Privacy Policy

Last updated: April 2026

The short version

Oaken Ward does not collect, transmit, or store any of your personal data. Everything stays on your Mac. We have no servers that receive your information. We cannot see your network activity, your rules, or anything else.

What Oaken Ward does

Oaken Ward is a macOS application with a network extension that monitors outgoing connections from your Mac to known AI service endpoints. It operates entirely on-device using Apple's Network Extension framework.

Data we do NOT collect

  • Network traffic content or metadata
  • Which apps you use or when
  • Your blocking/allowing rules
  • Your privacy score or activity history
  • Usage analytics or telemetry
  • Crash reports (unless you explicitly send them)
  • IP addresses, device identifiers, or fingerprints

Data stored on your Mac

Oaken Ward stores the following data locally on your Mac, in its sandboxed container:

  • Rules database: Your allow/block rules for apps and AI services
  • Activity log: A local record of detected AI connections (app, service, timestamp, data size)
  • AI endpoint database: A curated list of known AI service domains and IPs
  • Preferences: Your app settings

This data never leaves your Mac. It is not synced, backed up to the cloud, or transmitted anywhere.

Auto-updates

Oaken Ward uses Sparkle for auto-updates. When checking for updates, a standard HTTPS request is made to our update server. This request contains:

  • Your current app version
  • Your macOS version
  • Your Mac's architecture (Apple Silicon or Intel)

No personally identifiable information is included. We do not track individual update checks. You can disable auto-update checks in preferences.

AI endpoint database updates

The AI endpoint database is periodically refreshed from our server. This request contains only the current database version number. No user data is transmitted.

License validation

Pro license purchases are handled by Paddle, our payment processor. We receive a license key but do not store your payment details. License validation happens locally against the key; no ongoing server communication is required after activation.

Third-party services

Oaken Ward does not integrate with any analytics, advertising, or tracking services. The only external communication is:

  • Sparkle update checks (to our server)
  • Endpoint database updates (to our server)
  • Paddle checkout (only during purchase, in your browser)

Children's privacy

Oaken Ward does not collect data from anyone, including children. There is no account system.

Changes to this policy

If we ever change this policy, we will update this page and note the date. Given our architecture (no data collection, no accounts, no servers receiving user data), we do not anticipate material changes.

Contact

Questions about privacy? Email [email protected].

Oaken Ward is made by Inspirify Limited.