Roost Privacy Policy

Last updated: April 2026

Overview

Roost: Homestead Tracking is built by Derek Lund. Your privacy is important — Roost is designed to keep your data on your device and under your control.

Data Collection

Roost does NOT collect, transmit, or sell any personal data. Specifically:

• All homestead data (animals, gardens, finances, tasks) is stored locally on your device using Apple's SwiftData framework.
• iCloud sync, if enabled, uses your personal Apple iCloud account. We never see or access your synced data.
• No analytics, tracking, or telemetry is collected.
• No advertising SDKs or third-party trackers are included.

Third-Party Services

Roost connects to these external services only when you explicitly use the related feature:

• Open-Meteo (weather): Your latitude/longitude is sent to api.open-meteo.com to fetch current weather for the banner display. Open-Meteo is free, open-source, and does not require authentication. Their privacy policy: open-meteo.com/en/terms.
• xAI / Grok API (AI features, Premium): If you configure a Grok API key and use AI receipt scanning or plant lookup, image data or text is sent to api.x.ai for processing. This requires Premium subscription. Your API key is stored in the iOS Keychain.
• Home Assistant: If you configure a Home Assistant connection, Roost communicates with YOUR Home Assistant server at the URL you provide. No data is sent to any third party — it's your server.
• Apple HomeKit: If you enable HomeKit, Roost uses Apple's HomeKit framework to discover and control devices on your local network. This is handled entirely by Apple's frameworks.
• Apple StoreKit: Subscription purchases are processed through Apple's App Store. Apple handles all payment information — we never see your payment details.
• Tractor Supply availability: ZIP code is used to check product availability. No account or personal information is required.

Data Storage

• All data is stored on-device using SwiftData (backed by SQLite).
• iCloud sync uses Apple's CloudKit infrastructure with your Apple ID.
• API keys (Grok, Home Assistant) are stored in the iOS Keychain, Apple's encrypted credential storage.
• No data is stored on our servers — we don't have servers.

Notifications

Roost uses local notifications only for task reminders, hive inspections, hatching alerts, and watering schedules. No push notification server is involved — all notifications are scheduled on-device.

Photos & Camera

The camera and photo library are accessed only for receipt scanning. Photos are processed on-device (Apple Vision) or sent to the configured AI provider if you choose AI scanning. Photos are not stored or transmitted otherwise.

Children's Privacy

Roost is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

Your Rights

Since all data is stored on your device:

• Delete: Uninstall the app to remove all local data. Use Developer Mode > Clear All Data to wipe without uninstalling.
• Export: Your data syncs via iCloud and can be accessed on any device signed into your Apple ID.
• Control: You control all third-party connections. Don't configure HA or Grok? No data leaves your device.

Changes

We may update this policy as features are added. Changes will be reflected in the app and on our website.

Contact

Questions? Contact Derek Lund at support@roost.app