Privacy

Short version: your data stays on your Mac. ctrlhq has no account, no analytics and no cloud sync.

What stays on your Mac

• Tasks, time entries, categories, notes and settings, in one JSON file you can export or delete from Settings.
• Clipboard history, shelf files and the scratchpad. Move to Notes hands text to Apple Notes on your Mac; whether Notes syncs it to iCloud is up to your Notes settings.
• App usage and battery statistics, which are counted locally.
• Your App Lock list. Unlocking uses Touch ID or your Mac password through macOS; ctrlhq never sees either.
• Calendar events, which ctrlhq reads (read-only) only if you connect your calendar.
• Screen recordings, saved to Movies › ctrlhq. Camera, microphone and screen access are only used while you record.
• Meeting notes. Audio is transcribed by Apple's on-device speech engine and summaries are written by Apple Intelligence on your Mac. No audio or transcript is uploaded, and nothing is recorded until you start it.
• Teleprompter scripts, which are saved with your settings.

The Chrome extension

• The ctrlhq browser extension has no server and sends nothing to us or anyone else. It talks only to the ctrlhq app on your Mac, through Chrome's native messaging.
• Passwords. The extension doesn't fill or save logins, and it ignores password fields, including when you copy from one.
• Sites. To time your visits and block sites in focus mode, the extension reports the name of the site in front (for example youtube.com), never the page address or its contents. Those times stay in a file on your Mac.
• Parked tabs. When you park tabs, their addresses and titles are saved in a file in ctrlhq's folder on your Mac so you can open them again. Remove the card from the Shelf and the file goes with it.
• Clipboard, Shelf, Scratchpad and screenshots. Text you copy in the browser is matched to its page so the clipboard can show where it came from. Items you right-click, and screenshots you take, are sent to ctrlhq on your Mac only when you ask.

What touches the network

• Update checks. Once a day ctrlhq downloads the update feed from https://ctrlhq.app/appcast.xml (you can turn this off in Settings). The request carries your app version in its user agent so the right update is offered. Nothing else is sent.
• License activation. When you enter a license key, ctrlhq sends the key, a random device identifier and your Mac's name so you can manage activations. Nothing else.
• AI usage (optional). If you use Claude Code or the Codex CLI, ctrlhq reads the sign-in those tools already keep on your Mac and asks Anthropic (api.anthropic.com) or OpenAI (chatgpt.com) for your plan limits. The request goes straight to them, never through us. Claude Code's sign-in is only read after you press Connect and allow it in Keychain. ctrlhq never changes or refreshes these sign-ins. To show accounts you've switched away from, ctrlhq saves each account's email address and last limits in a file on your Mac; it never leaves your Mac.
• Album artwork. While Music or Spotify is playing, ctrlhq downloads the cover from Spotify's image server, or looks it up by track and artist in Apple's iTunes catalogue.
• Lyrics. Only while lyrics are on screen (the Now Playing view, or lyrics under the notch if you turn that on), ctrlhq looks the song up on LRCLIB, a free lyrics library, sending its title, artist, album and length.
• Places near you (optional, on by default). When you search the power bar for places (for example “coffee near me” or “hotels near 440022”), ctrlhq sends that search and your location to Apple Maps through macOS. Your location comes from macOS Location Services if you allow it; if you don't, ctrlhq looks up your internet address's approximate city on ipapi.co instead. Turn it off in Settings › Integrations.
• Quick answers (optional, on by default). When what you type in the power bar reads like a question (who, what, where, or ending in ?), or follows web, ctrlhq sends that text to DuckDuckGo's Instant Answer API and, if it has no answer, to Wikipedia and Wikidata. Tasks, sums, reminders, passwords and file searches are never sent. Turn it off in Settings › Integrations.
• Purchases. Payments are handled by our reseller, who acts as Merchant of Record. We receive your email address and order details so we can send your license.

Contact

Questions? Email hello@ctrlhq.app.