The details

Privacy.

Your class material is yours. This notice explains what stays on your device, what is sent when you choose AI generation, and how to remove data.

Effective November 6, 2026

Overview

Hatchtrick lets you add lecture slides and notes, optionally transcribe permitted audio on your device, study from generated questions, and use Apple Screen Time controls to pause selected apps. You do not need to give us your name or email address to use the app.

The app can make study material on your device without a server. If you choose AI generation, the app sends source text and limited metadata to the configured backend, which uses an AI provider to generate and check study content.

What we handle

Data	Where it goes	Why
Saved visual copies of slides, Apple Pencil drawings, recognized text, notes, transcripts, class details, study results, avatar choice, temporary AI retry IDs, and lock settings	Stored on your device with completed study sets	To review cited sources and keep your study sessions, timetable, and focus settings; retry IDs let the app recover a result after a lost connection.
Temporary lecture or note-dictation audio	Processed on your device	To make an on-device transcript; an unfinished draft resumes after relaunch, with interrupted or failed audio available for retry. Audio is deleted after the transcript is saved or the draft is discarded.
Dated lecture-use counters tagged as Free or with the original Pro transaction ID	Stored in this device's Keychain	To apply offline fair-use limits after an app reinstall. Free offline use is counted per device; Pro offline use is counted per subscription on this device.
When you choose AI generation: source text, school, course code, an anonymous device ID, and device integrity evidence if available	Sent to the configured backend; source text is processed by its AI provider when a matching shared set is unavailable	To make and check notes, terms, and cited questions; apply usage limits; and reuse a matching course bank.
A completed private AI result, including generated notes, questions, and short source excerpts	Temporarily stored by the backend with your anonymous device ID for up to seven days, or until you delete your data	To recover a study set if the connection ends before the app receives it. The submitted source text is not kept as a separate stored source.
Generated notes, terms, questions, and source excerpts when you opt into course sharing	Stored in the backend course bank	To let classmates reuse a matching study set. Shared bank entries are not linked to a device ID.
Lecture fingerprint, usage tokens, correct-answer scores, and zero-point participation events	Stored by the backend	To apply usage limits and calculate aggregate school scores per participating student.
App purchases and verified transaction identifiers	Apple handles payment; the backend keeps the verified product, transaction IDs, dates, and status needed for Pro and refund checks	To provide Pro across your devices and cap model spend on one subscription. We do not receive your payment card details or store the raw signed receipt.

Questions can contain short excerpts from material you submitted so you can verify the answer. Do not upload material you are not permitted to share.

Device permissions

Photos, camera, and document scanning: only when you choose to add slides or photos.
Microphone and speech recognition: only if you choose to record a lecture or dictate a note. Record only with your professor’s permission or an accommodation.
Screen Time / Family Controls: only if you choose app locking. Your app selections and authorization are managed on your device through Apple’s frameworks.

You can change device permissions in iOS Settings. Some features will stop working if their permission is removed.

Retention and deletion

Lecture source material and transcripts stored on your device remain until you delete them in the app or remove the app. Temporary audio is removed after successful on-device transcription or when you discard the open capture. The backend retains opted-in shared study content and usage records while needed to provide the service or until removed as described below.

Use Privacy → Delete my data in the app to remove your local study data and request server deletion. The app remembers each backend address used for study or purchases, including requests whose delivery could not be confirmed, and requests deletion from each address. The server verifies a temporary DeviceCheck token or a signed purchase tied to the device's linked subscription before deleting claimed data; older records without either claim can use their existing anonymous ID. It keeps failed requests pending for retry and blocks new server writes while deletion is pending. The app keeps its random device ID locally to prevent quota resets and verify restored purchases. Dated lecture-use counters tagged as Free or with Apple's original Pro transaction ID remain in this device's Keychain until their seven-day or monthly quota window ends, including after app removal and reinstall. Older date-only counters remain until both windows expire. The Keychain item stays on this device and is not synchronized across your devices. The server deletes your reports, scores, and entitlement link. If Pro is active, the app re-verifies the purchase and links the anonymous ID again so paid AI access continues. It clears the direct device ID and course details from lecture records and the direct device ID from model usage records. Free quota and cost meter keys still include your anonymous device UUID until their current limit periods end, so deletion cannot reset those limits. Shared notes, terms, and questions without a device link may remain in the course bank for classmates.

Redacted lecture-count records may remain until the rolling seven-day free quota expires, and redacted model-cost records may remain until the end of the current month. They prevent deletion from resetting usage limits. If Apple’s DeviceCheck bit shows that this physical device claimed a free identity, the server keeps the associated anonymous device UUID claim while that bit remains set. The temporary DeviceCheck token is not stored. On supported devices, Hatchtrick also sends a random device credential kept in Keychain; the server retains only its hash with the anonymous device claim to prevent another device from using that identity.

For Pro, the backend may retain verified original transaction IDs, product, dates, and status without your device link for purchase restoration and refund checks. To acknowledge a deletion again if its response was lost, it also keeps a hash of the former anonymous device ID and original transaction ID. The hash cannot authorize deletion of new device data. It is removed when that device next links a verified purchase; otherwise it remains for delayed retries. The backend does not keep the raw signed receipt or app account token. Apple keeps its own purchase history under its policies.

If any backend is offline, the app marks its deletion as pending and lets you retry from the Privacy screen when connected. A network connection is required to complete server deletion.

Your choices

You can use on-device generation instead of AI generation, skip recording, and leave app locking off. You can inspect or delete locally stored study material in the app. For a question that is wrong or should not be in the bank, use Report a wrong question in the study view.

You may request access to or correction of records linked to your anonymous device ID through the support contact listed with the app. Because the app does not ask for your name or email, we may need that device ID to locate a record.

Questions

For privacy questions or a data request that the in-app control cannot complete, use the support contact listed on the app’s App Store page. This notice will be updated if the app’s data practices change.

This app is independent of the universities shown in it. Its avatars are original characters, not official school mascots.