Privacy Policy

Who is responsible

Pencora is made by one developer, Gleb Naumkin, who decides how the data described here is used (the "controller" / «оператор»). Contact: gnaumkin213@gmail.com or Telegram.

What stays on your device

Your notebooks, strokes, images, the search index built from your handwriting and your pen settings stay on your device. Handwriting recognition runs on the device too. Pencora has no accounts and no advertising, does not track you across other apps or websites, and does not sell data.

Anonymous usage statistics

To understand which features are used and whether the handwriting program works, Pencora sends a small amount of usage information to its server:

• a random ID created on your device (the "writer ID" — it is not derived from your device, Apple ID, name or email);
• the app version and your total time in the app;
• which features you used — for example, that you opened the handwriting tab, pressed Write, opened «Boost your model», saw the consent screen, started writing words or reached the word goal;
• your answers to the consent and "rate the app" questions.

It never includes the contents of your notes, your drawings or text, your name, email, location or any advertising identifier. It is not shared with anyone and not used for advertising.

Switch it off any time in Profile → Data & privacy → Anonymous usage statistics. Nothing of this is ever sent for someone whose birthday shows they are under 18. We rely on our legitimate interest in improving the app (GDPR Art. 6(1)(f)); you can object at any time with that switch.

One exception to the switch: when you give, decline or withdraw consent to the handwriting donation, a record of that decision is kept (without your time in the app), because we must be able to show what you agreed to (GDPR Art. 7(1)).

Your birthday

Pencora asks for your birthday during onboarding (and again later if you skipped it). It is used only on your device: to check that you are 18 or older before you can join the handwriting donation, and to switch off usage statistics for anyone under 18. Your birthday is never uploaded.

Optional: handwriting donation (18+)

You can contribute samples of your handwriting. It is off by default, open only to people who are 18 or older, and needs your explicit consent on a separate screen. There are two separate choices:

• Dataset words — once you agree, the words you write on the dataset page are uploaded automatically.
• Words from your notes — only if you also switch this on, single words recognized from your notebooks from then on are uploaded too. You can see and delete them any time in Profile → Words from my notes.

A donated sample contains:

• word-level stroke trajectories — x/y position, time, pressure, altitude and azimuth as you write;
• the word (prompted or recognized), its language, the recognition engine and its confidence, a dictionary flag and, if any, a translation;
• the canvas size, pixel density, baseline and pointer type (finger or Apple Pencil);
• the task (prompt, task number, word group), when the word was written and how long it took, whether it was a correction, and a session ID;
• the app version and the version of the consent text you agreed to;
• your optional answers about how you write (cursive, habitual script, finger or stylus), the language you collect in, and whether you chose "Training only".

What it is used for: an open research dataset published under a CC BY 4.0 license — unless you choose "Training only", in which case your samples are never published; open models for handwriting recognition and handwriting generation; and, once you have written enough, a personal model of your handwriting that is delivered only to you. Before publication, samples are cleaned of anything personal or belonging to others.

Legal basis: your consent (GDPR Art. 6(1)(a); Art. 9 of Russian Federal Law 152-FZ "On Personal Data"). Samples are identified only by the writer ID — never your name, email or birthday.

Withdrawing: switch off "Donate handwriting samples" in Profile to stop all uploads immediately, or use "Withdraw consent / remove my data" (Profile → Read the details) to also delete your words from the device and erase them from the active dataset on the server. Dataset versions already frozen or published, and models already trained, cannot be changed.

Personal models: while you take part, the app asks the server whether a personal model is ready for your writer ID; the model file is delivered only through a link tied to that ID.

Optional: in-app feedback

If you use Profile → Send Feedback, Pencora sends your message, any screenshots you choose to attach, and an optional reply email. This is stored separately from the handwriting data and is deliberately not linked to your writer ID. It is used only to answer you and fix problems.

Google ML Kit

Handwriting recognition runs on your device, partly using Google ML Kit. To do that, the app downloads recognition models from Google's servers, and the ML Kit SDK sends Google its own diagnostic and usage data (Google declares it as not linked to you and not used for tracking). This happens whenever handwriting recognition is used and is governed by Google's Privacy Policy. Pencora cannot switch it off. Your notes and handwriting are not sent to Google by Pencora.

Who processes this data and where

Usage statistics, donated handwriting and feedback are sent over HTTPS to Supabase (Supabase, Inc.), which hosts Pencora's backend and database on servers in the European Union (Frankfurt, Germany). If you live elsewhere — for example in Russia — this is a cross-border transfer to a country that is a party to Council of Europe Convention 108 on data protection; by consenting to the handwriting donation you also consent to that transfer. No one else receives this data, apart from Google as described in the ML Kit section.

How long data is kept

• Usage statistics: at most 24 months, then deleted automatically.
• Records of your consent decisions: as long as your samples are in the dataset and as long as needed to show what you agreed to.
• Donated samples: until you withdraw or ask for deletion (published or frozen dataset versions and trained models excepted, as above).
• Feedback: as long as needed to answer and fix the issue; ask any time to have it deleted.

iCloud backup

If iCloud backup is available and you enable it, Pencora copies your library into your own private iCloud Drive container — the iCloud account already signed into your device. This backup is yours; it lives in your iCloud storage, and I never see it.

Optional: Google Drive backup

If you connect Google Drive, Pencora requests the narrow drive.file permission. Google limits this permission to the backup folder and files Pencora creates or that you explicitly open with Pencora; the app cannot browse the rest of your Drive.

Pencora uses this access only to create, list, download, restore, replace, and delete its own backup files. The five newest automatic backups are kept, and older Pencora backups are removed during cleanup. Your backup archives stay in your Google Drive and never pass through my servers.

Your Google email address is used only to show which account is connected. OAuth access and refresh tokens are stored in the iOS Keychain on your device. Pencora does not sell, share, transfer, or use Google user data for advertising, analytics, or training. Its use of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

You can disconnect Google Drive in Pencora at any time; Pencora revokes its token and removes it from your device. You can also revoke access from your Google Account. Backup files already stored in Drive remain under your control and can be deleted there.

Your rights and deletion requests

You can ask for a copy of your data, correction, deletion (including usage statistics), or restriction, withdraw consent at any time, and object to usage statistics (the Profile switch does that instantly). Write to gnaumkin213@gmail.com or Telegram and include your writer ID — it is shown in Profile → Data & privacy → Your anonymous ID. I answer within 30 days. You can also complain to your data-protection authority (in the EU, your national supervisory authority; in Russia, Roskomnadzor).

Children

Pencora is a general-purpose notes app. The handwriting donation is only for people who are 18 or older, and no usage statistics are sent for anyone whose birthday shows they are under 18. If you believe a child has sent us data, contact me and it will be deleted.

Changes to this policy

Updates are posted on this page with a new effective date. If a change affects what you agreed to for the handwriting donation, the app asks you again before anything more is uploaded under the new terms.

Contact

Gleb Naumkin — gnaumkin213@gmail.com, Telegram.