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Privacy Policy

Effective date: 2026-06-05

FocusNotch is a macOS app. This policy describes what data it touches and where that data goes. The short version: your work data stays on your Mac; the only outbound traffic is a license-key check if you upgrade to Pro.

TL;DR

• FocusNotch is local-first. Your time tracking, todos, and settings live in a single JSON file on your Mac.
• We do not run analytics, telemetry, crash reporting, or any tracking SDK. We do not have a user database.
• The only network call the app makes is to verify your Pro license — sent to our payment processor (Lemon Squeezy) once on activation and once a month thereafter. The payload is just your license key + macOS major version.
• Free users make zero outbound calls.

What the app stores

Everything you create in the app:

• Project names and optional hourly rates
• Task names attached to projects
• Time sessions (start, end, project, task)
• Todos (title, optional notes, optional due date, completion time)
• App settings (theme, idle threshold, sync preferences)

All of it lives in a single JSON file on your Mac:

~/Library/Application Support/FocusNotch/data.json

Your Pro license, if you have one, lives next to it:

~/Library/Application Support/FocusNotch/license.json

These files never leave your machine unless you copy them somewhere yourself.

System APIs the app uses

FocusNotch asks for permission before touching anything outside its own sandbox. You can revoke any of these in System Settings → Privacy & Security at any time.

API	Access	When
Reminders (EventKit)	Read + write	Only if you enable Reminders sync (Pro). Mirrors todos to the system Reminders app.
Calendar (EventKit)	Read + write	Only if you enable Calendar push (Pro). Writes timed tasks as calendar events.
Apple Music	Read-only via AppleScript	When the music widget is visible. Now-playing info and play/pause/skip.
Spotify	Read-only via AppleScript	Same as Apple Music.
Siri / App Intents	Standard system intents	For "Plan my day," start/stop timer, add todo. Runs on-device on Apple Silicon.
Microphone	Never. Not requested, not used.
Camera	Never. Not requested, not used.
Network	License verification only. See below.

Reminders and Calendar sync are opt-in and Pro-only. When enabled, data flows through your Mac's existing iCloud / Google account — FocusNotch is writing to the local EventKit database, exactly like Apple's own Reminders and Calendar apps. Whatever sync those services do on your behalf, they would do anyway; FocusNotch is not in that pipe.

The only network call we make

If you purchase Pro, the app contacts our payment processor (Lemon Squeezy) to:

1. Verify your license key when you paste it into Settings.
2. Re-check that the key is still valid roughly once a month (e.g., not refunded or revoked).

The verification request contains: your license key, the FocusNotch version, and your macOS major version (e.g., "14"). It does not contain your name, email, IP address (beyond what TCP requires), session data, or anything you've tracked in the app.

Lemon Squeezy's privacy policy: lemonsqueezy.com/privacy. We see only what they show us — license validity, expiry if applicable, and the email you used at checkout (which we use to contact you about refunds or critical security updates).

What we do not collect

• No analytics, no usage events, no screen recording, no session replay.
• No crash reports.
• No fingerprinting, no advertising IDs, no third-party SDKs other than Lemon Squeezy's license check.
• We do not see what you track, what projects you create, or what's in your Reminders / Calendar.

Your data, your rules

• Export: Settings → Export produces CSV and JSON dumps.
• Delete: quit FocusNotch and remove ~/Library/Application Support/FocusNotch/, or use Settings → Reset.
• Revoke permissions: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Reminders / Calendar / Automation.
• Cancel Pro: email support@focusnotch.app within 30 days of purchase for a full refund, no questions.