Privacy Policy

Cyclone Fortress is a privacy and security tool, so privacy is the whole point. It is built local-first: the work it does — wiping, scanning, cleaning, encryption and recovery — all happens on your Mac. The overwhelming majority of what Cyclone Fortress touches never leaves your device. This page explains exactly what stays local, the few things that are sent over the network and why, and the choices you have.

What never leaves your Mac

Cyclone Fortress does not upload your files, your file lists, your scan results, or your activity. None of the following is ever collected, synced or transmitted:

• The contents of any file you erase, shred, scan, recover or inspect.
• Lists of your files, folders, drives, apps or installed software.
• Scan results — malware findings, privacy findings, duplicates, large files, disk maps.
• Your clipboard, browsing history, caches or other system traces.
• Vault contents and vault passwords (see below).
• Your Activity History (see below).

Cyclone Fortress has no analytics that profile you and none that capture your clipboard, history or file contents. We do not sell data, run ad targeting, or share your activity with data brokers — ever.

Encrypted vaults & passwords

Vault and drive encryption happens entirely on your Mac. Vault passwords are held only in volatile, encrypted memory for the duration of your session and are erased when the app closes — they are never written to disk, never saved to your Keychain, and never sent anywhere. We do not hold your keys and cannot open your vaults.

Activity History

Cyclone Fortress can keep an optional, on-device log of operations it has performed. It is disabled by default and opt-in. When enabled, it is encrypted at rest with a key bound to your Mac's hardware, stored only on your machine, and can be securely wiped at any time. Activity History is never uploaded, synced or sent to any server.

The only data that is sent over the network

A small number of optional, clearly-purposed network calls exist. Each uses certificate-pinned HTTPS, and no personal data or file content is included:

• Signature updates. Cyclone Fortress downloads updated malware-detection signatures. This is a download; nothing about your system is sent to receive it.
• License validation. Your license key and a device identifier are used to confirm your license is valid (once within 72 hours of a new activation, then roughly every 45 days). License keys are also verified on-device, so the app keeps working offline between those checks.
• Usage analytics. Aggregate event counts that contain no file contents, lists or scan results. Direct-download installs include a one-way hardware hash (never the raw identifier) so installs can be counted without profiling you. The app's offline switch turns analytics off along with every other network feature.
• Software update checks. A check for a newer version; no personal data is sent.
• AI features & translation. If you use the built-in AI — Cyclone Help or the Cyclone AI Agent — the message you type (and, for translation, the text you ask to translate) is sent to our own privately-owned servers to generate a reply. See “AI” below.
• Support requests. Only if you contact us — your message and the email address you provide.
• Launch notifications (website only). If you sign up on our website to be told when Cyclone Fortress is publicly released, we store the email address you enter and use it solely for that announcement. It is never shared or used for marketing lists, and you can have it deleted at any time by emailing support@cyclonefortress.com.
• Optional cloud malware intelligence. Off unless you enable it and supply your own API keys. When used, file hashes may be checked against third-party threat feeds. Quick Scan uses no cloud layer at all.

AI features

Cyclone Fortress's AI runs on our own privately-owned servers. Nothing is sent to any third-party AI service (such as OpenAI or Anthropic), and there is no on-device telemetry of your questions. The AI comes in two parts: Cyclone Help, which only answers questions about Cyclone Fortress and how it works, and the Cyclone AI Agent, which can run tasks on your Mac but always asks your approval before making any change. Messages sent to the AI are processed ephemerally to produce a reply and are not stored. Cyclone Help answers from a general knowledge base about Cyclone Fortress and your phrasing of the question — it is not given your files or scan results.

Payments

Purchases are handled by a third-party payment processor. Cyclone Fortress never sees or stores your full card details. We retain only what is needed to issue and validate your license.

Your choices

• Use the app's offline switch to turn off analytics — along with every other network feature — in one tap.
• Leave Activity History disabled (its default), or securely wipe it.
• Use Quick Scan to avoid any cloud lookups; leave cloud malware intel off.
• Uninstalling Cyclone Fortress removes its local data from your Mac.
• Request deletion of any support correspondence at any time.

Contact

Questions about this policy, or a data request? Reach us at support@cyclonefortress.com or via the support page.