Privacy Policy
Last updated: 2026-08-14
This Privacy Policy explains how Emerald Tools (the “app”) handles your information. The short version: Emerald Tools does not collect your data. The app runs entirely on your Mac, and there are no developer-operated servers — nothing is ever transmitted to us.
1. Operator and Contact
Emerald Tools is developed and operated by an individual developer based in Japan.
Contact: contact form
If you write to us, we receive your message and your email address. We use them only to respond to you.
The form on this website is delivered by Formspree, an external form service: your email address and the contents of your message are processed on Formspree’s servers and forwarded to us by email. Their handling of that data is described in the Formspree Privacy Policy. Please do not include sensitive information in your message.
2. Data We Handle — What, Why, Where It Is Stored, Where It Is Sent
The app communicates only with the following three destinations, and only as a result of your own actions:
- Google (
accounts.google.com/googleapis.com) — OAuth 2.0 sign-in and Google Drive upload for screenshot sharing, if you connect your account. - claude.ai — the optional Claude usage widget reads your usage figures from your own signed-in session.
- Web pages you specify — the media Collector downloads images and videos only from pages you point it at. The Safari extension reads the page you are currently viewing, and only while its toolbar popup is open, to list the media on that page; that list is passed to the app on your Mac and never leaves your machine. It has no access to other tabs, or to pages where you do not open it.
The app contains no third-party SDKs: no analytics, no advertising, and no crash reporting.
| Data | Purpose | Stored | Sent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screenshots | Captured only when you use a hotkey or menu action | A folder you choose, or your own Google Drive | Only to your own Drive, and only if you choose Drive as the destination |
| Google OAuth token | Authorizing Drive uploads | macOS Keychain | Google authentication endpoints only |
| Google account email | Showing connection status on screen | Not persisted (kept in memory, fetched on demand) | Nowhere |
| Google Drive files | drive.file scope — the app can access only files and folders it created itself; it cannot read the rest of your Drive |
Your own Drive | — |
| claude.ai session cookie | Reading usage figures | An isolated cookie store inside the app (not shared with Safari or other apps) | claude.ai only |
| Claude usage figures | On-screen display | Locally on your Mac | Nowhere |
| Photos library | Wallpaper display and saving collected media | Read and written locally only | Nowhere |
| System metrics (CPU, GPU, memory, etc.) | Monitor widget display | Locally on your Mac | Nowhere |
| Collected media | Collector / Converter features | Locally and in Photos | Nowhere |
| Web page contents (Safari extension) | Listing the media on the page you are viewing | Not stored; the list is passed to the app on your Mac | Nowhere |
| Diagnostic logs | Troubleshooting | Local files only | Nowhere |
3. What We Do Not Collect
- No tracking and no advertising identifiers.
- No analytics or telemetry of any kind.
- No selling or sharing of data with third parties.
- No transmission to developer-operated servers — none exist.
- Subscription payments are processed by Apple through the App Store. The developer never receives your payment details, such as card numbers.
This is consistent with the app’s App Store privacy label, “Data Not Collected”. Data listed in section 2 stays on your Mac, or is stored in your own accounts at your explicit instruction.
This section is about the app. Enquiries you send through this website are a separate matter, and are covered in section 1.
4. Google API Services — Limited Use Disclosure
Emerald Tools’ use and transfer to any other app of information received from Google APIs will adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.
5. Data Deletion and Disconnecting Your Accounts
- In-app sign-out: signing out of Google inside the app deletes the OAuth token from the macOS Keychain. Disconnecting the Claude usage widget erases the isolated claude.ai cookie store entirely.
- Google-side revocation: you can also revoke the app’s access at any time from Google Account permissions.
- Files on Google Drive were uploaded to your own Drive and remain under your control — you can delete them at any time.
- All other data is stored locally and is removed by deleting the app and its local data.
6. macOS Permissions
Features that need system access — Screen Recording (screenshots), Photos (wallpaper albums and media saving), and Notifications — are requested through the standard macOS permission dialogs. You can decline any of them; only the corresponding feature becomes unavailable. Permissions can be changed at any time in System Settings › Privacy & Security.
7. Children’s Privacy
Emerald Tools is not directed at children. Because the app does not collect or transmit personal data to the developer, it does not knowingly process personal information of children.
8. Changes to This Policy
Updates to this policy are published on this page, with the revision date shown above. Material changes will also be noted in the app’s release notes.