Privacy Policy

The short version

Everything you write stays on your own disk. Nothing is sent anywhere until you choose to sign in — and if you never sign in, Stepler works fully offline and talks to no one but the update check.

On your machine

The desktop app keeps everything in a plain folder in your user data directory: stepler-data.json for tasks, history and trash, stepler-data.backup.json for the last known-good copy, an attachments/ folder for files you attached, and stepler-settings.json for preferences.

You can read, copy, back up or delete these files yourself at any time. Deleting the folder deletes your data — there is no hidden second copy.

If you sign in: cloud sync

Signing in is optional, and off until you do it. Once you are signed in, Stepler mirrors your tasks to Google Firebase so your other devices see the same list: task text, subtasks, projects, due dates, reminders and any files you attached. Data is stored in Firebase's European multi-region (eur3).

Only you can read it. Access is enforced by server side security rules, not by the app being polite: a request for another account's tasks is refused by Firebase itself.

What signing in tells us about you

Google sign-in asks for three things only: openid, email and profile. That gives Stepler your email address, your name and your profile picture. It gives no access to Gmail, Drive, contacts, photos or anything else in your Google account. You can also sign in with an email and password instead, in which case Google is not involved at all.

Working with other people

If you choose a @handle, that handle and your display name become visible to other signed-in Stepler users, so they can find you. Your email address is deliberately kept out of that listing: somebody has to already know your address to look you up by it, and the list of addresses cannot be browsed or exported by anyone.

When you name someone in a task, that person can see that one task, tick it off, star it, and add or tick subtasks. They cannot edit your words and they cannot delete it. Nothing else in your list is visible to them.

Optional connections

Google Calendar. Off until you connect it. It asks for the calendar.events permission and uses it only to create and update events for tasks you have given a date. It does not read your calendar for anything else. The access token is stored encrypted on your own machine and can be revoked at any time by disconnecting in Settings, or from your Google account permissions.

Jira and Apple Reminders work the same way: switched off until you turn them on, and used only for the one job they are turned on for.

Updates

The desktop app asks GitHub whether a newer release exists. That request reaches GitHub and carries nothing about you or your tasks beyond the ordinary network details any download involves.

Deleting your data

Local data: delete the folder described above, or use the app's own controls. Cloud data: sign out to stop syncing, and email the address below to have the stored copy erased — it is removed by hand, so expect a reply rather than a silent deletion. A self-service delete button is on the list of things to build.

Children

Stepler is not directed at children under 13 and does not knowingly collect anything from them.

Changes

If this policy changes in a way that affects what is stored or who can see it, the date at the top changes with it, and the previous wording stays visible in the project's public Git history.