Legal

Privacy Policy

Last updated: April 13, 2026

Overview

Distill is a read-later and knowledge base app for iOS. This policy explains what information Distill handles, where it goes, and the choices you have. It applies to the Distill iOS app, its Share Extension, and the small API proxy at distill-api.vercel.app that powers AI features.

Distill is designed to keep your library on your device. We do not require an account, we do not ask for your name or email, and we do not run analytics, advertising, or tracking SDKs of any kind.

Information You Provide

When you save an article to Distill — either through the Share Extension or by pasting a link or text — the app captures and stores the following on your device:

• The article's body text, title, publication name, and preview image URL
• The original source URL you shared
• The date you saved it
• Any messages you send in the in-app chat about that article

The Share Extension loads the URL you share in a hidden web view on your device to extract the article text. The website you shared from sees this request the same way it would see any visit from Safari.

Information We Do Not Collect

Distill does not collect, and has no way to collect, the following:

• Your name, email address, phone number, or any account information (there are no accounts)
• Your location, contacts, photos, camera, microphone, or health data
• Advertising identifiers (IDFA) or cross-app tracking data
• Crash reports, usage analytics, session replays, or behavioral events
• Payment details — Apple handles all payments; Distill never sees your card information

Where Your Data Lives

Your library of saved articles, distillations, and chat history is stored locally on your device using Apple's SwiftData framework, inside a shared app container so that the main Distill app and its Share Extension can access the same data. This storage is protected by iOS device-level encryption.

If you have enabled iCloud backup for your device, your Distill data may be included in that backup under your personal iCloud account, subject to Apple's Privacy Policy. Distill does not operate its own cloud sync or servers that store your library.

AI Processing

To generate the "distillation" (the plain-English summary, "what changed," "why it matters," "try this," and "this raises" sections) and to power the in-app chat, Distill sends content to a small API proxy we operate at distill-api.vercel.app, which forwards the request to Anthropic's Claude API.

Specifically:

• When you save an article: the article title and body text (truncated to 10,000 words) are sent to the proxy and forwarded to Anthropic to generate the distillation.
• When you chat about an article: the article text and distillation, your message, and up to the last 20 messages of that chat are sent to the proxy and forwarded to Anthropic to generate the response.
• A device identifier (Apple's identifierForVendor, a random ID scoped to apps from this developer) is sent with chat requests. This identifier is not linked to your Apple ID or any personal information, and it resets if you delete Distill.

The proxy does not store article text, chat messages, or device identifiers in any database. Vercel, which hosts the proxy, may retain short-lived server logs (such as error traces) for operational purposes. Anthropic processes requests under its own policies — see Anthropic's Privacy Policy and Commercial Terms. Under Anthropic's API terms, prompts and outputs are not used to train their models.

Subscriptions and Payments

Distill offers an optional monthly subscription processed entirely through Apple's App Store using StoreKit 2. Apple handles the transaction, including payment method, billing, and renewal. Distill receives only a signed receipt from Apple confirming your subscription status — we do not see your payment method, full name, or billing address.

Apple's handling of your purchase is governed by the Apple Privacy Policy. You can manage or cancel your subscription at any time in Settings → [Your Name] → Subscriptions on your device.

Third-Party Services

Distill relies on the following third parties solely for the features described above:

• Anthropic, PBC — processes article text and chat messages to generate distillations and chat responses. Privacy Policy
• Vercel Inc. — hosts the distill-api.vercel.app proxy that routes requests to Anthropic. Privacy Policy
• Apple Inc. — distributes the app through the App Store and handles subscription payments via StoreKit. Privacy Policy
• Publisher websites — when you save an article, the app fetches the page directly from the publisher's website, which will see that request as it would any web browser visit.

Data Security

All network requests between the app and the Distill API proxy, and between the proxy and Anthropic, use HTTPS with TLS encryption. On-device data is protected by iOS standard file-level encryption, which is active whenever your device is locked with a passcode, Face ID, or Touch ID. Because Distill does not operate servers that store your library, there is no central database that could be breached.

Your Choices and Rights

Because your library lives on your device, you are in full control of it:

• Delete an item: swipe to delete any article or chat inside the app.
• Delete everything: delete the Distill app from your device. This removes your entire library, chat history, and locally stored data.
• Stop AI processing: simply stop saving articles or using the chat feature. No requests are sent to the proxy except when you take one of those actions.
• Subscription: cancel at any time in your device's Subscriptions settings.

If you are located in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, California, or another jurisdiction that grants statutory privacy rights (such as access, correction, deletion, or portability), you may contact us using the email below. Because Distill does not maintain accounts or servers that store user libraries, most requests are fulfilled by uninstalling the app.

Children's Privacy

Distill is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided information to Distill, please contact us and we will take appropriate steps.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes to the app or to clarify our practices. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Material changes will also be noted in the app's release notes on the App Store.

Contact

Questions about this policy or Distill's privacy practices can be sent to privacy@distill.app.