Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you want to know about Stampede.
About Stampede
What is Stampede?
Stampede is a native iPad app for PDF annotation, designed around a stamp-based workflow for proofreaders. It includes a customisable stamp sidebar, standard annotation tools (highlights, underlines, freehand drawing), a research panel, reading modes, and optional AI proofreading.
Who is Stampede for?
Primarily professional proofreaders — people who mark up PDFs for a living. But it works well for anyone who annotates PDFs regularly: editors, students, researchers, legal professionals, anyone who reads documents carefully and needs to mark them up.
Is Stampede available on Android or Windows?
Not yet. Stampede launched on iPad first because iPad with Apple Pencil is the ideal device for PDF annotation. Android and Windows versions are planned for the future.
How much does Stampede cost?
Stampede is a one-time purchase from the App Store. No subscription. No recurring fees. The price is set to be accessible for freelance proofreaders — think “a few coffees,” not “another monthly bill.”
About AI Proofreading
Does AI proofreading upload my documents to the cloud?
No. The default AI proofreading runs entirely on your iPad using Apple’s Foundation Models. Your documents never leave your device. Cloud AI is available as an optional feature that you explicitly choose to enable per document.
Can I use Stampede without AI proofreading?
Absolutely. The AI is a feature you can turn on or off. The stamp sidebar, annotation tools, research panel, and everything else work perfectly without it.
How accurate is the AI?
Good enough to be useful, not good enough to be trusted blindly. It catches typos, grammar issues, and inconsistencies that human eyes might miss on a long document. It also occasionally flags things that aren’t errors. That’s why you review every suggestion — the AI flags, you decide.
Will the AI replace proofreaders?
No. AI catches surface-level errors. Professional proofreading involves understanding context, style, intent, and convention at a level that AI can’t match. Stampede’s AI is a supplement to expertise, not a replacement for it.
About Features
Can I create my own stamps?
Yes. Stamps are fully customisable — text content, font, size, colour, bold/italic. Create stamps for standard annotations, custom correction codes, or any mark you use regularly.
Can I use traditional proofreading marks?
Prefer traditional proofreading marks like BSI or Chicago symbols? Create them as custom stamps — your symbols, your sizes, your colours. Any correction system you already use can be replicated as a stamp set.
Does Stampede support Apple Pencil?
Yes. Apple Pencil works for stamp placement, freehand drawing, text selection, and general navigation. Pressure sensitivity is supported for the pen and marker tools.
Can I work on multiple documents at once?
Yes. Stampede supports multi-tab document viewing. Each document has its own annotation state, scroll position, and undo history.
How do I export my annotated PDFs?
Two ways. “Export editable” keeps annotations as interactive objects that the recipient can modify. “Export flattened” burns annotations into the PDF permanently. Share via the system share sheet (Files, email, AirDrop, etc.).
What’s the Research Panel?
Select any text in a PDF and open the Research panel to look it up in Google, Wikipedia, Merriam-Webster, Black’s Law Dictionary, Perplexity AI, or custom reference links you add yourself. Useful for fact-checking, verifying spellings, and checking citations without leaving the document.
About Privacy
What data does Stampede collect?
Minimal. No user accounts. No tracking across apps. AI proofreading is on-device by default. Documents are stored locally on your iPad. We don’t see your files, your annotations, or your stamps.
Is Stampede safe for NDA-protected documents?
With on-device AI only (the default), your documents never leave your iPad. No servers, no cloud processing, no data transmission. If you use optional cloud AI, that decision is per-document and explicit.
About Krte-ch
Who makes Stampede?
Stampede is made by Krte-ch, an independent app studio. We make focused tools for people who do careful work.