Privacy Policy
Squawk is an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) app. Here's what the app does — and doesn't do — with your information, in plain language.
The short version
Everything you build in Squawk — vocabulary, custom photos, voice recordings — stays on your device, with an optional backup to your own private iCloud account that only you can access. The one thing that does leave your device: the text you search for when looking up a symbol or photo, sent to the symbol libraries below so they can return matching results.
Search queries
When you search for a pictogram or photo, the search text you type (like "apple" or "bathroom") goes to one of two third-party symbol libraries — ARASAAC or Openverse — so they can send back matching images. That's the only reason it's sent anywhere.
It isn't linked to your identity (Squawk has no accounts or identifiers to link it to), it isn't used for tracking or advertising, and results are filtered to exclude anything ARASAAC categorizes as sexual, violent, or related to alcohol, tobacco, or drug use before they ever reach your screen.
What we don't collect
- No account creation, sign-in, name, or email address
- No advertising or device identifiers
- No location data
- No analytics, telemetry, or crash-reporting tools
- Nothing ever sold, rented, or shared with data brokers
Your content & iCloud backup
Vocabulary, grids, custom photos, and voice recordings are stored locally on your device. If you turn on backup, that data is copied to your own private iCloud account — encrypted the same way Apple encrypts the rest of your iCloud data. We can't see, access, or download it. It's yours.
Children's privacy
Squawk is commonly used by children, often with a parent, caregiver, or therapist nearby. The app doesn't knowingly collect personal information from anyone — there's no account system to collect it into. Built-in Parental Controls let a parent restrict editing tools and hide specific features.
Security
Squawk only uses the standard encryption already built into iOS and macOS — HTTPS/TLS for network requests, and Apple's own encryption for iCloud backup. Nothing proprietary, nothing extra.
Your choices
Everything lives on your device or in your own iCloud, so you're always in control: delete symbols, grids, photos, or recordings any time from within the app; turn off or delete iCloud backup from Settings → iCloud Backup; or uninstall Squawk to remove everything stored locally.