User Guide

📑 Contents

First Launch

On first launch you must accept the terms of use. The app requires that you use the tools responsibly and only for legitimate purposes.

Navigation

The app has four main tabs:

• Overview — Dashboard with quick actions and your privacy score
• Tools — All security and privacy analysis tools
• Learn — Privacy education, reports, and action guides
• Protect — Protection settings and tracker blocking

Permissions

PrivacyInsights requests permissions only when needed for specific features:

PrivacyInsights uses a freemium model. Two tools are always free, and a one-time Pro purchase unlocks all remaining tools permanently.

Free Tools (always available)

• Device Info — View device identifiers and fingerprinting data
• Locate Data (Traceroute) — Trace network paths with map visualisation

Pro Tools (one-time purchase)

A single purchase unlocks all 15 Pro tools plus any future tools added to the app.

Checks if a domain is secure by verifying DNS records and SSL certificates.

1. Go to Tools → Domain Checker
2. Enter the domain name (e.g. "google.com")
3. Tap "Check Domain"
4. View DNS, SSL certificate details, and security score

Analyses SSL/TLS certificates and connection security for any domain. Checks certificate chain validity, cipher strength, HSTS headers, and known vulnerabilities.

1. Go to Tools → Network Security
2. Enter a domain to check
3. View the security score and detailed findings
4. Follow recommendations to understand risks

Discovers all devices on your local WiFi network, showing IP addresses, manufacturer identification via OUI database (170+ manufacturers), and open ports.

1. Connect to the WiFi network you want to scan
2. Go to Tools → Network Scanner
3. Tap "Scan Network"
4. View all devices with IP, manufacturer, and open ports

Finds WiFi cameras, smart speakers, TVs, and other IoT devices on your network. Identifies device types and highlights potential privacy risks.

1. Go to Tools → Camera & IoT Detector
2. Tap "Scan for Devices"
3. View categorised list of cameras, speakers, and smart devices

Traces the network path from your device to any destination and visualises each hop on an interactive map with geolocation data.

1. Go to Tools → Locate Data
2. Enter a domain or IP address
3. Tap "Trace Route"
4. View the network path on the map

• All routers between you and the destination
• Geographic location of each hop (country, city)
• Response time (latency) per hop
• Cloud provider identification (AWS, Azure, Google, etc.)

Shows detailed device identifiers and fingerprinting data that apps and websites can use to track you — model, OS version, screen resolution, language, timezone, and more.

1. Go to Tools → Device Info
2. View all identifiers and fingerprinting data
3. Understand what makes your device unique

Comprehensive security analysis of your iPhone with actionable recommendations.

• Jailbreak detection
• Passcode and biometric authentication status
• Proxy configuration check
• Developer mode detection
• Disk encryption verification
• Network status and VPN detection

Discovers all nearby Bluetooth devices, including hidden trackers. Identifies 170+ manufacturers via OUI database.

1. Go to Tools → Bluetooth Scanner
2. Tap "Start Scan"
3. View all discovered devices
4. Tap a device for detailed information

Tracker detection includes:

• Apple AirTags (including unpaired)
• Samsung SmartTags
• Tile, Chipolo, Pebblebee trackers
• AirPods and Beats with Find My tracking

Shows what is currently on your clipboard and detects sensitive data types (passwords, credit cards, emails, phone numbers). Lets you clear sensitive data instantly.

1. Go to Tools → Clipboard Monitor
2. View current clipboard contents and detected data types
3. Tap "Clear Clipboard" to remove sensitive data

Shows what smart home data apps with HomeKit access can see — connected accessories, rooms, zones, and automation details. Read-only, no changes are made.

1. Go to Tools → HomeKit Inventory
2. Grant HomeKit permission when prompted
3. View all accessories, rooms, and automations

Detects third-party keyboard extensions installed on your device. Third-party keyboards can potentially log keystrokes and send data to external servers.

Shows your device's advertising identifier (IDFA) status and whether "Limit Ad Tracking" is enabled. Explains how advertisers use these identifiers to build profiles across apps.

Record meetings and automatically generate structured minutes with timestamps. All processing happens on-device using Apple's Speech framework.

1. Go to Tools → Meeting Transcription
2. Tap "Start Recording"
3. The app transcribes speech in real time
4. When finished, view and export the meeting minutes

Live speech-to-text with sensitive information detection (emails, phone numbers, addresses). Includes advanced audio processing for noisy environments.

Audio Processing Features

• Adaptive LMS Filter — 64-tap FIR filter (~2.9ms at 22kHz) that learns and removes background noise in real time
• 6-Band Parametric EQ — Bands at 100Hz, 250Hz, 500Hz, 1kHz, 2kHz, and 4kHz for voice clarity
• Combined Mode — Run both EQ and LMS simultaneously (processing order: EQ → LMS)

Export Options

• Copy to clipboard
• Share as text file
• Export with timestamps

Discover what apps with photo access can learn about you. Analyses your photo library across 12 privacy categories using on-device AI — nothing leaves your device.

Analysis Categories

• Face detection and social patterns
• Location data from EXIF metadata
• Activity and lifestyle patterns
• Vehicle and transport identification
• Document and screen content detection
• Food, animals, and environment classification
• Indoor/outdoor scene analysis
• Sensitive content detection

On-Device AI Model

Uses MobileNetV3 Large, a CoreML model bundled in the app. Runs locally on the iPhone Neural Engine, processes 224×224 pixel images, and classifies across 1,000 ImageNet categories. Zero data leaves your device.

Automatic blocking of trackers and ads in Safari using both a Content Blocker and a Web Extension. See the Safari Extensions section below for setup instructions.

Analyses cookies on any website and lets you block tracking domains. Shows cookie type (session, persistent, first-party, third-party) and identifies tracker scripts.

1. Go to Tools → Cookie Inspector
2. Enter the URL you want to analyse
3. Tap "Inspect"
4. View all cookies and tracker scripts
5. Tap "Block Domain" to add trackers to your block list

Analyses URLs for phishing indicators, tracking parameters, redirect chains, and SSL certificate validity.

1. Go to Tools → URL Scanner
2. Paste or type the URL
3. Tap "Scan URL"
4. View risk level, redirects, and tracking parameters

• Redirect chain analysis
• Tracking parameter detection (utm, fbclid, etc.)
• Phishing indicators
• SSL certificate validity
• Domain age and reputation

Safely scans QR codes and analyses content before you act on it. For URLs, a full security analysis is shown before opening.

1. Go to Tools → QR Scanner
2. Point camera at QR code
3. View content and security analysis before acting

Supported QR types

• URLs (with security analysis)
• Email, phone, SMS
• WiFi networks
• Contacts (vCard)
• Location coordinates
• Cryptocurrency addresses

Your Privacy Score (0–100) is calculated based on multiple factors including app permissions, security configuration, and tracker blocking status. Higher is better.

Factors affecting your score

• Number and type of permissions granted to apps
• Device security settings (passcode, biometrics, encryption)
• Whether Safari extensions and tracker blocking are enabled
• VPN and network security configuration

Generate a detailed privacy report with personalised recommendations.

1. Go to Learn → Your Privacy Report
2. Tap "Generate Privacy Report"
3. Wait while the app analyses your settings
4. View detailed analysis and action items

Automatically blocks trackers and ads in Safari without requiring any further action after activation.

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone
2. Scroll down to Safari → Extensions
3. Find "PrivacyInsights Content Blocker"
4. Toggle the switch to enable blocking

Provides statistics and control over blocking directly in Safari.

1. Open Settings → Safari → Extensions
2. Find "PrivacyInsights" and toggle it on
3. Choose "Allow" for all websites (or per website)
4. In Safari, tap the "aA" button → PrivacyInsights to view stats

When you block domains in Cookie Inspector, the rules are automatically synced to the Safari Extension. Rules persist even when the app is not running.

Daily Use

• Run Security Check regularly to monitor your device's security status
• Scan for Bluetooth devices in public places to detect potential trackers
• Use QR Scanner instead of the default camera app for safer QR code scanning

Weekly Maintenance

• Check Network Scanner for unknown devices on your WiFi
• Generate a new Privacy Report to track improvements
• Review app permissions and revoke unnecessary access
• Update blocked domain list in Cookie Inspector

⚠️ If You Suspect Tracking

1. Run Bluetooth Scanner immediately
2. Look for unknown AirTags or other trackers
3. Use "Monitor This Device" on suspicious devices
4. Contact police if you find a tracker that is not yours

App Crashes

• Update to the latest version from the App Store
• Restart your iPhone completely
• If the problem persists, reinstall the app

Bluetooth Scanner Does Not Find Devices

• Check that Bluetooth is enabled in iOS Settings
• Grant the app Bluetooth permission in Settings → Privacy & Security
• Some devices are not discoverable (e.g. paired AirPods)
• Try moving closer to devices you expect to find

Network Scanner Does Not Find Devices

• Verify you are connected to WiFi (not mobile data)
• Grant the app Local Network access in Settings
• Some networks block scanning for security reasons

Safari Extension Not Working

• Check that both extensions are enabled in Settings → Safari → Extensions
• Try disabling and re-enabling the extensions
• Restart Safari
• Ensure the app has run at least once after installation

Pro Purchase Not Showing

• Tap "Restore" in the top-right corner of the Tools tab
• Ensure you are signed in with the same Apple ID used for the purchase
• Check your internet connection
• Restart the app and try again