Barcoder Privacy Policy

Effective 7 October 2026

Camera and photos

Barcoder uses the camera only to find barcodes and QR codes. Camera frames are analysed on your iPhone and are never stored or sent anywhere.

If you import a photo, Barcoder reads only the photo you pick, on your iPhone, to find codes, and doesn't keep a copy. Barcoder doesn't ask for access to your photo library.

Your scans and lists

Codes, notes, quantities and lists are stored on your iPhone and protected by iOS file protection. Like other app data, they are included in backups of your iPhone if you make them. Barcoder never uploads them.

When you export, copy or share a list, it goes only where you choose, such as AirDrop, Mail or Files.

Sending scans to Barcoder for Mac (optional)

If you pair your iPhone with Barcoder for Mac, Barcoder sends the following directly to your Mac over your local network:

• each scan: the code, its barcode type, the time, the quantity and the list name;
• the name you gave your iPhone in Barcoder, the app version and the platform (iOS).

The connection is end-to-end encrypted and doesn't pass through any server. Your iPhone and your Mac each keep a pairing key in their keychain so they can recognise each other. Barcoder uses the Local Network permission only to find and connect to the computers you have paired. To be found, Barcoder for Mac announces itself on your local network under a random name such as “Barcoder-3fa2”, not the name of your Mac.

On your Mac

Barcoder for Mac keeps the following on your Mac only:

• a log of the last 500 scans: the code, barcode type, quantity, list name, time, iPhone, result and the app it was typed into;
• the IDs and results of the last 5,000 scans from each iPhone, so that a scan sent twice is typed only once;
• the list of paired iPhone devices (their names, keys, app versions and when they were last seen), in your keychain;
• its settings.

By default it also writes every scan to monthly CSV files in its Logs folder (or a folder you choose) and keeps them until you delete them. You can turn CSV logging off in Settings › Log.

Barcoder Pro (in-app purchase)

Barcoder Pro is an optional in-app purchase in Barcoder for iPhone. Purchases are handled by Apple: the App Store takes the payment, under Apple's terms and the Apple Privacy Policy. The Ark Technology Limited receives no personal or payment data from your purchase — not your name, your Apple Account or your payment details.

To know whether Barcoder Pro is unlocked, Barcoder asks the App Store on your iPhone and keeps the answer there, together with the number of codes typed today for the free daily allowance. The purchase belongs to your Apple Account, so deleting the app or using Delete All Data doesn't remove it.

What we receive

Nothing. Barcoder has no servers, no accounts, no analytics, no advertising, no tracking and no third-party SDKs. We can't see your scans, your lists or your devices.

Apple provides us with aggregate, anonymous App Store statistics, such as download and sales numbers, and crash reports from people who choose to share them with app developers, under the Apple Privacy Policy. If you email us, we use your message only to reply to you. Visits to www.thearktech.com, including downloads of Barcoder for Mac, are covered by our website's own privacy notice.

Deleting your data

On your iPhone

• Settings › Delete All Data removes all lists, settings, temporary files and pairing keys.
• To unpair one computer, open it in the Computer tab and tap Forget Computer.
• Deleting the app removes its lists and settings. iOS keeps its pairing keys in the keychain until Barcoder is installed again (Barcoder then deletes them), so use Delete All Data first to remove them at once.

On your Mac

• Devices › Remove removes an iPhone from the list. Barcoder for Mac keeps its pairing record for up to 30 days, only so that it can tell that iPhone it was removed the next time it connects.
• Log › Clear Log… clears the scan log.
• CSV log files are in the folder shown in Settings › Log (Reveal in Finder); delete them there.

The support page explains how to remove everything, including the settings file and the keychain items.

Children

Barcoder is a general-purpose tool. It doesn't collect personal data from anyone, including children.

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes, we will publish the new version on this page with a new effective date.

Contact

The Ark Technology Limited, Hong Kong
Email: info@thearktech.com