Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how the Owlkey iOS app and the Owlkey keyboard extension (together, “Owlkey”) handle information. Owlkey is developed by Bohdan Beschetnikov (“we”, “us”), who is responsible for the processing described here.

1. What you type

The Owlkey keyboard turns your key taps into characters and inserts them into the field you are typing in. It does not record, store, log or transmit keystrokes, and it does not keep a history of what you type.

iOS always replaces third-party keyboards with the system keyboard in password fields, so Owlkey never receives passwords typed there. Some apps also block third-party keyboards entirely.

2. AI edits: what is sent and when

Text leaves your device only when you tap an AI preset — in the keyboard, or in the “Try it here” field on the Owlkey app’s Home screen — and only after you have allowed AI processing (section 4). At that moment Owlkey sends the following to the Owlkey server over an encrypted HTTPS connection:

• the text you selected or, if nothing is selected, the text in the current field that iOS makes available to the keyboard;
• which preset you tapped (Business, Friendly, Rephrase, Fix spelling or a custom preset) and, for a custom preset, the instruction you wrote for it;
• your device’s preferred language code (for example, “en-US”), which helps keep the result in the right language;
• the signed App Store transaction for your subscription, described in section 5.

The server turns the preset into an editing instruction, sends it together with your text to OpenAI’s API, receives the edited text and returns it to your device, where it is shown as a suggestion that you can place into the field.

3. What our server keeps

Nothing from your text. The Owlkey server handles each request in memory and discards it once the response is sent. It does not store your text, your custom instruction or the result, and it does not write their content to logs.

Requests reach OpenAI from our server, not from your device, so OpenAI does not receive your IP address, your subscription transaction or any identifier that links the text to you.

Your IP address and the transaction identifier of your subscription are used transiently in the server’s memory to enforce fair-use rate limits: the IP address for a few minutes at most, the transaction identifier for at most one day. Neither is written to disk.

4. OpenAI

Before the first AI edit, Owlkey asks your permission to send text to OpenAI. Until you agree, no text is sent. You can withdraw or give it again at any time in Owlkey → Settings → AI processing.

OpenAI processes the text of an AI edit on our behalf to generate the result. Under OpenAI’s API data policies, data sent through its API is not used to train OpenAI’s models, and it may be retained for up to 30 days for abuse monitoring, longer only where required by law. See OpenAI’s API data controls and the OpenAI Privacy Policy.

Because of this, avoid running AI presets on text you do not want processed by a third party, such as passwords, card numbers or health details.

5. Subscription verification and purchases

AI edits require Owlkey Pro. To confirm it, each AI edit request includes the signed transaction that the App Store issues on your device for your subscription. It contains technical purchase details — transaction identifiers, the product purchased, and purchase and expiry dates — and no name, email address, Apple Account details or payment information. The server checks Apple’s signature and the expiry date. The verified transaction is kept only in the server’s memory for up to 10 minutes, to avoid re-checking it on every edit, and is never written to disk.

Purchases are processed entirely by Apple. We never receive your payment details. Apple’s handling of purchases is covered by Apple’s Privacy Policy.

6. Why the keyboard asks for Full Access

iOS lets a keyboard use the network and share data with its app only when you turn on Allow Full Access. Owlkey needs it for two things:

• network access, to send text for an AI edit when you tap a preset;
• reading what you set up in the Owlkey app — presets, typing languages, keyboard settings, your AI processing choice and subscription status — from storage the app and keyboard share on your device.

Full Access does not change what Owlkey collects: keystrokes are still never recorded or sent, and text still leaves your device only when you tap a preset.

Without Full Access you can still type with Owlkey using layouts that match your device languages. AI edits are unavailable, and presets and settings from the app cannot reach the keyboard. You can turn Full Access off at any time in Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards → Owlkey.

7. Data stored on your device

Your presets (including custom preset names and instructions), chosen typing layouts, keyboard settings, your AI processing and reminder choices, subscription status, setup checks and a few counters — such as how many AI edits have succeeded, used to decide when to ask for an App Store rating — are stored locally in an App Group container shared only by the Owlkey app and keyboard. They are not sent to us. They may be included in your device backup under your iCloud settings. Deleting the app removes them from the device.

8. Notifications

Owlkey sends reminders only if you allow them — about finishing keyboard setup, before Owlkey Pro ends, and occasional Owlkey Pro offers. They are scheduled locally on your device, not sent from a server, and we do not collect a push token. You can turn them off in Owlkey → Settings → Reminders.

9. What we do not do

• No account or sign-in.
• No advertising, and no analytics, attribution, advertising or crash-reporting SDKs.
• No tracking across other companies’ apps or websites, and no access to the advertising identifier.
• No selling or sharing of personal data.
• No use of your text to train AI models.
• No access to your contacts, location, photos, camera or microphone.

10. Information from Apple

If you have chosen in iOS settings to share analytics with app developers, Apple may provide us with aggregated usage statistics and crash reports that do not identify you. Ratings and reviews you leave on the App Store are handled by Apple.

11. Legal bases (EEA and UK)

We send the text of an AI edit to OpenAI only with your consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR), which you can withdraw at any time in Owlkey → Settings → AI processing; withdrawal does not affect edits made before it. We process that text and the subscription transaction to provide the service you request (performance of a contract, Article 6(1)(b) GDPR). We use your IP address and subscription transaction identifier for rate limiting based on our legitimate interest in keeping the service secure and available (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR).

12. Where data is processed

The Owlkey server and OpenAI may process an AI edit request in a country other than yours, including the United States. Data is encrypted in transit and is used only to produce the edit.

13. Retention

• Owlkey server: text, instructions and results are discarded as soon as the response is sent; the verified transaction stays in memory for up to 10 minutes, IP addresses for a few minutes at most and transaction identifiers for at most one day, and none of them is written to disk.
• OpenAI: up to 30 days for abuse monitoring, as described in section 4.
• Your device: until you delete a preset or the app.

14. Children

Owlkey is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

15. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, delete or export your personal data, to object to or restrict its processing, and to complain to a data protection authority. Because our server keeps no text or results and holds identifiers only briefly in memory for rate limiting, we have no stored personal data about you to access, export or delete. To remove data stored on your device, delete your custom presets or delete the app. For any request or question, email us at the address below; we respond within 30 days.

We do not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined in the California Consumer Privacy Act.

16. Security

All traffic between Owlkey and our server uses HTTPS. Because the server keeps no copy of your text or results, there is no stored content that could be exposed in a breach.

17. This website

These pages use no cookies, analytics or scripts. They are hosted on GitHub Pages and load the Nunito typeface from Google Fonts, so GitHub and Google receive your IP address and browser details when you open them.

18. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as Owlkey changes. The current version is always available at this address with its effective date at the top.

19. Contact

Bohdan Beschetnikov — mirik24348@gmail.com