Last updated: September 9, 2026
Cathode collects nothing, sends nothing, and has no account. It makes no network requests of any kind. There is no analytics library, no crash reporter, no advertising identifier, and no third-party SDK of any kind inside the app.
Three things are written to the device, and only to the device:
Your effect settings — speed, density, glow, colour and style for each effect — kept in the app's own preferences.
Your saved presets — the names you type and the settings they hold — kept in a file inside the app's private Application Support folder.
Whether Cathode Unlimited has been unlocked, kept as a single yes/no flag in the app's own preferences.
All three are removed when you delete the app. If iCloud Backup is switched on for your device, they may be included in that backup, which is covered by Apple's privacy policy rather than this one.
No name, no email address, no contacts, no location, no photos, no microphone or camera access, no device identifier, no usage statistics, no diagnostic reports. Cathode never asks for a system permission, because it never needs one.
If you buy Cathode Unlimited, the transaction happens entirely between you and Apple. We receive no payment details and no personal information. The app asks the App Store one question — whether this Apple Account has bought Cathode Unlimited — and stores only the yes/no answer.
Cathode writes a small number of entries to the system log on your device for debugging: which effect is running, how many presets exist, and whether a purchase succeeded. These entries never contain anything you typed, including preset names. They stay on the device and are never transmitted to us.
Cathode is not directed at children and collects no information from anyone, of any age.
If a future version starts doing anything with data, this policy will be updated before that version ships, and the change will be described in the App Store release notes.
Questions about privacy: yzd3008@icloud.com