Legal

TidyByte Privacy Policy

Short version: your photos and videos never leave your iPhone. No account, no ads, no tracking. The internet is used only for Pro purchases (Apple, plus a purchase-management service that receives an anonymous ID and receipt), the optional Smart Search model download from Apple, and a place-name look-up if you search by place.

Effective date: August 11, 2026 App: TidyByte (App Store name: "Storage Cleaner: TidyByte") Developer: Senstudios Contact: tidybyte@sen-studios.com

TidyByte is built on one principle: your photos and videos never leave your iPhone. This policy explains, plainly, what the app does and does not do with your data. Every statement below reflects how the app is actually built.

The short version

  • TidyByte works entirely on your device. Your photos, videos, and anything derived from them (thumbnails, fingerprints, search index) are processed and stored only on your iPhone.
  • TidyByte has no accounts, no sign-up, no login, no advertising, and no analytics or tracking.
  • TidyByte does not operate any server that receives your data. Nothing you own is ever uploaded to us.
  • The only two things that involve the internet are: (1) processing your in-app purchase through Apple and our purchase-management provider, and (2) downloading the optional on-device AI search model from Apple's servers if you choose to set it up.

What TidyByte can access

Your Photos library. TidyByte asks for permission to read and write your Photos library. This is required for the app to work: it reads photo and video metadata (file size, dimensions, duration, dates, and — for the optional search feature — the photo's own location tags) to find what is taking up space, and it writes to your library only when you explicitly ask it to (saving a compressed video, or deleting items you selected).

  • Deleting anything requires your explicit confirmation every time. Deleted items go to your iOS Recently Deleted album, where iOS keeps them for up to 30 days and you can restore them. TidyByte never permanently deletes anything itself and never deletes anything automatically.
  • Compressing a video always produces a new copy. Your original is never modified, and is only removed if you choose "Replace" (which, again, sends the original to Recently Deleted).
  • You can grant limited access to only selected photos and videos instead of full access; the app works within whatever you allow.

What TidyByte stores on your device (and only there)

To do its job, TidyByte keeps a local database on your iPhone containing metadata about your library (identifiers, sizes, dates, dimensions) and, if you use the optional features, perceptual fingerprints used to detect duplicate/similar items and an on-device search index (including AI-derived descriptors and any text recognized in screenshots). This data is stored in the app's private sandbox, is never transmitted anywhere, and is deleted when you delete the app.

Smart Search (optional, on-device AI)

If you purchase Pro and choose to set up Smart Search, the app downloads a machine-learning model (about 300 MB) from Apple's App Store servers using Apple's On-Demand Resources system. This download is initiated only by your explicit tap, and you can see its progress. After download, all analysis runs on your iPhone's own processor. Your photos are never sent to any server for analysis.

Place search. If you type a place name into search (for example "photos in Paris"), TidyByte sends only the place name you typed — never any photo, and never your photos' locations — to Apple's geocoding service to look up its map coordinates, then matches against your photos' existing location tags locally on your device. This is the only search-related network request, and it happens only when you type a place.

Purchases

Pro is sold as in-app purchases (subscriptions and a one-time lifetime unlock) processed by Apple. To validate and manage purchases across your devices, TidyByte uses RevenueCat, a purchase-management service. RevenueCat receives an anonymous, randomly generated identifier and purchase receipt information from Apple — not your name, email, Apple ID, or any of your photos or videos. We never see your payment details; Apple handles all billing. RevenueCat's privacy policy: https://www.revenuecat.com/privacy

What TidyByte does NOT do

  • Does not collect your name, email, phone number, contacts, or precise location.
  • Does not use advertising identifiers or any ad networks.
  • Does not use analytics, crash-reporting SDKs, or tracking of any kind.
  • Does not sell, share, or transfer your data to third parties (beyond the purchase processing described above).
  • Does not upload, back up, or copy your photos or videos anywhere.

Reviews and ratings

TidyByte may occasionally ask if you'd like to rate it, using Apple's standard in-app review prompt. Whether and what you rate is handled by Apple, not us.

Children

TidyByte is a general-audience utility and is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone; the app collects none.

Your control

Because everything lives on your device, you are fully in control: revoke Photos access at any time in iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Photos; delete the app to remove every trace of its local data. Purchases are managed through your Apple ID in Settings → Apple Account → Subscriptions.

Changes to this policy

If TidyByte's data practices ever change, we will update this page and the effective date above. Material changes will also be described in the app's release notes.

Contact

Questions about privacy: tidybyte@sen-studios.com

© 2026 Senstudios · tidybyte@sen-studios.com