Privacy
Last updated 4 August 2026
Shadowy is made by Jakebuild. This page describes what the app actually does, in the order that matters: what stays on your device, what leaves it, and who else is involved.
There is no account. You do not register, and we do not ask for your name, email address or phone number to use the app. We hold no profile that could be deleted, because none is ever created.
What stays on your device
All of this is stored on your iPhone or iPad and is never uploaded to us:
- Your takes. The video and audio recorded from your camera and microphone while you shadow. They are written to the app's own storage on your device. If you want anyone to see one, you export or share it deliberately.
- Your language pair and your teleprompter settings.
- Which episodes you have opened, so the app can show your progress.
Deleting the app removes all of it. We cannot recover it for you afterwards, because we never had a copy.
Camera and microphone
Shadowy asks for camera and microphone access so it can record you shadowing, show your face beside the source video while you practise, and draw the live waveform as you speak. Recording only happens while a take is running, and takes stay on your device as above. The app never records the source video's own audio or picture into your take.
Photo library access is requested only at the moment you choose to save a take to your photos. The app does not read your library.
What the app sends off your device
Two things, and no more.
- Transcript requests to api.shadowy.studio. When you open an episode, the app asks our server for a prepared transcript. The request contains the video's public identifier and the two languages you are working between. It carries no account, no device identifier and nothing about you. Prepared transcripts are cached on the server by video and language, never by person.
- Video playback from YouTube. Episodes are real YouTube videos played through YouTube's own embedded player. That means YouTube receives your IP address and may set its own cookies, exactly as it would if you watched the same video in a browser. This is Google's processing, under Google's privacy policy, and it is outside our control.
Translation happens on your device
Tapping a word for its meaning, and translating a whole line, both run through Apple's on-device translation. The word you tapped is not sent to us and is not sent to a translation service over the network. Once you have downloaded your language pair, it works with no connection at all. Downloading that pair is handled by iOS and is subject to Apple's privacy policy.
Analytics and crash reporting
The app currently collects neither. It ships with the ability to report anonymous usage events and crashes, and that ability is switched off — no analytics key and no crash-reporting key is configured in the released build, so nothing is sent.
If we ever turn it on, it would be limited to anonymous event names such as "an episode was opened" or "a take was recorded", plus crash diagnostics. It would never include your takes, your camera or microphone, or the words you look up. We will update this page and its date before that happens.
Children
Shadowy is a learning tool and some of its material is drawn from children's programming. The app is not directed at children under 13, and it collects no personal information from anyone.
Your rights
Because we hold no personal data about you, there is nothing for us to disclose, correct or erase on request. Everything the app knows about you is on your device and under your control. If you believe that is wrong, write to us and we will look into it.
Changes
If this policy changes we will update the date at the top of this page. Material changes will be described here rather than made quietly.