Who we are

Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

Information You Provide

The application may collect the following information when entered by you:

- Name

- Email address

- Mailing address

- Phone number

- Organization and job title (optional)

- FOIA or public records request content and notes

- Account registration information

Information Automatically Collected

The application may automatically collect:

- App version and build information

- Device type and operating system version

- Anonymous usage and feature interaction data

- Crash and performance diagnostics

- Error logs related to application functionality

2. Account & Authentication Information

When you create an account, we collect and store your registration information (such as name and email address) to:

- Authenticate your identity when accessing the application

- Maintain and secure your account

- Synchronize subscription status across your devices

- Communicate with you regarding your account and the application

Account credentials are processed through third-party authentication providers. We do not store plain-text passwords.

3. Document Uploads & On-Device Processing

When you use the Document Intelligence feature, documents you upload are processed through a multi-stage pipeline designed for reliability and accuracy:

Local Processing (On-Device):

- Documents you select for upload are read and processed directly on your device

- The extraction pipeline attempts multiple methods in sequence: PDF.js rendering inside a hidden WebView for robust PDF extraction, native PDF/DOCX text extraction, page-by-page extraction, OCR for scanned pages, and AI vision model OCR as a final fallback

- If one extraction method fails or produces poor results, the next method is automatically attempted

- On-device processing includes text extraction, optical character recognition (OCR), entity recognition, date extraction, keyword extraction, rich taxonomy document classification with anti-keyword-bias logic, descriptive title generation, search indexing, and extraction confidence scoring

- When no AI provider is connected, or when the AI provider is unavailable, the application runs a deterministic on-device analysis that performs rich taxonomy classification (nine categories, approximately forty sub-types), generates a descriptive title, and produces a narrative synopsis, entity and relationship extraction, and issue detection without sending any data off your device

- Results from local processing (extracted text, detected entities, dates, keywords, classification with category and sub-type, classification reasoning, generated titles, extraction confidence scores, search indexes, and deterministic analysis results) are stored locally on your device

- Local processing does not require an internet connection and does not transmit document content off your device

AI-Powered Processing (Optional — User-Initiated):

- You may optionally connect your own third-party AI provider (OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini, or a custom OpenAI-compatible endpoint) to enable AI-powered investigative intelligence analysis

- When you initiate AI-powered processing, extracted document text is transmitted directly from your device to your chosen AI provider

- These transmissions are encrypted in transit using industry-standard encryption (TLS/HTTPS)

- FOIA Tracker does not receive, store, or have access to data transmitted directly between your device and your chosen AI provider

- Your AI provider's privacy policy governs the handling of document content you transmit to that provider

What We DO NOT Collect or Access:

- We do not collect or store your uploaded documents on our servers

- We do not have access to the content of AI requests sent from your device to your AI provider

- We do not have access to AI responses returned from your AI provider to your device

- We do not have access to your AI provider account, billing information, or usage history

4. AI Provider Credentials

When you connect your own AI provider, you provide an API key which the application uses to authenticate requests to your chosen provider.

Storage:

- API keys are stored exclusively on your device using platform-level secure storage (iOS Keychain on Apple devices, Android Secure Storage / EncryptedSharedPreferences on Android devices)

- API keys are encrypted at rest by the operating system

- API keys are sanitized on entry and on load by removing stray whitespace and newline characters that may be introduced during copy-paste, so the key you pasted is the key that is stored and used

Transmission:

- API keys are included in requests sent directly from your device to your chosen AI provider

- API keys are never transmitted to FOIA Tracker servers

- API keys are never included in analytics, error logs, crash reports, or diagnostic data

Removal:

- You may remove your API key at any time through the AI Provider settings screen

- Removing the API key deletes it from secure device storage

- Uninstalling the application permanently removes all locally stored API keys

Provider-Specific Information:

- When you validate your API key, the application may retrieve available model names from your AI provider to display in the settings interface

- The application supports current models from OpenAI (including GPT-4o and GPT-4.1 series), Anthropic Claude (including Claude Sonnet, Opus, and Haiku families), and Google Gemini (including Gemini 2.5 series)

- No other provider account information is accessed, collected, or stored

5. AI-Powered Document Intelligence

When you have connected your own AI provider, the application provides an AI-powered document intelligence platform that processes uploaded documents using your provider's models. The platform operates in distinct, decoupled stages:

Stage 1 — Document Ingestion: Basic metadata is captured (file name, type, page count, upload date, file size).

Stage 2 — Multi-Layer Text Extraction: Text is extracted using multiple fallback methods, including PDF.js rendering in a hidden WebView, native extraction, page-by-page extraction, and OCR. If one method fails or produces poor results, the next is automatically attempted. The system only reports extraction failure if all methods produce no usable text.

Stage 3 — Extraction Validation: Extracted text is validated. Analysis proceeds using available text even when extraction is partial. Extraction confidence is scored independently.

Stage 4 — Classification-First Intelligence Analysis: The AI (or deterministic fallback) classifies the document BEFORE any analysis begins. The system reads the entire document, determines its primary purpose, and assigns a classification from a rich taxonomy of nine categories (Medical, Law Enforcement, Government, Legal, Corporate, Research, Media, Personal, Other) and approximately forty sub-types (including medical_record, incident_report, foia_response, court_filing, contract, comprehensive_personal_report, research_paper, news_article, financial_statement, and many more).

Classification requires evidence: The system outputs a reasoning statement referencing actual document content. If classification confidence is below 80%, the sub-type defaults to "unknown" rather than guessing. Anti-keyword-bias logic ensures classification is based on the dominant purpose of the entire document, not isolated keywords.

The system also generates a concise descriptive title (3-10 words) from the document's actual purpose.

The analysis then adapts to the classified document type and is organized into four tabs:

- Briefing: A flowing, multi-paragraph executive summary tailored to the document's classified type. Every statement references specific information found in the document. Also includes key findings, a chronological timeline, and follow-up questions.

- Evidence: People, agencies, organizations, and other entities identified in the document, along with their roles, connections, relationship mapping, highlighted excerpts of key passages, and a chronological timeline.

- Obligations: Legal obligations, important clauses, action items with deadlines, and financial information (monetary amounts, budgets, payments, penalties) extracted from the document.

- Issues: Inconsistencies, contradictions, missing records, red flags, significant redactions, and recommended follow-up questions based on gaps in the document.

A prominent full-text search bar is always visible for finding specific passages, names, dates, or terms within the document.

Stage 5 — Deterministic Fallback (No AI Provider Connected): If no AI provider is connected, or if the AI provider request fails, the application automatically falls back to a deterministic, on-device analysis. This fallback runs entirely on the device, performs rich taxonomy classification with anti-keyword-bias logic, generates a descriptive title, produces a narrative synopsis, extracts entities and relationships, and identifies issues without transmitting any document content off the device.

Stage 6 — Independent Confidence Scoring: Separate scores are calculated for extraction quality, classification confidence, analysis quality, and entity identification.

Data Flow:

- You upload a document within the application

- The application extracts text on-device using the multi-layer extraction pipeline

- When you initiate AI analysis, extracted text is sent directly from your device to your chosen AI provider along with your API key

- Your AI provider processes the text and returns analysis results to your device

- The application normalizes the results into a consistent display format and stores them locally on your device

- At no point in this flow does FOIA Tracker receive, store, or access the document text, AI request, or AI response

AI-Generated Content:

- AI-generated outputs are based on the extracted text of uploaded documents sent to your AI provider

- The application instructs your AI provider to classify the document first, generate a descriptive title, then produce analysis solely from the provided document text

- The AI distinguishes facts from inferences, cites page numbers where possible, and marks uncertainty levels

- Classification reasoning references actual document content and is not based on isolated keywords or filenames

- Results include confidence indicators where applicable

- Users should independently verify important findings against original documents

Analysis Caching:

- AI-generated analysis results are cached locally on your device

- Cached results are reused when viewing the same document until you choose to re-analyze

- Re-analysis sends a new request to your AI provider and replaces the cached results

6. FOIA Calendar — Automatic Deadline Management

The FOIA Calendar is an automatic legal deadline management system that generates calendar events from your existing FOIA requests. It is accessible as a dedicated tab in the bottom navigation. No manual event creation is required.

On-Device Processing:

- Calendar events are generated entirely on your device from existing FOIA request data, including request status, agency information, submission date, audit trail, and statutory deadline calculations

- Deadline calculations use business days, weekends, and federal holidays for federal requests; state-specific rules (business days vs. calendar days) for state requests

- Calendar preferences (custom event colors, notification preferences, calendar sync settings, and default view) are stored locally on your device

- Calendar events are not stored separately — they are derived in real-time from request data each time the calendar is opened

- Archived requests are excluded from calendar event generation; unarchiving a request restores its calendar events automatically

- The calendar dashboard, insights, timeline, and upcoming deadlines widget are all computed on-device from your request data

Reminder Notifications:

- The application can send local notifications for approaching deadlines and overdue requests

- Notification intervals are configurable (3 days before, 1 day before, deadline day, overdue reminders)

- Notifications are scheduled locally on your device and do not require an internet connection

- Notification delivery is subject to your device's notification settings and permissions

- FOIA Tracker does not guarantee timely delivery of notifications

Calendar Synchronization (Optional — User-Initiated):

- You may optionally choose to sync FOIA deadlines with Apple Calendar, Google Calendar, or Outlook Calendar

- This is an opt-in feature that requires your explicit consent

- If enabled, deadline event data (event title, date, agency name) is transmitted to the selected calendar service

- Calendar sync settings can be changed or disabled at any time in settings

- FOIA Tracker does not sync calendars without your explicit consent

- Your use of any third-party calendar service is governed by that service's privacy policy

What We DO NOT Collect from the Calendar:

- We do not collect or store your calendar preferences on our servers

- We do not have access to your calendar synchronization data

- We do not collect calendar notification delivery status

- We do not store calendar insights or analytics on our servers

7. Public Records Repository

The Repository is a library of government-published public records. This section describes how data related to the Repository is handled.

Document Source:

- Repository documents are imported from publicly available government websites

- Documents are sourced from agency reading rooms, FOIA electronic libraries, and open records portals

- All documents in the Repository are government-published materials already in the public domain

Repository Search:

- Search queries are processed locally on the searching user's device

- Search supports keyword, semantic, and natural-language queries

Automatic Document Processing:

- Documents undergo automatic text extraction, OCR, and metadata generation on your device

- When you have connected your own AI provider, AI-powered classification and summarization are applied using your provider

- Generated metadata may include agency name, jurisdiction level, state, city, county, department, document type, subject matter, date range, people referenced, and organizations referenced

- AI-generated metadata includes confidence scores indicating the reliability of each extraction

- All generated metadata is stored locally on your device

Request Matching:

- When creating a new FOIA request, the application may automatically search the Repository for similar existing records

- This matching is performed locally on your device using the content of your draft request

- Matching does not transmit your request content off your device

What We DO NOT Collect from the Repository:

- We do not collect or store your search queries on our servers

- We do not collect or store your collection contents on our servers

- We do not have access to the content of Repository documents

8. How We Use Your Information

Your information is used to provide and improve application functionality, including:

- Auto-filling FOIA and public records request forms

- Populating email templates for request letters, follow-ups, appeals, and fee correspondence with information from your Identity Vault and request details

- Organizing and tracking requests, deadlines, and notes

- Providing reminders and alerts when enabled

- Authenticating your account, maintaining session security, and synchronizing subscription status

- Performing on-device document processing (multi-layer text extraction, OCR, entity recognition, search indexing, rich taxonomy document classification with anti-keyword-bias logic, descriptive title generation, confidence scoring)

- Powering Repository search and request matching

- Improving application performance and user experience through anonymous analytics

- Detecting, preventing, and addressing technical issues and errors

- Communicating with you regarding your account, subscription, and application updates

We process user information based on user consent, user-initiated actions, and legitimate interests in providing and improving the application.

9. Data Storage, Processing & Security

Local Storage:

- FOIA request data, user-generated content, document analysis results (including classification, generated titles, investigative briefings, entity extractions, legal obligations, financial information, and issue detection), analysis cache, AI provider credentials, calendar preferences (custom event colors, notification preferences, calendar sync settings), and calendar event data are stored locally on your device

- Deterministic analysis results (including classification, generated titles, narrative synopses, and entity extractions) are generated and stored locally on your device

- Calendar events are derived on-device from request data and are not stored as separate records

- Identity Vault information (name, address, email, phone, organization, title) is stored locally on your device; on iOS, identity data is stored in the encrypted Keychain

- Local data is protected using device-level encryption where available

- API keys are stored in platform-level secure storage (iOS Keychain / Android Secure Storage) with encryption at rest

- The application may create internal, on-device backups of certain local data to protect against data migration issues during app updates. These backups are stored locally on your device and are not transmitted to FOIA Tracker servers.

AI Provider Transmission:

- When you use AI-powered analysis, document text is transmitted directly from your device to your chosen AI provider

- These transmissions are encrypted in transit using industry-standard encryption (TLS/HTTPS)

- FOIA Tracker does not receive, store, or have access to these transmissions

- We recommend reviewing your chosen AI provider's security and data handling practices

Security Measures:

- We implement reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect information we collect and store

- Communications with FOIA Tracker services are encrypted in transit

- We regularly review our security practices and third-party provider security commitments

No mobile device or internet transmission can be guaranteed to be completely secure. You use the application and its features at your own risk.

10. Data Retention

Local Data:

- Your FOIA request data, notes, document analysis results, calendar preferences, and analysis cache are retained on your device for as long as you choose to keep them

- You may delete your data at any time using in-app tools

- Deleting the application permanently removes all locally stored data, including API keys, cached analysis, and documents

Uploaded Documents:

- Documents uploaded for analysis are processed locally on your device

- Extracted text and analysis results are stored locally on your device

- You may delete uploaded documents and their associated analysis results at any time

- When you initiate AI-powered analysis, document text is transmitted to your AI provider; retention of that text is governed by your AI provider's data retention policies, not by FOIA Tracker

- When no AI provider is connected, all processing and analysis remains on the device and no document content is transmitted to any third party

Account Data:

- Account registration information is retained while your account is active

- If you delete your account, associated account information is deleted within a reasonable timeframe

- Certain information may be retained as required by law or for legitimate business purposes (such as fraud prevention)

11. Documents & Attachments

The application allows users to generate and access documents and attachments related to FOIA and public records requests.

- Documents are created and stored at the user's direction

- Users may view, print, download, or share documents using device sharing features

- Documents and attachments are shared only when explicitly initiated by the user

Important clarifications:

- All documents and attachments are user-generated content

- The application does not review, modify, or validate document contents

- The application does not submit requests on behalf of users

- The application does not automatically transmit documents to agencies or third parties

- Users are solely responsible for reviewing, submitting, and managing their documents

12. Agency Data

The application displays publicly available agency contact information, portal links, FOIA coordinator contact details, and submission guidance.

This information:

- Is sourced from official government websites and public records

- May become outdated

- Is reviewed periodically but not in real time

- Is provided as a convenience to assist users in directing requests to the appropriate agencies

The application does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or current validity of agency information or coordinator contact details.

13. Analytics and Diagnostics

We may collect anonymous, non-identifying usage data for application improvement and performance monitoring purposes, including:

- Application version and build information

- Device type and operating system version

- Feature usage patterns and interaction data

- Crash and performance diagnostics

- Error logging for troubleshooting

- Security monitoring to detect and prevent unauthorized access or abuse

Analytics related to Document Intelligence may include:

- Which AI provider type is selected (e.g., OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, Custom)

- Analysis success and failure rates (without document content or AI responses)

- Extraction success rates and confidence levels for each layer of the multi-stage pipeline

- Classification success rates and confidence distributions (without classification reasoning or document content)

- Feature usage patterns (e.g., how often investigative analysis, search, re-analysis, or classification review is used)

- Repository search frequency and filtering patterns

- Document upload and processing frequency (anonymized)

Analytics related to the FOIA Calendar may include:

- Calendar view usage patterns (Month, Week, Day, Agenda)

- Feature engagement (timeline view, insights tab, filter usage, search usage)

- Notification opt-in rates and notification type engagement

- Calendar sync service selection (e.g., Apple, Google, Outlook) — without calendar content

- Dashboard card and insights view frequency

Analytics NEVER include:

- API keys or AI provider credentials

- Document content or extracted text

- AI request payloads or AI-generated responses

- Personally identifiable information from uploaded documents

- Names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, or other entities extracted from documents

- Repository search queries

- Collection names or contents

- FOIA request content

- Investigative intelligence reports or their contents

- Document classification reasoning or generated titles

- Calendar event data, deadline calculations, or calendar sync content

This data does not include personal information, FOIA request content, uploaded document content, or AI analysis results.

14. Device Permissions

The application may request device permissions such as:

- Notifications (for FOIA deadline reminders, alerts, and status updates)

- File or storage access (for document upload, generation, and sharing)

- Calendar access (optional, for syncing FOIA deadlines with Apple Calendar, Google Calendar, or Outlook Calendar — user-initiated only)

Permissions are used only to enable user-requested features and can be managed through your device settings at any time.

15. Government Non-Affiliation

This application is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any federal, state, or local government agency. Agency contact information and coordinator details displayed in the application are compiled from publicly available government sources. Documents in the Repository are government-published materials and are not provided or endorsed by any government agency.

16. Third-Party Services

The application integrates with the following categories of third-party services to provide functionality:

AI Service Providers (User-Supplied):

- You choose and configure your own AI provider (OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini, or custom OpenAI-compatible endpoints)

- AI providers receive document text directly from your device when you initiate AI-powered analysis

- AI providers are not integrated, contracted, or managed by FOIA Tracker — you maintain your own independent account with your chosen provider

- FOIA Tracker does not have access to your AI provider account, billing, usage, or the content of AI requests or responses

- Your use of any AI provider is governed by that provider's privacy policy and terms of service

- We encourage you to review your chosen AI provider's privacy practices before connecting your account

Cloud Hosting & Infrastructure Providers:

- Cloud infrastructure providers host application services and facilitate data transmission

- These providers may process technical data (such as IP addresses and request metadata) as necessary to deliver services

Authentication Providers:

- Third-party authentication services manage user identity verification and account security

- Authentication providers process your login credentials and account information

Payment Processors:

- Subscription payments are processed through the applicable app store (Apple App Store or Google Play Store)

- We do not collect or store your payment card information

- Payment transactions are subject to the app store's privacy policies

- Subscription status is synchronized through the app store's receipt validation systems

Analytics Providers:

- Anonymous usage analytics are collected through third-party analytics services

- Analytics data never includes personal information, document content, API keys, AI responses, Repository search queries, or investigative briefings

- Provider type selection, analysis success rates, extraction pipeline metrics, and feature engagement are tracked for product improvement

Notification Services:

- Push notification delivery may be facilitated by third-party notification services

- Notification tokens and delivery status data may be processed by these services

- FOIA Calendar deadline reminders are local notifications scheduled on your device and do not require third-party notification services

Calendar Synchronization Services (Optional — User-Initiated):

- If you choose to sync FOIA deadlines with Apple Calendar, Google Calendar, or Outlook Calendar, deadline event data is transmitted to the selected calendar service

- Calendar sync is opt-in and requires your explicit consent

- Only event title, date, and agency name are transmitted — no document content or AI analysis results

- You can disable calendar sync at any time in settings

- Your use of third-party calendar services is governed by those services' privacy policies

These third-party services operate under their own privacy policies and terms of service. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of these providers. FOIA Tracker is not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party services.

17. Your Rights

You may:

- Access and review your personal information stored in the application

- Update or correct your account information

- Delete your FOIA request data, notes, and uploaded documents at any time

- Remove your AI provider API key at any time through the settings screen

- Clear your document analysis history at any time

- Delete your account and associated information

- Export your data where technically feasible

- Opt out of non-essential communications

- Manage device permissions through your device settings

- Enable or disable calendar synchronization at any time

- Customize calendar event colors and notification preferences

- Contact us with privacy-related questions or concerns

To exercise these rights, use the in-app tools provided or contact us at the email address below.

18. Children's Privacy

This application is not intended for use by individuals under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we become aware that a child under 13 has provided personal information, we will take steps to delete such information.

19. International Data Transfers

Local data is stored on your device and is not transferred across international borders by us. When you use AI-powered analysis with your own AI provider, document text is transmitted directly from your device to your AI provider, whose servers may be located in various jurisdictions. Such transmissions are governed by your AI provider's privacy policy and data handling practices, not by FOIA Tracker. When no AI provider is connected, deterministic analysis runs entirely on your device and no document content is transmitted internationally. If you enable calendar synchronization with Google Calendar or Outlook Calendar, calendar event data (event title, date, agency name) is transmitted to those services, whose servers may be located in various jurisdictions. Such transmissions are governed by the respective calendar service's privacy policy. Apple Calendar sync operates through on-device system frameworks.

20. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be communicated through the application, and the "Last Updated" date and version number will be revised accordingly. Continued use of the application after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy. Material changes may require you to re-accept the Privacy Policy before continuing to use the application.

21. Contact

For privacy-related questions, concerns, or to exercise your data rights, contact:

support@foiatrackerapp.com

You can also reach us at: https://www.foiatracker-app.com/contact

CHANGE LOG — Version 5.8.0 (August 10, 2026)

This Privacy Policy has been updated to reflect the current feature set and recent improvements. Key changes include:

- Section 1 (Information We Collect): Clarified that Identity Vault information (name, mailing address, email, phone, organization, title) is collected when entered by the user.

- Section 4 (AI Provider Credentials): Added disclosure that API keys are sanitized on entry and load by removing stray whitespace and newline characters introduced during copy-paste. Updated provider-specific information to reflect current supported models (OpenAI GPT-4o / GPT-4.1, Anthropic Claude Sonnet/Opus/Haiku, Google Gemini 2.5).

- Section 8 (How We Use Your Information): Added disclosure that Identity Vault and request details are used to populate email templates for correspondence.

- Section 9 (Data Storage, Processing & Security): Added Identity Vault local storage disclosure and internal on-device backup disclosure for data migration protection.

CHANGE LOG — Version 5.7.0 (July 14, 2026)

This Privacy Policy has been updated to add the Request Archiving feature. Key changes include:

- Section 6 (FOIA Calendar): Updated to note that archived requests are excluded from calendar event generation and that unarchiving restores events automatically.

- Section 9 (Data Storage): Updated to clarify that archived requests retain all associated data including audit trail, attachment notes, response acknowledgment details, and archived/unarchived timestamps. Archiving does not delete any data.

- Section 10 (Data Retention): Updated to note that archived requests are retained indefinitely on the user's device and can be unarchived at any time.

CHANGE LOG — Version 5.6.0 (July 14, 2026)

This Privacy Policy has been updated to reflect the FOIA Calendar's integration into the main navigation and associated usability improvements. Key changes include:

- Section 6 (FOIA Calendar): Updated to clarify that the calendar is accessible as a dedicated tab in the bottom navigation and remains an on-device feature.

CHANGE LOG — Version 5.5.0 (July 14, 2026)

This Privacy Policy has been updated to add the FOIA Calendar feature. Key changes include:

- Section 6 (FOIA Calendar): New section describing automatic deadline management, on-device event generation, deadline calculations (business days, federal holidays, state-specific rules), reminder notifications (local, configurable), calendar synchronization (opt-in, user-initiated), and what is NOT collected from the calendar.

- Section 9 (Data Storage): Updated to include calendar preferences and event data in local storage. Clarified that calendar events are derived on-device.

- Section 10 (Data Retention): Updated to include calendar preferences in local data retention.

- Section 13 (Analytics): Added calendar-related analytics (view usage, feature engagement, notification opt-in, sync service selection). Added calendar event data to the NEVER-collected list.

- Section 14 (Device Permissions): Added calendar access permission for optional sync feature. Updated notifications description to include FOIA deadline reminders.

- Section 16 (Third-Party Services): Added Calendar Synchronization Services subsection describing opt-in sync with Apple Calendar, Google Calendar, and Outlook Calendar.

- Section 17 (Your Rights): Added rights to enable/disable calendar sync and customize calendar colors and notification preferences.

- Section 19 (International Data Transfers): Added disclosure that calendar sync with Google/Outlook may transfer event data internationally. Noted that Apple Calendar sync operates through on-device frameworks.

- Sections renumbered: Public Records Repository is now Section 7, How We Use Your Information is Section 8, Data Storage is Section 9, Data Retention is Section 10, Documents & Attachments is Section 11, Agency Data is Section 12, Analytics is Section 13, Device Permissions is Section 14, Government Non-Affiliation is Section 15, Third-Party Services is Section 16, Your Rights is Section 17, Children's Privacy is Section 18, International Data Transfers is Section 19, Changes is Section 20, Contact is Section 21.

CHANGE LOG — Version 5.4.0 (July 14, 2026)

This Privacy Policy has been updated to reflect the classification-first Document Intelligence architecture. Key changes include:

- Section 3 (Document Uploads & On-Device Processing): Updated on-device processing list to include rich taxonomy classification with anti-keyword-bias logic, descriptive title generation, and classification reasoning. Updated deterministic fallback to include classification and title generation. Updated local storage list to include classification reasoning and generated titles.

- Section 5 (AI-Powered Document Intelligence): Completely rewrote Stage 4 to describe the classification-first pipeline: nine categories, approximately forty sub-types, evidence-backed reasoning, 80% confidence threshold, anti-keyword-bias logic, descriptive title generation, and classification-dependent analytical lenses. Updated tab descriptions to four tabs (Briefing, Evidence, Obligations, Issues). Updated Stage 5 to include classification and title generation in deterministic fallback. Updated Stage 6 to include classification confidence. Updated AI-generated content section to include classification-first instructions and classification reasoning requirements.

- Section 7 (How We Use Your Information): Updated on-device processing list to include rich taxonomy classification, anti-keyword-bias logic, and descriptive title generation.

- Section 8 (Data Storage, Processing & Security): Updated local storage list to include classification, generated titles, legal obligations, and financial information. Updated deterministic fallback to include classification and generated titles.

- Section 12 (Analytics and Diagnostics): Added classification success rates and confidence distributions to collected analytics. Added document classification reasoning and generated titles to the NEVER-collected list.

CHANGE LOG — Version 5.3.0 (July 10, 2026)

This Privacy Policy has been updated to reflect the current Document Intelligence feature set. Key changes include:

- Section 3 (Document Uploads & On-Device Processing): Added disclosure that PDF.js text extraction runs inside a hidden WebView on the device. Added disclosure that deterministic analysis runs on-device when no AI provider is connected. Removed references to conversational Q&A.

- Section 5 (AI-Powered Document Intelligence): Restructured the AI analysis output to describe the three-tab interface (Briefing, Relations, Issues), the prominent full-text search bar, and the deterministic on-device fallback. Removed references to conversational Q&A, key findings, chronological timeline, and evidence inventory tabs.

- Section 8 (Data Storage, Processing & Security): Removed references to Q&A conversations. Added disclosure that deterministic analysis results are generated and stored locally.

- Section 9 (Data Retention): Removed references to Q&A conversations. Added disclosure that when no AI provider is connected, all processing and analysis remains on the device and no document content is transmitted to any third party.

- Section 12 (Analytics and Diagnostics): Removed Q&A conversations from the NEVER-collected list; updated to reference investigative briefings instead of intelligence reports where applicable.

- Section 15 (Third-Party Services): Removed references to Q&A transmissions.

- Section 16 (Your Rights): Removed the right to clear Q&A conversation history; added the right to clear document analysis history.

- Section 18 (International Data Transfers): Removed references to Q&A transmissions; added disclosure that deterministic analysis runs on-device and does not transfer document content internationally.

CHANGE LOG — Version 5.2.0 (June 29, 2026)

This Privacy Policy has been updated to reflect the current app feature set after major platform changes. Key changes include:

- Section 3 (Document Uploads & On-Device Processing): Updated to describe the multi-layer extraction pipeline with automatic fallback methods (native extraction → page-by-page → OCR → AI vision OCR). Clarified that extraction failure is only reported when all methods produce no usable text. Added extraction confidence scoring disclosure.

- Section 5 (AI-Powered Document Intelligence & Q&A): Completely rewritten to describe the multi-stage decoupled pipeline (Ingestion → Extraction → Validation → AI Intelligence Analysis → Independent Scoring). Expanded to cover document type classification, executive narrative briefings, investigative intelligence reports, key findings, chronological timelines, people & entity profiles, relationship mapping, evidence inventories, contradiction detection, red flag identification, follow-up FOIA generation, and hallucination prevention with fact-vs-inference distinction and page citations.

- Section 6 (Public Records Repository): Significantly condensed to reflect the Repository's current role. Removed public/private document contribution and user upload provisions that no longer apply.

- Section 7 (How We Use Your Information): Updated to include multi-layer text extraction, confidence scoring, and extraction pipeline metrics.

- Section 9 (Data Retention): Simplified by removing Repository-specific retention details that no longer apply.

- Section 12 (Analytics and Diagnostics): Updated to include extraction pipeline layer success rates and multi-stage processing metrics. Expanded NEVER-collected list to include investigative intelligence reports.

- Section 14 (Government Non-Affiliation): Updated Repository disclaimer.

- Section 16 (Your Rights): Simplified by removing Repository-specific rights that no longer apply to the current feature set.

CHANGE LOG — Version 5.1.0 (June 22, 2026)

This Privacy Policy has been updated to strengthen content policies for the Public Records Repository. Key changes include:

- Section 3 (Document Uploads): Removed image formats (JPG, PNG) from accepted document types. Only text-based documents (PDF, DOCX, TXT) are accepted.

- Section 3 (What We DO NOT Collect): Added explicit disclosure that FOIA Tracker does not review, moderate, or pre-screen user-contributed Repository documents.

- Section 6 (Repository): Added disclosure that users bear sole responsibility for ensuring their contributions are genuine FOIA or public records documents. FOIA Tracker does not pre-screen Repository content.

CHANGE LOG — Version 5.0.0 (June 22, 2026)

Previous updates below:

- Section 1 (Information We Collect): Added Repository collection names and descriptions

- Section 2 (Account & Authentication): Added subscription status synchronization across devices

- Section 3 (Document Uploads & On-Device Processing): Expanded to cover Repository document processing, AI-powered metadata generation, and conversational Q&A transmissions. Added explicit disclosure that FOIA Tracker does not access Q&A conversations.

- Section 5 (AI-Powered Document Analysis & Q&A): Significantly expanded to include all AI-powered features (conversational Q&A with citations, FOIA-specific insights, action items, cross-document search, re-analysis, analysis caching). Added detailed data flow for Q&A, caching disclosures, and expanded feature list.

- Section 6 (Public Records Repository): Entirely new section. Covers document contribution (public/private choice), Repository search (subscription-required), automatic document processing and classification, document collections (public/private), Repository statistics (anonymous view/download counts), request matching (local processing), and explicit statements of what is NOT collected.

- Section 7 (How We Use Your Information): Updated to include Repository search, request matching, document discovery, and subscription synchronization

- Section 8 (Data Storage, Processing & Security): Updated to include Repository documents, collections, Q&A conversations, and analysis cache in local storage

- Section 9 (Data Retention): Added Repository-specific retention details including public document caching on other users' devices

- Section 12 (Analytics and Diagnostics): Expanded to include Repository-specific analytics (search frequency, contribution rates, view/download counts) and expanded the NEVER-collected list to include Q&A conversations, search queries, collection contents, and FOIA request content

- Section 14 (Government Non-Affiliation): Added Repository-specific disclaimer

- Section 15 (Third-Party Services): Updated AI provider section to include Q&A and Repository metadata generation. Added subscription synchronization disclosure.

- Section 16 (Your Rights): Added rights to delete Repository documents, change visibility, delete collections, and clear Q&A history

- Section 18 (International Data Transfers): Updated to include Q&A and Repository metadata transmissions

No existing provisions were removed. All prior disclosures remain in effect.