Privacy Policy

Last updated: October 9, 2026

Paste It! is a local-first, open-source clipboard manager for macOS under the MIT License, maintained by Yipeng Zhang ("we", "us", or "our"). This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect — and what we do not collect — when you use the website at paste-it.app and the Paste It! Mac app.

Summary

• Clipboard contents stay on your Mac. We do not upload, sync, sell, or analyze clipboard history, OCR text, images, file bytes, or local paths.
• Optional anonymous product analytics in the Mac app help us improve the product (onboarding, panel use, updates). They are on by default in official builds and can be turned off anytime in Settings → Privacy.
• Anonymous website analytics (no cookies) help us understand which pages lead to downloads and whether browser image tools work. We do not show a cookie banner because we do not set analytics cookies.
• No accounts. There is no sign-in, subscription, or payment checkout on this site or in the Mac app. License details are described in the Terms of Use.
• No support email inbox. Questions and bug reports go to GitHub Issues.

1. Who we are

• Project: Paste It!
• Maintainer: Yipeng Zhang
• Source code & issues: github.com/yipeng-git/paste-it

2. Information we do not collect

The Mac app is local-first:

• Clipboard history, pinboards, OCR text from images, and related files stay on your device.
• We do not upload clipboard contents (text, HTML, RTF, previews, images, file bytes, or local paths) to any server.
• We do not collect full search query strings, clip titles, source-app clipboard payloads, or MCP / agent payloads.
• There is no cloud clipboard sync.
• We do not operate user accounts or billing for the publicly available Mac app.

Browser image tools

Images selected, dropped or pasted into /tools are processed locally in your browser. We do not upload image contents or filenames to our servers, AI services or analytics. The working image is held in memory while you move between tools; replacing or clearing it, refreshing the page, or leaving the tools area releases it. Downloaded results are stored wherever your browser saves downloads. Anonymous tool events record actions such as choosing an image, preparing a preview and requesting a download, along with whether you used a provided sample, broad file-format categories and fixed error categories. They do not include image dimensions, file sizes, filenames, image contents or error-message text. Download requests do not establish that a file was saved successfully.

3. Information we may collect

Mac app — anonymous product analytics

Official builds of the Mac app may send anonymous product analytics to PostHog so we can understand how the app is used and improve it.

• Default: analytics is on in official builds that include a PostHog project token. Builds without a token send nothing.
• Opt out: turn off Share anonymous usage analytics in Settings → Privacy. Disabling stops further events.
• No accounts: the PostHog SDK may assign an anonymous device ID. We do not call identify with a user id.
• Full catalog: the complete event list is published in docs/analytics.md and shown in-app under Settings → Privacy → What we collect.

What may be sent (metadata only), for example:

• App and OS version, platform (macos), and first analytics-enabled open time
• Lifecycle events such as install, open, and clean quit
• Product events such as onboarding steps, timeline panel open/close, session counts (stages / searches / captures — counts only), clip capture or stage with type metadata (never content), and Sparkle update funnel actions
• Coarse buckets only where needed (e.g. history size ranges, duration ranges) — not raw clipboard text or search strings

What is never sent via analytics: clipboard text/HTML/RTF/previews, OCR text, image or file bytes or paths, full search queries, clip titles, source-app clipboard payloads, or MCP tool payloads.

PostHog processes these events as our analytics provider under their terms and privacy policy. We use them only to improve Paste It!, not to sell personal information or build advertising profiles.

Website — anonymous page, tool and download analytics

When you visit the marketing site, we may send anonymous usage events to the same PostHog project so we can see which pages people reach, whether download links are visible and activated, how far article viewports reach, and whether visitors activate a Mac download link. A link activation or redirect does not establish that a download completed or the app was installed.

• No analytics cookies and no account or session cookies. We do not store a PostHog ID in cookies, localStorage, or sessionStorage (cookieless mode).
• No identify. We do not attach an account user id, email, or name. Random visit and page-view identifiers exist only in memory to order events in the current tab. A full reload, new tab, or 30 minutes without foreground activity starts a new visit.
• Approximate visitors: PostHog may derive a privacy-preserving daily hash from IP address and user agent so same-day page views can be counted together. This is not a stable identifier across days or devices.
• Opt out: the site has no settings toggle. If your browser sends Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control, we do not initialize analytics. You can also use a tracking-protection or content-blocking extension. Website telemetry can also be disabled in deployment configuration.
• Full catalog: website analytics disclosure.

What may be sent:

Page paths and categories, first referring domain and standard campaign (UTM) tags, download button position and destination, architecture and release version, article viewport-reached depth, and cumulative seconds while the article is visible. URLs omit query strings and fragments; referrers omit paths. Server download-request events use a fresh random request identifier and do not include visitor IP or user agent properties.

Browser requests also include the user agent and network IP, which PostHog uses for the anonymous daily hash. We do not use these to identify you.

What is not sent from the website: form contents, image contents or filenames from browser tools, clipboard data, or Mac app usage.

Our hosting provider may also record standard server logs (IP address, user agent, request path, timestamps) for security and reliability.

GitHub

If you open an issue, pull request, or discussion on GitHub, that activity is governed by GitHub’s Privacy Statement. We only see what you choose to post there.

4. How we use information

We do not sell personal information.

5. Data retention

Local clipboard data on your Mac is controlled by you (app settings, deletion, uninstall).

6. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights regarding personal information that appears in server logs, analytics records, or in GitHub content you authored. For project-related requests, open a GitHub Issue (or edit/delete your own GitHub content where GitHub allows). We aim to respond within a reasonable time.

You can stop Mac app analytics at any time in Settings → Privacy. For the website, use Do Not Track, Global Privacy Control, or a browser tracking-protection extension.

7. Children's privacy

The project is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.

8. Changes

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The revised version will be posted on this page with an updated "Last updated" date.

9. Contact

For privacy questions about this project, open a GitHub Issue.

Yipeng Zhang · paste-it.app · GitHub

Related: Terms of Use · Mac analytics disclosure · Website analytics disclosure