Effective August 28, 2026
Overview
Parchment is a private journaling app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Journal data stays on your devices and, if you use iCloud, in your private iCloud account. Parchment does not include advertising, third-party analytics SDKs, or tracking technologies.
Information Parchment handles
Journal content
Parchment stores the journal entries, handwriting, drawings, media attachments, captions, alternative text, dates, and app settings you create. This information provides writing, editing, past-entry viewing, syncing, export, search, and the Shortcuts or Siri actions you choose to run.
Photos, camera, scans, and media
When you explicitly add media, Parchment can use the system photo picker, camera, document scanner, or file picker. Parchment supports still images and stores normalized copies with their captions, alternative text, previews, and markup in your journal.
Before storage or sync, Parchment renders images in their correct orientation and removes embedded location, device-identifying, and other nonessential metadata. Parchment does not request Location access. Media and markup sync only through Parchment's private iCloud container when iCloud is enabled.
Media synchronization reports pending uploads, the last successful send and fetch, and unresolved metadata or markup conflicts in Parchment Settings. Conflicts keep both immutable versions until you choose which version to use. If local storage, iCloud quota, the iCloud account, or a migration prevents media synchronization, media and pending work are retained for recovery; journal text and handwriting continue independently.
If the iCloud account bound to media changes, Parchment quarantines pending media rather than silently assigning it to another account. Account-change recovery is export-only: you can create a verified Recovery Copy from Settings before resolving the account issue. Parchment does not provide a media-sync opt-out switch; media sync follows iCloud availability and the app's normal lifecycle.
On-device text recognition may index words found in attached images. Media OCR uses the same Spotlight, Siri, and Apple Intelligence setting as typed text and handwriting and is purged when you turn that setting off.
iCloud sync
If iCloud is available for your Apple ID and enabled for Parchment, the app uses Apple's CloudKit service to sync journal data between your devices. The data is stored in your private iCloud database for Parchment.
Parchment does not operate a separate server for journal content. The developer does not receive or have direct access to journal entries stored in your private iCloud database.
Calendar and Reminders
With your permission, Parchment can access calendars and reminders to show today's events and due or overdue reminders above your journal entry. It can also mark reminders complete when you choose. This access is used only for agenda features and day summaries. Parchment does not sell, share, or use calendar or reminder data for advertising or tracking.
App Intents, Shortcuts, Siri, Spotlight, and search
Parchment supports system features such as Shortcuts, Siri, App Intents, and Spotlight. If you use these features, Parchment may read or update journal content on your device to complete the action you requested, such as adding text to today's journal, opening a journal date, or summarizing a day.
Spotlight indexing is off until you explicitly enable it. When enabled, Parchment indexes journal dates, full typed text, recognized handwriting, and recognized media text so you can find entries through system search. This index is handled by Apple on your device. You can turn Spotlight indexing off in Parchment Settings; doing so removes Parchment's existing Spotlight items from that device. Turning it back on rebuilds the on-device index.
Ask Parchment and other journal intelligence features run only when you request them and use Apple's on-device models. Parchment sends bounded excerpts only from sources you authorized and does not send journal content to a third-party AI service or Private Cloud Compute.
Support email
If you contact support, your email address and anything you include in the message are received and used to respond. Avoid sending private journal content unless it is necessary for support.
Information Parchment does not collect
- Parchment does not track you across apps or websites.
- It does not use the App Tracking Transparency framework because Parchment does not perform tracking.
- It does not include third-party advertising or analytics SDKs.
- It does not sell your information.
- It does not require a Parchment account.
- It does not collect payment information.
- It does not request your location or access your microphone, contacts, or health data. Photos and the camera are accessed only through explicit Add Media actions.
Data sharing
Parchment does not share journal content, calendar data, reminder data, or app-usage data with advertisers, analytics providers, data brokers, or third-party AI services.
Data may be handled by Apple services when you use Apple platform features, including iCloud, CloudKit, Siri, Shortcuts, Spotlight, Calendar, Reminders, crash reports, and App Store services. Apple's handling of that data is governed by its policies and your Apple ID and device settings.
Retention and deletion
Active journal data and media remain on your devices and, if iCloud sync is enabled, in your private iCloud database while they are stored in Parchment.
Deleting a media attachment immediately removes its local OCR and hides it from the journal. Immutable media revision metadata and tombstones remain in your private iCloud database so offline devices and conflicts converge safely. Asset bytes already uploaded may also remain; media deleted before its first upload sends only metadata, not its private asset bytes. Local copies of deleted assets are eligible for cleanup after a bounded recovery period. Local recovery copies are managed separately.
Clearing journal text or erasing a drawing removes it from the active local journal. With legacy Sync V2, Parchment requests deletion of the corresponding CloudKit records and drawing assets. Sync V3 instead publishes a content-free deletion marker as an immutable revision; earlier immutable revisions and drawing assets may remain in your private iCloud database so offline devices and conflicts converge safely. A successful sync is required before other devices see the cleared state.
The Delete Local Data maintenance action clears the journal cache on that device and downloads the private iCloud copy again; it does not delete the iCloud copy. Deleting the app may also leave data already stored in iCloud. Manage or delete that data with the iCloud settings provided by Apple.
If Parchment cannot open its local journal store, it leaves that store untouched unless you explicitly choose the recovery option. That option first creates and verifies a local Recovery Copy before rebuilding from iCloud. Recovery Copies can contain journal content, remain only on that device, are excluded from general cache cleanup, and remain until you explicitly delete them.
If you contact support, support emails may be retained as long as needed to respond to the request and maintain support records.
Your choices
- Use Parchment without Calendar or Reminders access.
- Revoke Calendar and Reminders access in system settings.
- Disable iCloud for Parchment in system settings.
- Disable Spotlight indexing in Parchment Settings.
- Clear recent searches in Parchment search.
- Delete journal content in the app.
- Delete the app from your devices.
- Contact support with privacy questions.
Children
Parchment is a general productivity and journaling app. It is not directed to children and does not knowingly collect personal information from children.
Changes to this policy
This policy may be updated from time to time. When it changes, the effective date at the top of this page will be updated.
Contact
For privacy questions or support, email Christopher.Lawley@TheUntitled.Site.