Last updated 2026-10-04.
Israel OS is a daily-life companion for people in Israel. This policy describes what the app and API store.
If you sign in with Apple, email, or as a guest, we store an account identifier, optional email, display name, and authentication tokens. Profile answers (language, city, residency, health fund, Life areas, notification preferences) are sent to our servers so Home, Guides, and Ask can be personalized. They are not kept only on-device.
The Menu lets you browse app features on your device. When you submit a question in its search field, your question and the available app feature names and descriptions are sent to OpenAI through Israel OS to find relevant pages. That lookup does not send your profile, location, documents or saved content. Israel OS does not store Navigator questions or results; provider processing and retention remain subject to OpenAI’s policies. This differs from Ask conversation history.
Questions you send to Ask, conversation history, and answer feedback are stored so you can reopen threads and so staff can review quality. Text, selected photos and camera images you explicitly capture for translation are processed by our translation provider (OpenAI when configured). Israel OS does not save those images or free-text translations in its database or use them as a shared translation cache. The camera preview is not streamed to the translation provider; translation starts after you capture a photo. Spoken translation uses Apple speech recognition, which may process audio on Apple’s servers when on-device recognition is unavailable; the recognized text is sent for translation. Translation conversation history stays in memory and clears when you leave. Provider processing and retention are subject to the provider’s policies. Menu photos you submit are stored until staff review and may be shown if a menu is published.
When you tap a category in Nearest, the app requests a fresh location and sends a nearby search to Apple Maps. It selects the closest matching mapped place by straight-line distance and opens the destination in Apple Maps for directions. These searches do not pass through Israel OS’s server or OpenAI. Your last destination is kept only in memory while the page is open. Israel OS does not save these location fixes or track you in the background; Apple’s processing is subject to its privacy policy. You can revoke location access in iOS Settings.
When you choose to explore in What’s Here?, the app requests a one-time location fix. Apple reverse geocoding can supply a nearby street address or landmark and an approximate area name. Coordinates (rounded to four decimal places), location accuracy, these location names, and your selected language are sent through our server to OpenAI with web search to research the immediate surroundings and nearby historical places. A nearby address is a location clue, not an indication that you live in or have entered that property. Israel OS does not store these coordinates, prompts, or generated histories in its database, analytics, or a shared cache. The result stays in memory while the screen is open. We request that OpenAI not store the response as application state; provider processing and retention remain subject to OpenAI’s policies. What’s Here? does not track your location in the background. You can revoke location access in iOS Settings.
Scans and Accounts store encrypted documents and account details on this device, with a device-bound key and exclusion from backups. They are not uploaded to Israel OS and do not move with your account to another phone. Keep your own copies of important documents. Check-Ins, Notes, saved food orders and shopping lists also use local, account-separated storage. Notes keep your original wording on this device for your account. When you choose to organize a note or Ask my notes, only notes you allow for AI are sent for that request; Israel OS does not keep a notes database. You can exclude any note from AI. Scans and Accounts are never included automatically. Adding a custom food item sends its name to the translation provider to generate Hebrew and pronunciation; the resulting personal item stays on this device.
Optional modest-dress and Shabbat-driving reminders are off by default. When enabled, the app checks a one-time location while Home is visible. Coordinates remain on the device. Calendar lookups use the public city center, not your exact position. The reminders do not track you in the background.
When you submit a sign, menu, food label, message, kosher certificate or lease for explanation, the selected text or image passes through Israel OS to the AI provider. These explanation inputs and outputs are not kept in the app’s database or a shared cache. Provider processing and retention are subject to its policies. Check sensitive documents before submitting them. Photo Filters are processed on your device; a photo is not uploaded merely to apply a filter.
Professional and volunteer submissions, housing and second-hand listings, their uploaded photos, and the contact details you choose to publish are stored on our server for review and display. Reports are available to authorized moderators. Housing and second-hand listings do not process payments or transactions.
Meet Ups is an optional friendship feature for adults who confirm they are 18 or older. Your separate, chosen nickname, optional city, biography, languages, interests, meeting preferences and religious observance (only if you choose to share it) are stored on our server and shown to other opted-in members only after review. Religious observance is optional, can be cleared at any time by editing your profile, and is not used to rank introductions. No precise location or other onboarding answers are automatically shared. Messages open only after both people accept an introduction. Profiles and messages are not end-to-end encrypted and are not sent to AI. Moderators can review reported messages and the reported public profile. Blocking prevents further contact. Leaving Meet Ups deletes your profile, introductions, reports and associated conversations for both participants; deleting your main account also removes them. Shared screenshots or copies made by another person cannot be recalled. Profiles stop appearing and messaging pauses after 90 days without renewed consent.
Usage analytics are off by default and require your explicit choice in Profile → Preferences. We keep daily aggregate counts for up to 90 days, such as feature opens, broad search categories and conversion types. Analytics do not store your name, account or session ID, location, search text, questions, documents, numbers you dial or amounts you convert. For opted-in Ask requests, a bounded rules-based classifier derives only broad topic and product-improvement categories; it makes no extra AI request and stores no copy of your question. Ask history and voluntarily submitted feedback remain separate account features. The dashboard hides small count groups and has no individual usage history. Switching analytics off stops new contributions; already anonymous counts cannot be traced back for individual deletion. We do not sell personal data to third-party advertisers.
When available, alerts may include an unofficial summary synchronized from public Home Front Command pages. Israel OS is not affiliated with Home Front Command, does not replace sirens or the official HFC app, and alert display may be delayed or incomplete. Shelter maps use municipal catalogs and may be incomplete. News cards and recaps use an editorial feed maintained on the same host. Israel OS is not an official emergency service.
Profile → Download my data prepares a JSON file of the personal information we store for your account, including profile answers, preferences, saved items, Ask history, and community content you created. Profile → Delete account anonymizes your user record and purges profile, locations, conversations, devices, saved items, and tasks. Community posts you already published may remain with a “Deleted user” byline.
Questions about this policy or your data: open Profile → About → Contact support in the Israel OS app and send a Privacy question. Signed-in messages are linked to your account so we can respond; guests should include a reply email in the form.