Privacy Policy for Arkive

Last updated: 2026/08/12

Arkive is built around a simple rule: your clipboard history is yours. This policy explains exactly what that means.

Summary

  • Arkive processes everything — capture, text recognition, image search, and sensitive-content detection — on your device. Nothing is sent to us, because we don't operate any server for the app to send it to.

  • If you turn on iCloud sync, your clips travel through your own private iCloud account to your other devices. That data is encrypted in transit and at rest by Apple, and we — the developers of Arkive — have no access to it, no copy of it, and no way to read it.

  • We don't have user accounts, we don't run analytics or crash-tracking SDKs, and we don't use advertising or tracking technology of any kind.

  • Purchases are handled entirely by Apple through the App Store's In-App Purchase system. We never see or store your payment details.

What Arkive processes, and where

Arkive captures items you copy (text, links, and images) and stores them in a local, on-device database. To make that history searchable and organized, Arkive runs several on-device analysis steps automatically:

  • Text recognition (OCR) on copied images, using Apple's on-device Vision framework.

  • Image and text search matching, using an on-device machine-learning model bundled with the app.

  • Sensitive-content detection, to recognize when a copied item looks like a password, key, or other credential, so it can be protected behind Face ID, Touch ID, or your device passcode.

All of this analysis happens locally on your Mac or iPhone. None of it is transmitted anywhere — not to us, not to any third party, not to any AI or cloud service. Arkive does not call out to any external AI provider (such as Anthropic, OpenAI, or similar services) to process your content.

iCloud sync

If you enable sync, Arkive stores your clips in a private CloudKit database tied to your own Apple ID, using Apple's iCloud infrastructure. This lets your history move between your own Mac and iPhone.

  • This is your private database, not a database we operate or control.

  • We — Arkive's developer — have no access credentials, no dashboard, and no technical ability to view, export, or query your synced data.

  • Sensitive clips (passwords, keys, and similar) are additionally encrypted before they're stored, with the encryption key held in your iCloud Keychain rather than alongside the data itself.

  • You can turn sync off at any time in Settings, and you can control whether full-resolution images and sensitive items are included in what syncs.

What we don't do

  • We don't collect analytics, usage statistics, or diagnostic data.

  • We don't use third-party SDKs of any kind — no ad networks, no crash reporters, no tracking libraries.

  • We don't require or support account creation. There is no Arkive login — sync identity is simply your existing Apple ID via iCloud.

  • We don't sell, rent, or share data, because we don't collect any to begin with.

In-app purchases

Arkive offers a free trial period, after which continued use requires a one-time purchase to unlock the app permanently. This purchase is processed entirely by Apple through StoreKit / the App Store's In-App Purchase system.

  • We never receive or store your credit card number, billing address, or other payment details — Apple handles that directly.

  • Your purchase is tied to your Apple ID, which is how Apple's own "Restore Purchases" mechanism lets the unlock follow you across your devices.

Children's privacy

Arkive is not directed at children and does not knowingly collect information from anyone, including children, because it does not collect information from any user.

Security

Your clip history is stored locally using Apple's standard on-device data protection. Items Arkive identifies as sensitive (passwords, keys, credentials) are additionally encrypted and require Face ID, Touch ID, or your device passcode to view. Because we never receive your data, there is no server-side breach risk for your clip content — the data lives only on your own devices and in your own iCloud account.

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes, we'll update the "Last updated" date above. Continued use of Arkive after a change means you accept the updated policy.

Contact

Questions about this policy or how Arkive handles data: steffen@stormmarketing.dk