NorthWorks

Who we are

NorthWorks (“the app”, “we”, “us”) is an iOS application that acts as the back office for a small trades company — an electrician, plumber, HVAC or similar owner-operator running one to three trucks. It tracks jobs, licences and renewals, documents, receipts, and the numbers that tell you whether the business is healthy. This policy explains what the app does and does not do with your information.

Where your data lives

NorthWorks is local-first. Your jobs, clients, documents, scanned paperwork, receipts, financial figures, business profile, and settings are stored in the app’s private storage on your device. We do not operate an account system or a database that holds your information. There is no login, because there is nothing centrally stored to log in to.

If you create a backup or an accountant bundle (for example to hand to your bookkeeper at tax time), that file is created on your device and is shared only where you choose to send it.

Document scanning happens on your device

When you scan a licence, invoice, or receipt, NorthWorks reads it using Apple’s on-device text recognition (Vision) to pull out things like an expiry date, a total, or a vendor name. This reading happens entirely on your phone. The image of your document and its full text are not sent anywhere to be scanned.

AI features and third-party processing

NorthWorks includes optional AI features, powered by our AI provider (Anthropic, which operates the Claude API) through our secure relay. Each feature sends only the specific item it needs, over an encrypted connection, to generate a result that is returned to your device. Here is exactly what each one sends, so there are no surprises:

• Morning brief & weekly wrap — a compact summary of your business numbers: your business name and first name (so it can address you), trade, province, health score, margin percentage, cash-runway estimate, open hours, jobs completed, and the titles and due dates of items needing attention (for example “WCB annual return”). Recent job entries (client name, hours, amount) are included so the weekly wrap can spot pricing patterns.
• Smart Fill — when you choose a form to auto-fill, an image of that one form plus your saved business details (name, address, licence and account numbers) so the AI can fill the blanks and flag what needs you.
• “What is this letter?” — when you choose a letter to decode, an image of that one letter plus your trade and province, so the AI can explain it in plain English.
• Quote drafter — the job description you type, plus your labour rate and margin target, so the AI can draft the work breakdown.
• Ask NorthWorks — your question plus a summary of your business data (job names and numbers, money figures, renewal titles and dates, document names — never document contents) so answers come from your real numbers.
• Truck Mode — your voice is transcribed on your device by Apple’s speech recognition; the audio never leaves your phone. Only the text of what you said is sent, so the AI can turn it into jobs and reminders — and nothing is saved until you confirm it on screen.

We want to be equally clear about what does not happen:

• Your document library, scans, receipt images, and stored files are never sent in bulk — only a single item you explicitly choose for an AI action, when you choose it.
• Everything is sent over an encrypted (HTTPS) connection.
• It is not tied to any account or identity — there is no account.
• We do not store this content, and it is not used to train AI models.
• You can turn AI off in Settings — the brief is then written entirely on your device, AI features step aside, and nothing ever leaves your phone.

Equal protection by our AI provider. We only share this content with Anthropic to perform your request. Anthropic processes it under its commercial API and data-processing terms, which contractually require it to protect your content with the same or a greater level of protection than this policy describes — including keeping it confidential, not using it to train AI models, using it solely to generate the result you asked for, and not retaining it beyond what is needed to return that result. We do not authorize any onward sharing of your content, and no other third party receives it. AI features require your permission before any data is sent — you can grant or decline this during setup and change it any time in Settings.

Device permissions

• Camera — only when you choose to scan a licence, invoice, or receipt. Scans are stored on your device.
• Photos — only when you choose to add a logo or business-card image from your library.
• Microphone & speech recognition — only when you use Truck Mode to log work by voice. Audio is transcribed on your device by Apple’s speech recognition and never leaves your phone; only the resulting text is used.
• Notifications — only if you enable renewal and deadline reminders. Reminders are scheduled locally on your device.

You can change or revoke any of these permissions in the iOS Settings app at any time.

Subscriptions and payments

Paid subscriptions are processed by Apple through the App Store and are tied to your Apple ID. We never see or handle your payment-card details. Apple’s handling of your purchase is governed by Apple’s privacy policy.

What we do not do

• We do not sell or rent your information to anyone.
• We do not use advertising networks or ad tracking.
• We do not use third-party analytics that profile you.
• We do not build a profile of you across apps or websites.

Third-party services we rely on

• Anthropic — processes the content an AI feature submits (a numbers summary, a chosen form or letter image, a job description, a question, or a voice transcript) to generate the result. Used only to perform your request; does not retain it or train on it.
• Apple — the App Store and subscription billing; on-device text recognition for scanning; on-device speech recognition for Truck Mode.
• Vercel — hosts the secure relay that passes the AI request to the provider. The relay does not retain your content.

Data retention and deletion

Because your data lives on your device, you are in control of it. To delete everything, delete the app from your iPhone — this removes all NorthWorks data stored on the device. We hold no server-side copy of your jobs, documents, or numbers to delete.

Children

NorthWorks is a professional tool for trades business owners and is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect information from them.

Changes to this policy

If we make material changes to how the app handles information, we will update this page and the “Last updated” date above.

Contact

Questions about privacy? Email NorthWorks001@gmail.com.