noodlePrivacy Policy
noodle is a chat app for iPhone and iPad that connects you to AI models using your own API keys. This policy explains what data noodle handles, where it goes, and what we never do with it.
The short version
- Your chats stay on your devices. History, attachments, memories and settings are stored on your iPhone or iPad. We don't run a database of your conversations.
- Sync uses your iCloud, not ours. If you turn on sync, your data moves between your Apple devices through your personal iCloud account.
- Messages go only where they need to. When you send a message, it goes through the noodle backend to the AI provider you chose (OpenRouter or Google) so it can answer. The backend passes it along and doesn't keep it.
- No ads, no tracking, no analytics. noodle has no advertising or analytics SDKs, and we never sell or share your data.
- You can cut us out entirely. Point the app at a backend you run yourself and your messages never touch our servers.
What stays on your device
These are stored locally on your device, and nowhere else unless you turn on iCloud sync:
- Your conversations and their attachments (photos, files, audio, generated images)
- Your profile details, custom instructions, saved memories and vibes
- Your app preferences
- Your API keys and connector sign-ins, which are kept in the iOS Keychain
Searching your history happens on your device.
Sign in with Apple and iCloud sync
Sign in with Apple is optional. It's used only to turn on syncing between your Apple devices. When you sign in, Apple gives the app an anonymous user identifier and, if you choose to share them, your name and email. These are stored on your device. They aren't sent to the noodle backend and we don't create an account for you.
With sync on, your chat history, attachments and preferences are stored in noodle's private area of your iCloud Drive. Your API keys sync through your iCloud Keychain. This data is governed by Apple's privacy policy, and we can't access it. You can turn sync off at any time in Settings. To remove the synced copy, delete noodle's data in your device's iCloud settings.
What leaves your device when you chat
To get an answer, noodle sends the following to the backend you've selected:
- Your message and any attachments you include
- Earlier messages in the conversation, so the model has context
- Context you've turned on: your profile, custom instructions, memories, conversation summaries and the active vibe
- Your approximate location (city, region and country) if you've turned location on
- The API key for the provider you're using, so the backend can make the request on your behalf
The backend forwards the request to the AI provider and streams the answer back to you. It also uses your key to do small helper tasks for you, such as titling a conversation, suggesting a memory or summarizing a long chat. These requests go to a fast Gemini model through the same providers.
| Where it goes | What happens there |
|---|---|
| Hosted noodle backend (default) | Processes the request in memory to route it to the provider, then discards it. Your messages and API keys aren't saved. |
| Your self-hosted backend | Runs on your own computer or server. We never see the traffic. |
| OpenRouter | Receives requests for models you use through OpenRouter, and passes them to the model's maker. |
| Google Gemini API | Receives requests when you use a Gemini key directly. |
| Web search engines | When a model searches the web, it sends a search query to its search engine: Google Search, the model maker's built-in search, or Exa through OpenRouter. The app shows which engine was used on each answer. |
| MCP connectors you add | Receive the tool requests a model makes to them, such as a search query. |
AI providers have their own policies
Once a request reaches a provider, its policies govern whether prompts and responses are logged, how long they're kept and whether they can be used for training. This depends on your account settings with that provider, and noodle can't override it. Please review them:
- OpenRouter: Privacy Policy · Terms of Service · Data collection · Provider logging and retention
- Google: Privacy Policy · Gemini API Additional Terms · Terms of Service
Note that Google may treat free-tier Gemini API usage differently from paid usage, including using it to improve its products. See the Gemini API Additional Terms for details.
What the hosted backend does keep
To keep the service running and secure, the hosted backend handles a small amount of operational data:
- IP addresses, held briefly in memory to enforce rate limits and prevent abuse.
- Server logs recording that requests happened, which model was used, and errors. Logs don't include your messages or profile.
- Error reports, if enabled, describe what went wrong in our code. They're configured not to include personal information.
- Connector sign-in tokens for MCP connectors you've signed in to, as described below.
Signing in to OpenRouter and connectors
When you sign in with OpenRouter, the provider sends you back to the app through the noodle backend. The backend only relays the one-time sign-in code to your device and doesn't keep it. Your OpenRouter key is created on your device and stored in its Keychain.
When you connect an MCP connector that uses sign-in, the backend completes the sign-in with that service and stores the access token it receives, so it can call the connector's tools for you. The token is used only for that connector. Disconnecting the connector in the app deletes it.
Device permissions
- Camera, photos and microphone: used only when you take a photo, pick an image or record a voice message to attach.
- Location: off by default. If you turn it on, your city, region and country are added to your messages for local answers. You can type a city instead of sharing device location.
- Local network: used only to reach a backend you run on your own network.
- Notifications: local notifications tell you when a reply finishes in the background. We don't send push marketing.
Feedback you send us
If you send feedback from the app, we receive the title and description you write, plus your email if you choose to include it. We use it only to respond and improve noodle. It's stored in our private issue tracker.
Your choices
- Delete any conversation, memory or vibe in the app at any time.
- Use goldfish mode for temporary chats that are never saved.
- Turn off memories, location or iCloud sync in Settings.
- Reset noodle from Settings, or delete the app, to remove everything stored on the device.
- Run your own backend so your messages never pass through our servers.
Children
noodle is intended for people 18 and older. We don't knowingly collect data from children.
Changes
We'll update this page if the app or our practices change, and revise the date at the top. Significant changes will also be noted in the app's release notes.
Contact
Questions about privacy? See the support page for ways to reach us.