Privacy Policy

Thank you for using ScreenMates! This Privacy Policy describes how your personal information is handled when you use our macOS application ("App").

Data We Do Not Collect

ScreenMates is designed with your privacy as a priority. We do not collect, store, or transmit any of your personal content, including but not limited to:

• The content of your screenshots
• The custom prompts you enter
• Any text or data derived from your images or prompts during local VLM processing
• Your usage patterns or analytics
• Personal identifiers or device information

All image capture and VLM processing occur entirely on your device.

Data We Process Locally

• Screenshots: When you initiate a screenshot, the image data is captured into your device's memory and processed locally by the on-device Vision Language Model (VLM). This data does not leave your device and is discarded after processing.
• Custom Prompts: Text prompts you provide are processed locally with the screenshot data and are not stored permanently.
• VLM Model Preference: Your selected VLM model preference is stored locally on your device for convenience.
• App Settings: User preferences and settings are stored locally using macOS UserDefaults.

Network Activity

ScreenMates requires an internet connection for the following purpose ONLY:

• Downloading Vision Language Models (VLMs): When you select a VLM model for the first time, or when a default model is initially set up, the app will download the necessary model files from Hugging Face Hub (a reputable open-source model repository) or other specified model sources. This download is for the functionality of the app (the AI models themselves) and does not involve the transmission of your personal data or screenshot content.

Once models are downloaded, ScreenMates can operate completely offline.

Third-Party Services

• Hugging Face Hub: Used for downloading VLM models. Their terms and privacy policy may apply to the model download process itself. ScreenMates does not share your personal data with Hugging Face Hub - only standard HTTP requests for model files are made.

System Permissions

ScreenMates requests the following macOS permissions:

• Screen Recording: Required to capture screenshots for analysis. We only capture what you explicitly select.
• Network Access: Used only for downloading AI models during initial setup.
• Accessibility (Optional): Enables global keyboard shortcuts for quick access to ScreenMates features.

We provide clear explanations for why each permission is needed and how it's used.

Data Security

• Local Processing: All analysis happens on-device using Apple's secure sandbox environment
• No Data Retention: Screenshots and analysis results are processed in memory and discarded immediately
• Encrypted Storage: Any local preferences are stored using macOS's secure storage mechanisms
• No Tracking: We don't use analytics, crash reporting, or any tracking technologies

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Last Updated" date. You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at: [email protected]