Chargd (“we”, “our”, “the app”) is an offline-first invoicing application for macOS (Windows and iPad planned). This policy explains what data Chargd handles, where it goes, and what rights you have over it.
The short version:Chargd stores your business data locally on your device. We don't run servers that store your invoices, clients, or financial records. The only network calls the app makes are: a one-time licence activation with our payment processor, an optional periodic licence re-validation, an app update check, and opt-in crash reporting (off by default, not yet implemented). No analytics. No tracking. No advertising.
Chargd is distributed two ways: directly from our website, and through the Mac App Store. Both versions handle your business data identically, entirely on your device. They differ only in how your Pro purchase and app updates are handled, covered in the “Network calls the app makes” section below.
This policy is written to meet UK GDPR / EU GDPR standards, since Chargd is designed to be used by freelancers and small businesses across the UK and Europe.
Who controls your data
For the data you create inside Chargd (invoices, clients, business details, and so on), you are the data controller. Chargd stores this data only on your own device. We never receive a copy, so we can't act as a data controller for it. We are, at most, a “data processor” for the narrow slice of information involved in licence activation (see below), where Lemon Squeezy is the actual processor of record.
Data you create: stays on your device
- Business information: name, address, email, phone, tax/VAT number
- Client information: names, addresses, emails, phone numbers, tax IDs
- Financial records: invoices, quotes, payments, credit memos, items, reports
- Bank details: bank name, account number, sort code, IBAN (used only to print on your own invoices)
- Logo files: your uploaded branding assets
This data is stored in a local database with restrictive file permissions (owner read/write only). It is never uploaded, synced, or transmitted by the app.
Data we do not collect
- Usage analytics or telemetry
- Crash reports, unless you explicitly opt in (see below)
- Location data
- Device identifiers, beyond a one-way hashed fingerprint used solely for licence enforcement
- Browsing history
- Contacts beyond those you manually enter as clients
How your data is used
Your data is used only to provide the app's functionality: generating invoices, quotes and credit memos, tracking payments, producing reports, and exporting PDFs. It's never used for marketing, advertising, profiling, or analysis by us, because we never receive it.
Network calls the app makes
Chargd is offline-first. Outside of the following, the app makes zero network requests during normal use.
If you downloaded Chargd from the Mac App Store, your purchase and updates are handled entirely by Apple, not by us or Lemon Squeezy. See “Mac App Store purchases” below instead of the licence-activation sections that follow.
1. Licence activation (website version only, one-time, optional)
If you purchase a Pro licence from our website and activate it, we send your licence key, a one-way hashed machine fingerprint, and the app version to Lemon Squeezy, our payment processor, never your business name, client data, or anything you've created in the app. This enforces the 3-machine activation limit tied to your licence. Your licence status is stored locally in the macOS Keychain, accessible only to Chargd.
2. Periodic licence re-validation (website version only, if online)
To detect refunds or chargebacks, the app may periodically check whether your licence key is still valid when you're online. This sends only the licence key or its hash, no business or personal data. If you're offline, the app keeps working normally using the last known local state.
3. Update checks (website version only)
Chargd checks for new app versions via our release feed. This request contains no personal data. It simply asks what the latest version is. If you installed Chargd from the Mac App Store, this doesn't apply. Updates are delivered by the App Store itself, and the app never checks for updates on its own.
4. Mac App Store purchases (App Store version only)
If you purchase Pro through the Mac App Store, the entire transaction, your payment details, receipt, and purchase history, is handled by Apple's StoreKit, not by us or Lemon Squeezy. We never see your payment information. The app asks Apple, on your device, whether you own the Pro unlock, and Apple answers directly, no licence key, fingerprint, or purchase data is ever sent to any server we operate. See Apple's Privacy Policy for how Apple handles App Store transactions.
5. Crash reporting (opt-in only, not yet implemented)
Default: off. You can enable it under Settings → About. When implemented, only error type, stack trace, app version, and OS version will be sent, never your data or anything that could identify you. You can disable this at any time.
6. Opening PDFs
Uses your system's default PDF viewer, a local action, not a network call.
PDF exports
Generated PDFs may embed a document title (e.g. “Invoice INV-0044”), a creation date, and the PDF-generation library name. They don't embed your macOS username, machine name, file paths, or any identifier beyond what's already visible on the invoice itself.
Backups
- You can export an unencrypted JSON backup via Settings → Data. This file contains all your data, including bank details, so store it securely.
- Chargd does not automatically sync backups anywhere. Where they're saved and how they're protected is entirely up to you.
- If Time Machine or a similar OS backup tool is enabled on your device, it will back up the app's local data as it would any other file, a feature of your operating system, not of Chargd.
Data retention and deletion
- Trash (soft delete): deleted records are retained for 30 days before automatic purge; you can restore them anytime within that window.
- Reset App (Settings → Data): permanently wipes all data, generated PDFs, and logo files, then restores default settings. This cannot be undone. Your Pro licence status is preserved.
- Uninstalling the app does not delete your data: your business records remain on your device, because they're yours, not ours. To remove everything, delete the app and manually delete its data directory.
Your rights (UK / EU GDPR)
Because your data never leaves your device (except the narrow licence-activation fields above), you already hold full practical control over it:
- Right of access: all your data lives in your local database; nothing is held elsewhere for us to disclose.
- Right to portability: use Export Backup for a full, standard export at any time.
- Right to rectification: edit any record directly within the app.
- Right to erasure: use Reset App, or uninstall and delete the app's data directory.
- Right to object / restrict processing: there's no ongoing processing of your business data by us to restrict; for licence-activation data held by Lemon Squeezy, contact them directly or email us and we'll forward the request.
If you're in the UK, the relevant supervisory authority is the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). If you're in the EU, you may contact your local Data Protection Authority.
Third parties
Lemon Squeezy (website version only) acts as the merchant of record for your purchase and processes the licence-activation data described above.
GitHub Releases(website version only) serves version metadata so the app can check for updates, no personal data beyond the app version you're running.
Apple operates the Mac App Store and, for the App Store version, processes your Pro purchase entirely through StoreKit as the merchant of record. Apple also provides the macOS Keychain, used by both versions to securely store your licence status locally on your own device, standard macOS infrastructure, not a service we operate.
No other third party has access to your data. We don't sell data, and we have none to sell.
Children's privacy
Chargd is a business tool intended for adults running a business. It is not directed at, and we do not knowingly collect data from, children under 16.
International data transfers
The only data that leaves your device (your licence key and a hashed machine fingerprint) is sent to Lemon Squeezy, which maintains its own compliance program for cross-border transfers, including EU/UK GDPR standard contractual clauses where applicable.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as the app evolves. Material changes will be reflected by an updated “Last updated” date and, where appropriate, an in-app notice. Continued use of the app after a change constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.
Contact
For any privacy question or data request: support@chargd.pro