NameTheory Privacy Policy
Effective September 29, 2026
NameTheory is a brainstorming app for naming projects and finding available domain names and social handles. It is designed to collect no personal data.
What we collect
Nothing. NameTheory has no accounts, no analytics, no advertising, and no tracking. We do not collect, store, or sell any information about you.
Where your data lives
The words, brainstorms, favorites, and alerts you create are stored on your device and, if you are signed into iCloud, synced through your personal iCloud account so they appear on your other devices. This data is held in your private iCloud database, which Apple protects and we cannot access. See Apple's privacy policy for how iCloud handles your data.
Domain availability checks
When NameTheory checks whether a domain name is available, it sends the candidate name (for example, example.com) to public services:
- A DNS lookup through Cloudflare's DNS-over-HTTPS resolver, to quickly rule out domains that are already in use.
- Public registry services: IANA's RDAP directory, the relevant registry's RDAP endpoint, or its WHOIS server.
- Porkbun's public pricing API, to show registration prices by top-level domain. This request downloads Porkbun's public price list and contains nothing about your candidate name.
Only the candidate domain name is sent — never your identity, your brainstorm contents, or anything else. Like any internet request, these services can see your IP address and may keep standard server logs under their own policies.
Domain alerts
If you turn on an alert for a domain, NameTheory periodically re-checks that domain in the background using the same services described above, and shows a notification on your device if it becomes available. Notifications are generated locally on your device; no push service or server of ours is involved. Alerts require your permission to show notifications, which you can change at any time in the Settings app.
Social handle and App Store checks
When you view a name, NameTheory checks whether it is available as a username on X, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Bluesky, Reddit, and GitHub by sending the candidate username to each service, and searches Apple's iTunes Search API for apps with a similar name. Only the candidate name is sent. These services can see your IP address and may keep standard server logs under their own policies. Results are cached on your device.
Name generation
Word suggestions, variations, and definitions are generated entirely on your device using Apple Intelligence and a bundled word-embedding model. Your descriptions and words are never sent to us or to any third-party AI service.
Diagnostics
NameTheory keeps a log of its activity on your device for up to 7 days to help troubleshoot problems. The log can include names you have brainstormed or searched, the domains and usernames checked, and responses from the services above. It never leaves your device unless you choose to generate a diagnostics report in Settings and share it yourself.
Children
NameTheory does not knowingly collect data from anyone, including children.
Changes
If NameTheory's data practices ever change, this policy will be updated at this address before the change takes effect.
Contact
Questions? Email [email protected].
NameTheory is developed by Reverie.