Privacy Policy

Last updated 16 September 2026

The developer of Cairn collects no data about you. There is no account, no analytics, no crash reporting, no advertising and no server of ours that your browsing passes through.

What stays on your iPad

Your history, the text of pages you visit (kept so you can search your tabs), pages you keep offline, highlights and notes, and downloads are stored on your iPad only. They are never uploaded, including to iCloud. You can set how long each Space keeps its history, and a Private Space keeps none.

What iCloud syncs

If iCloud is turned on for Cairn, your Spaces, their tabs and settings, and your Cairns (saved sessions) sync between your devices through your own private iCloud database. That data is held by Apple under your Apple Account and is not accessible to the developer. Turn off iCloud for Cairn in Settings to keep it on this iPad alone.

Websites and search

Like any browser, Cairn sends your requests to the websites you visit, and those sites have their own privacy policies. Each Space has its own cookie store, so sites see a different identity in each Space. Cairn blocks known ads and trackers before requests are made, removes common tracking parameters from links you tap, and answers cookie-consent pop-ups by rejecting all non-essential cookies (you can change this per site).

Searches go directly to the search provider chosen for the Space (for example DuckDuckGo or Google). Cairn does not log or relay them.

On-device AI

Summaries, questions about your tabs, Tidy, Compare and Explain run on your iPad with Apple Intelligence. Page text is not sent to the developer or to any AI service.

Browse for Me sends the question you type to DuckDuckGo, then opens the top results in a private window that keeps nothing afterwards. The answer is written on your iPad.

On iPads without Apple Intelligence you can choose to download an open model. It is downloaded from Hugging Face, which sees an ordinary download request, and it then runs on your iPad.

Purchases

The one-time purchase is handled by Apple. Cairn checks your purchase with the App Store on the device and receives no payment details.

Children

Cairn does not knowingly collect information from anyone, including children.

Changes and contact

If this policy changes, the new version will be posted here with a new date. Questions: see the support page.