1. Overview
Fide Island is designed as a local-first macOS utility. Most product data is processed on your Mac. The app uses a limited access service to manage a three-day trial or verify a paid subscription, but the Mac app does not include Microsoft Clarity, custom product analytics, advertising telemetry, or a Fide Island cloud copy of your clipboard, Shelf files, calendar, media activity, Apple Notes, or translation text.
This policy explains what the app can access, what stays local, when information may leave the device, and how website-only analytics work.
Customer support is available at fidesupport@gmail.com. The operator identity and database region should be completed and legally reviewed before commercial launch.
2. Information processed on your Mac
Depending on the features you enable and use, Fide Island may process the following information locally:
- Calendar data: upcoming events read through macOS EventKit after permission is granted.
- Apple Notes: note identifiers, titles, previews and note content needed to show, search, create, edit, save, or open notes through Apple Notes after Automation permission is granted. Fide Island does not maintain its own cloud copy of this Notes content.
- Translation text: source text and translated output handled through Apple's Translation framework on macOS 15 or later.
- Shelf files: temporary copies of files you intentionally drop into the Shelf.
- Clipboard history: recent text, images, and file URLs from the macOS pasteboard when Clipboard History is enabled.
- Media information: system Now Playing metadata such as title, artist, album, artwork, source application, progress, playback state, and transport state.
- System status: battery state, charging state, Bluetooth connection activity, and optional brightness/volume/mute key activity used to render short-lived island feedback.
- AI conversation history: assistant messages are stored locally when the optional Gemini assistant is used.
- Preferences: island sizing, animation, tab visibility, feature toggles, default translation languages, launch-at-login preference, selected display, and related settings.
The app is not designed to automatically attach your clipboard, Shelf files, Calendar events, Apple Notes, translation text, Now Playing data, Bluetooth names, battery state, or other system information to an AI prompt.
3. macOS permissions
Fide Island uses macOS permission prompts only for features that require them. Location and Input Monitoring are off by default in the current configuration.
| Permission / capability | Current use | Default / behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Calendar | Show upcoming events | Requested on demand |
| Bluetooth | Show connection/disconnection activity | macOS may prompt when used |
| Location | Approximate local weather | Optional; off by default |
| Input Monitoring | Recognize brightness, volume and mute key presses | Optional; off by default; not intended to record typed text |
| User-selected files | Read files you choose or drop into Shelf/AirDrop flows | User initiated; read-only entitlement |
| Apple Events / Automation | Read and save Apple Notes; narrow media fallback for selected apps and browsers | macOS asks when a feature needs Automation access; access can be revoked in System Settings |
| Apple Translation | Translate text on supported macOS versions | No Fide Island account or separate translation permission; requires macOS 15+ |
| Network client | External services described below | Used only by relevant features |
| Keychain | Store access tokens, trial identity/expiry and your optional Gemini API key | Access values stay device-only; Gemini key is stored only if you save one |
The current app does not request Accessibility, Full Disk Access, Screen Recording, camera, or microphone permission.
4. Information sent over the network
The current app uses outbound HTTPS for a limited set of functions:
- Fide Island access service: start and refresh a three-day trial or verify a paid subscription. Trial requests include a random installation identifier and app version; the service also processes a keyed hash of the connection IP address for abuse prevention. The raw installation identifier and raw IP address are not stored in the trial tables.
- Frankfurter: exchange-rate data for currency conversion. A local cache is used for offline fallback.
- Google Gemini: model discovery, connection testing, and prompts that you explicitly submit after configuring your own API key.
- Open-Meteo: forecast data while the optional local weather feature is enabled.
- YouTube image host: a thumbnail request to
i.ytimg.comonly in a narrow browser AppleScript fallback case where a YouTube URL is detected and local artwork is unavailable.
Those providers process requests under their own terms and privacy policies. Clipboard, Shelf, Calendar, Apple Notes, translation text and media content are not included in Fide Island access-service requests.
5. Apple Translation
The Translator tab uses Apple's Translation framework and is available on macOS 15 or later. The translation content itself is processed on the user's device rather than being sent to a Fide Island server. Apple states that it may collect usage and performance information for the Translation API, such as the app's bundle identifier and the original and translated languages, but not the original or translated content. Language resources may be managed or downloaded by macOS as part of Apple's system translation service.
6. Storage and retention
Shelf and clipboard history are designed to expire after 24 hours. Clipboard history is capped in the current app implementation. Removing a Shelf item deletes the copy managed by Fide Island, not the original source file.
The Notes integration reads and writes through Apple Notes and does not create a separate Fide Island cloud database of note content. Apple Notes may sync through iCloud or another Apple account according to your Apple settings. Translation input/output is not stored in a Fide Island cloud service.
Current local storage locations include ~/Library/Application Support/NotchHub/Shelf, .../Clipboard, .../AI, and ~/Library/Caches/NotchHub. These paths reflect the current internal project name and may be renamed to Fide Island before distribution. Gemini API keys are stored separately in macOS Keychain.
7. Media compatibility component
For system-wide Now Playing access, the app bundles the separately licensed MediaRemoteAdapter compatibility component and runs it locally. The integration does not send Now Playing data to a Fide Island server. If that path is unavailable, the app can use a narrower AppleScript fallback for selected media applications or browsers.
Because system-wide Now Playing relies on macOS behavior that Apple can change, future macOS updates may require compatibility work.
8. Trials, payments, licensing and email delivery
The optional three-day trial starts in the Mac app without checkout, email or payment details. The access service stores a keyed hash of a random installation identifier, a keyed hash used for network abuse prevention, the app version, server-controlled trial timestamps and hashed session tokens. Trial installation records are retained after expiry so the same installation cannot repeatedly restart a trial. Trial session records may be removed after they are no longer needed for security or support.
Paddle acts as the payment provider and merchant of record for the subscription checkout. Paddle processes payment details, billing address, tax, receipts, and subscription lifecycle data under its own terms. Fide Island receives verified webhook records containing customer email, Paddle customer/subscription/transaction identifiers, plan, status, timestamps, currency, and transaction total. Fide Island does not receive or store full card details.
For paid access, the service stores short-lived email verification challenges, hashed session tokens, and the subscription records required to decide whether the app may open. Resend is currently used to deliver one-time sign-in codes. Expired authentication records are retained only as needed for security, abuse prevention, and support; billing records may be retained for legal, tax, fraud, and operational requirements.
9. Website privacy, Umami and Microsoft Clarity
The public website includes Paddle.js for localized pricing and checkout. Paddle may process IP address, device/browser information, checkout activity, and payment data when its services are used.
Umami Cloud runs by default for privacy-focused, cookieless aggregate analytics. It records page views, referrers, broad browser/device categories, campaign attribution, downloads and selected interaction events. The site does not send customer email addresses, payment identifiers, clipboard content, files, calendar data, Apple Notes content, translation text or Mac app activity to Umami.
Microsoft Clarity is optional, does not load before your explicit consent, and is not embedded in the Fide Island Mac app. If allowed, Clarity can collect website interaction and technical information used for heatmaps and session replay, such as pages viewed, clicks, scrolling, navigation, browser/device information and similar interaction signals. Clarity masks input fields by default, and the website also marks its interactive demo inputs for masking.
The first-visit banner offers equally accessible Decline and Allow Clarity choices, with neither option preselected. Your choice is stored in your browser under fideIslandAnalyticsConsentV2. Declining leaves the Clarity tag unloaded. If you later withdraw previously granted consent, the site sends a denied consent signal, requests deletion of Clarity cookies and reloads without Clarity. You can reopen Cookie settings from the footer to change the choice.
See the Microsoft Privacy Statement and Umami Privacy Policy.
The embedded walkthrough uses YouTube's privacy-enhanced youtube-nocookie.com player. YouTube may still process network/device information when the embedded player is loaded or used under Google's terms.
11. Security
Fide Island uses macOS sandbox entitlements and Keychain for access tokens, the random trial installation identifier, cached trial expiry and the configured Gemini API key. Server databases store one-way token hashes instead of raw access tokens. No software can guarantee absolute security. Keep macOS up to date, use a trusted download source, and rotate any third-party API key if you believe it has been exposed.
12. Your choices and rights
You can disable optional features, revoke macOS permissions in System Settings, clear local Shelf/clipboard data, delete local AI history, remove the saved Gemini key, and change website analytics consent through Cookie settings. Revoking Apple Notes Automation access prevents Fide Island from reading or saving Notes until permission is granted again. Depending on where you live, privacy law may also give you rights over personal information handled by billing, support, licensing, email, and website providers.
13. Changes and contact
This policy may change when Fide Island adds features or changes payment, access, analytics, storage, or third-party providers. Material changes are dated on this page and may also appear in the Changelog.
Questions: fidesupport@gmail.com.