Privacy Policy
QR & Barcode is built to work without knowing who you are. There is no account, no login, and no user profile. Scanning, creating, and saving codes all happen on your device, and your scan history never leaves it.
This policy explains what the app does and does not collect, the limited cases where information is sent to a third party, and the choices you have. It applies to the QR & Barcode iOS app (the “app”), published by Aqib Rasheed, an individual developer (“we”, “us”), who is the data controller for the limited information described below.
1. Information stored on your device
The following stays in the app’s private storage on your iPhone or iPad. We cannot see it, and it is not uploaded to us or anyone else:
- Scan history — the contents of codes you scan, plus the time they were scanned.
- Codes you create — the text, links, contact details, Wi-Fi credentials, or other data you enter to generate a code, along with your styling choices.
- AI assistant chats — if you use the assistant, your conversation history.
- App settings — preferences such as sound, haptics, and appearance.
You can delete this at any time from within the app (History › clear, or by deleting individual items). Deleting the app removes all of it permanently.
2. Device permissions
The app asks for a permission only at the moment a feature needs it, and each one can be revoked in iOS Settings.
| Permission | Why | Where the data goes |
|---|---|---|
| Camera | To scan QR codes and barcodes. | Frames are analysed on your device in real time. They are never recorded, stored, or transmitted. |
| Photo library | To save codes you create, and to scan a code from an existing picture. | Saving is add-only. Images you pick are decoded on your device. |
| Microphone & speech recognition | To let you dictate a request to the AI assistant instead of typing. | Speech is transcribed on your device. The audio never leaves it. Only the resulting text is used, and only if you have enabled the assistant. |
| Contacts | To save a scanned contact card to your address book. | Written locally, only when you tap save. The app does not read or upload your contacts. |
| Calendar | To add a scanned event to your calendar. | Write-only, only when you tap save. The app does not read your existing events. |
3. When information leaves your device
AI assistant (OpenAI) — opt-in, off by default
The AI assistant is disabled until you explicitly turn it on from a disclosure screen inside the app. Nothing is sent to OpenAI before you agree.
When enabled, the text of the message you type or dictate is sent to OpenAI, L.L.C. in the United States to generate your code. If your message includes personal details — names, phone numbers, email addresses, Wi-Fi passwords — those are sent too, so please share only what you need. OpenAI may retain API requests for up to 30 days for abuse monitoring and then deletes them; it does not use API data to train its models. See OpenAI’s privacy policy.
Your scan history, saved codes, photos, and camera feed are never sent to OpenAI. You can turn the assistant off again at any time in Settings.
Product lookup (Open Food Facts)
When you scan a retail product barcode, the app may send that barcode number alone to the Open Food Facts public database to look up the product name. No identifier of you or your device is attached. See Open Food Facts’ privacy policy.
Google Firebase (Analytics and Remote Config)
The app uses Firebase, a Google service, for two purposes: Remote Config, which fetches configuration values so features can be adjusted without an app update, and Analytics, which reports aggregate, non-identifying usage so we can see which features are used and where the app crashes or stalls.
Firebase automatically processes limited technical data: an app-instance identifier, device model, operating system version, language, country, coarse app-usage events, and your IP address (used to derive approximate country and then discarded). It does not receive the contents of your scans, your created codes, your chats, or your photos. See Firebase’s privacy documentation and Google’s privacy policy.
4. Purchases and advertising
In-app purchases. The app may offer paid features or a subscription. Any payment is handled entirely by Apple through the App Store. We never see or receive your card number, billing address, or Apple Account credentials — only anonymous confirmation that a purchase is valid. Apple’s handling of that transaction is covered by the Apple Privacy Policy.
Advertising. A future version of the app may show ads served by Google AdMob. If and when that happens, the ad network may process a device advertising identifier, coarse location derived from IP, and ad interaction data in order to serve and measure ads. On iOS, personalised advertising requires your permission through Apple’s App Tracking Transparency prompt; if you decline, ads will still be shown but will not be personalised. This policy will be updated, and the in-app disclosure shown, before any advertising is enabled. AdMob’s handling is described in Google’s AdMob partner policies.
5. What we never do
- We do not sell or rent your personal information.
- We do not upload your scan history, created codes, photos, camera feed, contacts, or calendar.
- We do not require an account or ask for your name, email, or phone number.
- We do not build advertising profiles from the contents of what you scan.
6. Retention
Data on your device is kept until you delete it or uninstall the app. Messages sent to OpenAI are retained by OpenAI for up to 30 days for abuse monitoring. Firebase Analytics data is retained on Google’s default schedule (currently up to 14 months) and is aggregated, not tied to your identity.
7. Children
The app is not directed at children under 13 (or the equivalent minimum age in your country), and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. The AI assistant is intended for users aged 13 and over. If you believe a child has provided personal information through the app, contact us and we will act on it.
8. Your rights
Because the app stores your content locally and holds no account, you can exercise most rights directly: view your data in the app, delete individual items or all history, revoke any permission in iOS Settings, and turn the AI assistant off. Uninstalling the app erases everything it stored.
If you are in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, you have rights of access, rectification, erasure, restriction, objection, and portability under the GDPR. Our legal bases are: your consent for the AI assistant and for personalised advertising; legitimate interests for basic analytics and crash diagnostics used to keep the app working; and contract for delivering purchased features. If you are a California resident, you have rights of access and deletion under the CCPA/CPRA; we do not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined. To exercise any right, or to complain, email us at the address below.
9. Security
Your content is protected by iOS app sandboxing and device encryption. All network requests the app makes use HTTPS. No system is perfectly secure, but the app is designed so that the most sensitive material — what you scan and create — never leaves your device in the first place.
10. Changes to this policy
If this policy changes materially — for example when in-app purchases or advertising are introduced — we will update the date at the top of this page and, where the change affects how your data is used, show a notice in the app.
11. Contact
Questions or requests about privacy — including access, correction, or deletion requests — can be sent to Aqib Rasheed at Aqibrasheed854@gmail.com. We aim to respond within 30 days.