the text to improve its products, which can include review by people. Do not subscribe to Cairn+ if you do not want this.
• To confirm a request really comes from Cairn, Firebase App Check asks your device's own integrity service — Play Integrity on Android, App Attest on iPhone — for a token. This token identifies a genuine copy of the app, not you.
• Cairn enforces a monthly limit on your device, so the amount of text sent is bounded.

If you want to keep every thought on your device, do not subscribe to Cairn+ or, if you have, contact us to discuss your options.

4. Voice, places and map links

• Voice-to-text. On iPhone and iPad, speech is turned into text on your device. On Android, Cairn uses your phone's speech recognition service, which, depending on your device and its settings, may process audio on Google's servers.
• Places. If you type a place name or share a map link to attach a place, Cairn asks your device's built-in map service — Google on Android, Apple on iPhone and iPad — to find its location. Only the place name or link is sent, never your thoughts. To read a shortened map link, Cairn also opens that link on the map provider's own site.

5. Optional cloud backup

Cairn works fully without any sign-in. Cloud backup is a Cairn+ feature and is off until you turn it on. It saves one encrypted copy of your thoughts, and it restores by merging, so newer thoughts on your device are never overwritten.

On Android — your Google Drive

• You sign in with your Google account, and backups are saved to a private area of your own Google Drive. We do not receive a copy and cannot access your Drive.
• We store, on your device only, the minimum needed to show "signed in as …" and to know a backup destination exists (your account email, display name, and account identifier). We do not store long-lived access tokens; those are issued fresh by Google each time.
• You can sign out at any time from within the app, which removes this information from your device.

On iPhone and iPad — your iCloud

• There is nothing to sign in to. The backup is saved to a private area of your own iCloud, under the Apple Account already on your device, and counts toward your iCloud storage. We do not receive a copy and cannot access your iCloud.
• The backup is encrypted with a random key that is kept in your iCloud Keychain, so your other Apple devices can restore it. We never see this key.
• You can delete the backup at any time from within the app.

Your use of Google Drive is subject to Google's Privacy Policy, and your use of iCloud to Apple's Privacy Policy. You can also export an encrypted backup file yourself on either platform.

6. Subscriptions and payments

Cairn+ is sold and processed entirely by Google Play on Android and the Apple App Store on iPhone and iPad. We never see or receive your card number, billing address, or other payment details. The store tells the app only whether your subscription is active, so it can unlock Cairn+ features. Payments are governed by the store's own terms and privacy policy.

7. Device permissions

Photos, audio and places you create stay on your device. You can revoke any permission at any time in your device's system settings.

8. Data retention and deletion

Because your content lives on your device, you are in control of it. Deleting a thought removes it from the app. Uninstalling Cairn removes the app's local data from your device. If you enabled cloud backup, the copy in your Google Drive or iCloud is yours and can be deleted from within the app or from your account. See Delete your data for step-by-step instructions.

9. Children's privacy

Cairn is not directed to children under 13 (or the minimum age of digital consent in your country), and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them.

10. Your rights

Depending on where you live (for example under the GDPR or CCPA), you may have rights to access, correct, or delete your personal data. Because Cairn stores your content on your own device and we do not hold it on a server, you can exercise these rights directly within the app and your device. If you have questions, contact us below.

11. Security

Your content is stored within the app's private storage on your device, protected by your device's own security. Cairn also offers an optional app lock — a PIN or biometrics on Android, and Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode on iPhone and iPad. Backups are encrypted before they leave your device. No method of storage or transmission is perfectly secure, but because your data stays on your device by default, its safety is tied primarily to your device's security.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date above and, where appropriate, notify you in the app. Continued use of Cairn after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

13. Contact

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or your data, contact us at shrey30000official@gmail.com.