Privacy Policy

ClipBuddy is a macOS app that remembers your clipboard history. It is built local-first: your data lives on your own Mac. This policy explains exactly what is, and isn’t, collected.

Your clipboard data stays on your Mac

Everything you copy — text, images, files, links, code and your saved snippets — is stored only on your Mac, in the app’s local database. Your clipboard history is never uploaded, transmitted, synced to a cloud, or made accessible to us or any third party.

On-device features

• Search inside images runs entirely on your Mac. Translate is available on macOS 14.4+ for languages supported by Apple’s Translation framework and also runs locally when the required Apple language resources are available. The images and text are never uploaded by ClipBuddy.
• Voice search (optional). If you tap the microphone in the search bar, your speech is transcribed entirely on your Mac using Apple’s on-device Speech Recognition. No audio is recorded, stored, or sent anywhere, and the microphone is used only while you are actively dictating a search. The app works fully without it — the microphone is only requested if you choose to use voice search.
• Encrypted Vault. Secrets and cards you save to the Touch ID Vault are encrypted and stored only on your Mac. The non-extractable key is protected by user presence in the macOS Keychain, uses the Secure Enclave when the Mac supports it and the key can be created there, and otherwise uses the app’s device-only Keychain fallback. Reveal or paste requires Touch ID or your device password. Vault data is never transmitted to us or anyone else.
• Sensitive copies marked concealed by the source app (passwords, secrets) are never saved, and you can exclude specific apps from capture entirely.

ClipBuddy does not use the network

ClipBuddy makes no network requests at all. It is sandboxed by macOS without the outbound-network entitlement, so the app is not able to send anything anywhere, whatever it might be asked to do.

Version 2.9.1 briefly added one request, a once-a-day check with Apple for a newer version so the app could show an update badge. Version 2.9.4 removed it, along with the entitlement. The App Store already tells you when an update is available, and keeping the feature meant every statement on this page needed a footnote. There is no footnote now.

What we collect

Nothing. ClipBuddy does not collect any data. There is no account and no sign-in — you can use the app right away. We run no analytics and no tracking, and we do not collect your clipboard contents, keystrokes, or browsing activity.

Purchases

Pro (subscription) and the one-time Lifetime purchase are in-app purchases handled entirely by Apple through the App Store. Apple manages billing, receipts, free trials and renewals. Your payment details go to Apple, not to us — we never see or store your card or bank information.

Data storage & retention

There are no accounts, servers or cloud records on our side, so there is nothing for us to store or retain about you. Your clipboard history lives only in the app’s local database on your Mac.

Your rights

Because we hold no personal data, there is no account to access or delete. You can clear history inside ClipBuddy before uninstalling. macOS may retain an app’s sandbox container after the app itself is removed; deleting that local container removes any remaining ClipBuddy history. You can view, cancel or refund your subscription anytime in App Store → Account → Subscriptions.

Contact

Questions about privacy? Email privacy@clipbuddyapp.com.