Privacy policy

Tea helps you manage a tea collection, brew timers, teapots, and tasting notes. You can use its local features without creating a Tea account.

Your library

Your teas, brew history, ratings, notes, and chosen photographs are stored on your device. If iCloud sync is enabled and you are signed in to iCloud, Tea synchronizes that library through your private iCloud database. The Tea developer cannot view the contents of that private database. You can turn iCloud sync off in Tea’s settings; doing so stops synchronization and does not erase an existing copy. Deleting an item while sync is enabled synchronizes that deletion to your other devices.

Tea can transfer library and brewing updates to your paired Apple Watch. This supports brewing, timers, ratings, and next-infusion settings on your own devices.

Photographs and system features

Tea accesses a photograph you choose or takes a photograph when you use the camera feature and grant permission. Those photographs are part of your library and may be synchronized with iCloud when sync is enabled. Tea requests the system permissions needed for reminders and notifications when you use those features. Maps display tea-origin locations, not your current location.

Optional photo analysis and cleanup

When you choose canister import or teapot photo cleanup, Tea sends the selected photographs to teaapp.com and Google’s Gemini API to identify visible label information or generate a showcase teapot image. You can review and edit tea suggestions. These optional features require a network connection; ordinary local brewing and inventory do not.

The processing service temporarily stores photographs and job results. Input photographs are removed after processing finishes or permanently fails. Jobs expire after 24 hours and are removed by a scheduled cleanup worker. Accepting or removing a queued item requests earlier deletion. Failed deletion requests may leave the server copy until expiry. Google processes requests under its applicable Gemini API terms and privacy practices. If a project uses Google’s unpaid services, Google may use submitted content to improve its products; do not submit sensitive or confidential photographs.

The service hashes the originating network address for daily usage limits and keeps those counts briefly. Hosting providers may retain operational request logs under their policies. Live Activity updates send progress counts and status through Apple Push Notification service; they do not include your photographs or tea labels.

Photo-tools beta reporting

During the photo-tools beta, requests to recognize tea, enhance tea photographs, or enhance teapot and cup photographs produce service usage records. Updated beta versions send a random identifier scoped to the app installation, app version, build number, and beta or development classification. The service stores a keyed hash of that identifier with the UTC submission date, request type, processing attempts, and outcome. These records measure unique installations and reliability; they do not contain photographs, labels, notes, names, email addresses, raw network addresses, or account identifiers.

This reporting applies when you use the online photo tools and is separate from the optional Share Anonymous Usage setting. The installation identifier is not synchronized with your tea library or included in device backups; reinstalling or using another device counts separately. Older app versions without this identifier contribute request counts but cannot be counted as unique installations. Metadata is retained for 90 UTC calendar days, independently of the shorter photo and result retention described above. Collection can be disabled by the developer when the beta ends; existing metadata continues to expire. The identifier is not used to track you across other apps or websites.

Advertising and analytics

Tea does not include third-party advertising or analytics SDKs, sell your information, or track you across other companies’ apps and websites. Apple services, including iCloud, Maps, and TestFlight, are subject to Apple’s own privacy policies and your Apple settings.

Optional anonymous usage statistics

Share Anonymous Usage is off by default and can be changed in Tea’s Settings under Privacy. When enabled, Tea and its paired Apple Watch send teaapp.com predefined feature actions, foreground session and screen durations, broad tea families, and ranges for collection size, teapot count and recent brewing frequency. The Watch receives changes to this setting when it next synchronizes. Reports include a UTC day and phone/Watch platform, but no tea names, brands, search text, notes, photographs, account IDs, persistent device IDs or individual session identifiers.

The service combines reports into daily totals retained for 90 days. Random batch identifiers prevent retry duplication and expire after nine days. Unsent reports are kept on the device for up to seven days. Turning sharing off clears unsent reports; already combined totals and accepted in-flight reports cannot be traced back for individual deletion. Cleanup runs when reports arrive. Our analytics code does not store network addresses or user agents. Hosting providers process connection metadata and may retain operational logs under their own policies. These aggregate statistics help improve Tea and are not used for advertising or cross-app tracking.

Website analytics

The Tea marketing website uses Google Analytics to measure page visits, link and control clicks, TestFlight link clicks, scroll depth, and time spent actively viewing the page, its sections, and app previews. Active time pauses when the page is hidden or unfocused, and after one minute without interaction. Website analytics are separate from the app’s Share Anonymous Usage setting. Google Analytics may use first-party cookies to distinguish browsers and sessions. Our custom interaction events send control identifiers and durations, not typed text, photographs, tea-library data, or URL query strings. Advertising personalization and Google signals are disabled. Browser privacy settings and content blockers can prevent collection.

Sharing and export

When you choose to export or share your library or other content, the files or information you select are sent to the destination you choose. That destination’s privacy practices apply.

Support

If you contact the developer for support, the information you include in your message is used to respond to your request. Avoid including private photographs or library information unless it is needed for the issue. Contact: sam@teaapp.com.

Changes

We update this policy when Tea’s data handling changes. The effective date identifies the version in effect.