The short version
"Marginalis collects no personal data. Your books, notes, and reading life are stored on your device and optionally in your own iCloud account. We have no servers. We see nothing."
This policy applies to the Marginalis iOS app ("the app"), available on the Apple App Store, developed by Tiago K Sanchez ("we", "us"). If you have any questions, contact us directly.
Data stored on your device
Everything you create in Marginalis — your book library, notes, highlights, tags, and reading stats — is stored locally on your iPhone using Apple's Core Data framework. This data never leaves your device unless you explicitly enable iCloud sync (see section 3).
The following is stored locally:
- Books you add — title, author, ISBN, cover image, reading status, ratings
- Notes and highlights — text, page numbers, note type, tags, comments
- Source images captured from book pages (if you have this setting enabled)
- App preferences and settings
None of this data is transmitted to us or any third party. We have no servers, no database, and no way to access your content.
iCloud sync
Marginalis optionally uses Apple's CloudKit to sync your data across your Apple devices via your personal iCloud account. This feature is opt-in and controlled from your iPhone's Settings app under your Apple ID.
When iCloud sync is enabled:
- Your books, notes, and library are synced to your personal iCloud account
- Data is encrypted in transit and at rest by Apple
- Sync is between your own devices only — we cannot access your iCloud data
- You can disable iCloud sync at any time in iOS Settings
When iCloud sync is disabled, all data remains local to your device only. iCloud data is governed by Apple's Privacy Policy.
Camera and photo library
Marginalis requests access to your camera and photo library to support two features:
- Live Text capture — point your camera at a book page to capture a highlight directly into a note
- Book cover images — photograph or select a cover image for a book in your library
Images captured through the camera are processed entirely on your device. They are never uploaded to any server. If you enable source image saving in Settings, the image is stored locally (and in iCloud if sync is enabled) alongside the note. You can disable source image saving at any time in the app's Settings tab.
Marginalis will never access your camera or photo library without your explicit permission.
In-app purchases
Marginalis offers a one-time in-app purchase to unlock the full app. All purchases are processed entirely by Apple through the App Store. We never see, handle, or store your payment information.
Purchase status is verified locally on your device via Apple's StoreKit framework. To restore a previous purchase on a new device, use the "Restore Purchase" option in the app's Settings tab.
In-app purchases are governed by Apple's Terms of Service.
External links
Marginalis includes a "Buy this book" feature on Wishlist books that opens an external link to an online bookstore in Safari. When you tap this link, you leave the Marginalis app and are subject to the privacy policy of the destination website.
We may earn a small commission if you purchase a book through this link. This does not affect the price you pay. No personal data about you is shared with any bookstore through this link — it contains only the book's ISBN.
We do not use tracking pixels, referral cookies set within the app, or any other mechanism to monitor your activity outside of Marginalis.
On-device AI
Marginalis includes an optional AI book summary feature that generates a summary of your notes for any book. This feature uses Apple Intelligence, Apple's on-device AI framework, available on supported devices running iOS 26 or later with Apple Intelligence enabled.
All AI processing happens entirely on your device. Your notes and book content are never sent to any server — not ours, not Apple's — for the purposes of this feature. The feature is completely hidden on devices that do not support Apple Intelligence.
What we do not collect
To be explicit, Marginalis does not collect, transmit, or store any of the following:
- Your name, email address, or any identifying information
- Your location
- Usage analytics or behavioural data
- Crash reports sent to our servers
- Advertising identifiers (IDFA)
- Device fingerprints or identifiers
- The content of your notes, books, or highlights
Marginalis contains no third-party analytics SDKs, no advertising SDKs, and no social media tracking. The app does not make any network requests to our servers — because we have no servers.
Children
Marginalis is rated 4+ on the App Store and is suitable for all ages. Because we collect no personal data from any user, there are no special provisions required for users under 13 (COPPA) or under 16 (GDPR). Nothing is collected from anyone.
Your rights
Under GDPR (EU/EEA users), CCPA (California users), and similar privacy laws worldwide, you have rights including access to, correction of, and deletion of your personal data.
Because Marginalis collects no personal data, there is nothing for us to access, correct, or delete on our end. All your data lives on your device and in your iCloud account, both of which you control entirely.
To delete all your data: delete the Marginalis app from your iPhone. To remove data from iCloud: disable iCloud sync in Settings, then delete the app.
If you have any questions about your privacy rights, contact us at privacy@marginalis.app.
Changes to this policy
If we make material changes to this privacy policy — for example, if a future version of the app introduces a feature that collects data — we will update this page and revise the "Last updated" date at the top. We will notify users of significant changes through an in-app notice.
We will never introduce data collection retroactively without clear notice and, where required by law, your consent.
Contact
If you have any questions about this privacy policy or how Marginalis handles your data, please get in touch.