Privacy Policy

Effective and last updated October 6, 2026

Glassie is local-first. The screen effect is rendered on your Mac, screen frames are not sent to us, and the Mac App Store edition has no analytics, advertising, tracking, account system, or third-party network service.

In short: Glassie can see your screen only after you grant macOS Screen Recording permission. It uses those frames in memory to draw the effect. We do not receive them. The direct-download edition contacts Polar only to manage its license.

1. Who this policy covers

This policy describes Glassie for macOS, glassie.app, and support communications. “Glassie,” “we,” and “us” refer to e-squared, the developer of Glassie. Questions and privacy requests can be sent to [email protected].

Glassie is available in two editions:

Mac App Store edition: purchased, delivered, and updated by Apple.
Direct-download edition: purchased through Polar and downloaded from glassie.app.

2. What happens on your Mac

Screen frames

Glassie uses Apple's ScreenCaptureKit after you explicitly grant Screen Recording permission. It reads the active built-in display to render the lid-closing effect. Frames are processed in memory on your Mac. Glassie does not upload them, use them for analytics, or retain them after they are no longer needed for rendering.

Screenshots

Glassie writes an image only when you explicitly choose Take Screenshot or use its screenshot shortcut. The image is saved locally and copied to your clipboard. The direct edition saves to Desktop; the sandboxed Mac App Store edition saves to Downloads. We do not receive the image.

Lid sensor and preferences

Glassie reads the MacBook's built-in lid-angle sensor to drive the effect. Those measurements remain on the Mac. Preferences, calibration values, and operational diagnostics are stored locally in macOS user defaults or local log files. Glassie does not contain a third-party analytics, advertising, tracking, or remote crash-reporting SDK.

3. Direct-download licensing

This section applies only to the edition downloaded from glassie.app. The Mac App Store edition does not include this licensing client.

To activate and periodically validate a direct license, Glassie sends the following to Polar:

the license key and Polar activation identifier;
the app version;
a device label, which can be the Mac's local computer name;
a one-way SHA-256 value derived from the Mac's hardware identifier, used to bind an activation to one Mac.

The raw hardware identifier is not transmitted. The license key and activation identifier are stored in the macOS Keychain and are not synchronized through iCloud by Glassie. Validation is necessary to provide the purchased license, apply the device limit, and respond to deactivation, refund, or revocation.

4. Purchases

Purchases on glassie.app

Polar is the merchant of record for direct purchases. Polar collects the information needed to complete the order, which may include your name, email address, billing details, country, tax information, and payment information. We can access order, customer, refund, and license records needed to deliver and support the purchase, but we do not receive your complete payment-card number. See Polar's Privacy Policy.

Mac App Store purchases

Apple processes Mac App Store purchases, billing, refunds, delivery, and updates under Apple's terms and privacy policy. The Store edition does not send purchase or license information to e-squared. Apple may provide developers with sales reports and aggregated App Store information. See Apple's Privacy Policy.

5. Website and download delivery

Cloudflare hosts glassie.app, its purchase-confirmation functions, and protected download delivery. Like most hosting and security providers, Cloudflare may process network information such as IP address, request time, requested URL, browser or user-agent data, and security signals to operate and protect the service. The website currently has no advertising pixels or behavioral analytics. See Cloudflare's Privacy Policy.

After a direct purchase, the success page uses the random Polar checkout identifier in its URL to confirm the order, retrieve the granted license key, and authorize a short-lived download link. The checkout identifier is accepted only for a limited claim period. It is not used for advertising or cross-site tracking.

6. Support communications

If you contact us, we receive the address you use and the content and attachments you send. We use them to answer the request, investigate problems, prevent abuse, and keep an appropriate record of support. Please do not send screen captures or other sensitive information unless it is necessary for your request.

7. How information is used

Where data-protection law requires a legal basis, processing is performed as needed to provide the product or fulfill a purchase, comply with legal obligations, protect the service and users, or pursue legitimate interests such as support and fraud prevention. Where consent is legally required, we will request it.

We do not sell personal information, share it for cross-context behavioral advertising, or use it to build advertising profiles.

8. Service providers and international processing

Apple, Polar, and Cloudflare process information under their own terms and privacy commitments and may process it in countries other than your own. They use legal transfer mechanisms where required. We may also disclose information when required by law, to protect rights or safety, or in connection with a business reorganization subject to appropriate safeguards.

9. Retention and security

Local app data remains until you remove it, reset the app, or uninstall it, subject to macOS behavior. Direct-license records remain while needed to operate the license and as required for transaction, tax, fraud-prevention, and legal obligations. Support communications are retained only as long as reasonably needed for support, security, and recordkeeping. Apple, Polar, and Cloudflare apply their own retention schedules.

We use reasonable technical and organizational safeguards, including HTTPS, private download storage, short-lived signed download links, secret storage for service credentials, macOS Keychain storage, and Apple's code signing and notarization. No security measure can eliminate every risk.

10. Your choices and rights

You can deny or revoke Screen Recording permission in macOS System Settings; the visual effect then cannot run.
You can remove a direct license from Glassie's menu and manage device activations through Polar.
You can delete locally saved screenshots and app preferences using macOS tools.
You can request access, correction, deletion, restriction, portability, or objection where applicable by emailing us.

Some transaction records may need to be retained by Polar, Apple, or us for tax, accounting, fraud-prevention, or other legal obligations. Depending on where you live, you may also complain to your local data-protection authority. Because Glassie does not sell or share personal information for behavioral advertising, it does not offer a sale/sharing opt-out.

11. Children

Glassie is a general-purpose Mac utility and is not directed to children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children through the app. Purchase platforms apply their own age and account requirements.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy when Glassie's features, providers, or legal obligations change. The effective date at the top identifies the current version. Material changes will be posted here before or when they take effect.

13. Contact

Email privacy questions or requests to [email protected]. To help us locate a direct purchase, you may include the purchase email or masked license key; do not send payment-card details.