Does ReceiptIQ AI upload my receipt photos?

September 30, 2026 · ReceiptIQ AI · Xinzhou Liu

Short answer: Yes, to read it, and it is not kept. When you scan in the iPhone app, the receipt photo and its text are sent securely to our server; the result comes straight back and the photo and text are deleted. Your receipts and photos are stored only on your own devices. The browser demo on this website works the same way, and the other cases where a photo leaves the phone are listed below.

What happens when you scan a receipt

1. You photograph the receipt, or share an image of one into the app. The photo is kept on your device (whether it is kept at all is the "Keep Receipt Images" setting).
2. Text recognition runs on the iPhone and turns the photo into text.
3. The photo and that text are sent securely to our server to be read. The server returns the store, date, every item with its price, tax, and a category per item. Nothing is kept there: the photo and the text are deleted once the result is back.
4. The result is saved on your device, and receipts and photos are stored only on your own devices (plus your own iCloud backup, if you turn it on).

What is sent, and what is not

Sent with a scan

• The receipt photo, and the text recognised on it: everything legible, not only the total. Neither is kept on the server.
• The device's language and country setting, so the answer is localised.
• A device identifier, used for rate limiting and fair use; the privacy policy says it cannot be used to identify you personally.
• Names of items on your saved receipts, to sort them into categories. Nothing is stored on the server.
• Anonymous counts with each scan: how many receipts this device has scanned, the install day, how often the plan page was opened and the free limit reached, how often the Charts and Calendar screens were opened, the time-zone offset, and the answer to the one-time question about what you mainly use the app for. From version 2.4.6 the same counts are also sent when the plan page opens, when the free limit is reached or when you leave the app. They contain no receipt content, name, email or payment details.

Not sent

• Anything, in the optional On-Device AI mode (Beta): the reading then happens on the phone and nothing leaves it.
• Your name, email address or any other identity information through the scan.

On our server

The privacy policy states that no copies of receipt text or images are stored on our servers. The photo and the text are passed on to an AI service provider to be read into store, items and categories; the provider and its terms are named in the privacy policy (Section 4), and receipt data is not sold or used for advertising. Before anything is sent, the app shows a consent screen, and you can withdraw consent in Settings and keep using manual entry.

Other times a photo leaves the phone

• Report a Problem. If you report a receipt, the photo and the recognised text are attached only after a consent dialog. Support may look at your data to solve a problem only with your explicit consent.
• The browser demo on this website. On Try one receipt the photo is sent once, resized to at most 1600 px, read, and shown to you. The photo and the result are not stored. Each use is counted without content (day and hour, country, language, success or not, a random browser identifier), and a hashed copy of the IP address is kept for two days to limit the demo to a few tries a day (the page says five). The iPhone app works the same way: the photo is read and not kept.
• Voice and bank statements. Voice input sends the transcribed text. Importing a bank statement sends the text of the transaction rows; for a PDF only the rows, the period and the printed totals, with card and account numbers masked on the phone first.
• Family sync. Receipts and their photos move directly between your family devices, with no server in between.
• iCloud backup. Off unless you switch it on; it goes to your own iCloud account, not to us.

Can it work with nothing sent?

Manual entry, browsing and export work offline. Scanning a new receipt needs a network connection, with one exception: an optional On-Device AI mode (Beta), off by default, which does the reading step on the phone. It needs an iPhone 16 or newer with iOS 26 or later, is English-only and less accurate than the normal mode, so it suits receipts in English.

What works without a connection

Adding receipts by hand, viewing and editing them, budgets, charts and exporting reports all work offline. Scanning a receipt and voice entry need a connection, because that is when the receipt is read. Two limits to know about: the app has no web version of your data (by design, your receipts live on your devices), and Family Sharing needs both devices to be near each other with the app open, because there is no server to relay changes while one of them is away.

How the On-Device AI mode works (Beta)

In every mode, the text on the receipt is recognised on the phone with Apple's built-in text recognition. Normally the photo and that text are then sent to be read. With On-Device AI switched on in Settings, that reading step runs on the phone with Apple's on-device model instead, so the scan sends nothing. The trade-offs are the ones above: iPhone 16 or newer with iOS 26 or later, English receipts only, and results that are less accurate than the normal mode, which is why it is off by default and still a beta.

What the service keeps

To run the free tier fairly and to stop abuse, the service keeps a small amount of data that contains no receipt content:

• A scan count per device. The app identifies itself with a random ID that Apple generates for the app on your phone. It is not your name, email, Apple ID or phone number, and it is used to count scans toward the free limit and the daily limit.
• Subscription events from Apple, for example that a subscription renewed or was cancelled. Apple sends these without your name or email address.
• Anonymous daily totals: how many scans succeeded, which app versions and languages were used, and which countries requests came from. These are totals, not records of what anyone bought.

What ReceiptIQ AI does not do

• No account: no email, no password, no sign-up. Install it and start.
• No ads, and no advertising or third-party analytics tools inside the app. The app is paid for by subscriptions.
• No selling of data, and no bank linking or email access.
• An optional Face ID or Touch ID lock hides the app's contents, and the app-switcher preview is hidden.

Questions to ask any receipt app

• Is the receipt photo kept after it has been read, and where is it stored?
• Is the receipt kept on the company's servers after it has been read?
• Do you need an account with an email address?
• Are there ads, or advertising and analytics tools, inside the app?
• Does the privacy policy say your data can be shared with "partners"?
• Can you export your data, and delete it?

What we do not claim

We do not say that nothing leaves the phone when you scan: the photo and its text are sent to be read, and are not kept. Your receipts and photos are stored only on your own devices. If that matters for a particular receipt, use manual entry or the On-Device AI mode.

Frequently asked questions

Does ReceiptIQ AI upload my receipt photos?

Yes, to read it, and it is not kept. When you scan, the receipt photo and its text are sent securely to our server to be read. The result comes straight back and the photo and text are deleted. Your receipts and photos are stored only on your own devices. In the optional On-Device AI mode (Beta), on an iPhone 16 or newer, nothing leaves the phone.

Does ReceiptIQ AI store my receipts on a server?

No. The privacy policy states that no copies of receipt text or photos are stored on our servers. Receipts and photos are stored on your own devices (iPhone, iPad, Mac), and optionally in your own iCloud account or on your family's devices.

Is the browser demo different from the app?

No. In the browser demo the photo is sent to our server once, resized, to be read, and it is not stored. The iPhone app works the same way: the photo is read and not kept, and your receipts are stored only on your own devices.

Can I use ReceiptIQ AI without sending anything?

Manual entry works without sending anything. Scanning needs a network connection, except in the optional On-Device AI mode (Beta) on an iPhone 16 or newer with iOS 26 or later, which is English-only and less accurate.

Is the text of my receipt shared with anyone else?

The photo and the text are passed on to an AI service provider to be read. The privacy policy names the provider and its terms, says the data is not sold and is not used for advertising.

Does ReceiptIQ AI need an account?

No. There is no email, password or sign-up. The app counts free scans with a random ID that Apple generates for the app on your phone, which is not your name, email, Apple ID or phone number.

What does ReceiptIQ AI keep on its server?

Only data without receipt content: a scan count per device, subscription events from Apple (without your name or email) and anonymous daily totals such as how many scans succeeded and which countries requests came from. The photo, the text and the result of a scan are not kept.

What happens to my data if I delete the app?

The receipts and photos stored in the app on that device are removed with it, so export a PDF or CSV first if you want to keep them. A copy you chose to put in your own iCloud backup stays under your iCloud settings, and other family devices keep their own copies.

More answers

• Privacy policy
• Family Sharing with no cloud, and iPhone, iPad and Mac together
• Can I export my receipt data?
• Does ReceiptIQ AI support German receipts?