Smart Desktop Privacy - FAQ
Does personal information leave my system?
What data is being sent to Smart Desktop?
How is the statistical data being used?
Can this data be used to identify me?
Is this data being shared with 3rd parties?
How secure is the data in the local database?
How do I keep Smart Desktop from tracking things I do?
Why does my firewall notify me that Smart Desktop is connecting to the internet?
When does Smart Desktop send statistical information?
Does Smart Desktop keep a list of items for which I chose Do Not Track?
I just cleared the history from my browser. Does it clear the history from Smart Desktop as well?
To whom can I talk about security questions?
| Q. | Does personal information leave my system? |
| A. | No. Smart Desktop does not transmit any personal data. |
| Q. | Is Smart Desktop tracking me? |
| A. | No. Smart Desktop’s machine intelligence monitors the projects you work on, the items added to each project, and the time you spend on them. However, this information is stored in a secure database on your computer and is used only by Smart Desktop. It is not shared with outside services or third parties. |
| Q. | What data is being sent to Smart Desktop? |
| A. | Smart Desktop sends statistical data on how the application is used. Information is combined to provide collective statistics among all installations in order to improve the accuracy of the machine intelligence and the Smart Desktop user experience. The information collected is anonymous and does not include any personally identifiable information. For example, information about the count of projects and accuracy of the machine intelligence is collected, but names of projects, items, or users are not. Please see our privacy policy for further information http://www.smartdesktop.com/legal/privacy-policy. |
| Q. | How is the statistical data being used? |
| A. | Statistical information about product usage is collected and sent to Smart Desktop, where it is used for improving the accuracy of the machine intelligence and the Smart Desktop user experience. The information collected is anonymous, and does not include any personally identifiable information. Please see our privacy policy for further information (http://www.smartdesktop.com/legal/privacy-policy). |
| Q. | Can this data be used to identify me? |
| A. | No. The information collected is anonymous, and does not include any personally identifiable information. Please see our privacy policy for further information (http://www.smartdesktop.com/legal/privacy-policy). |
| Q. | Is this data being shared with 3rd parties? |
| A. | No. The data we collect is solely used to improve the Smart Desktop machine intelligence engine. |
| Q. | How secure is the data in the local database? |
| A. | Very secure. Smart Desktop stores information on your local computer in a password-protected MySQL database. The Smart Desktop application communicates with this database through a non-standard port. It is also important to understand that Smart Desktop does not store your files, e-mail, or Web pages themselves; it stores metadata such as their names and locations. Your files remain on your hard drive and your email in your mailbox. Furthermore, when you remove an item from Smart Desktop, all information about that item is removed from the database. |
| Q. | How do I keep Smart Desktop from tracking the things I do? |
| A. | You can create a rule to keep Smart Desktop from tracking specific items. See “Manage Project Assignments with Smart Desktop Rules” in Smart Desktop Help for more information on creating rules. |
| Q. | Why does my firewall notify me that Smart Desktop is connecting to the internet? |
| A. |
When Smart Desktop starts, it attempts to communicate through a port, which may trigger a firewall alert. Additionally, statistical information about product usage is collected and sent to Smart Desktop via the Internet, where it is used for improving the accuracy of the machine intelligence and the Smart Desktop user experience. When sending this information, a firewall may detect this and notify you. To assure that Smart Desktop functions properly on your system, allow Smart Desktop to communicate through the firewall. Please see Smart Desktop Help under “Security and Privacy in Smart Desktop“ for more information about firewall settings. |
| Q. | When does Smart Desktop send statistical information? |
| A. | Smart Desktop waits until your machine is idle to gather and send statistical information about product usage. Please see our privacy policy for further information (http://www.smartdesktop.com/legal/privacy-policy). |
| Q. | Does Smart Desktop keep a list of items for which I chose Do Not Track? |
| A. | No. Though Smart Desktop has a list of the active rules you created, it does not keep a list of Web pages, emails, or documents for which you create a “Do Not Track” rule in Smart Desktop. |
| Q. | I just cleared the history from my browser. Does it clear the history from Smart Desktop as well? |
| A. | No, the history in Smart Desktop is not linked to the history in your browser. |
| Q. | To whom can I talk about security questions? |
| A. | For further inquiries regarding our privacy policy please contact us at privacy@smartdesktop.com. |