Tides PhotosThis policy explains how Tides Photos, the photo editor for iPhone and iPad, handles your photos and data. Tides Photos is made by Hangzhou Yuyan Intelligent Co., Ltd (杭州宇言智能有限公司), "we" in this policy, which is responsible for it. Questions go to support.customer@language-ai.cn.
The short version
- There's no account and no sign-in. We don't collect personal data, and in normal use we never receive or store your photos or edits.
- Editing runs on your device and works offline. Your projects stay in the app on your device.
- No analytics, advertising or tracking SDKs, and no tracking across other companies' apps or websites.
- The AI assistant is optional and off until you use it. With your permission, it sends a smaller copy of the photo and your request to an AI provider, by default DeepSeek in the People's Republic of China. You can turn this off at any time in Settings ▸ Allow Photo Uploads.
No account, no tracking
Tides Photos has no account and no sign-in. It doesn't include analytics, advertising or tracking SDKs, and it doesn't track you across other companies' apps or websites. We don't sell or share personal data, and in normal use we don't receive or store your photos or your edits.
What stays on your device
Adjustments, masks, retouching, background removal, object removal and photo analysis run on your iPhone or iPad, using Apple's Vision and Core ML frameworks and open-source models bundled with the app. They work offline, and nothing is sent anywhere to do them.
Your photos
- You choose photos through the system photo picker. The app sees only the photos you pick, not the rest of your library.
- When you save an export to Photos, the app asks for add-only access, which lets it add images to your library but not read it.
- Each project keeps its own copy of its photos in the app's private storage on your device. Deleting a project never deletes anything from your Photos library.
- Fonts you import are copied into the app.
- Projects and imported fonts stay until you delete the project or the app. Nothing is synced, including through iCloud.
Location in exports
If the original photo has location data, exports keep it by default. You can remove it in the export options before you save or share.
Sharing to other apps
When you tap Share and choose Instagram, TikTok or another app, Tides Photos hands the exported image to that app. That happens only when you choose it, and the other app then handles the image under its own privacy policy.
The optional AI assistant
The AI assistant lets you describe an edit in your own words. An AI provider plans the changes, and the app turns them into regular edits on your device. The assistant is off until you use it.
Your permission
Before the first upload, the app explains what is sent and asks your permission. Nothing is sent if you don't allow it. Your permission applies to the server that is selected when you give it; if you change the server, the app asks again. You can turn uploads off at any time in Settings ▸ Allow Photo Uploads.
Where requests go
With your permission, each request goes to the AI provider set in the app:
- By default, DeepSeek (api.deepseek.com), operated by DeepSeek, whose servers are in the People's Republic of China. DeepSeek handles the data under its own privacy policy.
- Or a compatible server whose address you enter yourself, which handles the data under its operator's terms.
Requests go straight from your device to that server, not through our servers. The one exception: testers and Apple's App Review team may be given access to a relay we operate, a Supabase Edge Function in the United States, which forwards the same request to DeepSeek without storing it.
What a request contains
- A downscaled copy of the photo, at most 1024 pixels on its longest side, re-encoded so that its location, capture date and other metadata are removed.
- Your instruction.
- The results of the on-device photo analysis, such as face positions and exposure.
- Details of the current edits, including the words in text layers.
- The names of your saved looks and text styles.
- Up to 16 recent messages from the conversation with the assistant.
The full-resolution photo and the rendering of your edits stay on your device.
Your API key
The assistant uses your own API key, for example from DeepSeek. The key is stored in your device's Keychain, available only on this device, and is sent only to the server it's for. Any charges from the provider are between you and the provider.
Apple Intelligence
Some artistic styles and scenes use Apple's Image Playground. Apple provides these features, on your device or through Apple's Private Cloud Compute, under Apple's privacy policy.
Who else handles data
When you edit by hand, your data stays with you. These parties handle data only when you use the features listed:
| Who | When | Where |
|---|---|---|
| DeepSeek | AI assistant requests, by default, with your permission | People's Republic of China |
| A compatible server you enter | AI assistant requests, if you set one up | Wherever its operator runs it |
| Our relay (a Supabase Edge Function) | Testers and App Review only; forwards requests to DeepSeek without storing them | United States |
| Apple | Image Playground styles and scenes; the system photo picker and Photos | On your device or Apple's Private Cloud Compute |
| Apps you share to | When you tap Share and choose them | Under each app's own policy |
This website is hosted by Cloudflare. It uses no cookies, analytics or trackers.
How long data is kept
- Projects, their copies of your photos and imported fonts stay on your device until you delete the project or the app.
- Your API key stays in the Keychain until you remove it in Settings. iOS can keep Keychain items after an app is deleted, so remove the key in Settings first if you want it gone.
- We don't keep AI assistant requests. For data a provider receives, its own policy sets how long it's kept.
Your rights
We don't hold personal data about you, so there's nothing for us to access, correct or delete. Everything Tides Photos stores is on your device: deleting a project removes it, and deleting the app removes all your projects and imported fonts (remove your API key in Settings first, as noted above). For data an AI provider received, contact that provider; DeepSeek explains how in its privacy policy. If you have questions about your data or this policy, email support.customer@language-ai.cn.
Children
Tides Photos isn't directed at children under 13, and we don't collect personal data from anyone, including children.
Changes
If we change this policy, we'll post the new version on this page and change the effective date at the top.
Contact
Hangzhou Yuyan Intelligent Co., Ltd
Email: support.customer@language-ai.cn