Privacy Policy

Last updated: October 17, 2026

Smolpad is built on a simple idea: your notes are your own files. That extends to your privacy: the app is designed so that BaconWorks, LLC never sees your notes or your personal data.

Your notes

• Notes are stored as plain Markdown files on your device, and in whichever cloud storage you choose: your personal iCloud Drive, your own Dropbox, your own pCloud, or your own Google Drive.
• Syncing happens entirely through that service, under Apple's privacy policy, Dropbox's privacy policy, pCloud's privacy policy, or Google's privacy policy. Your notes are never sent to BaconWorks.
• We have no servers, no accounts, and no access to your files.

Dropbox sync

Dropbox is optional. iCloud is the default, and if you never turn Dropbox on, Smolpad never contacts it. If you do choose it:

• Smolpad uses Dropbox's app folder access, so it can only ever see the Apps/Smolpad folder it creates. The rest of your Dropbox is invisible to it.
• You sign in on Dropbox's own site. Smolpad never sees your Dropbox password. The authorization Dropbox returns is kept in your device's keychain and used only to sync your notes.
• Your notes travel between your device and Dropbox and nowhere else. They never pass through BaconWorks, and we never receive your Dropbox account details.
• Disconnecting Dropbox in Settings removes that authorization from your device. Your files stay in your Dropbox until you decide to delete them.

pCloud sync

pCloud is optional too, and works the same way. If you choose it:

• Smolpad uses pCloud's app folder access, so it can only ever see the Applications/Smolpad folder pCloud creates for it. The rest of your pCloud is invisible to it.
• You sign in on pCloud's own site. Smolpad never sees your pCloud password. The authorization pCloud returns is kept in your device's keychain and used only to sync your notes.
• Your notes travel between your device and pCloud and nowhere else. They never pass through BaconWorks, and we never receive your pCloud account details.
• Disconnecting pCloud in Settings removes that authorization from your device, and pCloud's own security page can revoke it as well. Your files stay in your pCloud until you decide to delete them.

Google Drive sync

Google Drive is optional as well, and works the same way. If you choose it:

• Smolpad asks Google for access to files it creates only (the drive.file scope). It makes a Smolpad folder in your My Drive and can see the notes it puts there. The rest of your Google Drive, including files you add to that folder yourself, is invisible to it.
• You sign in on Google's own page. Smolpad never sees your Google password. The authorization Google returns is kept in your device's keychain and used only to sync your notes.
• Your notes travel between your device and Google Drive and nowhere else. They never pass through BaconWorks, and we never receive your Google account details.
• Disconnecting Google Drive in Settings removes that authorization from your device and tells Google to revoke it, so Smolpad leaves your account's list of connected apps. Your files stay in your Google Drive until you decide to delete them; notes Smolpad removes go to Drive's trash.
• Smolpad's use of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

On your devices

• Your settings can follow you between your devices. They travel through your own iCloud account, never through BaconWorks, and the Sync settings with iCloud switch in Settings turns that off.
• Smolpad can list your notes in Spotlight, so you can find them from the Home Screen or from the Mac's search. That index is kept by your device and stays on it. Turning off Find notes in Spotlight in Settings empties it.
• Shortcuts and Siri work with your notes on your device. Smolpad tells the system which of its actions you use, such as opening today's note, so the system can suggest them. The text of your notes is not part of that.
• The Apple Watch app gets your notes from your own iPhone, over the connection Apple provides between the two, and sends your changes back the same way. Nothing goes to BaconWorks.
• Lock Screen widgets and watch complications read a short list of your notes' titles and first lines. That list stays on your device.

What the app collects

Smolpad contains no tracking and no advertising SDKs, and your notes never reach us.

Unless you turn off Settings › General › Share anonymous usage statistics, Smolpad sends a few counts once a day to TelemetryDeck, an analytics service based in Germany: which settings differ from their defaults, which features were used and how many times, and when you change a setting. Each count carries the app version, the kind of device and its system version, your language, region and time zone, and display and accessibility settings such as text size. It never includes your notes, their titles, folder or tag names, anything you type or search for, your name, email or Apple Account, or any identifier for you or your device, and TelemetryDeck does not store IP addresses. We use these counts only to decide what to build and fix, never for advertising, and TelemetryDeck keeps them available to us for up to three months on our current plan and archives them after, with no date set for deleting the archive. Because nothing in them points to you, no one can find or delete one person's statistics; turning the switch off stops them on that device at once.

Purchases

Smolpad Pro subscriptions and purchases are processed by Apple through the App Store. We receive anonymized transaction information from Apple (needed to unlock your purchase) but never your name, payment details, or Apple ID.

This website

smolpad.com is a static site served by Cloudflare, which may log standard technical request data (such as IP addresses) to operate the service. The site uses Plausible, a privacy-friendly analytics service that counts visits in aggregate, without cookies and without collecting personal identifiers. If you pick a light or dark theme with the switcher in the footer, that choice is stored in your own browser and never leaves it. If you pick a language with the picker beside it, the site sets one cookie so it can open in that language next time; it holds the two-letter language code and nothing else, and expires after a year. Nothing is stored unless you use one of those two controls. When you first arrive, the homepage reads the language preference your browser sends with every request to choose between English, French, German, Japanese, and Russian; that choice is not recorded.

If you sign up for Smolpad news, the email address you enter is sent to Buttondown, the newsletter service that stores the list. It is used only to send you Smolpad news, and every email includes an unsubscribe link. The address is never shared or sold.

Changes

If this policy changes, the new version will be posted here with an updated date.

Contact

Questions about this policy? Get in touch through the support page.