Questions, answered plainly.

Not what we keep for you. Sync, the iCloud backup and share links are locked on your iPhone before they leave it, and forwarded email is sealed the moment it reaches us, so we can’t open them.

We do see a document’s text or pages while an AI action or a Word, Excel or PowerPoint conversion you started is running, and we see metadata such as sizes, counts, dates and device names. The full list is in what we can and can’t see.

Only documents you send. Nothing goes to AI until you allow it: before AI first reads a document, the app tells you it isn’t fully private. With Pro’s “Name and sort new scans” on, you’re told once for everything you add afterwards.

Most actions send the document’s text; Read with AI, Extract, Count and “Keep the layout” send page images. Our AI provider, OpenAI, gets each request with storage turned off and no user or install identifier, and doesn’t train on it, but may keep requests up to 30 days for abuse checks. We have no zero-data-retention agreement yet. Hidden items and documents marked “Never send to AI” are never sent.

Yes. Everything Paperwise stores on your iPhone (pages, files, photos, thumbnails and the database of titles, text, notes and tags) is encrypted with its own key, kept in this iPhone’s Keychain for this device only. Readable copies exist only while you scan, view, edit or share. Hidden adds keys only Face ID, your Hidden passcode or your recovery key open.

The vault’s key isn’t behind Face ID, so sync and backup work with the app lock off. That also means something running as Paperwise on your unlocked iPhone could read the vault: turn the app lock on and keep your most private papers in Hidden. Anything that leaves the phone for backup, sync or a share link is encrypted on the iPhone first.

Restore from Paperwise’s encrypted iCloud backup, or from sync on another device, with your recovery key. Without backup or sync your documents are only on that phone: the vault’s key never leaves it, so neither an iPhone device backup nor a phone-to-phone transfer can open the vault. Restored files are encrypted again under the new iPhone’s own key.

If you lose every device and your recovery key, nobody can recover your data, including us. That’s the price of end-to-end encryption, and why we give you a recovery key and a free encrypted backup.

A Pro option for Hidden, one per space. Typed instead of that space’s passcode, it opens that space and quietly erases the other spaces on that iPhone. Copies in sync or the iCloud backup stay locked, and come back with their recovery keys.

It reduces, but can’t remove, the risk of someone forcing you to unlock. See the emergency passcode.

Not Paperwise’s encrypted iCloud backup: it’s locked on your iPhone first, with a key protected by your recovery key. Apple sees how many records there are, their sizes and dates.

Your documents’ files aren’t in iPhone device backups. The app’s encrypted database is, but its key never leaves that iPhone, so that copy can’t be opened on another phone.

No. There are no ads, no analytics or advertising SDKs and no crash reporter. Purchases go through Apple and RevenueCat, which see your subscription and an app user id. Our App Store privacy label lists no “Data Used to Track You”.

Not yet. An independent security audit is planned, and we’ll publish the report. Until then, the security whitepaper explains exactly how Paperwise works and where its limits are. Found a problem? Write to security@paperwise.app.

Yes. Scanning, on-device clean-up and search, PDF export, signing, folders, notes, files, cards, Hidden (one space, with Face ID and an optional code or pattern), the private camera and the encrypted iCloud backup are free, with no watermark, ads or tracking.

AI, searchable and password PDFs, sync, Forward by email, share links and the extra privacy tools are Pro.

The app lock is offered, switched on, during the first run of a new install (also when you restore from Paperwise’s iCloud backup), and turns on after a successful Face ID. With it on, Paperwise opens with Face ID; with it off, the vault opens without it. Turning it off asks for Face ID first. Hidden always needs Face ID either way. Change it in Account → Lock and privacy.

Your vault is locked with Face ID. IDs, medical, bank and tax papers get extra care automatically: their previews are blurred, opening, sharing or exporting them asks for Face ID, and AI never names them automatically. Anything nobody should even know exists goes in Hidden.

No. Scanning, Hidden, the iCloud backup and everything on your iPhone work without one. Sign in with Apple is needed only for sync and Forward by email. We don’t ask Apple for your name or email address.

Yes. Scanning, clean-up, text reading, search, the PDF tools and Hidden run on your iPhone. AI, Word, Excel and PowerPoint conversion, backup, sync, Forward by email and share links need a connection.

Paperwise reads printed text on your iPhone with Apple’s text recognition, in the languages your version of iOS supports, including English and French (Arabic where iOS supports it). Translate (Pro) works between English, French, Arabic, Spanish, German, Italian and Portuguese.

Paperwise runs on iPhone and iPad, with a sidebar, keyboard shortcuts, drag and drop and Apple Pencil on iPad. There’s no Android version; it’s planned for later.

Paperwise is coming soon to the App Store. Questions in the meantime: support@paperwise.app.

$9.99 a month, or $59.99 a year with 3 days free. Pro’s AI helper includes 20 AI actions a day and 300 a month, plus up to 100 namings a day.

Pro comes with your Apple ID’s subscription. On each iPhone or iPad, open Account → Plan & account → Restore purchases to turn Pro on there. Only sync and Forward by email follow your Paperwise account to every signed-in device.

On your iPhone, open Settings, tap your name, then Subscriptions, then Paperwise. Pro stays on until the end of the period you paid for.