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Privacy Policy for Comma

Last Updated: October 10, 2025
Effective Date: October 10, 2025

Overview

Comma is a privacy-first EPUB and PDF reader for iOS. We believe your reading habits, notes, and personal data should remain completely private. This Privacy Policy explains how Comma handles your information.

The Short Version: Comma does not collect, transmit, or share any of your personal data. Everything stays on your device.

Data Collection

What We DON'T Collect

Comma does not collect, store, or transmit:

  • ❌ Your name, email, or contact information
  • ❌ Your reading history or book titles
  • ❌ Your highlights, notes, or quotes
  • ❌ Your device information or identifiers
  • ❌ Your location data
  • ❌ Analytics or usage statistics
  • ❌ Crash reports or diagnostics
  • ❌ Any personal information whatsoever

What Stays on Your Device

All of the following data is stored locally on your device only:

  • 📚 Your Library: All imported EPUB and PDF files
  • 📖 Reading Progress: Your current position in each book
  • ✏️ Highlights: Text you've highlighted while reading
  • 💬 Quotes: Memorable passages you've saved
  • ⚙️ Reading Preferences: Theme, font, size, margins, and other settings
  • 🏷️ Categories & Tags: Book organization and metadata
  • 🔍 Search History: Local search queries (never transmitted)

Apple Intelligence Features

On-Device AI Processing

Comma uses Apple Intelligence (Apple Foundation Models) for the following features on supported devices:

  • Automatic Book Categorization: Analyzes book content to suggest categories
  • Tag Generation: Creates descriptive tags based on book content
  • Chapter Summaries: Generates summaries of book chapters
  • Text Explanation: Provides explanations of selected text passages

Privacy Guarantees

  • ✅ All AI processing happens entirely on your device
  • ✅ No data is sent to external servers or cloud services
  • ✅ Apple Intelligence operates locally using on-device models
  • ✅ Your book content never leaves your device
  • ✅ Summaries and explanations are generated privately

Device Requirements

Apple Intelligence features require:

  • iOS 18.2 or later
  • Compatible device (iPhone 15 Pro/Pro Max or later, iPad with M1 chip or later)
  • Apple Intelligence enabled in Settings

Note: If your device doesn't support Apple Intelligence, Comma still works perfectly. You simply won't see AI-powered features like automatic categorization or chapter summaries.

Third-Party Services

What We DON'T Use

Comma does not integrate with:

  • ❌ Analytics services (Google Analytics, Firebase, etc.)
  • ❌ Advertising networks
  • ❌ Social media platforms
  • ❌ Cloud storage services
  • ❌ External APIs or servers
  • ❌ Tracking or attribution services

Optional User-Initiated Actions

The following features involve external services only when you explicitly choose to use them:

  1. Google Images Search (Manual Cover Update)
    When you tap "Search Google Images" to find a book cover
    Opens Safari with a Google search query
    You manually select and save an image
    We don't track or monitor this action
  2. iOS Share Sheet (Quote Sharing)
    When you tap "Share" on a quote
    Uses native iOS sharing (Messages, Mail, etc.)
    We don't track what you share or where you share it
    Sharing is handled entirely by iOS
  3. App Store Review
    When you tap "Rate Comma on the App Store"
    Opens the App Store app
    Uses Apple's native review API
    We don't track whether you leave a review

These actions are entirely optional and user-initiated. We have no visibility into these interactions.

Permissions

Required Permissions

Comma requests the following iOS permissions:

  1. File Access (Document Picker)
    Why: To import EPUB and PDF files from your Files app
    When: Only when you tap "+" to add a book
    Scope: You choose specific files; we don't access your entire file system
  2. Photo Library Access (Optional)
    Why: To let you choose custom book covers from your photos
    When: Only when you tap "Pick from Photos" for a custom cover
    Scope: You select specific images; we don't access your entire photo library

Permissions We DON'T Request

  • ❌ Camera
  • ❌ Microphone
  • ❌ Location Services
  • ❌ Contacts
  • ❌ Calendar
  • ❌ Notifications (optional, for future features)
  • ❌ Bluetooth
  • ❌ Network access (no internet connection required)