Steepbook is a tea logbook for iPhone, Android and the web. This policy explains what happens to your information. The short version: we don't collect any.
What we collect
Nothing. Steepbook has no accounts, no analytics, no advertising and no crash-reporting services, and there is no Steepbook server. We never receive your tea log, photos or any personal information.
What stays on your device
Everything you enter: teas, teaware, brew styles, waters, sessions, notes and photos you choose. All of it is stored in the app's private storage on your device. Photos are copied from the system photo picker. Steepbook never gets access to your photo library, and location data in photos is removed when they are imported.
Scanning a tea pouch
Scan the pouch reads the text on a tea pouch's label to fill in the tea's details for you to check. It is optional, and the photo you scan is never uploaded.
- iPhone: the label is read by Apple's on-device text recognition. Nothing leaves your phone, and nothing is sent to Apple or anyone else.
- Android: the label is read on your phone by Google's ML Kit, and the photo never leaves your phone. ML Kit does send Google usage data while scanning is on: your device model and Android version, the app version, an install ID that isn't linked to you, and how each scan performed. Steepbook never receives this. Because of it, scanning on Android is off until you turn it on, and you can turn it off again any time in Settings › Privacy. Google's privacy policy applies to that data.
The scanned photo can be kept as the tea's photo, stored on your device (and in your own sync storage, if sync is on) like any other photo you add.
Optional sync
If you turn on sync, Steepbook stores a copy of your log and photos in storage you own:
- iCloud (iPhone): in Steepbook's private iCloud Drive container, hidden from the Files app. Apple's privacy policy applies to iCloud.
- Google Drive (iPhone, Android and the web app): in Drive's hidden app-data folder, using the drive.appdata permission. Steepbook can only see the files it created there, and cannot see any other file in your Drive. Google's privacy policy applies to Google Drive.
To show which Google account is connected, the app reads that account's email address and displays it on your device only. It is not sent anywhere else.
Steepbook's use and transfer of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. Data from Google is used only to sync your own log between your own devices. It is not transferred to anyone, not used for advertising, and not read by humans.
Optional tips
Steepbook is free and tips unlock nothing. If the app offers optional tips, they are in-app purchases handled entirely by Apple (App Store) or Google (Google Play) under their own privacy policies. We never see your payment details. The stores give us sales and order records, which we use only for accounting and to help if you contact us about a tip. Nothing about a tip is stored in the app or synced.
Permissions
On iPhone, the only permission Steepbook may ask for is the camera, and only when you choose to take a photo of a tea pouch to scan. On Android it never asks you to approve a permission: photos are taken with your phone's own camera app, and it uses internet access only for Google Drive sync and, if you turn on scanning, ML Kit's usage data, plus permissions Android grants automatically: the standard background-scheduling ones (network state, keeping the device awake briefly, and restarting scheduled sync after a reboot) and Google Play's billing permission for optional tips. Photos are chosen through the system picker, so the app has no access to your photo library.
Your control
You can export everything as JSON or CSV at any time. Turning sync off from Settings can remove the device's cloud copy and, for Google Drive, revoke Steepbook's access. Uninstalling the app deletes the data stored on the device. You can also remove Steepbook's access from your Google account's security settings at any time.
The web app
The web app at steepbook.app/app works the same way: your log is kept in your browser's own storage on your computer, and optional sync uses your Google Drive's hidden app-data folder. Clearing the site's data in your browser deletes the copy kept there.
This website
Everything above is about the app. The website is served through a hosting provider and content network, which keep standard request logs (such as IP address, browser and the page requested) to run and protect the site. The site sets no cookies, runs no analytics scripts, shows no ads and doesn't follow you to other sites, and nothing from the website is linked to the app.
Children
Steepbook is not directed at children and collects no data from anyone.
Changes
If this policy changes, the new version will be posted here with a new effective date.
Contact
Questions: support@steepbook.app