Effective 23 September 2026. Privacy Policy for the PhotoCocoon iPhone app and photococoon.com/privacy. This is the URL for the app and for App Store Connect.
PhotoCocoon backs up the photos and videos on your iPhone. This page says, in plain terms, what personal data we collect, how we store it, how we use it, and how it is deleted. The website does not create accounts. Accounts start in the iPhone app.
Privacy requests: privacy@photococoon.com. Other questions: hello@photococoon.com.
Summary
- We collect your email, the photos and videos you allow us to back up, a device id so backup can resume, and plan status (trial, coupon, or paid).
- We use it only to run backup, restore, the plan, and account deletion. Not for ads. Not to train a model. Not to track you across other companies’ apps.
- We store it in private object storage and an account database, tied to your email. The website is not a public gallery.
- You delete it in the app: Delete account, then confirm. Sign-in stops at once. Photos, videos, and account data are deleted within 48 hours. We email you when it starts and when it is finished. Deleting the app icon does not delete the cloud copy.
1. Who we are
PhotoCocoon operates the PhotoCocoon iPhone app and the site at photococoon.com. We are the controller of the personal data in this policy. Contact privacy@photococoon.com.
2. What this covers
- The iPhone app (sign-in, backup, restore, coupons, account deletion).
- The website at photococoon.com (information only).
- The API the app uses (api.photococoon.com).
It does not cover Apple, your carrier, or other apps. If you pay in the App Store, Apple’s privacy policy covers that payment.
3. Data we collect
We collect only what the backup needs. Each item below is linked to your account (your email), except a short-lived IP address used to limit sign-in abuse.
Email address
You type it in the app to sign in. It is the account. We do not ask for a password, your name, or a phone number.
Photos and videos
After you allow Photos, we upload the originals you grant: stills, Live Photos, videos, screenshots, and screen recordings. For each file we store:
- the file itself, at original quality (we do not shrink it);
- whether it is a photo, a video, or a Live Photo;
- the date it was taken, if the file has one;
- the size in bytes;
- a hash of the bytes, so we can skip what is already backed up;
- the identifier Photos uses for that item on your phone.
The permission you see is: PhotoCocoon backs up your photos and videos at original quality, so it can find what is not yet backed up. A separate permission lets us write recovered photos back into Photos.
Device and backup state
So the next backup knows what is new, we store a device identifier we create, a device name, that the phone is iOS, when we last saw it, and a sync cursor. If you allow notifications, we store an Apple push token and use it only for backup status (for example, backup paused). We do not use it for marketing.
Account, plan, and coupons
We store which plan applies (100 GB or 1 TB), how many bytes are stored, subscription status (including trial), and a coupon code if you redeem one. Prices in the app are $12 per year for 100 GB and $20 per year for 1 TB. We do not store your card number. If you pay, Apple processes the payment.
Sign-in secrets
We store hashed sign-in tokens and session records so the app can stay signed in and so we can revoke access. We do not store a password.
IP address
The API may see your IP address long enough to rate-limit sign-in attempts. We do not build a location history from it. The app does not ask for Location.
4. Data we do not collect
- Contacts, calendar, microphone, health, or precise location.
- Advertising identifiers, or data to track you across other companies’ apps and websites.
- A face library, a people album, or a social graph.
- Payment card numbers.
- Analytics or advertising SDKs. The marketing site does not run an ad pixel.
We do not sell personal data. We do not use your photos or videos to train a machine-learning model. We do not show ads on your library.
5. How we collect it
You provide the email. You tap Allow on the Photos permission (and, if you want notices, on notifications). The app then uploads what you granted. We do not buy data about you. We do not scrape a public profile. This website does not create an account.
6. How we store it
- Photos and videos are private objects in S3-compatible storage, under your account. They are not published on the website.
- Account records (email, plan, file index, devices, sessions) live in our application database.
- The iPhone remains one copy. PhotoCocoon is the independent original.
- In transit the connection is TLS. Objects at rest are encrypted (AES-256). Download links expire.
PhotoCocoon is not end-to-end encrypted. We can access stored files in order to restore them, export them, and meet the legal duties of a host. We do not browse your library for our own use.
7. How we use it
We use this data only to provide PhotoCocoon:
- to back up new items and skip what is already stored;
- to restore originals into Photos, with the dates they were taken;
- to enforce the plan size;
- to apply a coupon you typed;
- to send a functional notice if you allowed notifications;
- to keep you signed in, and to sign you out;
- to disable an account you asked us to delete, and to delete the stored library;
- to limit abuse (too many sign-in attempts) and to meet legal duties that apply to a host of other people’s files.
We do not use it for advertising, marketing profiles, or sale to data brokers.
8. How we protect it
- TLS in transit.
- AES-256 on objects at rest.
- Short-lived download links.
- Sign-in by email link or a one-time code; sessions we can revoke.
- No public gallery of customer photos.
No host can promise that nothing ever goes wrong. More on Security.
9. Who we share it with
- Infrastructure processors that run the API, the account database, and object storage — only to provide the product. Ask privacy@photococoon.com and we will name them.
- Apple, if you pay in the App Store (Apple is the merchant) or if you allow push notifications (Apple delivers the notice). Apple’s terms cover that part.
- An email sender, if we email you a sign-in link. That sender sees the address and the link, not your photo library.
- Authorities, when the law requires it, including a required report of illegal content. We do not sell the library to advertisers.
10. Children
PhotoCocoon is not directed at children under 13. Do not create an account for a child under 13.
A host of other people’s files has duties around illegal images of children. We may review uploads for known illegal material. A match is reported as required. We do not send a courtesy email. Reports: safety@photococoon.com.
11. How it is deleted
You start deletion in the iPhone app. That is the control to use, including for App Review.
- Open PhotoCocoon.
- Tap Delete account.
- Confirm.
Immediately:
- the account is disabled;
- sessions are revoked;
- sign-in is refused — email link, code, or an old session — with the message “Account is disabled and deleted.”;
- the same email cannot open a new account.
Then we delete the stored photos and videos, the file index, device records, push tokens, and sessions. That finishes within 48 hours. We email you when deletion starts, and again when it is finished. Sign-in is already blocked.
We may keep a minimal record that this email was deleted, so the error above can be shown and the account is not recreated by mistake, plus anything the law requires us to keep (for example a safety report already filed). System backups of our own infrastructure age out. We do not keep a usable copy of your library after that deletion process finishes.
These do not delete the cloud copy: deleting the PhotoCocoon app from the phone, or signing out. Use Delete account, or email privacy@photococoon.com and ask us to delete the account.
Export first if you still want a copy. Your data.
12. Your choices
- Deny Photos permission — backup cannot run.
- Deny notifications — backup still runs; we just cannot ping you.
- Sign out.
- Delete the account in the app, as above.
- Write to privacy@photococoon.com to ask what we hold, to correct the email, or to ask us to finish deletion.
If you live in India, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 may give you rights to access, correction, and erasure. Write to privacy@photococoon.com. We will answer.
13. The website
photococoon.com does not run advertising cookies and does not create accounts. If a later web companion needs a session, that session exists only so the window remembers you. See Cookies.
14. Where it is processed
We may store and process data on infrastructure outside your country, in the regions where the API and object storage run.
15. Changes
If this policy changes in a way that matters, we update this page and the date at the top. The current version is always https://photococoon.com/privacy/.
16. Contact
PhotoCocoon
Privacy: privacy@photococoon.com
Safety: safety@photococoon.com
hello@photococoon.com
Contact · Terms of Use
$12 / year for 100 GB. $20 / year for 1 TB. Paid in the iPhone app.