The short version
- There’s no Dapple account, and we run no server that your browsing passes through.
- Dapple has no analytics, advertising or crash-reporting code in it.
- Your tabs, history, Archive, favorites and settings are stored only on your device.
- Private tabs keep nothing once they’re closed, and never use AI or search suggestions.
- AI is optional. It uses your own Anthropic or OpenAI key, and only what you ask is sent to the provider you chose.
- We don’t sell, share or see your data, because we don’t have it.
What stays on your device
Everything Dapple keeps is stored in its own storage on your iPhone or iPad:
- open and pinned tabs, the Archive, your history and favorites, and your Spaces;
- settings, including per-site choices such as zoom, desktop mode and blocking;
- small pictures of your tabs and the icons of sites you visit;
- files you download, in the Files app under On My iPhone › Dapple.
None of this is synced or backed up to us. Dapple has no sync. To move to a new device, you can export a file from Settings and import it there. You can clear history, the Archive, cookies and website data, the cache and downloads separately in Settings, and deleting the app removes all of it. The one exception is an AI key, which lives in the iOS Keychain and can outlast the app. Use Remove API Key in Dapple’s AI settings to delete it.
Private tabs
Private tabs are never written to history, the Archive, exports or saved previews. They keep their own cookies and website data, which are deleted when you close the last private tab. They are never handed off to your other devices and never used with AI.
What leaves your device, and where it goes
As in any browser, the websites you open receive your requests directly. Beyond that, these are the only things Dapple sends:
- Websites you visitThe site itself
- Pages load straight from each site, as in any browser. Each site’s own privacy policy applies to what it collects. Dapple blocks well-known trackers and rejects common cookie pop-ups for you, but it can’t control what a site does with its own visits.
- SearchesYour search engine
- When you search, your words go to the engine you chose in Settings: Google, DuckDuckGo, Bing or Kagi.
- Search suggestionsYour search engine
- As you type in the address bar, Dapple asks Google, DuckDuckGo or Bing for suggestions. These requests carry no cookies, so they aren’t tied to an account with that engine. Suggestions are on by default and can be turned off in Settings. They are never fetched in private tabs, and never for Kagi.
- Site iconsThe site you visited
- After a page loads, Dapple fetches that site’s icon from the same site, without cookies, and keeps it on your device. Icons are never fetched for private tabs.
- AI, if you add a keyAnthropic or OpenAI
- When you ask a question or summarise a page, Dapple sends that question, or the text of that page, to the provider whose key you added, together with your key. Nothing is sent unless you ask. Private tabs, your history and your other tabs are never sent. The provider’s own terms and privacy policy apply, and you pay them directly. Your key is kept in the iPhone’s Keychain, on that device only, and is sent only to that provider.
- HandoffYour own Apple devices
- If Handoff is turned on, the address of the page you’re reading is offered to your Mac or iPad, through Apple, so you can carry on there. Private tabs are never handed off.
What happens on the device
- Ad and tracker blocking uses Apple’s built-in content-blocking engine with a list included in the app. Matching happens inside WebKit, so Dapple never reads the pages you visit to do it.
- Cookie pop-ups are answered “reject” by DuckDuckGo’s open-source autoconsent rules, which are included in the app and run in the page. Nothing is sent to DuckDuckGo.
- Tracking codes such as
utm_andfbclidare removed from links on your device. - Voice search uses Apple’s speech recognition in on-device mode, so your voice isn’t sent anywhere. Only the words you then search for go to your search engine.
- Translation uses Apple’s on-device translation. iOS may download language files from Apple the first time you translate a language, but the page text stays on your device.
Permissions
Websites can ask to use your camera, microphone or location, for example for a video call or a map. Dapple asks you first, and you can say no. Dapple also uses the microphone for voice search when you tap the microphone button. Saving an image adds it to your photo library and nothing more: Dapple can’t read your photos.
What we don’t do
- No accounts, profiles or sign-ins.
- No analytics, tracking, fingerprinting or advertising, in the app or on this website.
- No selling or sharing of data. We have none to sell.
- Never bypassing an invalid security certificate, even if you ask.
The TestFlight beta
The beta is distributed through TestFlight, which Apple runs. When you install a beta, Apple may share crash reports and basic usage information with us, along with any feedback and screenshots you choose to send from the TestFlight app. Apple’s privacy policy covers how TestFlight handles this. We use it only to fix bugs and improve Dapple.
This website
dapple.surf sets no cookies and runs no analytics or third-party scripts. Its fonts are served from this site, not from a font service. Like any website, the company that hosts it may keep short-lived server logs, such as IP addresses and the pages requested, to keep the site running and secure.
Changes and contact
If anything about how Dapple handles data changes, we’ll update this page and the date at the top before the change ships. Dapple is made by Hashbrown Interactive Inc. Questions about privacy are welcome at hello@dapple.surf.