Data & privacy

By default, your data stays on your Mac. That’s not a marketing slogan, it’s the foundation NowDoing is built on. Anything that changes this default is opt-in and listed individually on this page.

Where it lives

NowDoing stores everything in a single JSON file. By default it lives in the app container:

~/Library/Application Support/NowDoing/data.json

You can relocate the file under Settings → Data → “Choose custom folder” — for example into a cloud-drive folder, an encrypted volume, or an external drive. The file itself stays the same, only its location changes. When you pick a new location, the existing file is copied there once; from then on the app reads and writes exclusively at the new path.

The file contains:

• Your activities (names, colors, archived status)
• All time entries (activity, start, end)
• Personal app settings

That’s all. No hidden tracking store, no telemetry caches.

iCloud sync (optional, off by default)

If you want it, NowDoing can sync your data.json between multiple Macs via your private iCloud Drive. You enable it under Settings → Data → “Sync with iCloud”.

While iCloud sync is on:

• The file lives in your Apple ID’s iCloud ubiquity container instead of the local app container.
• There is no NowDoing server. Sync runs exclusively over Apple’s iCloud infrastructure — data does not pass through us.
• Editing on two Macs at the same time can produce iCloud conflicts. NowDoing writes atomically but has no control over Apple’s sync ordering.
• iCloud sync and “custom folder” are mutually exclusive: while iCloud is active, the chosen folder is not used.

What NowDoing does not do

• ❌ No NowDoing account, no sign-in.
• ❌ No first-party servers, no backend.
• ❌ No first-party analytics, no first-party crash reporting to a third-party service.
• ❌ No access to screen content, keystrokes, or other apps.
• ❌ No outbound network calls — the app contains no calls to any external server. The only exceptions are the optional mechanisms described above (iCloud sync, loopback listener) and Apple’s TestFlight on beta builds.

Loopback listener (optional)

If you enable the VS Code integration, the app opens a small HTTP listener on 127.0.0.1. It binds exclusively to the loopback interface — not reachable from the network.

Messages to this listener are HMAC-signed, so only clients with the shared secret are accepted.

More under VS Code integration.

TestFlight beta builds

If you install NowDoing as a beta through Apple’s TestFlight, Apple’s standard TestFlight terms apply: Apple can forward crash reports and basic usage metrics to us as developers. That’s Apple infrastructure, not a NowDoing-owned telemetry system — and only relevant while you’re running a TestFlight build. The regular Mac App Store version sends nothing.

Backups

Since all data lives in one file, backups are trivial:

• Time Machine captures the file as part of your usual system backup.
• Manual export via Settings → Data → “Export data”.

Restoring an export replaces existing data — the app prompts before writing.

Sandboxing & hardened runtime

NowDoing runs with App Sandbox and Hardened Runtime enabled. That means:

• The app has no access to files outside its own container — except the custom-folder path you explicitly chose, which is granted via a security-scoped bookmark.
• No access to other apps, screen contents, or keyboard events.
• Code injection and library loading are blocked at the system level.

The only permissions ever requested are notifications (for the reminder toast) and optionally login items (for “launch at login”).

Failure modes

If a write fails (e.g. disk full), a red banner appears in Settings → Data with the error detail. NowDoing uses atomic writes: either the whole file is replaced, or nothing changes — a half-written, broken file cannot occur.