Privacy Policy
Last updated: April 2026
The short version
Mac Pal only captures what's on your screen when you press the hotkey and ask a question. We don't store your screenshots or recordings. We don't sell your data. We don't track you across the web. Your email and subscription info stay in our database only as long as you're a customer.
What we collect
When you sign up, we collect:
- Email address. Used to identify your account and send you billing-related emails.
- Payment information. Handled entirely by Stripe. We never see or store your card numbers.
- A unique device identifier for the Mac you install Mac Pal on, so your subscription stays bound to one Mac.
When you use the app, we process:
- Screenshots of your screen. Captured only when you press Control + Option and speak. Sent to our servers, forwarded to an AI model, and discarded immediately after the response is generated. Not stored.
- Your voice recording. Streamed to a speech-to-text service in real time. The audio is discarded immediately. The resulting text transcript is sent to the AI model along with your screenshot.
- Usage metadata like the number of questions you've asked and the rough cost of each query. Used to prevent abuse and keep the service healthy. Never sold or shared.
What we do not collect
- We don't record, log, or store screenshots.
- We don't record, log, or store your voice.
- We don't track what apps you use when you're not asking Mac Pal a question.
- We don't place tracking pixels or ad cookies anywhere.
- We don't sell or share your data with advertisers.
Who we work with
Mac Pal relies on a handful of third-party services to function. Each only sees the data it needs to do its job:
- Stripe handles all billing. They see your email and payment info.
- Anthropic (Claude) receives your screenshot and question, returns an answer. They do not train on your data.
- AssemblyAI receives your audio and returns a text transcript. Audio is not stored.
- OpenAI receives the answer text and returns an MP3 of the spoken response.
- Cloudflare hosts our backend and website.
- Resend sends our transactional emails (welcome, payment issues, sign-in links).
Data retention
Your account stays in our database as long as your subscription is active. If you cancel and don't return within 12 months, we delete your account, including your email and device binding.
Stripe retains payment records according to their own policies, which we can't control.
Your rights
You can request a copy of your data or have your account fully deleted at any time by emailing [email protected]. We'll respond within a few days.
Children
Mac Pal isn't designed for children under 13 and we don't knowingly collect data from children under 13.
Changes
If we make a meaningful change to this policy, we'll email you. We won't do anything shady behind your back.
Contact
Questions or concerns? Email [email protected].