Definition

What stays on device in SnapAction?

Some SnapAction work happens locally on your iPhone. Screenshot analysis and link enrichment use backend services. This page explains the difference without implying fully offline processing.

Why the distinction matters

Screenshots often include personal messages, receipts, travel plans, work tools, and browser tabs. A privacy page should clearly separate local app storage from network-based analysis.

SnapAction is not marketed as an offline-only or fully on-device screenshot scanner. Its core value comes from AI analysis and web enrichment that can identify the real resource inside a messy screenshot.

The app does keep its resource library locally with SwiftData, and iOS controls Photos access. But when you scan, the selected image is sent to the backend analysis pipeline.

SnapAction's current data path

Local on iPhone:

  • PhotoKit screenshot discovery and asset IDs
  • SwiftData resource records after analysis
  • Read state, favorite state, tags, and linked screenshot references
  • Local browsing, filtering, resource cards, and Rewind inputs

Backend / network:

  • Selected screenshot image data sent to Convex for analysis
  • OpenRouter visual reasoning and structured extraction
  • Serper search when a canonical URL needs to be recovered
  • Clerk identity, StoreKit subscription verification, and Convex quota records

Result: A screenshot becomes a local resource card, but the scan itself is cloud-assisted.

How to describe SnapAction accurately

Use claims like “AI screenshot analysis,” “Convex-backed screenshot agent,” “SwiftData local resource library,” and “PhotoKit screenshot access.”

  1. Do not say screenshots never leave the device.
  2. Do not say SnapAction uses Apple's Vision framework unless that code exists.
  3. Do not say iCloud sync is available unless it has been verified.
  4. Do say resource records are stored locally with SwiftData.
  5. Do say the scan pipeline uses Convex, OpenRouter, and Serper.

This makes the product more trustworthy: users know when SnapAction is acting like a local resource manager and when it is using cloud services to understand a screenshot.

Related terms

AI Screenshot Analysis SwiftData Privacy Policy

Try the cloud-assisted workflow

Install the beta to see how SnapAction turns a screenshot into a local, action-ready card.

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