Oracula (集谕 in Chinese; “the app”) is a tool for keeping illustrated notes, organizing ideas and reflecting on your own thoughts. It is developed and operated by Yishen Liu, an individual developer (“we”, “us”). We know these notes are often personal. This policy explains what information the app handles, why, where it is stored, and how you can manage it. Please read it before using the app.
At a glance
No sign-up. The app has no account system and never asks for your phone number, email or real name.
Your notes stay yours. Content is stored on your device and, if iCloud is on, synced to your own private iCloud database. We run no servers and cannot see your notes.
Recognition happens on-device. When you recognise a spread from a photo, the photo is processed on your device and never uploaded.
No ads, no tracking. No advertising, analytics or tracking SDKs. We never sell any information.
Payments are handled by Apple. We never see your card or other payment details.
1Scope
This policy applies to the Oracula app for iPhone and iPad, including its widgets.
Services such as iCloud and the App Store are provided by Apple. Apple’s handling of that data is governed by the Apple Privacy Policy.
2Information we handle
2.1 Content you create
This is content you type or choose yourself: the questions, spreads, cards, your own interpretations, reflections, ratings and follow-ups in your notes; tags, notebooks (including notebooks and avatars you create for people), private card notes and custom spreads; the nickname, bio and avatar in your profile; and images you add to notes, covers or backgrounds.
This content is used to display, edit, search and organise your notes in the app, and to generate insights and share content on your device. What you enter is entirely up to you.
Notebooks about people and photos may contain information about others. Please only save and share content you have the right to use.
2.2 Camera and photos
Camera: requested when you take a photo of a spread to recognise it, or take a photo for an avatar (including a person’s avatar) or a note cover.
Choosing from your photos: done through the system photo picker, so the app only receives the photos you select and cannot browse your library. Used to recognise a spread, or to choose images for notes, avatars, covers and backgrounds.
Photo library (add only): requested only when you save a share image to your photos. It writes images and does not read your library.
Card and position recognition runs entirely on your device. Photos are never sent to us or to any third-party AI service for recognition. A photo is stored only if you choose to attach it to a note or use it as an avatar, cover or background, in which case it is saved as part of that content and may sync through iCloud.
You can turn these permissions off at any time in the system Settings app. Manual card selection and text notes keep working without them.
2.3 Purchase information
The app offers these in-app purchases: a lifetime membership and individually sold card decks, sticker packs and table backgrounds (all one-time purchases), and yearly or monthly auto-renewable membership subscriptions. Payment, billing, renewal and refunds are all handled by the Apple App Store. We have no access to your card number, Apple Account password or other payment details.
The app verifies transactions with Apple’s StoreKit and caches verified entitlement information on your device (such as purchased products, subscription expiry dates and product prices) to unlock features, restore purchases and work offline.
Auto-renewable subscriptions renew automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel subscriptions in Settings › [your name] › Subscriptions. Deleting the app does not cancel a subscription.
2.4 Settings and preferences
Settings such as theme, haptics and display options are stored on your device. Some personal preferences that should stay consistent across devices sync through your iCloud.
2.5 Widgets
What widgets display (such as the question and a short excerpt of your latest note, your note history, your spread list, the card of the day and quick-draw results) is written by the app to shared storage on your device (an App Group) and read only by the widgets on that device. It is never uploaded. Keep in mind that widgets on your Home Screen or Lock Screen may be visible to people around you.
2.6 What we don’t collect
We do not collect your name, phone number, email address (unless you contact us), location, contacts or advertising identifier (IDFA), and we do not collect device identifiers to track you.
If you have turned on “Share With App Developers” in Settings › Privacy & Security › Analytics & Improvements, Apple may provide us with crash reports and usage statistics that do not identify you. We use them only to improve stability. You can turn this off at any time.
3Where it is stored
Your device: content is kept in the app’s own storage on your device, protected by the iOS sandbox and Data Protection.
Your iCloud: if you are signed in to iCloud and allow the app to use it, content syncs through Apple CloudKit to your own private iCloud database so it is available across your devices. This data is stored by Apple; where it is stored and who operates the service depend on the country or region of your Apple Account (for example, iCloud in mainland China is operated by GCBD, i.e. AIPO Cloud (Guizhou) Technology Co. Ltd). We cannot access your private iCloud database.
Syncing depends on your network, available iCloud storage, Apple Account settings and the status of Apple’s services. Something saved on one device may not appear on another right away.
We run no servers of our own. We never upload your notes, photos or profile to us, and we cannot read them through any back end.
4Sharing, export and import
The app passes content you select to the system share sheet, your photo library, the Files app or another app of your choice only when you ask it to. This includes:
Share images: you can preview them and hide anything you don’t want to share before they are created;
Share text: the text of the note is passed directly to the system share sheet;
Spread and “My understanding” share files: a plain .json file containing the custom spreads and understanding entries you select, plus the nickname set in your profile (to show where it came from);
Backup export: a ZIP file containing your notes, images, tags, notebooks, private card notes and more (it does not include your profile, custom spreads or settings).
The app does not host or relay these files and never creates publicly accessible links. Once a copy reaches a recipient or another app, their rules apply and we cannot recall it. Before sharing, check that it contains no text, photos or information about others that you don’t want to make public.
Imported files are read only on your device. When you open a .json file someone shared with you, the app shows a preview first and saves nothing until you confirm. Importing a backup requires you to choose the file yourself; its contents are merged with your existing data and never overwrite it.
5Third-party services
Apple system services: iCloud / CloudKit (sync), StoreKit (purchases), camera and photos, the system share sheet and WidgetKit (widgets). Apple’s Privacy Policy applies to how these services handle data.
Open-source components: the app uses the open-source ZIPFoundation library to compress and extract backup files on your device. It does not connect to the internet or collect any information.
The app includes no third-party advertising, analytics, crash-reporting or tracking SDKs. We do not provide or sell your information to third parties, and we never use it for advertising.
6Retention and deletion
We don’t store your content ourselves, so you decide how long it is kept.
Deleted notes go to the Recently Deleted bin first, where you can restore them or delete them permanently. When sync is available, deletions sync to iCloud and your other devices; a device that hasn’t gone online yet may keep the old content for a while.
To stop old devices or old backups from bringing deleted items back, some deletions keep an identifier and deletion time. These do not include the deleted text.
The app keeps automatic backups and history snapshots on your device to protect against accidental data loss. Deleting a note does not erase earlier snapshots or files you exported separately; you can manage those in the Files app.
Deleting the app removes all local data on that device, including automatic backups. It does not delete data already synced to iCloud or files you exported elsewhere.
To delete iCloud data, open Settings › [your name] › iCloud, go to the storage management page, find Oracula and delete its data (names vary slightly between iOS versions).
7Your rights
Access and copy: you can view all your content in the app at any time and get a copy of your notes and related content through backup export (custom spreads can be exported separately as a .json share file).
Correct: edit it directly in the app.
Delete: see section 6.
Withdraw permission: you can turn off camera and photo access, or iCloud sync for the app, at any time in the Settings app. This does not affect processing that took place before you withdrew it.
Close your account: there is no account to close. Delete the app and its iCloud data.
Because your data lives on your own devices and in your own iCloud, you can do most of this yourself. If you have questions or need help, contact us as described in section 11 and we will reply within 15 business days.
8Security
Data on your device is protected by the iOS sandbox and Data Protection, and iCloud sync traffic is encrypted by Apple. We recommend setting a passcode on your device and checking content before you share it.
No security measure is perfect. If an incident occurs that may affect you, we will take prompt steps to address it and notify you as required by law.
9Children
The app is not designed for children. Children under 14, or under the minimum age required where they live if that is higher, should use it only with a parent’s or guardian’s consent and guidance, and users under 18 should get a parent’s or guardian’s consent before making purchases. Parents can manage purchases and usage with Apple’s Family Sharing, Ask to Buy and Screen Time.
10Changes to this policy
When the app’s features or the way it handles information change, we will update this policy and the dates at the top of this page. For significant changes, such as handling a new type of information, we will show a clear notice in the app, and we will ask for your consent where the law requires it.
You can contact us about this policy, how information is handled, or deletion. To reply and troubleshoot, we use the contact details and materials you include in your email, and nothing else. Please don’t send passwords, payment details or private notes unrelated to your question.
We cannot act on your behalf in your Apple Account, iCloud, or Apple’s payment and refund systems. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may also lodge a complaint with the relevant regulator.