Privacy Policy

Effective 1 November 2026

Modus is built to run offline and to know as little about you as possible. This page describes everything the app, this website, and a purchase actually involve. The data controller is Aaron Elias Zachariah, trading as Modus — modus@aeliasz.com.

The app: what stays on your PC

Modus has no accounts. Everything below is a file on your own computer, and none of it is uploaded unless you choose to: by turning on usage sharing, or by sending feedback with an attachment (both described below). Uninstalling Modus leaves your data in place, so a reinstall finds your workflows again; delete the folders to remove it.

• Your workflows and settings (workflows.json in %APPDATA%\Modus): the apps, window positions, Chrome profile folders and tab addresses you chose.
• Daily activation counts (activations.json, beside it): how many times a workflow was started on each day, split by what started it: a hotkey, the tray menu, the arrival card, the editor, an outside request such as a command or link, or sign-in. It holds dates and counts only, with no workflow names and no window or file details. It is kept for about a year. It is never sent anywhere unless you turn on usage sharing, and then only as the counts described below.
• Usage-sharing bookkeeping (usage.json, beside it): which days Modus was running, and, only while usage sharing is on, its random id, the day you turned it on and the last day sent.
• Your license and trial start. A license key contains the name and email it was issued to and is verified locally. The date you first ran Modus is stored in a file and a registry value, so deleting one doesn't restart the trial.
• A daily log (%LOCALAPPDATA%\Modus\logs, the last 14 days), written so problems on your PC can be traced: which apps and windows Modus matched, what it moved, and any errors. It can include app names, window titles and folder paths. It is never uploaded; if you send a log for support, that is your choice.
• A Chrome tab memory (chrome-reuse.json): the addresses, without their query strings, and titles of tabs Modus opened for a workflow, so it doesn't open them twice.
• Downloaded updates, a note of when you asked to be reminded, and a marker for the current sign-in session.

The app: what it reads

To do its job Modus reads some things on your PC, and keeps only what's listed above:

• the open windows, which program owns each, and your display setup;
• the list of apps installed on your PC, for the app picker;
• the profile names and signed-in account emails in Chrome's local profile list, to name your Chrome profiles, and the titles of Chrome's tabs and the address of the front tab, so it doesn't open one twice;
• how long it has been since you last touched the keyboard or mouse, so the arrival card knows you've come back. It doesn't see what you type.

It doesn't record keystrokes or your screen, and it doesn't read your browsing history.

The app: the network

On its own, the app makes one kind of network request: it asks our public release feed on GitHub whether a newer version exists, when it starts and then once a day (and again after five minutes if GitHub couldn't be reached). The request carries Modus's version number in its User-Agent and no personal data. Like any web request, GitHub's servers see your IP address (GitHub's privacy statement). If you choose to update, Modus downloads the installer from the same GitHub release and checks its SHA-256 before running it. The Buy Modus button opens this website in your browser.

The app: links and the command line

Modus can be started from outside the app with the modus command, the same verbs on Modus.exe, and modus:// links. These talk to the Modus already running on your PC over a private channel that only your Windows account can open and that refuses network connections. Through it, a command or link can only start a workflow you've already saved, or list them. It can't capture, change or delete anything.

modus list --json prints your workflow names, their apps, and the names and account emails of the Chrome profiles they use. Anything you give that output to, such as an AI assistant that runs the command for you, receives it and handles it under its own privacy policy.

No crash reporting is built in today. If a future version adds optional crash reporting, it will be clearly disclosed in the app with a setting to turn it off, and this policy will be updated first.

Usage sharing (off unless you turn it on)

Settings → Feedback & privacy → Share anonymous usage counts is off by default. If you turn it on, Modus sends one small report a day to this website, covering finished days after the day you turned it on (never earlier ones). Each report contains only:

• a random id made when you turn sharing on (not your license, email or any hardware id);
• the Modus version, your plan (trial, free, beta or licensed) and how many workflows you have;
• for each day Modus was running, how many times a workflow was switched and what started it: a shortcut, the tray, a card, the editor, a command or link, an AI assistant, or sign-in. A day with nothing switched is sent as an empty count.

It never contains workflow names, apps, window titles, files, web addresses or anything you typed. See exactly what's sent, beside the setting, opens the next report as a file before anything goes. We use the counts to see whether Modus keeps being useful after the first week, which is how we decide what to fix.

The reports are stored in Cloudflare D1 (Cloudflare processes your IP address to deliver the request; we don't store it, or your browser or app details). They are deleted after 180 days. Turning sharing off asks the site to delete everything sent under that id straight away, and a later opt-in starts with a new id. Our lawful basis is your consent, which you can withdraw at any time with the same switch.

Sending feedback

Send feedback (in the tray menu, the app menu and Settings) sends what you type to Aaron, with an address to reply to if you give one, plus the Modus version, your plan and your Windows version. Two attachments are off unless you tick them, and each has a Show link that opens exactly what would be sent: the recent log (it can include window titles, app names and folder paths) and your usage counts (activations.json).

Feedback is stored in Cloudflare D1 and read by Aaron. When it arrives, Aaron gets an email (through Resend) with your message and reply address, never the attachments. We use it only to fix problems and answer you, and delete it after 12 months, or sooner if you ask. Our lawful basis is your consent, given by pressing Send.

This website

No analytics, no cookies, no third-party fonts or trackers. The site is served by Cloudflare, whose infrastructure keeps standard, short-lived server logs (such as IP addresses) to run and protect the service. The download link sends you on to the installer on GitHub, so GitHub sees that request too. If you open the checkout, Paddle's payment script loads at that moment and Paddle's own policies apply — see below.

When you buy Modus

Orders are processed by Paddle.com as merchant of record — the purchase contract is with Paddle, and Paddle handles your payment details, billing address, and tax receipt. We never see your card number. Paddle's privacy policy covers the checkout.

After a purchase, Paddle shares with us your name, email address, and country. We use them for exactly three things: issuing your license key, emailing it to you, and answering your support requests. The license email is delivered through our transactional email provider; the order record (email, name, order id, license key) is stored on Cloudflare infrastructure so we can re-send lost keys and honor refunds. We do not send marketing email, and we never sell or share your data beyond the processors named here.

How long we keep it

Usage reports are deleted after 180 days, or straight away when you turn sharing off. Feedback is deleted after 12 months, or sooner if you ask.

Order records are kept for as long as your license needs supporting (it's a lifetime license, so: indefinitely) or until you ask us to delete them. Deleting your order record doesn't invalidate your license key.

Your rights

Email modus@aeliasz.com to access, correct, or delete the data we hold about you, and we'll do it promptly. If you're in the EEA or UK, the GDPR applies to this processing (our lawful bases: performing the purchase contract and our legitimate interest in supporting the product); you also have the right to complain to your local supervisory authority. Australian users are protected by the Privacy Act and can complain to the OAIC.