Spotlight Search & Privacy

Universal System Search for Notes

With ARMES on iOS, you can search your private notes and knowledge base directly from Apple's system Spotlight search (swiping down on the Home Screen or Lock Screen).

Finding a meeting outline, code snippet, or research brief no longer requires opening the app and navigating folders—simply type in Spotlight and tap the result to jump straight into the note editor.

The Zero Data Retention Guarantee: Disabled by Default

Privacy is ARMES's defining foundation. Many apps automatically expose your private documents and notes to system-level indexers without asking. We believe your thoughts and knowledge belong to you alone.

To protect your privacy:

1. Strictly Opt-In: Spotlight note indexing is switched OFF by default. When you install ARMES, none of your notes, titles, or folder names are ever shared with the operating system indexer.
2. On-Device Only: If you choose to enable Spotlight indexing, the index is maintained exclusively on your physical device using Apple's local CoreSpotlight API (CSSearchableIndex).
3. No Apple Cloud Sync: Note data indexed in CoreSpotlight is marked for local search only. Your notes are not transmitted to Apple Intelligence cloud servers, Siri training servers, or third-party search engines.
4. Instant Zero-Trace Purge: Disabling the setting at any time immediately wipes the entire ARMES index from the device, ensuring no residual data remains.

How to Enable Spotlight Note Indexing

If you want the convenience of searching your notes directly from the iOS Home Screen:

1. Open the ARMES app on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap the gear icon or navigate to Settings from the user menu.
3. Select Security & Privacy in the settings sidebar.
4. Scroll to the Apple Intelligence & System Search section (visible on native iOS devices).
5. Toggle on Index Notes in iOS Spotlight.

Settings > Security > Apple Intelligence & System Search > [Toggle ON]

When toggled on:

• All existing notes in your active folders are indexed into the local iOS system search.
• Any new notes you create, edit, or delete automatically update the Spotlight index in real time.

Searching Notes in Spotlight

Once enabled:

1. Swipe down on your Home Screen or Lock Screen to open Spotlight.
2. Type any keyword from your note title, folder name, or content snippet (e.g., "Q4 Strategy", "Competitor Analysis", or "API keys").
3. Under the ARMES results section, tap the note.
4. The ARMES app will open instantly and load the exact note into your editor via deep link (armes://notes?noteId=...).

Disabling and Purging the Index

If you ever wish to remove ARMES notes from system search:

1. Return to Settings → Security.
2. Toggle off Index Notes in iOS Spotlight.
3. ARMES immediately calls deleteAllSearchableItems() to erase every indexed note, snippet, and keyword from your device's Spotlight database.