🔒 Lode Privacy Policy

Effective date: May 17, 2026
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🟢 Privacy at a glance

Lode is a local-only macOS desktop app. We have no servers. Almost nothing leaves your machine. The exceptions, all triggered by an explicit user action:

• Anthropic API key + diff content — only when you press the ✨ Sparkles button (AI Summarize). Key is stored in your macOS Keychain. Diff content is sent over HTTPS to Anthropic. We don't cache it.
• GitHub Issue body — when you click the in-app ? Feedback button, your browser opens a prefilled GitHub Issue on rex4ssd/lode-releases. You can edit / cancel before submitting.
• License key + buyer email — only if you've purchased a license. Stored locally; we have no record on any server.
• Crash reports — not currently collected. A future release will add an opt-in (default OFF) crash reporter. Until then, zero crash telemetry.

No telemetry. No analytics. No cookies. No ad IDs. No fingerprinting. No keystroke logging. No file paths leave the machine beyond your local workspace.json.

🇺🇸 English version (full)

1. Data Lode collects

Lode collects or processes the following data only when you explicitly enable the corresponding feature:

1.1 Anthropic API key (required for AI Summarize)

• Stored in: macOS Keychain (service: lode.api-key.anthropic). Protected by your macOS user login; never written to plain-text settings files.
• Used to: call Anthropic's /v1/messages API for diff / document summarisation.
• We never transmit this key to any RexCode-owned server. We do not operate any servers.

1.2 Diff / document content (when you click ✨ Summarize)

• Triggered by: pressing the Sparkles button in File Diff, Folder Diff, Git Viewer, or Docx Viewer.
• Sent to: Anthropic's /v1/messages endpoint over HTTPS.
• Not cached locally on Lode's side. Anthropic's data policy governs their copy. See anthropic.com/privacy.

1.3 Crash reports (planned — not yet shipped)

• Current status: as of v1.0, Lode ships without any crash reporting. Lode collects zero crash telemetry until this feature lands in a future release.
• When shipped: will be opt-in, OFF by default, toggleable in Settings → Privacy. If enabled, will send Lode version + macOS version + stack trace (plus your typed feedback when you use the Feedback button) to Sentry (sentry.io/privacy). This page will be updated with the effective date when the feature ships.

1.4 Local workspace state

• Stored at: ~/Library/Application Support/app.rexcode.lode/workspace.json
• Contains: paths to root folders you opened, Viewer / Diff state, your preferences (zoom level, theme, hotkey overrides, AI monthly budget, etc.).
• Never leaves your machine.

1.5 License + trial state

• Stored at: ~/Library/Application Support/app.rexcode.lode/license.json
• Contains: first-launch timestamp (drives the 30-day trial), license key (if activated), and buyer email decoded from your purchase payload.
• Never leaves your machine.

2. What Lode does NOT collect

Things Lode explicitly does not do:

• ❌ No telemetry, analytics, or usage metrics — none of any kind.
• ❌ No cookies, ad IDs, or device fingerprinting.
• ❌ No file contents — except when you explicitly trigger AI Summarize (§1.2).
• ❌ No file paths — beyond workspace.json recording which roots you opened, no path information leaves your machine.
• ❌ No keystrokes, mouse traces, or session recordings.
• ❌ No outbound network traffic except to Anthropic (when AI Summarize fires). The future opt-in Sentry crash reporter will be the only other outbound destination once shipped.
• ❌ No background phone-home, update polling, or licence-check pings. Trial state is verified entirely offline against the local license.json.

3. Third-party data processors

4. Children's privacy (COPPA)

Lode is not designed for or targeted at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us data, please open a GitHub Issue and we will remove it promptly.

5. GDPR rights (EU users)

Because all Lode-managed data sits on your local machine, your GDPR rights to access, correct, delete, and port your data can be exercised directly by deleting or copying the local files:

# Inspect everything Lode stores about you
ls -la ~/Library/Application\ Support/app.rexcode.lode/

# Wipe all Lode-managed local data
rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/app.rexcode.lode/

For Anthropic-side data (the diff content you sent for summarisation), contact Anthropic directly to exercise your rights against their copies.

6. CCPA rights (California users)

• We do not sell your personal information.
• We do not share data with third parties beyond what's described in §3 above.

7. Data security

• Local files are protected by your macOS user-account permissions; by default they're readable only by the user account that runs Lode.
• API key transmission uses HTTPS (TLS) to api.anthropic.com.
• Lode has no servers. There is no centralised store of user data to be breached — nothing to attack, because nothing is collected centrally.
• We recommend setting a monthly usage cap on your Anthropic account at console.anthropic.com as a defense-in-depth measure independent of Lode's local budget cap.

8. Policy changes

Material changes to this policy will be announced on the Lode home page + the rex4ssd/lode-releases repository, and reflected in the "Effective date" at the top of this page. We recommend re-reading after major Lode versions.

9. Contact

• Email: [email protected]
• GitHub Issues: github.com/rex4ssd/lode-releases/issues
• In-app: TopBar ? icon → Feedback modal