Your memories belong to you
This page explains what Threaded keeps, where it lives, what it asks your phone for, and which outside services it talks to. Last updated November 7, 2026.
- Your memories, journals, to-dos, trackers and plans are stored on your device.
- Smart features, like finding patterns and searching your memories, run on your device with Apple's on-device intelligence.
- iCloud sync is optional. If you turn it on, your data goes to your own private iCloud account.
- Threaded has no ads and does not sell your data.
- When you delete something, it is deleted for good. There is no way to bring it back.
What Threaded keeps
Everything you add lives in the app: photos, videos, voice notes, text, journal entries, to-dos, planner blocks, trackers, mood and important dates. Threaded stores it on your device.
The patterns on your Insights screen, your search and other smart features are worked out on your device, from your own entries, using Apple's on-device intelligence. Your entries are not sent to an AI service, and nothing is uploaded to build them.
iCloud sync and backups
If you sign in with iCloud, Threaded syncs your data across your devices through your private iCloud storage. It is held in your Apple account, not on a Threaded server, and we can't read it.
By default, your photos and videos stay in your Photos library, and voice recordings stay on the device where you made them, with only their text syncing. If you turn on “Keep copies of photos, videos & voice” under iCloud Sync in Settings, copies of those files are also stored in your private iCloud so they follow your memories to your other devices. You can remove those copies from iCloud in the same place. You can also save a readable backup file from Settings and choose where it goes.
What Threaded asks your phone for, and why
Threaded asks for each permission when you first use the feature that needs it. You can change any of them later in iPhone Settings. The app still works without most of them.
- Camera
- Take a photo or a quick 2-second clip to attach to a memory.
- Microphone
- Dictate text and record voice notes.
- Speech Recognition
- Turn your voice into text when you dictate or record a voice note.
- Photos
- Attach photos to memories and journal pages, suggest memories from photo moments, and save what you capture to your camera roll.
- Location
- Log the day's weather and pin where a memory happened. Only asked for while you're using the app.
- Calendar
- Suggest memories from past events like dinners and trips, show today's events in your planner, and add a short break when you ask.
- Journaling Suggestions
- If you choose, pick moments from Apple's Journaling Suggestions to turn into memories. You decide what to import, and Apple handles the suggestions on your device.
- Health
- Read your steps, sleep, workouts and mood entries to show them on your days. Threaded only reads this data, never writes to Apple Health, and it stays on your device.
- Face ID
- Lock the app when you turn on App Lock.
- Notifications
- Remind you about important dates, your daily entry and habit check-ins. These reminders are scheduled on your device.
Outside services
Threaded uses a few services to do specific jobs. Here is what each one receives.
- Apple
- iCloud holds your synced data if you turn sync on. Purchases and the free trial are handled by the App Store, and we never see your payment details. Voice dictation uses Apple's speech recognition, which may process audio on Apple's servers under Apple's privacy policy.
- Open-Meteo
- To show the weather on a day, Threaded sends an approximate location for that day (rounded to about 11 km) to the free weather service Open-Meteo. It receives those approximate coordinates and a date. It does not receive your name, your memories or any account details.
Threaded does not include advertising, and it does not track you across other apps or websites.
Keeping it private
Turn on App Lock to require Face ID or a passcode before Threaded opens. Your journal stays between you and the people you choose to share it with. Threaded only shares something when you tap Share.
Your data, your choice
- Export: in Settings, under Your Data, create a readable file of everything in Threaded, with your photos and, if you choose, voice notes.
- Import: add an export back into Threaded on a new phone.
- Delete: remove a memory, journal, voice note, to-do or plan in the app and it is deleted permanently. Threaded has no recently deleted folder, so it can't be recovered. With iCloud sync on, the deletion carries over to your other devices. Deleting the app removes the data stored on that device.
- Copies you made: an export or backup file you saved keeps its own copy until you delete that file too.
- Remove from iCloud: if you used sync, manage or delete Threaded's iCloud data in iPhone Settings, under your name, iCloud, Manage Storage.
Changes and questions
If this page changes in a way that matters, we'll update the date at the top and say what's new in the app. For privacy questions, email amritakandrikar@gmail.com or visit the Support page.