Your memories are yours.

When you keep something (a copied snippet, a screenshot, a link, a file, or a note) Shelf stores it in its library folder on your Mac (~/Library/Application Support/Shelf/).

To make your library searchable and useful, Shelf also processes it on your Mac by:

• Reading the text inside images using Apple's on-device Vision framework.
• Transcribing audio and video using Apple's on-device speech recognition. Shelf requires on-device processing and refuses to transcribe rather than let the system send audio to a server.
• Building a local meaning index so search can work by resemblance.
• Noticing connections between memories, summarizing notes, and learning which things you return to.

All of this stays in the library folder. Search history and the app's learned preferences are also stored locally, and you can erase the learned parts at any time (Settings → Data → “Forget What Shelf Has Learned…”).

Shelf makes network requests in the following situations:

Fetching pages you saved

When you keep a link or bookmark, Shelf fetches that page from its own website to get the title, a preview picture, and an offline reading copy. These requests go to the sites you chose to save, and those sites see an ordinary page request from your Mac.

Image variations (off by default)

If you turn this feature on and provide your own OpenAI API key, asking for a variation sends the selected image and your request to OpenAI's image service under your own key.

Your key is stored in the macOS Keychain. If you never enable this feature, it never runs.

There are no other outbound requests: no update pings, no usage statistics, and no identifiers.

Shelf asks macOS for:

• Screen Recording (capturing screenshots)
• Accessibility (detecting your snippet triggers as you type; password and secure fields are always ignored)
• Speech Recognition (on-device transcription)

If screenshot capture is enabled, macOS will also ask to allow access to the folder where your screenshots are saved (usually the Desktop).

Each permission can be revoked at any time in System Settings → Privacy & Security. The related feature stops, and everything else keeps working.

Shelf never asks for:

• Camera
• Microphone
• Contacts
• Calendars
• Reminders
• Photos
• Location
• Notifications
• Automation

The only personal information received comes from two places:

• If you email support: your email address and what you wrote, used to reply and kept only as ordinary correspondence.
• The website: downloading Shelf is served by the website host, whose servers keep standard access logs (IP address, time, file requested) for security and delivery.

The website sets no cookies and runs no analytics.

Your library is protected the way files on your Mac are protected.

Shelf does not separately encrypt the library at rest. Backups you create with a password are encrypted using AES-GCM with a key stretched through 200,000 rounds. The password itself is never stored.

While Shelf is designed with privacy and security in mind, no software can guarantee complete protection against hardware failure, operating system issues, third-party vulnerabilities, user error, or other unforeseen events. You are responsible for maintaining your own backups and using the software at your own risk.

Delete anything and it is removed from your library (with an undo, then a cleanup at next launch).

Delete the library folder and everything Shelf knows is gone.

Export everything at any time as plain files:

• Markdown
• JSON
• Your original files

Because your library never leaves your Mac, its contents remain under your control.

For the limited information that may be received (support email and website logs), applicable privacy rights may apply depending on your jurisdiction.

Shelf is a general-audience productivity tool. It is not directed at children.

If Shelf's behaviour changes in a way that matters to this policy, this page will be updated before the software does, and the effective date above will change accordingly.

Shelf is experimental software that continues to evolve. By using Shelf, you acknowledge that you do so entirely at your own risk.

You are solely responsible for how you use the software and for any decisions made using information stored, generated, summarized, surfaced, or otherwise presented by Shelf. You should independently verify important information before relying on it for personal, professional, financial, legal, medical, or other significant decisions.

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the developer and publisher of Shelf disclaim all liability for any loss, damage, interruption, corruption, data loss, business loss, financial loss, legal consequences, lost profits, or any other direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, or special damages arising out of or related to the use of, inability to use, or reliance on Shelf, except where such limitation is prohibited by applicable law.

For questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us through the Shelf website.