The short version
- No account. You don't need to sign up, and we don't know who you are.
- Your crafting stays on your device. Projects, patterns, photos, notes, counters and your yarn stash are stored on your iPhone, not on our servers.
- AI runs on your device first. Ask Purl uses Apple Intelligence on your iPhone whenever it can.
- Cloud AI only with your permission. If your iPhone can't run Apple Intelligence, or you attach a photo, Ask Purl can send your question (and photo) to kie.ai, which runs xAI's Grok model. The App asks for your permission before anything is sent, and you can switch this off anytime.
- Voice counting is on-device. Speech recognition runs on your iPhone.
- No ads, no tracking, no analytics, and we never sell your data.
- The external services involved are Apple and RevenueCat (purchases), kie.ai / xAI (cloud AI, only with your permission), and Ravelry if you choose to connect it.
1. Who is responsible for your data
The data controller for the Purl AI app (the "App") is Laila Ali, Madrid, Spain ("we", "us"). Contact: lailali.apps@gmail.com.
This policy explains what information the App uses, why, and your rights under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Spanish data protection law (LOPDGDD).
2. Information stored only on your device
The following stays on your device. We never receive it:
- Your projects, counters, notes, journal entries and time tracking;
- Patterns you import (PDFs, scans, photos, pasted text, saved web pages);
- Photos you take or attach, and your yarn stash, hooks and needles;
- Your saved conversations with Ask Purl and Pattern Decoder results (see Section 4 for what is sent to generate cloud answers);
- Your lesson progress, settings and preferences.
If you export a backup, the file is saved wherever you choose (for example Files or iCloud Drive), under that service's terms. Deleting the App deletes this data from your device.
3. Device permissions
The App only asks for a permission when you use a feature that needs it. You can change permissions anytime in iOS Settings.
| Permission | What it's used for | Where it's processed |
|---|---|---|
| Camera | Photographing projects, yarn labels and paper patterns | On your device |
| Photos | Attaching photos of your makes and yarn, and importing patterns | On your device |
| Microphone and Speech Recognition | Hands-free voice counting ("next", "back", "undo") | On your device only (Apple on-device speech recognition). Audio is not recorded or sent anywhere. |
| Notifications | Counter reminders and, if you start a free trial, a reminder before it ends | On your device |
Text recognition in scanned patterns uses Apple's on-device Vision framework.
4. AI features (Ask Purl and Pattern Decoder)
On-device AI (default)
On iPhones that support Apple Intelligence, Ask Purl and the Pattern Decoder use Apple's on-device Foundation Models. Your questions are processed on your iPhone and are not sent to us or to any AI provider.
Cloud AI: kie.ai and xAI's Grok (only with your permission)
Ask Purl uses a cloud AI model when Apple Intelligence is not available on your iPhone, or when you attach a photo (the on-device model cannot read photos). In that case, and only after you allow it on the permission screen shown before the first cloud answer, the App sends the following directly from your iPhone to kie.ai, an AI service provider that runs xAI's Grok model:
- your question and the recent messages of that conversation;
- any photo you attach to the question (reduced in size before sending);
- the pattern line you ask the Pattern Decoder to explain;
- crafting context that helps the answer: your craft (crochet or knitting), skill level, US or UK terms and, with Pro, details of your current project and yarn stash (for example yarn names, weights and colors).
We do not send your name, email, contacts, location or any account identifier. We do not receive or store your questions, photos or the answers ourselves. kie.ai and xAI receive your device's IP address as part of the connection, and they process the request to generate the answer under their own terms and privacy policies (kie.ai and xAI's privacy policy), including any retention for security and abuse prevention.
Your choice: the legal basis is your consent (GDPR Art. 6(1)(a)). If you decline, Ask Purl keeps working with the on-device AI where available, or with the built-in offline guide. You can withdraw your permission at any time in the App's settings; after that, nothing is sent until you allow it again. Please don't include sensitive personal information in your questions or photos.
If neither the on-device model nor cloud AI is available, the App answers from a built-in offline guide on your device.
5. Purchases (Apple and RevenueCat)
If you buy Purl AI Pro, the payment is processed by Apple. We never see your name, email or payment details.
To validate purchases and unlock Pro, the App uses RevenueCat, Inc. (USA), our subscription-management provider. RevenueCat receives:
- a random, anonymous app user ID created by the App;
- your purchase and subscription history for the App (product, price, currency, dates, trial and renewal status);
- technical information needed to provide the service, such as your App Store country, app version, device type, operating system and IP address.
Legal basis: performance of the contract with you (providing what you bought) and our legitimate interest in preventing fraud (GDPR Art. 6(1)(b) and (f)). See RevenueCat's privacy policy.
6. Optional Ravelry connection
If you choose to connect a Ravelry account to browse patterns, you sign in on Ravelry's own website. The access token Ravelry issues is stored securely in your device's Keychain. Pattern searches and downloads go directly from your device to Ravelry, not through us. Ravelry's handling of your data is governed by Ravelry's privacy policy. You can disconnect at any time in the App.
Legal basis: your request to use this feature (performance of a contract, GDPR Art. 6(1)(b)).
7. Web pages you open or import
When you save a pattern from a web link or open an external link, your device connects directly to that website, which may receive your IP address and device information under its own privacy policy.
8. When you contact us
If you email us, we receive your email address and the content of your message, and use them only to answer you. Legal basis: our legitimate interest in providing support (GDPR Art. 6(1)(f)). We keep this correspondence only as long as needed to handle your request, and at most 2 years unless the law requires longer.
9. What we don't do
- We do not use advertising or advertising identifiers.
- We do not use third-party analytics or tracking SDKs, and we do not track you across other apps or websites.
- We do not sell, rent or share your personal data for marketing.
- We do not build profiles about you or make automated decisions with legal effects about you.
10. International transfers
RevenueCat and xAI are based in the United States, and kie.ai may process requests outside the European Economic Area. Where personal data is transferred outside the EEA, it is protected by the EU–U.S. Data Privacy Framework, where the recipient is certified, and/or by Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission, or it is sent at your explicit request after you have been informed (GDPR Art. 49(1)(a)) when you allow cloud AI.
11. How long data is kept
- Data on your device: until you delete it or delete the App.
- Purchase records at RevenueCat: for as long as needed to provide your purchases and to meet legal, tax and accounting obligations.
- Cloud AI requests: we keep none. kie.ai and xAI keep them only as described in their own privacy policies.
- Support emails: as described in Section 8.
12. Your rights
Under the GDPR, you have the right to access, correct, delete, restrict or object to the processing of your personal data, the right to data portability, and the right to withdraw consent at any time. Because we don't have an account system, most of your data exists only on your device and you control it directly. To exercise your rights regarding purchase data or support emails, contact lailali.apps@gmail.com. We will answer within one month.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. In Spain, this is the Agencia Española de Protección de Datos (www.aepd.es). You can also contact the authority in your EU country of residence.
13. Children
The App is not directed at children under 14. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has provided personal data to us, contact us and we will delete it.
14. Security
Your data stays on your device and is protected by iOS security features, including device encryption and the Keychain for Ravelry tokens. Connections to RevenueCat, kie.ai and Ravelry are encrypted (HTTPS).
15. Changes to this policy
If we change how the App handles data, for example by adding a new service, we will update this policy and the dates above before the change takes effect, and notify you in the App where appropriate.
16. Contact
Laila Ali lailali.apps@gmail.com
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