Privacy Policy

• Your files and storage analysis stay on your Mac. Diskfern scans and analyses your storage locally. File names, paths, file contents, scan results, search queries and Disk Advisor conversations are never sent to us or to anyone else.
• We collect only what we need to sell and license Diskfern, keep it reliable and secure, support you and, if you ask, tell you when Diskfern is available.
• Payments are handled by Paddle, our online reseller and merchant of record.
• Limited crash and error diagnostics may be sent to Sentry to help us fix problems. You can turn this off at any time in Diskfern › Settings › Privacy.
• We don’t sell personal information. This website uses no analytics, advertising or tracking cookies.

Diskfern (“Diskfern”, “we”, “us”) makes the Diskfern app for Mac and runs diskfern.com and the Diskfern account site. We are the controller of the personal information described in this policy, except where we say Paddle is responsible for it.

Privacy contact

privacy@diskfern.com

Email us at the address above with any question about this policy or your information.

Diskfern is designed so that the information it reads about your files never leaves your Mac. The following is created and kept only on your Mac, and is never sent to us, to Sentry or to any other service:

• the files and folders Diskfern scans, and their names, locations, sizes, dates and other metadata;
• the storage map, scan results, saved scans and scan history;
• what you search for (Diskfern remembers your most recent searches on your Mac);
• Disk Advisor conversations. Disk Advisor uses Apple’s on-device language model on Macs that support Apple Intelligence, and its conversations are stored on your Mac;
• your Diskfern settings.

You can clear saved scans and history at any time in Diskfern › Settings › Storage. Removing Diskfern and its folder in your Library removes this information from your Mac.

This section lists each kind of information we handle, where it comes from, why we use it, the legal basis we rely on under data protection laws such as the UK and EU GDPR, and how long we keep it.

Waitlist

What

The email address you enter on our Download page, when you joined, which version of the sign-up wording and of this policy you were shown, your browser’s language setting and, if you arrived from a link that carries them, campaign tags (utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign). We do not store your IP address, browser details or any device information with it.

Why

To tell you when Diskfern is available and about its launch. Nothing else.

Legal basis

Your consent. You can withdraw it at any time.

Kept

Until you ask us to remove it or we no longer need it for launch updates. If you later buy Diskfern, we note that on the same record.

We send no email when you join. Every update we do send will include a way to unsubscribe, and you can also ask us to remove your address by writing to privacy@diskfern.com.

Purchases

What

Your name and email address, the country and address details Paddle collects to calculate tax, and details of your order: product, price, currency, tax, invoice number, status and any refund or chargeback. We never receive or store your card or bank details.

Source

Paddle, which processes the payment (see Paddle, our merchant of record).

Why

To create and deliver your license, provide support, handle refunds, keep accounting records and prevent fraud.

Legal basis

Performing our contract with you; complying with accounting and tax obligations; our legitimate interest in preventing fraud.

Kept

For as long as accounting and tax law requires us to keep records of sales.

Your Diskfern account

What

Your email address; one-time sign-in codes and links, which we store only in a protected, hashed form and which expire within minutes; and, for each signed-in session, a hashed version of the IP address you signed in from and your browser’s description.

Why

To let you sign in, manage your licenses and Macs, view your orders and request refunds, and to protect your account.

Legal basis

Performing our contract with you; our legitimate interest in keeping accounts secure.

Kept

Sign-in records and ended sessions are deleted automatically shortly after they expire.

Licenses and activated Macs

What

Your license key, stored encrypted so you can view it again in your account. When you activate a Mac: a random identifier created for that installation, a one-way hash of your Mac’s hardware identifier, your Mac’s name as set in System Settings › General › Sharing, its model, processor type and macOS version, the Diskfern version, a hashed version of the IP address it activated from, and the dates it was activated and last checked in.

Why

To apply your plan’s Mac limit, show your Macs in your account so you can manage them, keep paid features working, and detect misuse of license keys.

Legal basis

Performing our contract with you; our legitimate interest in preventing license misuse.

Kept

For as long as the license exists. Mac names are removed when we erase your account.

While a license is stored on a Mac, Diskfern checks it with our servers from time to time. Using Diskfern without a license sends no licensing information at all. You can rename your Mac in System Settings at any time before activating if you prefer it not to include your name.

Update checks

Diskfern downloaded from our website checks our update feed about once a day and whenever you choose Check for Updates. Like any internet request, this tells our servers your IP address and the Diskfern version you are running. The request contains no license or account information, and we use it only to deliver updates and to keep the service secure. Diskfern never installs an update without your approval. Legal basis: our legitimate interest in keeping Diskfern up to date and secure.

Crash and error diagnostics

What

If Diskfern crashes or encounters an unexpected error, and Send crash reports is on, a report may be sent to Sentry. It contains the Diskfern version and build, the macOS version, your Mac’s model and processor type, technical error identifiers and code addresses, a short list of recent app events (for example, that a scan finished, with approximate file counts and durations), and a random identifier for the report.

Never included

File names, file paths, file contents, search queries, license keys, email addresses, your name or your Mac’s name. Diskfern removes these before a report is sent.

Why

To find and fix crashes and errors.

Legal basis

Our legitimate interest in providing reliable software. You can object at any time by turning off Send crash reports in Diskfern › Settings › Privacy.

Kept

In Sentry for a limited period set by our account’s retention settings, then deleted. Sentry receives the IP address a report is sent from as part of the connection; we don’t use it to identify you.

Sentry, operated by Functional Software, Inc., processes these reports for us. Read Sentry’s privacy policy.

Emails we send

We send only service emails: your license key, sign-in codes and links, notices about your license and Macs, and updates on refund requests. Paddle sends your receipt. Our email delivery provider sends these messages for us. We keep a record of what we sent and to which address; the address in that record is removed automatically after a set period. Legal basis: performing our contract with you.

Refund requests

If you ask for a refund, we keep the request, the reason you choose to give (it’s optional), any message we send you about it and its status history, together with Paddle’s record of the refund. We use this to review your request and to keep accounting records. Legal basis: performing our contract with you and our legal obligations. The reason and messages are erased if we erase your account.

Support

When you email us, we receive your address, your message and anything you attach. If you use Help › Contact Support in the app, the draft email includes your Diskfern version, macOS version, Mac model and processor type so we can help; you can remove them before sending. We use this to answer you and keep it for as long as we need to resolve your request and a reasonable time afterwards. Legal basis: our legitimate interest in supporting our customers, or performing our contract with you.

Security and abuse prevention

To limit abuse, our servers count requests using keyed, one-way hashes of IP addresses and email addresses rather than the addresses themselves. These counts are deleted automatically within days. Actions our team takes in our admin tools are recorded in an audit log. Legal basis: our legitimate interest in keeping Diskfern and its users secure.

This website

diskfern.com uses no analytics, advertising or tracking cookies. Like every website, our hosting provider processes technical details of each visit, such as your IP address, browser and the page requested, to deliver the site and protect it; these server logs are kept for a short time. On pages that show prices, Paddle’s checkout script loads and receives your IP address to show prices in your currency. When you open checkout, Paddle handles that information under Paddle’s privacy notice.

Our order process is conducted by our online reseller Paddle.com. Paddle.com is the merchant of record for all our orders: it processes payments, calculates and collects sales tax or VAT, issues receipts and is responsible for the payment information it collects. Paddle shares with us the order details listed under Purchases. Paddle’s handling of your information is described in Paddle’s privacy notice.

We don’t sell or rent personal information, and we don’t share it for advertising. We share it only with:

• Service providers that run parts of Diskfern for us under contracts that require them to protect it and use it only on our instructions: our hosting and database providers, our email delivery provider, and Sentry for crash diagnostics.
• Paddle, which handles payments as an independent company responsible for its own use of the information.
• Authorities or others when the law requires it, or when it is necessary to protect the rights, safety or property of our users, the public or Diskfern.
• A successor if Diskfern is sold or reorganised, in which case this policy continues to apply to your information and we will tell you about the change.

Some of our service providers store or process information outside your country, including in the United States. Where the law requires it, these transfers are protected by safeguards recognised under UK and EU law, such as the European Commission’s standard contractual clauses (with the UK addendum) or the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and its UK extension. Contact us for more information about the safeguards that apply.

We keep information only for as long as we need it for the purposes above:

• Waitlist entries: until you ask us to remove yours, or until launch updates no longer need it.
• Account and license records: for as long as you have a license or an account.
• Orders, refunds and related records: for as long as accounting and tax law requires.
• Sign-in records and ended sessions: deleted automatically shortly after they expire.
• Email addresses in our record of sent emails: removed automatically after a set period.
• Crash reports: deleted by Sentry after the retention period of our account.
• Abuse-prevention counts: deleted automatically within days.

Information travels between your Mac or browser and our servers over encrypted connections. License keys are stored encrypted, sign-in codes and links are stored only as hashes, and IP addresses used for security are stored as keyed hashes. Access to our systems is limited to the people who need it, and administrative actions are logged. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we work to protect your information and will tell you and the authorities about a breach where the law requires.

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:

• get a copy of the personal information we hold about you;
• correct information that is wrong or incomplete;
• have your information deleted;
• restrict how we use it, or object to our use of it based on legitimate interests;
• receive information you gave us in a portable format;
• withdraw your consent at any time, for example to the waitlist, without affecting earlier use.

You have the right to object. Where we rely on legitimate interests, you can object at any time. For crash diagnostics, turning off Send crash reports in Diskfern › Settings › Privacy stops new collection. Requests already queued or in progress may finish. Reports retained on your Mac may be sent if you turn the setting on again.

To make a request, including a request to delete your account or waitlist entry, email privacy@diskfern.com from the address concerned. We may ask you to confirm your identity, and we respond within one month. When we delete your account, we erase your name, email address and the other details linked to you, and keep only the order and license records the law requires, no longer connected to your name or email address. Paddle keeps its own records of your purchase; you can ask Paddle about them through its privacy notice. We make no decisions about you based solely on automated processing.

If you are unhappy with how we handle your information, please contact us first. You also have the right to complain to a data protection authority: in the UK, the Information Commissioner’s Office; in the European Economic Area, the authority in your country.

We don’t sell or share personal information as the California Consumer Privacy Act defines those terms, and we don’t use it for targeted advertising. In the past twelve months we have collected the categories described in this policy: identifiers (such as your name and email address), commercial information (your orders), device information about Macs you activate, and limited internet activity (such as security records). You can ask to know, correct or delete your personal information by emailing privacy@diskfern.com, and we won’t treat you differently for doing so.

Diskfern is not directed at children. You must be at least 18 years old to buy a license, create an account or join the waitlist. If you believe a child has given us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

diskfern.com sets no cookies of its own and uses no analytics or advertising technology. When you open checkout, Paddle may use cookies needed to complete your payment.

The Diskfern account site uses only strictly necessary cookies: they keep you securely signed in and protect your account from cross-site attacks, and they expire when your session ends. Because they are essential to the service you ask for, they don’t require consent, and we don’t show a cookie banner.

We will update this policy when our practices change, and the date at the top of this page shows when it last changed. If a change is significant, we will tell you in advance, for example by email or in the app. Earlier versions are available on request.

For any privacy question or request, email privacy@diskfern.com. For purchases and refunds, see our Refund Policy and Terms of Service.