Steepwise
Privacy policy
Last updated 27 October 2026.
Steepwise is a tea shelf, brewing timer and tasting journal for iPhone and iPad. This page explains exactly what we store, why, and how you delete it. Short version: we keep only what the app needs to work, we don't track you, we don't show ads and we don't sell or share your data.
What we store when you create an account
| Data | Why | Deleted |
|---|---|---|
| Email address | Signing in, password-reset codes, notices about your account | With your account |
| Display name | Shown in the app and on tasting cards you choose to share | With your account |
| Password | Signing in — we store only a one-way hash, never the password itself | With your account |
| Temperature unit | Showing °C or °F | With your account |
| Your shelf, brewing sessions and tastings (including notes you write) | Keeping them in sync between your devices; tasting cards | When you delete an item, and with your account |
| Shelf photos you add | Showing them on your shelf. We re-encode each photo and remove its metadata, including location | When you remove the photo, and with your account |
| Share links you create | A public read-only copy of one tasting card, only when you choose to share it | When you stop sharing, delete the tasting, or delete your account |
| Device sessions (a random device id, “iPhone” or “iPad”, and hashed sign-in tokens) | Keeping you signed in; signing a device out | On sign-out, when they expire, and with your account |
| Password-reset codes | Resetting your password — stored only as a hash | Used or expired codes are purged within 24 hours |
| Server request logs (IP address, time, page, result) | Security, preventing abuse, fixing problems | Automatically after 14 days |
What stays on your device
Packet scanning reads the text on a tea packet with your camera, on your device; the camera image is not saved or uploaded. Translation of packet labels and the optional Apple Intelligence features (turning your tasting words into flavour notes, summarising two tastings) run on your device with Apple's own technology; we never receive that text. The brewing timer, the library and your preferences work without an account.
What we never do
No advertising, no tracking across apps or websites, no analytics or third-party SDKs, no selling or sharing of your data. Email is sent through an email delivery provider only to deliver the messages above.
Deleting your data
In the app: Account → Delete account. Confirm with your password and your account is deleted at once, with everything in it — shelf, sessions, tastings, photos and share links. It cannot be undone. Encrypted backups are kept for disaster recovery and roll over within 14 days, so deleted data is gone from them after that. You can also sign out to remove your data from one device; it stays in your account.
Children
Steepwise is not directed at children under 13 and we don't knowingly collect their data.
Your rights
You can see, correct and delete your data in the app. For a copy of your data or any question about privacy, write to [email protected]. If this policy changes, we update the date at the top and tell you in the app when the change matters.