Scope
This notice covers the QuietWatch 1.4.0 app and this website’s QuietWatch product pages. The developer is JINGREN CHEN; contact mlaohu.app@gmail.com. Other products and your chosen AI services have their own data practices.
Process monitoring and rule evaluation happen on your Mac. The app has no developer telemetry, ads, tracking identifiers, cloud sync or automatic log uploads. It contacts the website to check for or download software updates according to your update settings. AI requests go only to your chosen service: saving settings can authorize automatic process advice, while app-list analysis requires a separate preview and confirmation each time.
Information read on your Mac
QuietWatch reads accessible processes owned by your current user, including process names, executable paths, launch commands, PIDs, start times, user ownership, CPU time and resident memory. This helps show task origins, identify sustained usage and verify the target of a manual action. macOS may limit access to some information. Full samples and launch commands are used during the current app session; they are not retained as a complete process log.
This information may appear in the local interface. Expanded launch commands can contain paths or sensitive arguments, so review them before taking screenshots or sharing your screen.
Information stored locally
- Event history: a fixed task category, necessary PID, status, timestamps and action results. Up to 500 entries are retained for up to 30 days. Raw commands, file paths, API keys and AI responses are excluded.
- Preferences and muting: monitoring rules, pause state, appearance, onboarding state, and AI address and model are stored in local preferences. Mute settings also retain the PID, process start time and expiry to restore the mute and avoid confusing a reused PID with the original task. Muting lasts at most one hour.
- API keys: stored separately in the macOS Keychain for each service address, with Keychain synchronization disabled and access limited to this device after unlock. Keys are not written to preferences, events, exports or error messages.
Event files are stored in the current user’s Application Support directory and protected by that user’s file permissions. File permissions are not disk encryption. macOS FileVault can provide encryption at rest.
Software update requests
The app uses Sparkle to fetch update information and installers from www.mlaohu.com over HTTPS. Automatic checks are on by default, roughly once a day, and can be disabled in software update settings. Automatic downloads and installation on quit are off by default. You can also check for and download updates manually.
Update requests do not upload process names, commands, paths, event history or AI keys. The server receives ordinary connection information such as your IP address and a User-Agent that may contain app, updater or system versions. Sparkle system profiling is disabled. Update preferences, the last check time, skipped versions and download caches remain on your Mac.
Data used by Computer Check
Computer Check reads power source, battery level, power settings, sleep-preventing assertions and recent sleep/wake events locally. Development checks read simulator names, identifiers, runtimes and states without booting devices. Requesting Node details queries a working directory and TCP listening ports; it does not read project files or network traffic.
Results remain in memory for the current session, are not saved as full logs and are not sent to AI. Node details and read errors retain at most the 32 most recently inspected tasks. Rereads can preserve matching old details with their original time and failure notice. Waking or a task identity change invalidates relevant old results. A marked sleep report stays until you mark again, clear it or quit QuietWatch.
Working directories, device names and assertions may reveal project or app information. Check screenshots before sharing. Process memory footprint is displayed locally; it is not added to resident memory or presented as guaranteed reclaimable space.
Data used by trends, advice and app management
These features are included in release 1.3.0. Process exits and app removal always require your separate confirmation.
Resource observations stay local
System memory pressure, compression, swap and app grouping are used locally. Trends keep at most 60 minutes and 721 samples in memory for the current session. They are not saved to disk or sent to AI and end when the app quits. New resource observations do not trigger automatic AI requests.
Automatic process advice: on by default when you save
Automatic advice is selected by default when setting up AI. The settings page explains the data scope and possible charges; saving successfully authorizes the full service address and model, without another switch to enable. Sustained high CPU can then trigger a summary automatically; manually requested short process advice also skips repeated previews. If you turn it off, manual analysis requires a preview and confirmation each time. Your saved off choice is remembered. An older configuration used only for manual analysis needs to be saved once in the new settings.
Process summaries contain only a fixed task category, resource readings such as CPU and memory, and observation and runtime durations. They exclude process names, commands, paths, PIDs, usernames, source code and logs. The automatic-advice choice, authorization and request timestamps stay in local preferences; advice stays in memory. Keys remain in macOS Keychain, separated by full service address. Read results are cached only for the current session. Settings checks whether a key is saved without reading its contents. Background reads stop when authorization is required; interactive authorization is requested only through “授权读取密钥” in settings, and cancellation does not trigger repeated background attempts.
Automatic analysis is limited to once per process per 30 minutes, with shared rolling limits of 3 requests per hour and 12 per day. Failed requests count. Manually requested short advice is outside those automatic limits. Provider charges may apply. Turn the option off and save to revoke authorization; cancellation cannot recall data already received by a provider.
App review: a separate choice and confirmation
App scanning reads standard application directories for names, identifiers, versions, locations, bundle sizes, and running or known installation-component information. It does not read document contents. The app list and AI responses remain in memory.
Every app-list AI request still requires selection, preview and confirmation, with up to 20 apps. It includes names, bundle IDs, versions, readable bundle sizes, a current running snapshot and known removal restrictions. This reveals installed software, but excludes full installation paths, documents, commands, logs, keys and usage history.
A separate local removal log keeps up to 100 entries with the time, original location, Trash location returned by macOS, and result. You can clear it in app management. It is not uploaded or included in ordinary event exports; clearing it does not empty Trash. Removal only moves the confirmed whole app bundle. Files outside it stay in place.
Third-party services and network requests
If configured, your API key is sent as authentication to the corresponding service. The provider may associate the request with your service account and sees ordinary connection information, such as your source IP. Its policies govern retention, use and potential training use. QuietWatch cannot guarantee deletion or exclusion from training on its behalf. The request’s store: false setting also depends on server support.
Remote services require HTTPS; local loopback addresses may use HTTP. The app does not follow redirects, preventing authentication from being forwarded to a new address. AI responses cannot execute commands or stop processes automatically. The app includes a macOS privacy manifest declaring no tracking and conservatively treating optional AI performance summaries as potentially linked to a user.
Your controls and deletion
You can use local features without configuring AI, turn automatic advice off and save, cancel an unsent analysis, remove the current service’s key, clear event and removal history, and disable notifications or launch at login. Canceling a sent request cannot recall information already received by the service.
An exported event JSON file contains all retained events, including necessary PIDs, and is saved only to the location you choose. You decide whether to share it. The app does not upload it automatically.
Deleting the app does not automatically remove local preferences, events or Keychain entries. Before uninstalling, clear event and removal history, remove keys and disable launch at login in the app. To remove keys for previously configured services, search for app.quietwatch.ai-key in Keychain Access and delete the relevant entries.
Website visits and email
These QuietWatch pages do not integrate visitor analytics or advertising tracking scripts. Visiting a page or downloading an installer still sends requests to hosting and network services. That infrastructure may log IP addresses, access times, requested URLs, browser information and response status to deliver content, troubleshoot issues and protect the service. The app does not upload process information to this website.
The scope and retention of infrastructure logs depend on the relevant service’s configuration and policies. This notice does not promise an unverified provider retention period. The app’s local-data practices do not mean website visits leave no network logs.
If you email us, we receive your email address, message and any attachments you choose to send, and use them to respond and handle your request. Email services such as Gmail transmit and store those messages under their own policies. Please do not send API keys, private keys or full process commands. Your app version, macOS version and reproduction steps are usually enough to begin troubleshooting.
To ask about this notice or request deletion of information you sent by email, contact mlaohu.app@gmail.com. We will review the request and address data within our control. We cannot recall information already received by your AI or email provider on your behalf.