# Privacy

Findra is a search tool that runs on your computer. Your files, their names, their contents
and your searches stay on that computer. There is no account, no cloud service, no
analytics, no crash reporting and no telemetry of any kind.

This page says exactly what the desktop app stores, where it stores it, and the single thing it
sends anywhere. The separate marketing website has optional analytics, described below.

## The one request Findra makes on its own

Findra checks whether a newer version has been released. That is the only time Findra
reaches the network without being asked. The other times it goes out at all are when you ask:
pressing Check now, which makes the same request; pressing Update now, which downloads the new
installer; and choosing a capability and telling it to download the models. All three are
described below.

- It is an anonymous HTTPS GET to the GitHub releases API. A copy installed with winget asks
  the winget catalogue's listing on GitHub instead, because that is what `winget upgrade` can
  install; it is the same single request to the same host.
- It happens at most once every 24 hours, on startup, in the background.
- It carries no query parameters, no machine identifier, no install identifier, and nothing
  about your files or your searches.
- It never blocks anything. A failure is a line in the log, not a dialog.
- It is disclosed on the first-run screen and can be switched off. Off stops the daily check;
  pressing Check now still asks, once, because you asked.
- A copy installed from the Microsoft Store never makes it. The Store updates that copy, and
  Check for updates only opens Findra's page in the Store.

Findra downloads and installs an update only when you press Update now. It downloads the
installer from the release page on GitHub and checks it against the checksum GitHub publishes
for it before running it; a copy installed with winget runs the winget upgrade instead. The
installer or winget replaces the files, never Findra itself. The download is a plain file
request and sends nothing about you.

Downloading a capability's model files is the other time Findra uses the network, and it
happens only when you choose a capability and ask for it. Those requests fetch model files
and send nothing about you. If you never choose a capability, they never happen.

## What Findra stores, and where

| Location | What is in it |
|---|---|
| `%APPDATA%\Findra\` | Your settings and any palettes you added. No file data. |
| `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Findra\index\` | The search index. See below, because this one matters. |
| `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Findra\models\` | Model files you chose to download. Nothing personal. |
| `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Findra\logs\` | Daily log files. See below. |
| `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Findra\opened.json` | The files you opened from Findra, and how often. See below. |

One more file sits in Findra's own program folder rather than in either of those. The installer
writes a single word there - `winget` or `installer` - so that when a newer version exists the
advice matches the way you actually installed Findra. A copy built from source has no such file,
which is itself the answer. It records nothing else, and nothing about you.

### The index deserves a straight answer

If you turn on content indexing, the index contains the **text of the documents you
indexed**, not merely their names. That is how searching inside files works. It also holds
the full path of every file it knows about. Later, if you enable those capabilities, it
holds numeric representations of what your photos look like and the transcripts of your
recordings.

That file is stored in your own user profile and is protected by the same Windows
permissions as everything else there. It is **not encrypted**. If someone can read your
user profile, they can read your index. Anyone using full-disk encryption already covers
this; anyone who shares a computer should know it before turning content indexing on.

Content indexing is off until you turn it on, for this reason among others.

### What Findra remembers about what you open

So that the files you use come first, Findra keeps a list of the last 200 files you opened or
revealed from its search window, with how many times and when. The empty search window shows
the most recent of them. It is the paths and nothing else: never what you typed to find them.
It stays in that one file on your machine. Settings > Opening it > "Put what I open first"
turns it off, and turning it off deletes the file.

### What the logs contain

The logs record what Findra did, so that a problem can be diagnosed. They include the names
of files you opened from Findra, the name of a file the indexer was working on when it was
slow or failed, and error messages. They do not contain the contents of your files, and
they do not contain your search queries.

Logs stay on your machine. Findra never uploads them. If you send one to report a problem,
you are choosing to share whatever it contains, so it is worth reading first.

Settings > About > Details for a bug report copies a few lines to your clipboard: the Findra
version, Windows, the processor, memory, graphics and which add-ons are installed. Nothing
about your files or searches, and it goes nowhere unless you paste it somewhere.

## Deleting it

Uninstalling Findra removes the application, the scheduled task it registered and any
autostart entry.

It keeps your index, your downloaded models and your settings by default, because
re-downloading gigabytes and re-indexing a disk is expensive and most people who uninstall
are reinstalling. Deleting them is a checkbox in the uninstaller and a flag on the command
line, and `findra.exe --uninstall --purge` removes everything.

You can also just delete `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Findra\` and `%APPDATA%\Findra\` yourself, which
removes everything Findra stored. Two things live outside those folders, and deleting the
folders by hand does not remove them: the scheduled task that starts the name helper at
sign-in, and the start-at-sign-in entry if you turned it on. Run `findra.exe --uninstall` to
remove those, or use the uninstaller. Nothing else on your machine is touched.

## Children

Findra is a general-purpose tool and is not directed at children. It collects nothing about
anybody.

## The marketing website, not the desktop app

The rules above describe the Findra desktop app. The website at
https://findra-search.netlify.app is separate. Installing or using Findra does not enable
website analytics, and this website setup adds no analytics or telemetry to the app.

No Google Analytics or Microsoft Clarity script loads until you choose
"Allow analytics and recordings" in the website banner. Rejecting optional analytics leaves
both tools off. Your choice is stored in your browser's local storage on this website.

If you opt in, Google Analytics 4 measures page visits, traffic sources, device and browser
information, approximate location, time on pages and scrolling. Microsoft Clarity collects
website interactions, including clicks, scrolling and session recordings, to help improve
this website. These services process technical information such as IP addresses and can
set analytics cookies, including `_ga`, `_clck` and `_clsk`. We do not use Google signals,
ad personalization or advertising consent. Inputs, forms and editable fields are masked
for Clarity. URL query parameters are excluded from the Google page URL except campaign
attribution parameters. Do not enter private information into this website's URLs.

Google and Microsoft process the information on their services, potentially outside your
country. Their policies explain their handling of this information:
[Google privacy policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy) and
[Microsoft privacy statement](https://privacy.microsoft.com/privacystatement).
Recordings describe your use of this website, never your desktop files or Findra searches.

Use [Privacy preferences](#privacy-preferences) in this policy to change your choice. The floating button hides five seconds after acceptance and stays visible if you have not accepted. Choosing
"Reject optional analytics" withdraws consent, removes the Google Analytics and Clarity
cookies accessible to this website and reloads the page to stop the loaded tools. It does
not erase information already sent to Google or Microsoft, or cookies on other domains.
You can also clear this website's storage in your browser. Rejecting analytics does not
limit access to this website or to Findra.

## Changes to this page

Findra is open source. Any change to this page is a commit in the public repository, with
its history visible to anyone.

## Contact

Questions or a problem: https://github.com/blakazulu/findra/issues