Legal
Privacy Policy
Last updated: July 20, 2026
RateBud is built to be private by design. Your reviews, photos, and notes stay on your device and sync only through your own iCloud. We have no accounts and no servers that store your data.
The short version
- No accounts. You don't sign up, and we don't hold a profile about you.
- No servers of ours store your content. Your data lives on your device and in your private iCloud.
- On-device processing. Scanning, image recognition, and AI features run locally on your iPhone or iPad.
- No third-party analytics on your reviews, and no ads.
Information in the app
Everything you create in RateBud — items, star ratings, notes, review history, photos, collections, and custom rating dimensions — is stored locally on your device using Apple's app data frameworks. This content is not transmitted to us or to any third party. We cannot see it.
RateBud does not ask for your name, email address, phone number, or location, and it has no login.
On-device processing & camera
When you scan an item, RateBud uses your device camera together with Apple's Vision framework to read barcodes and on-package text. This recognition happens entirely on your device. Camera frames used for scanning are not uploaded anywhere, and any photos you choose to attach to an item are stored with your library.
On supported devices (iOS 26 and later), RateBud's smart-title suggestions and review summaries use Apple's on-device Foundation Models. Your notes are analysed locally to surface a suggested product name, overall sentiment, and key themes. This text is not sent to a server.
iCloud sync
If you are signed in to iCloud and have it enabled, RateBud syncs your library across your own Apple devices using Apple's CloudKit in your private iCloud database. This data is associated with your Apple Account and is governed by Apple's Privacy Policy. We do not have access to your private iCloud data. You can turn iCloud sync off at any time in your device settings.
Purchases
RateBud Pro is sold through Apple's App Store using StoreKit. Apple processes the transaction and manages your subscription; we never receive or store your payment card details. To validate entitlements, the app works with the App Store on your device. Apple may share limited, aggregate sales information with us as the developer. See Apple's Privacy Policy for how Apple handles purchase data.
Analytics & tracking
RateBud does not include third-party advertising or analytics SDKs that profile your reviews, and it does not track you across apps or websites. If you have opted in at the system level, Apple may provide us with anonymised, aggregate crash and usage diagnostics through App Analytics; these reports do not identify you and do not contain your review content. You can disable this in Settings → Privacy & Security → Analytics & Improvements.
Your control & data export
Because your data lives on your device and in your own iCloud, you are in control of it:
- Edit or delete any item, review, photo, or collection at any time inside the app.
- Export any item, collection, or your entire library to CSV and share it wherever you like.
- Deleting the app removes its on-device data; you can also remove RateBud's iCloud data from your device settings.
If you are in the European Economic Area, you have rights under the GDPR — including access, rectification, erasure, and portability. Because your reviews stay on your device and in your private iCloud, we generally cannot access them, so you exercise these rights directly by editing or deleting your data in the app, exporting it to CSV, or removing the app's iCloud data. For anything else, contact us using the details below.
Children
RateBud is not directed to children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children.
Changes to this policy
If we make material changes to this policy, we will update the date at the top of this page and, where appropriate, note the change in the app. Continued use of RateBud after an update means you accept the revised policy.
Contact
RateBud is provided by Michael Steurer (Italy), who acts as the data controller for the limited processing described in this policy. Questions about privacy? Email us at hello@ratebud.app.