- App order, theme, and shortcuts are stored on your Mac.
- The current desktop app has no built-in advertising, third-party analytics SDKs, or feature that uploads usage data to the developer’s servers.
- Accessibility and Input Monitoring support app switching and window operations. You can revoke them in System Settings.
01 / Scope
This policy explains how the current version of the Askel macOS desktop app, provided by its developer, handles data. It separately describes visits to this product website and third-party links. The app uses macOS system interfaces for app switching, the minimap, app ordering, moving windows between displays, and full-screen control.
Askel does not require an account or provide account-based cloud sync. Local processing in Askel does not mean that macOS, website hosting providers, or third-party sites you choose to visit have no data processing of their own.
02 / Data processed and stored locally
Running apps and window information
Askel obtains running app names, icons, app identifiers, and process identifiers on your Mac to display the minimap, locate apps, and switch focus. When performing window operations, it reads relevant window roles, positions, sizes, full-screen states, and connected display information as needed.
This information is processed for local functionality. Askel does not read or save your email bodies, database records, document contents, or screenshots, and does not proactively upload app lists or window information to the developer.
Preferences
Askel uses macOS local preferences to save app order, theme selection, and your custom modifier combination. App ordering records may retain identifiers for apps you have quit so their positions can be restored later. The current version does not sync these preferences to the developer’s servers.
03 / System permissions and key handling
Accessibility
Used to focus, raise, or restore app windows, move windows between displays, and set the focused window’s native full-screen state. Askel reads and changes the window properties needed for those operations.
Input Monitoring
Used to detect modifier state while other apps are in front, so the minimap can be shown or hidden. Arrow shortcuts are registered through the system hotkey interface.
Shortcut recording
During recording, Askel receives modifier changes and key events in its own Preferences window to identify the combination and the Esc cancel action. It does not save typed text or a full sequence of keystrokes. Only the selected modifier combination is persisted after you release all modifiers, complete recording, and register the shortcut successfully.
04 / Network, website, and third-party services
The current desktop app has no built-in advertising, third-party behavioral analytics SDKs, or feature that uploads usage data to the developer’s servers. App switching and window control run locally through macOS interfaces.
This product website is hosted through Cloudflare. When you visit a page, the hosting provider may process network request information and access logs needed to serve pages, provide security, and diagnose operations, such as IP addresses, requested URLs, and browser information. See Cloudflare’s privacy policy for its practices. Website access records are separate from preferences stored by the Askel desktop app.
This page’s code does not integrate third-party analytics or marketing scripts. A mail link opens your configured email app; you decide whether to send a message. If you contact the developer, the developer receives your email address and message to respond and investigate the issue. Email providers handle data under their own privacy rules. Do not send passwords, access tokens, or sensitive window screenshots.
05 / System diagnostic logs
If shortcut registration or app activation fails, error codes, app identifiers, and failure details may be written to macOS system logs. These logs are managed by the system. Askel has no built-in feature to upload them automatically to the developer.
If you choose to provide diagnostic material, the developer uses what you submit to investigate the problem. Review it first and remove unnecessary personal or sensitive information.
06 / Your controls and data removal
- Revoke permissions: turn off Askel under System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility / Input Monitoring. Related window operations or key detection may stop working.
- Stop processing: choose Quit Askel from the menu bar to stop the app and its key monitoring.
- Change preferences: edit your theme, shortcuts, and app order in the app. Restoring the default shortcut takes effect after you click Save.
- Clear local preferences: quit Askel, then remove its macOS local preferences. Default settings are generated on the next launch. Deleting the app alone may not remove preferences retained by the system.
Revoking permissions does not automatically clear saved app order, theme, or shortcuts. The current version has no account or developer-hosted copy of user data, so there is no server-side account deletion process.
07 / Updates and contact
If the app’s data handling changes, this policy and the date at the top of the page will be updated. Any new capabilities that require system permission remain subject to macOS permission controls.
For questions about this policy or Askel’s privacy practices, contact the developer at rd.zhaoxin@gmail.com. You can also use this address to request correction or deletion of feedback information you have voluntarily submitted.