OpenReaderiPhone, iPad, and Mac app privacy · Effective October 20, 2026
OpenReader for iPhone, iPad, and Mac collects no data.
This policy covers the OpenReader app for iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, published by Richard Roberson through the App Store and TestFlight. The Mac version is the same app, so everything below applies to it too.
- No data collection
- No accounts
- No analytics or tracking
- On-device speech
At a glance
- 01What we collectNothing.
- 02What stays on your deviceDocuments, speech, highlighting, and reading data all live on the device.
- 03When the app uses the networkOnly for voice downloads and the free-book catalog, never with your documents.
- 04Optional iCloud syncOff by default. When on, it uses your private iCloud, which the developer can’t read.
- 05ChildrenNo personal information from anyone, including children.
- 06Changes and contactUpdates change the date above. Questions go to GitHub issues.
Section 1
What we collect
Nothing.
Nothing. The app has no accounts, no analytics, no advertising, no crash-reporting service, and no third-party tracking SDKs. The developer does not receive your documents, your reading history, your voice settings, or any information that identifies you or your device. Nothing is sold or shared, and nothing is used for advertising.
Section 2
What stays on your device
Documents, speech, highlighting, and reading data all live on the device.
- Documents: the EPUB, PDF, Markdown, and text files you import or write are stored in the app's own storage on your device.
- Speech: text is turned into speech on your device by Kokoro, Supertonic, or your installed system voices. No text is ever sent to a remote speech service.
- Text recognition and highlighting: reading scanned PDF pages and timing word highlights both use Apple's on-device frameworks.
- Reading data: positions, bookmarks, folders, themes, and voice preferences are kept on your device, and generated audio and exported audiobooks stay there too.
Deleting a book removes it and its generated audio. Deleting the app removes everything it stored on the device.
Section 3
When the app uses the network
Only for voice downloads and the free-book catalog, never with your documents.
The app connects to the internet only when you use one of the features below. Like any web request, these connections reveal your IP address and basic request details to the server. None of them includes your documents or any account, name, or identifier, and the developer does not use them to identify or track you.
- Voice downloads (Hugging Face): the optional Kokoro and Supertonic voice models are downloaded from Hugging Face when you choose one, and are checked against a pinned checksum before use. See the Hugging Face privacy policy.
- Book catalog (Gutendex): browsing or searching the Project Gutenberg catalog sends your search terms and language filter to a Gutendex catalog server run by the developer. These requests carry no account or device identifier.
- Book downloads (Project Gutenberg): adding a book from the catalog downloads its file from Project Gutenberg. See the Project Gutenberg privacy policy.
Section 4
Optional iCloud sync
Off by default. When on, it uses your private iCloud, which the developer can’t read.
iCloud sync is off until you turn it on in Settings. When it is on, your documents, reading positions, bookmarks, folders, theme, and speech preferences are stored in your own private iCloud database through Apple's CloudKit, so they can sync between your devices. The developer cannot access your private iCloud database. Generated audio is never synced. Apple handles this data under the Apple Privacy Policy. Turning sync off stops syncing, and you can manage or delete iCloud data in your device's iCloud settings.
Section 5
Children
No personal information from anyone, including children.
The app collects no personal information from anyone, including children under 13.
Section 6
Changes and contact
Updates change the date above. Questions go to GitHub issues.
If the app's handling of data changes, this page will be updated and its effective date changed. For privacy questions, open an issue on the OpenReader GitHub project. Please do not include document contents or other private information in a public issue.