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Privacy Policy for Workshop

Last updated: August 26, 2026

Overview

Workshop is a personal project- and maintenance-tracking app for iOS, developed by Barbarus Consulting ("we," "us," or "our"). Workshop does not have a server, does not require an account, and does not collect, transmit, or sell your personal information. Everything you create in Workshop — projects, templates, folders, vehicles, maintenance records, notes, checklists, and photos — is stored locally on your device, under your control.

Information Workshop Does Not Collect

Workshop does not use analytics, advertising, or crash-reporting services, and does not have a backend server of any kind. We never see, receive, or have access to your data. Specifically, Workshop does not:

• Require you to create an account or sign in
• Collect or transmit your projects, notes, photos, or other content to us
• Track your usage or behavior within the app
• Show ads or share data with advertisers
• Sell or rent any information to third parties

Data Stored on Your Device

All of your projects, templates, folders, vehicle records, and maintenance data are stored in the app's local storage on your device. Photos, file attachments, and 3D model files are stored in the app's private on-device storage. None of this leaves your device unless you take one of the actions described below.

If you use the optional Home Screen widgets, the names and icons of projects you've starred as favorites are also written to a small shared storage container on your device so the widget can display them without Workshop needing to be open. This stays entirely on your device — nothing is sent anywhere — but it does mean starred project names are visible on your Home Screen at a glance; unstar a project from within Workshop at any time to remove it from the widget.

Optional Features That Involve Your Data

A few features are opt-in and involve data leaving the app. Most only send anything as a direct result of an action you take (attaching a photo, decoding a VIN, sending a chat message); the one exception is iCloud Sync, which — once you turn it on — keeps syncing in the background the way any app's iCloud sync would, until you turn it back off:

• Camera and Photo Library — if you attach a photo to a project, vehicle, or maintenance record, Workshop accesses your camera or photo library only at that moment, with your permission, to let you pick or take the photo. The resulting image is stored on your device as described above.
• iCloud Sync — if you turn on "iCloud Sync" in Settings, Workshop keeps your projects, templates, folders, vehicles, maintenance records, attachments, and app settings up to date across your own devices using Apple's CloudKit service and your private iCloud account. This data is stored in the private CloudKit database tied to your Apple ID — Barbarus Consulting never has access to it, the same way we never have access to iCloud Backup data (below). To make sync happen promptly instead of only periodically, the app registers for silent push notifications through Apple's push service; these pushes carry no message content of their own, they simply tell the app it's time to check iCloud for changes. Turning iCloud Sync off stops all of this; your data then stays local to each device again going forward (data already synced to iCloud remains there until you delete it, the same way iCloud Backup files do).
• iCloud Backup — if you tap "Back Up to iCloud," Workshop writes a backup file containing your project data to your own iCloud Drive, in a folder private to Workshop. This uses your personal iCloud account and Apple's iCloud service — Barbarus Consulting never has access to this data. You can delete these backups at any time from the Files app.
• Export/Import Backup — the "Export Backup" option creates a local backup file and hands it to iOS's native share sheet, so you can save or send it wherever you choose (Files, AirDrop, Mail, etc.). "Import Backup" reads a backup file you select back into the app. Barbarus Consulting is never involved in this transfer.
• Calendar Sync — if you choose to sync a Date field to your calendar, Workshop creates or updates a single event (a title and a date — nothing else about your project) in a calendar you select, using Apple's Calendar framework. If that calendar belongs to an iCloud account, the event syncs across your devices through Apple's iCloud service, the same way any calendar event would. Turning sync off, or deleting the field/project, removes the event.
• Reminders (Notify Me) — if you turn on "Notify Me" for a Date field, Workshop schedules a local notification on your device for that date using iOS's own notification system. This never involves a network request or a server of any kind — the reminder is scheduled and delivered entirely on your device.
• Receipt Scanning — the Receipt field can read the text off a photo of a receipt to fill in the merchant, date, and amounts automatically. This uses Apple's on-device Vision framework — the photo never leaves your device and no network request is made to recognize the text.
• VIN Decoding — if you enter a vehicle's VIN and use "Decode VIN," Workshop sends that VIN number to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's free public vPIC API (vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov), a U.S. government service, to look up the vehicle's year, make, model, and similar details. Only the VIN itself is sent — no other information about you or your device.
• AI Chat — the AI Chat field lets you have a conversation with Claude, Anthropic's AI model, attached to a project or maintenance task. This feature is entirely opt-in and requires you to supply your own Anthropic API key (from your own Anthropic account, entered in Settings → AI Assistant). If you use this feature, the messages you type — and Claude's replies — are sent directly from your device to Anthropic's API to generate a response; Barbarus Consulting is never involved in or able to see this exchange. Your API key is stored in your device's Keychain, not in the app's regular data storage, so it is never included in iCloud Sync, iCloud Backup, or Export Backup. If you don't add an API key or add a chat field, none of this applies to you. See Anthropic's Privacy Policy for how they handle data sent to their API.

Third-Party Services

Workshop relies on a few categories of third-party infrastructure, all operated by parties you already have a direct relationship with (your own Apple ID, or your own Anthropic account), not by Barbarus Consulting:

• Apple — for iCloud Sync, iCloud Backup, calendar sync, and the silent push notifications that prompt iCloud Sync to check for changes promptly. All of these are optional and use your own Apple ID. See Apple's Privacy Policy.
• NHTSA (vPIC API) — for VIN decoding, only if you use that feature. See the vPIC API documentation.
• Anthropic — for the AI Chat field, only if you add your own API key and use that feature. See Anthropic's Privacy Policy.

Data Retention and Deletion

Your data stays on your device for as long as Workshop is installed. Deleting the app removes all of its locally stored data and files. iCloud Sync data (in your private CloudKit database), iCloud backups, and synced calendar events all live outside the app itself and persist until you remove them there, even after uninstalling Workshop — Workshop deletes calendar events it created and iCloud Sync records automatically when you delete the corresponding field, project, or record within the app, but backup files in iCloud Drive are left for you to manage. AI Chat conversations are stored locally like any other field data (and sync via iCloud Sync if you have it on) and are deleted the same way — Barbarus Consulting has no separate copy to delete, since we never receive one. For how long Anthropic itself retains the messages it processes on its end, see Anthropic's own privacy policy, linked above.

Children's Privacy

Workshop is not directed at children and does not knowingly collect information from anyone, regardless of age — since Workshop does not collect information from any user in the first place.

Security

Because your data is stored locally on your device rather than on a server we operate, its security depends on your device's own security (passcode, Face ID/Touch ID, disk encryption) and, for the optional iCloud features, your Apple ID's security.

Changes to This Policy

If this policy changes, the "Last updated" date at the top of this page will change accordingly. Since Workshop has no accounts and no way to reach you directly, we'd encourage checking back here periodically if you want to stay current.

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