Privacy Policy

Summary

AfterCut Studio is designed with privacy at its core. The App processes all data locally on your Mac. We do not collect, transmit, or store any personal data on external servers. We do not use analytics, telemetry, or tracking of any kind.

Information We Do Not Collect

• We do not collect personal information (name, email, address, etc.)
• We do not collect usage analytics or telemetry
• We do not track your behavior within or outside the App
• We do not use third-party analytics, advertising, or crash reporting SDKs
• We do not create user profiles or identifiers
• We do not transmit your recordings, projects, or any content to external servers

Data Stored Locally on Your Device

The App stores the following data exclusively on your Mac. This data never leaves your device and is fully under your control.

Recordings and Projects

• Screen recordings (video and audio files) are saved to the output directory you choose
• Project files (containing editing metadata such as zoom sections, captions, timeline segments, and background settings) are stored in your Application Support directory
• Cursor position data collected during recording is stored within project files for the purpose of generating automatic zoom animations

User Preferences

The App stores your preferences locally using macOS standard storage (UserDefaults), including:

• Output directory location
• Video codec and frame rate settings
• Zoom, background, and camera overlay preferences
• Hotkey configuration
• Selected camera and microphone devices
• Launch at login preference

License Key (Website Distribution Only)

If you purchased AfterCut Studio outside the Mac App Store, your license key is stored locally on your device. License validation is performed by contacting the Polar.sh licensing service (see "Network Access" below for details).

Device Permissions

AfterCut Studio requests the following macOS permissions, each for a specific and necessary purpose:

• Screen Recording permission is required for the App to function.
• Microphone, Camera, and Speech Recognition permissions are optional and only requested when you use features that need them.
• Speech recognition is performed using Apple's on-device speech recognition framework. Audio is processed locally on your Mac and is not sent to external servers.
• You can revoke any permission at any time through macOS System Settings > Privacy & Security.

Network Access

Mac App Store Version

The Mac App Store version of AfterCut Studio has no network access capabilities. It cannot connect to the internet for any purpose. Updates are delivered solely through the Mac App Store.

Website Version

The website-distributed version makes the following network requests:

Software Updates (Sparkle)

The App periodically checks for updates by contacting https://cdn.aftercut.studio/appcast.xml. This request retrieves a version manifest (XML file) containing version numbers, download URLs, and cryptographic signatures. No personal data, device identifiers, or usage information is transmitted during this check. You can disable automatic update checks in the App's preferences.

License Validation (Polar.sh)

The App validates your license key by contacting the Polar.sh licensing service. The only data transmitted during this process is your license key. No personal data, device identifiers, recordings, project data, or usage information is sent. Polar.sh is a third-party service with its own privacy policy, available at https://polar.sh/legal/privacy. We do not control the data practices of Polar.sh beyond what is transmitted by the App (the license key only).

Third-Party Services

AfterCut Studio does not integrate with any analytics platforms, advertising networks, or cloud storage providers. The App uses Apple system frameworks (AVFoundation, ScreenCaptureKit, CoreImage, MetalKit, SwiftUI, AppKit, and Speech). The website-distributed version additionally uses:

• Sparkle — an open-source macOS update framework, for checking and delivering app updates
• Polar.sh — a licensing service, solely for license key validation

Neither of these services receives personal data, device identifiers, or any content you create with the App.

Data Sharing

We do not share, sell, rent, or disclose any of your data to third parties. Since we do not collect any data, there is nothing to share.

Data Retention and Deletion

All data created by AfterCut Studio is stored locally on your device. You have full control over this data:

• Recordings: Delete them directly from Finder at your chosen output directory.
• Project files: Located in ~/Library/Application Support/com.aftercut.studio/. Delete them at any time.
• Preferences: Automatically removed when you uninstall the App, or you can reset them manually via macOS defaults.
• Uninstalling the App removes all application data. To ensure complete removal, also delete the Application Support folder mentioned above.

Children's Privacy

AfterCut Studio does not knowingly collect any personal information from anyone, including children under 13 years of age. Since the App collects no personal data, it complies with COPPA and similar regulations by design.

International Users

Since AfterCut Studio does not collect or transmit any personal data, there are no cross-border data transfers. All data remains on your device regardless of your location.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be reflected in the "Last Updated" date at the top of this document. Continued use of the App after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at:

• Email: support@aftercut.studio
• Website: https://aftercut.studio