MyWords for iPhone and iPad
Last updated: 10 September 2026
MyWords collects no personal data. None.
There is no account to create, no server that stores your vault, and no analytics or crash-reporting code in the app. We have no way to see your passwords, your notes, your attachments, or even whether you use the app at all.
Nothing. We operate no servers that receive data from MyWords, and the app contains no third-party SDKs of any kind — no analytics, no advertising, no attribution, no crash reporting.
Because we collect nothing, there is nothing for us to sell, share, disclose to a third party, hand over in response to a legal request, or lose in a breach.
Your vault is stored on your device, encrypted with a key derived from your master password using PBKDF2, under AES-256-GCM. The master password is never stored anywhere — not on the device and not with us. If you enable a Secret Key, it is combined with your master password before key derivation, and it is likewise never transmitted.
If you turn on Face ID or Touch ID unlock, your vault key is stored in the device Keychain behind a biometric access control, which means the operating system will only release it after your face or fingerprint is verified on that device.
MyWords has no backend. It makes network connections in exactly three situations, all described here in full.
| What | Where it goes | When |
|---|---|---|
| Site icons | The website whose address you saved, and — only if that site has no icon
to offer — DuckDuckGo's public icon service at
icons.duckduckgo.com |
When you save or update a login that has a web address, so the record can show that site's icon |
| Sync | Directly to your own computer running the MyWords desktop app, on your local network only | Only when you start a sync yourself |
| Sharing an item | Directly to another device you are holding, on your local network only | Only when you enter a share code yourself |
This is the only request MyWords makes that you don't explicitly trigger, so
it's worth being precise about it. When you save a login with a web address,
MyWords asks that website for its icon. If the site doesn't provide one, MyWords
asks DuckDuckGo's icon service, which receives only the domain name — for example
example.com. It never receives your username, your password, or
anything that identifies you or your device. The request carries no cookies and no
stored identifiers, because MyWords uses an ephemeral connection that keeps
nothing. Your saved address is never sent to us, because we run no server to send
it to. DuckDuckGo's handling of these requests is covered by
their privacy policy.
Sync and item sharing connect your device directly to the other device over your local network. Traffic does not pass through any server of ours, or anyone else's. Each session establishes a fresh shared key by X25519 key agreement, derives an encryption key from it with HKDF-SHA256, and encrypts everything that follows with AES-256-GCM. Both features are off until you start them.
When you make a backup, MyWords writes a single encrypted .mwbak
file, encrypted under a password you supply, and hands it to you through the
standard iOS share sheet. Where it goes from there is entirely your choice. If you
save it to iCloud Drive, Dropbox, or anywhere else, that provider's terms and
privacy policy apply to the file — but the contents remain encrypted, and that
provider cannot read them without your backup password.
If you enable MyWords under Settings › General › AutoFill & Passwords, iOS may ask MyWords to supply a saved login for an app or website you are using. MyWords answers from your encrypted vault on the device, after confirming your identity with Face ID or Touch ID. iOS tells MyWords only which app or site is asking; MyWords reports nothing back to us, and nothing about your AutoFill use leaves your device.
You can add an attachment to a record by taking a photo, scanning a document, or choosing an image from your photo library. Anything you capture is encrypted straight into your vault. Captured photos are never written back to your photo library, and MyWords requests no permission to add to it. MyWords never opens the camera except when you choose to add an attachment.
MyWords does not track you. It does not use the iOS Advertising Identifier, does not request App Tracking Transparency permission, does not fingerprint your device, and does not link any activity to your identity — on its own or with data from anywhere else.
MyWords is rated 4+ and is safe for all ages. It collects no data from anyone, including children under 13.
Regulations such as the GDPR and the CCPA give you rights to access, correct, export, and delete the personal data a company holds about you. We hold none, so there is nothing to request. Your data is already entirely in your hands: you can export it at any time as an encrypted backup, and Preferences › Erase All Data destroys every vault, key, and setting on the device permanently.
Deleting the app also removes its data. Because nothing was ever sent to us, deletion is complete at that moment — there is no copy elsewhere to delete.
If this policy changes, the updated version will be posted on this page with a new date at the top. Should MyWords ever add a feature that transmits data anywhere, this policy will be updated to say so plainly, before that feature ships.
Questions about this policy or about privacy in MyWords: tread@ardebe.com