Effective October 29, 2026 · Applies to Desktide for Mac, version 1.0 and later
In short
- We don't collect any data from Desktide. It has no account, no analytics, no advertising, no tracking and no third-party code that sends data anywhere.
- Your notes, calendar and files stay yours. Desktide works with them on your Mac. The only data that leaves your Mac goes to Apple's own services that you already use (iCloud and the App Store), never to us.
- We don't sell or share data, because we don't have any.
Who we are
Desktide is made by Qiffe. The developer and seller is EgeTech LTD. For any question about this policy or your data, write to info@qiffe.com.
What we don't collect
Desktide doesn't send us, or any analytics, advertising or data company, any information about you or how you use the app. That includes your name, email address, contacts, location, identifiers, usage data, diagnostics and the content you create. We have no server that Desktide talks to.
In the App Store's privacy details, Desktide is listed as Data Not Collected, and its privacy manifest declares no collected data and no tracking.
What Desktide uses on your Mac
To do its job, Desktide works with the following. All of it is processed on your Mac.
Calendar and Reminders
- Desktide shows your events and reminders on the desktop, adds the ones you write there, and lets you tick off, edit or delete them. For that it asks for full access to Calendar and to Reminders.
- It asks only when you connect your calendar, never when the app starts. Notes and zones work without this access, and you can turn it off at any time in System Settings › Privacy & Security › Calendars and Reminders.
- Events and reminders stay in Apple's Calendar and Reminders. Desktide reads and writes them through macOS and keeps no separate copy, except the short summary for the widget described below. They sync through whatever accounts you've set up in macOS (such as iCloud, Google or Exchange), not through us.
Notes
- Notes you write on the desktop are stored on your Mac.
- If you're signed in to iCloud, they're also synced between your Macs through your own private iCloud database (Apple CloudKit). Data in your private database is tied to your Apple Account, and we, as the developer, can't see or read it. If you're not signed in to iCloud, notes stay on your Mac only.
Your Desktop folder (zones)
- Zones keep files in real folders on your Desktop. Desktide can reach your Desktop folder only after you choose it yourself in a standard macOS folder dialog; until then it has no access to your files.
- With that access, Desktide creates a folder for each zone, shows the files in it with their icons or previews, and moves files only when you drop them on a zone or confirm Tidy Desktop into Zones. It remembers the folder you chose with a macOS security bookmark so it doesn't have to ask again.
- File names and contents never leave your Mac. Turning zones off ends this access and leaves your folders and files where they are.
Your wallpaper
When you use your own wallpaper instead of a Desktide theme, Desktide reads a tiny 64-pixel version of it to decide whether text should be light or dark and whether to add a frosted backing. The result is used on the spot. The image is not stored or sent anywhere.
Other windows on screen
Desktide sits under your windows, so it has to know whether a click lands on the desktop or on another app. For that it asks macOS where windows are and which app they belong to. It doesn't read window titles or anything shown inside windows, doesn't need the Screen Recording permission, and doesn't store or send this information.
The Today widget
So the widget can draw without its own Calendar access, Desktide saves a short summary for it on your Mac: today's and the next days' event and reminder titles and times, your note titles and the colors of your theme. It lives in a shared container that only Desktide and its widget can read, and it's replaced each time your plan changes.
Settings and logs
- Your choices (layout, theme, text size and similar) are stored in Desktide's settings on your Mac.
- When something fails, such as saving an event, Desktide writes a short technical error message to the macOS system log on your Mac. These messages don't contain your notes, events or file names, and they aren't sent to us.
Trial and purchases
- The 14-day trial and the one-time unlock are in-app purchases handled entirely by Apple through the App Store. We never see your payment details, name or Apple Account.
- Desktide asks the App Store which of these purchases your Apple Account owns, so it can unlock the app and restore purchases on another Mac. Apple gives developers only aggregated sales reports.
Data Apple may share with us
If you've chosen to share crash reports and analytics with app developers (in System Settings › Privacy & Security › Analytics & Improvements), Apple may give us crash reports and aggregated, anonymous statistics about Desktide through App Store Connect. We use them only to fix problems. Apple's handling of this data is described in Apple's privacy policy.
Network connections
Desktide connects to the internet only through Apple's services: iCloud for syncing notes and the App Store for purchases. Links in the app to the user guide or this policy open qiffe.com in your web browser; how the website handles visits is described in the qiffe.com privacy policy.
Sharing and selling
We don't sell, rent, share or trade any personal information, and we don't use your data for advertising or to track you across apps and websites.
Keeping and deleting your data
- Your data stays until you delete it. Delete a note, event or reminder in Desktide and it's removed from your Mac and, for notes, from your iCloud database too.
- Desktide's local data (notes, settings and the widget summary) lives in its app container in your Library folder. You can remove Desktide's iCloud data from your Apple Account's iCloud storage settings.
- Because we hold no personal data about you, there's nothing for us to delete or hand over; if you have a question about this, write to us.
Children
Desktide isn't directed at children, and it collects no data from anyone, including children.
Your rights
Depending on where you live (for example under the GDPR, the UK GDPR or US state privacy laws), you may have rights to access, correct, delete or move your personal data. Since Desktide sends us none, your data is under your own control on your Mac and in your Apple Account. You can contact us at info@qiffe.com with any request or question, and you may also contact your local data protection authority.
Changes to this policy
If Desktide's handling of data changes, we'll update this page and the date at the top before that version is released.
Contact
EgeTech LTD · info@qiffe.com · Contact and support