Privacy and safety

dux works entirely on your Mac. It has no account, sends no analytics and uploads nothing. Two promises hold in every plan, free or paid.

Your data stays on your Mac

• Scans, history and suggestions stay on your Mac. dux does not upload file names, sizes or anything else about your disk.
• There is no account, no sign in and no usage tracking inside the app.
• A scan reads file and folder metadata: names, sizes, dates and flags. Finding duplicates also reads file content, only to compare it, and only for files that are on this Mac.
• A scan never opens files that are online only, so it never triggers a cloud download.

What is stored

In a folder named after the app’s bundle identifier. The direct download keeps it in ~/Library/Application Support/eu.provaz.dux/. The Mac App Store build keeps it inside its sandbox, in ~/Library/Containers/eu.provaz.dux.appstore/Data/Library/Application Support/eu.provaz.dux.appstore/. The folder holds:

• the scan history (totals and the largest folders and files of each scan, not every file),
• content fingerprints that make duplicate finding faster,
• the action log that Activity and Undo use,
• your cleanup, so it survives quitting the app,
• custom sounds you add in Settings.

Preferences live in the app’s preferences domain. To start over, quit the app and delete that folder.

The few times dux uses the network

The Mac App Store build asks nothing of the network on its own. The direct download checks this website for a new version (usedux.app/appcast.xml), and a yearly or Business license refreshes itself near its end date. Neither request carries information about your files. An administrator can switch automatic updates off with a configuration profile.

Logs

dux writes short technical logs to the macOS unified log. File names in them are marked private, so macOS hides them. You can read the logs in the Console app. Support may ask for them, and you decide whether to send them.

Cleanups you can take back

• Nothing happens until you review it. Every cleanup opens a review sheet that checks each path again and says exactly what will happen. “Nothing happens until you click Clean Up.”
• Files go to the Trash or become APFS clones. dux never empties the Trash for you. The few actions that cannot be undone are listed below.
• Risk is shown, not hidden. Every suggestion is Safe, Review or Risky. A Review group asks for one confirmation; each Risky group needs its own checkbox that names the consequence.
• Commands are shown first. When a system tool such as xcrun cleans up better than moving files, dux shows the exact command and says whether it can be undone.
• Undo is one click. Activity logs every action. Undo puts items back where they were, as long as they are still in the Trash.
• Emptying the Trash is yours. It is the step that frees the space and the one that cannot be undone, so dux leaves it to you.

Two kinds of action cannot be undone, and the review says so: tool commands such as Xcode’s simulator cleanup and Homebrew’s cleanup (direct download only), and removed cloud downloads (they download again when you open the files).

On managed Macs

Organizations can restrict dux with a configuration profile: report only, no cloud eviction, disabled rule categories, no upgrade notes and more. Restrictions apply in every plan. With Business, they can also set organization defaults such as scan folders and exclusions. See the Business page.

Questions

Write to us, or read the full privacy policy.