PhotoDesktopPhotoDesktop Privacy Policy
1. What do we collect?
Nothing.
- No telemetry, no usage tracking, no automatic crash uploads
- No third-party analytics or advertising SDKs; PhotoDesktop uses only the frameworks that ship with macOS and includes no third-party code libraries
- No accounts, no sign-in, no device identifiers
- The app runs in the macOS sandbox and doesn’t request network access — technically, it cannot send any data out
2. Which files and folders does the app access?
Only the files and folders you deliberately give it:
| Situation | What is accessed |
|---|---|
| Opening images | Images you hand to PhotoDesktop through “Open Image”, drag and drop, dropping on the Dock icon, or “Open With” in Finder. They are only read; editing never rewrites the original |
| Export | The location you choose in the Save panel, where newly generated image files are written |
| Batch processing | The source folder you choose (its images are read) and the output folder (new images are written); originals in the source folder are never changed |
| Importing LUTs | The .cube file you choose, of which a copy is stored in the app’s own folder |
| Back up / import edit data | The folder you choose: a backup copies edit records, presets and LUTs there (no originals); an import reads from the folder you choose |
The app doesn’t scan your disk, doesn’t read files you didn’t choose, and doesn’t request any privacy permissions such as camera, microphone, contacts, location or the Photos library.
3. What is stored on your Mac
| Content | Location |
|---|---|
| Edit records: each image’s adjustments, masks, crop and retouching strokes (JSON files), used to restore your edits when you reopen the same image. They contain no image pixels. They are kept indefinitely and never deleted automatically | Application Support/PhotoDesktop/Edits inside the app’s sandbox container |
| Presets you save and LUTs you import | Application Support/PhotoDesktop/Presets and LUTs inside the app’s sandbox container |
| Preferences: export and batch options, auto-adjust mode, window position and so on; recently opened images (file name, path and a macOS security-scoped bookmark, used only to reopen them) | UserDefaults inside the app’s sandbox container |
| Previews, render caches and undo history | In memory only, released when you quit the app |
To clear recent items: “File ▸ Open Recent ▸ Clear Recent Items” (this doesn’t delete images or edits). To remove all local data completely, uninstall the app and delete the ~/Library/Containers/com.xwzy.photodesktop folder; before deleting, use “File ▸ Back Up Edit Data…” to save any edits you want to keep.
4. What information do exported photos carry?
Exports keep shooting info (camera, lens, exposure settings and so on) by default and remove GPS and common IPTC location fields. In the Export panel you can choose “Include location”, or turn off “Keep Shooting Info” so that none of the source’s EXIF, TIFF, GPS and IPTC data is copied; the output file still contains the essentials such as pixels, format, size and color profile.
These options don’t change the picture itself. If the picture shows identity, location or other sensitive details (street signs, documents and so on), they will still appear in the exported image, so check it before sharing.
5. Privacy manifest and Apple
- The app includes a privacy manifest (PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy): no tracking, no data types collected, and it declares only two kinds of system API: UserDefaults (to store the preferences above) and file timestamps (reading the modification times of edit records, LUTs and the images you choose, to restore edits and decide whether a cache is stale)
- Some image analysis (such as subject segmentation and face and horizon detection) is done on your Mac by macOS’s Vision framework, and the data never leaves your Mac; camera RAW is handled by the system decoder
- When you download PhotoDesktop from the App Store, Apple handles download-related information under its own privacy policy; we cannot use it to identify you personally
6. Children’s privacy
PhotoDesktop doesn’t collect anyone’s data, including children’s data.
7. Changes to this policy
If the policy changes, this page is updated and the “Last updated” date at the top is changed; significant changes to how data is handled will also be mentioned in the app’s release notes. If networking, accounts, sync or subscriptions are ever added, this policy, the in-app information and the App Store privacy answers will be updated first.
8. Contact us
For any questions or suggestions about this policy, email [email protected]