Marginalia - Privacy Policy
Last updated: June 2026
Marginalia is a personal reading tool. The whole point is that your notes, passages, and thoughts belong to you. This policy explains exactly what data the app collects, where it goes, and what we do with it.
What Marginalia collects
Content you create The books you add, passages you capture, notes you write, and categories you assign are your data. This content is stored on your device and synced to your iCloud account if you have iCloud enabled. We do not have access to your content — it lives in your iCloud, not on our servers.
Photos When you photograph a book page, the image is processed on your device to extract the text. The photo is stored locally as part of the passage record and synced to iCloud along with your other data. Photos are not transmitted to any external server for processing — all OCR happens on-device using Apple’s Vision framework.
Photos library (optional) Marginalia can interact with your Photos library in two ways:
Reading: When you choose an existing photo from your library as a book cover, Marginalia reads that photo to use as the cover image. It accesses only the specific photo you select — it does not browse your library or access any other photos.
Writing: If you enable “Save page photos to Apple Photos” in Settings, Marginalia saves copies of captured page photos and book cover images into a “Marginalia” folder in your Photos library, organized into per-book albums.
Both features require Photos permission, which iOS will ask for the first time you use either one. You can revoke this permission at any time in iOS Settings → Privacy → Photos. Turning off the “Save page photos” toggle in Marginalia’s Settings stops new photos from being saved; it does not delete photos already saved to your library.
Usage data We do not collect analytics, crash reports, or behavioral tracking data in the current version of the app.
What Marginalia does not collect
We do not sell your data to anyone
We do not share your reading content with third parties
We do not use your passages or notes to train AI models
We do not track your location
We do not serve ads
We do not have accounts or servers — your data belongs to you and Apple
iCloud sync
Marginalia uses Apple’s iCloud to sync your data across your devices. This means your books, passages, and notes are stored in your personal iCloud account, not on Marginalia’s servers. We have no access to your iCloud data. You can read Apple’s iCloud privacy policy at apple.com/legal/privacy.
If you have iCloud disabled on your device, your data stays local only and does not sync.
Your rights
Access: You can export all your data at any time from Settings → Export.
Deletion: To delete all your Marginalia data, delete the app from your device. To also remove it from iCloud, go to iOS Settings → your name → iCloud → Manage Account Storage → Marginalia → Delete Data.
Portability: The Export function produces either a CSV or Excel (XLSX) file. Your data is never locked in a proprietary format.
Children’s privacy
Marginalia is not directed at children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect data from children under 13.
Changes to this policy
If we make material changes to this policy, we’ll note the updated date at the top. We won’t make changes that reduce your privacy rights without notice.
Contact
Questions about this policy? Email nathan@idratherberight.com or visit idratherberight.com.
Marginalia is published by Nathan, I’d Rather Be Right.