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Privacy Policy

Effective: May 13, 2026 · Last updated: May 25, 2026

PhotoCaptioner AI ("the app") is a macOS application developed by Gottschalk Group LLC ("the developer", "we", "us"). This policy explains what data the app handles and what it does not do.

Summary

  • The developer does not collect, store, transmit, or sell any of your data.
  • The app sends photos and related metadata directly from your Mac to Google's APIs using a Google API key that you provide and own. We have no access to those API calls or to your Google account.
  • All app settings, generated captions, and your Google API key are stored locally on your Mac. Your Google API key is stored in the macOS Keychain.
  • We do not use analytics, tracking pixels, advertising SDKs, or third-party trackers of any kind.

What the app does with your photos

When you process a photo in PhotoCaptioner AI:

  1. The app reads the image file from a folder you have explicitly granted access to via the standard macOS file-picker.
  2. The image, along with any GPS coordinates and person tags already embedded in its metadata, is sent directly from your Mac to Google's Gemini and Places APIs using the Google API key you entered in Settings.
  3. Google generates a caption and, if you have provided a Places API key, a list of nearby place names. These are returned to your Mac.
  4. The caption is written into the EXIF/IPTC metadata of the image file on your Mac. The original file is preserved alongside the captioned copy.

The developer is not in the data path. We never see your photos, your captions, your location, or your API key.

Use of Google APIs

PhotoCaptioner AI uses the following Google services:

  • Google Gemini API (Generative Language API) for image captions (required).
  • Google Places API (New) for nearby-place context (optional — only used if you provide a Places API key).

Because you provide your own Google API key, your use of these APIs is governed by Google's terms, not by us:

Google is the data controller for content you send to its APIs. We do not control, log, or monitor those calls.

If you do not enter a Google API key, the app falls back to a local on-device classifier (Apple's MobileNetV4) and no data leaves your Mac.

What is stored locally

The following are stored only on your Mac and never transmitted to us:

Because PhotoCaptioner AI is a sandboxed Mac App Store app, its files live inside the app's sandbox container rather than in the user-visible ~/Library/Application Support/ folder.

  • Your Google API key — in the macOS Keychain (under service com.photocaptioner).
  • App settings — in ~/Library/Containers/com.gottschalkgroup.PhotoCaptioner/Data/Library/Application Support/PhotoCaptioner/settings.json, with a Keychain mirror.
  • An optional caption cache — image_cache.sqlite in the same sandbox folder. You can clear it at any time from Settings → Cache.
  • Security-scoped bookmarks — used so the app can write captions back into folders you have authorized, and, if you enable Include People's Names, to read your Photos library for tagged names. These bookmarks stay on your Mac.

You can delete all locally stored data at any time by uninstalling the app and removing its sandbox container under ~/Library/Containers/com.gottschalkgroup.PhotoCaptioner/.

In-app purchases

PhotoCaptioner AI offers a one-time, non-consumable in-app purchase to unlock unlimited captions after a 25-image free trial. Purchases are processed by Apple via StoreKit. We receive only an opaque receipt confirmation that the purchase succeeded — we do not receive your name, payment information, or Apple ID. Receipts are validated locally against Apple's StoreKit. Refunds and billing questions are handled by Apple.

Photos library access

If you grant permission, PhotoCaptioner AI can read images from your Photos library. Photos are processed in the same way described above (sent to Google when you have an API key, otherwise processed locally) and modified copies are saved back to the location you choose. We do not enumerate or transmit the contents of your library.

People's names (optional). If you turn on Include People's Names in Settings, PhotoCaptioner AI asks you to grant one-time, read-only access to your Photos library so it can look up the names you have tagged with Apple Photos' People feature. This lookup happens entirely on your Mac. The names are used only to build the caption for the photo you are processing and, if you choose to save, are written into that photo's own metadata — they are never collected by us or sent anywhere other than the same Google request that already captions the photo under your own API key. You can revoke this access at any time with the Turn Off button in Settings. The feature is off by default.

Children's privacy

PhotoCaptioner AI is not directed at children under 13 and does not knowingly collect any personal information from anyone, of any age.

Crash reports and diagnostics

The app does not include any third-party crash reporting or analytics SDK. If you have macOS system-wide crash reporting enabled, Apple may send anonymized crash reports to Apple under Apple's own privacy policy. We do not receive those reports.

Changes to this policy

If material changes are made to this policy, the "Last updated" date at the top will change and the change will be noted in the app's release notes. Continued use of the app after a change indicates acceptance.

Contact

Questions about this policy can be sent to: contact@gottschalkgroupllc.com

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