Pack Mule — Privacy Policy
In one sentence
Pack Mule has no servers, no accounts and no analytics; your packing lists are kept on your device and in your own iCloud, and are sent nowhere else.
What Pack Mule holds
Only what you put in it: the names of your lists and sublists, the items in them with any quantities and notes, and which ones you have packed. Pack Mule asks for no permissions. It does not see your location, contacts, calendars, photos or Health data, and it does not read or generate any advertising identifier.
Where your information is kept
| What | Where it lives | Who can reach it |
|---|---|---|
| Your lists, sublists and items | Pack Mule's own storage on your device | Only you |
| The same lists | Your own private iCloud database, so a list packed on your iPhone shows on your iPad and Mac | Only you, through your Apple Account |
| Each list's name, counts and the names of its busiest sublists | An app group container on your device (group.com.strangleman.packmule), so the widgets can draw without opening the app | Only you |
| Your settings — appearance, haptics, and whether packed items are hidden | Pack Mule's own storage on your device; they don't sync | Only you |
What leaves your device
Your lists sync through your own iCloud account, using Apple's CloudKit, to your other devices signed in to the same account. If you're not signed in to iCloud, or turn iCloud off for Pack Mule, your lists stay on the device you made them on.
Nothing is transmitted to the developer, because there is nothing to transmit it to. Pack Mule has no networking code of its own; the only way anything leaves your device is Apple's iCloud sync, into your own account.
Suggested lists
On devices with Apple Intelligence, you can describe a trip and have a list suggested for it. That suggestion is made on your device by Apple's on-device model. Your description is not sent to Apple, to the developer, or anywhere else. The six ready-made lists — Camping, Beach, Snow, City Break, Business Trip and Road Trip — are built into the app and need nothing at all.
Siri and Shortcuts
When you ask Siri to make a list or add items, Siri turns what you said into text and hands it to Pack Mule, which adds it to your list on your device. How Siri handles your voice is covered by Apple's own privacy policy, not this one; Pack Mule only ever receives the text.
Sharing, printing and backups
When you share a list as text or as a PDF, or export your lists as a JSON backup, Pack Mule makes the file and hands it to the standard share sheet or file picker. Where it goes is entirely your choice, and Pack Mule has no part in it once you have chosen. Importing a backup reads only the file you pick.
Analytics, tracking and advertising
There are none. Pack Mule contains no analytics framework, no advertising framework, no crash reporter and no third-party code of any kind. It does not track you across apps or websites, and nothing you put in it is sold, rented or shared.
Children
Pack Mule collects nothing from anyone, of any age, and contains no age-restricted material.
Deleting your information
- A list — delete it in the app. The deletion syncs, so it goes from your iCloud and your other devices too.
- Everything on one device — delete the app. Its storage and its app group data go with it. Lists already in your iCloud stay there for your other devices.
- Everything in iCloud — delete your lists in the app while iCloud sync is on, and they are removed from iCloud as well. You can also stop Pack Mule using iCloud in Settings → [your name] → iCloud.
Your rights
Because the developer neither collects nor holds any personal information about you, there is nothing held about you to request access to, to correct, or to have erased. If you have a question about any of the above, please get in touch.
Changes to this policy
Any change will be published on this page with a new date at the top. Material changes will be described rather than made quietly.