Le Nguyen

Privacy Policy

PicDeDupe Privacy Policy

PicDeDupe is an iOS app that finds duplicate photos and videos in your library, ranks them by quality, and helps you free up storage. This policy explains what information the app stores, how it is used, and the choices you have.

Effective date April 28, 2026
Platform iPhone and iPad
Contact lnguyen@plnguyen.com

Summary

  • No account, sign-in, or cloud profile is required to use PicDeDupe.
  • All scanning, hashing, AI verification, and quality ranking run on-device.
  • No photos, fingerprints, thumbnails, or metadata leave your device.
  • PicDeDupe does not use third-party analytics, ads, or cross-app tracking.
  • Payments and subscriptions are processed by Apple through the App Store and StoreKit.

What PicDeDupe Stores

  • Cached image fingerprints (perceptual hashes) keyed by Photos asset identifier.
  • Last duplicate-scan results in app memory and a local session store.
  • App preferences, including detection sensitivity, auto-scan frequency, and Pro state.
  • Counts of items and bytes you have removed using the app, for the “Recently freed” summary in Settings.
  • Onboarding state and whether the app has been launched before.

How the App Uses Data

PicDeDupe uses your information only to provide the app experience: scanning the photo library, computing perceptual fingerprints, finding duplicate groups, optionally verifying matches with Vision and ranking quality on-device, and surfacing results so you can review and remove duplicates yourself.

The app also stores limited local state such as detection-sensitivity preference, free-scan usage, and whether PicDeDupe Pro is unlocked on your device.

On-Device Processing and Storage

All scanning runs on-device. Image fingerprints, Vision feature prints, and quality scores are computed locally and cached to a local database so subsequent scans are faster.

The app does not require a hosted account, remote sync, analytics SDK, or ad network. Your photos never leave your phone.

Photos Library Access

PicDeDupe requests access to your Photos library to read assets and detect duplicates. Removing duplicates is performed through the standard iOS Photos delete flow, which always asks you to confirm before deleting.

The app uses Photos access only for features you start, such as scanning, reviewing, or removing duplicates.

On-Device AI (Pro)

Pro users get an additional AI verification pass using Apple's Vision framework (VNGenerateImageFeaturePrintRequest) and a quality-ranking pass using Vision saliency and on-device blur detection. On supported iOS versions, a short cleanup summary may be generated on-device using the Foundation Models framework.

All of these features run entirely on your device. No image data, filenames, or thumbnails are sent to any server.

Deletion Flow

When you choose to remove duplicates, PicDeDupe asks iOS to delete the selected assets. iOS then shows its own system confirmation dialog. Deleted items move to the Photos Recently Deleted album for 30 days before they are permanently removed by iOS.

To reclaim storage immediately, open Photos → Albums → Recently Deleted and empty that album. PicDeDupe never bypasses the iOS delete confirmation.

In-App Purchases

PicDeDupe offers optional paid upgrades, including weekly, yearly, and lifetime Pro access. Payments, subscription billing, renewals, and refunds are handled by Apple. PicDeDupe does not receive your full payment card information.

No Tracking or Analytics Profiles

PicDeDupe does not track you across third-party apps or websites and does not use any third-party analytics or advertising SDKs. The app privacy manifest declares no collected data types and no tracking domains.

Third-Party Services

PicDeDupe relies only on Apple system frameworks and services such as:

  • PhotoKit for accessing and removing photo assets
  • Vision and Core ML for on-device feature prints, blur detection, and saliency
  • Foundation Models on supported iOS versions for short on-device summaries
  • BackgroundTasks for periodic background scans scheduled by iOS
  • App Store and StoreKit for purchases and Restore Purchases

These services are governed by Apple's own terms, privacy policy, and device settings.

Your Choices

  • You can deny or revoke Photos access in iOS Settings.
  • You can reset the on-device fingerprint cache from Settings → About.
  • You can delete the app to remove all locally stored PicDeDupe data.
  • You can manage or cancel subscriptions in your Apple Account settings.

Support Messages

If you contact support by email, your email address and the contents of your message are used only to respond to your request and troubleshoot the issue you reported.

Children's Privacy

PicDeDupe is intended for general photo-library cleanup and is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children through the app.

Changes to This Policy

This policy may be updated from time to time. The latest version will be posted on this page with a revised effective date.