Shinybox transparency

Last updated 26 October 2026

This page says plainly who makes Shinybox, what it does on your devices, and how you can check that for yourself.

Who makes it

Shinybox is made by João Valente, an independent Apple developer. Other apps and open-source projects: portfolio.ovalente.online and github.com/Joaov41. Contact: joao.valente@outlook.com.

AI features

The app’s own AI features use Apple Intelligence only, on your device or on Apple’s Private Cloud Compute. Nothing you save is sent to any other AI service.

What it does on your devices

• iPhone and iPad: an App Store app in Apple’s app sandbox. It asks for Photos, Camera, Microphone, Speech Recognition, Face ID and Notifications access only when you use a feature that needs them.
• Mac: also sandboxed and distributed through the App Store. The shelf is a small panel at the edge of your screen; “Save to Shinybox” appears in the Services menu; launch at login is optional.
• Extensions: the share extension and Safari extension hand items to the app through a shared folder, and never open your library themselves. Widgets read a small summary the app writes for them.
• Network: your own iCloud account for sync, the websites you save (plus Reddit and YouTube for posts and transcripts), and Apple’s Private Cloud Compute when your settings use it. No Shinybox server, no accounts, no analytics, no ads. Details are in the privacy policy.

How you can check

• Privacy label: the App Store listing shows “Data Not Collected.”
• Network: on iPhone and iPad, Settings › Privacy & Security › App Privacy Report lists every domain Shinybox contacts. On the Mac, a firewall such as Little Snitch or LuLu shows the same.
• Your data: Settings › Export Library writes out every item and all of its text, so you can see exactly what Shinybox keeps.

Limits worth knowing

• Apple Intelligence features need a compatible device, a supported language and Apple Intelligence turned on. Private Cloud Compute has a daily limit.
• Transcription works in supported languages and may download files the first time.
• Some websites block article extraction or embedded video. Reddit posts and YouTube transcripts depend on those sites’ public pages and can stop working if the sites change.
• Scanned PDFs are read with text recognition for up to their first ten pages without a text layer. Saved page copies are kept up to 15 MB.
• Document scanning is on iPhone and iPad. The shelf, the Services menu and text from Word and OpenDocument files are on the Mac.
• Sync needs iCloud. Locked lists are protected with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode on each device, and sync through iCloud like the rest of your library.

Pricing

Free on Mac, iPhone and iPad. No tiers, no ads, no in-app purchases. Get it on the App Store.