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Privacy Policy

Updated 15 October 2026

The short version

Narly is a free macOS app made by Andreas Villumsen (“the developer”) as an independent personal project.

This policy covers the Narly app and narlymac.app.

Links and settings stay on your Mac

Narly processes links and supported local file references so you can choose where to open them. Your chosen browser or app receives the address, sometimes converted into its own link format. Narly does not save a browsing history. Pending and dismissed links are held in memory and are not retained by Narly after it quits.

Narly checks locally which supported apps are installed. App order, hidden apps, shortcuts, display preferences and details of manually added apps are stored on your Mac. They are not uploaded.

If you copy a link, its full address goes onto the macOS clipboard. Other apps and system features may access that copy, and quitting Narly does not clear it.

Local diagnostics

Narly records technical events locally to help diagnose problems. These can include timestamps, app build, temporary request identifiers, process information, window position and state, and screen count. They do not include links, domains or window titles.

Logs are written to the macOS system log and ~/Library/Logs/Narly. Narly does not upload them. Its log files rotate by size, keeping one previous file; macOS manages system-log retention.

Preferences and logs may remain after uninstalling. You can remove Narly’s local preferences and diagnostic files yourself. Running the app again may recreate them. Copies in your own backups are managed separately.

Opening links in other apps

Narly passes links to the browser or app you choose. Supported link conversions happen locally, without network requests by Narly. Slack workspace message links are passed directly to the Slack app, preserving their message and thread targets.

The selected browser or app may then connect to its own services. Those apps and the websites you open have their own privacy practices.

Checking for app updates

Clicking Check for updates in Settings → About asks GitHub which Narly version is available. GitHub sees your IP address and the request for Narly’s release information. Narly does not send your installed version, links, settings or diagnostic logs, and does not use saved cookies or account credentials for the check. It compares versions on your Mac.

Narly only checks when you click the button. To download an update, you choose a browser and open the release page on GitHub. That visit is covered by GitHub’s Privacy Statement. You download and install the update yourself.

The website

The website’s own code has no analytics, advertising trackers, tracking pixels or contact forms. It does not set cookies or report your demo interactions to a server. Scripts, styles and images are served from the website itself.

Your light or dark theme choice is kept in local storage until you change it or clear the site’s browser data. Choosing the system theme removes the saved choice. The demo’s layout, size and example choices last only until you reload the page.

These values contain no browsing history or user identifier and are not transmitted by the website’s code. The demo runs locally. Following an external link sends a normal web request to that destination.

The website is hosted using Cloudflare. Serving and protecting the site involves processing connection and traffic information, including IP addresses. This is separate from analytics in Narly’s own code. Cloudflare explains its handling of end-user information in its Privacy Policy.

Downloads

Narly downloads are hosted on GitHub. Clicking Download on this website requests the DMG directly from GitHub. GitHub receives your IP address and technical request information when serving the file. This is covered by GitHub’s Privacy Statement.

Your information and rights

The developer cannot remotely view, retrieve or erase links, settings or diagnostic files that remain on your Mac.

Where applicable data protection law applies, you retain the rights it provides, including access, correction, deletion, restriction, objection and portability where the relevant conditions are met. You may raise a concern with Datatilsynet or another competent data protection authority.

Changes

This policy will be updated if Narly’s data handling changes. The date above identifies the latest revision. Material changes will be highlighted on the website or with the relevant app release. Where consent is required for new processing, it will be requested separately.