Privacy and data
Margaret is built on a simple principle: your data stays on your computer. Here's exactly what that means in practice.
What stays on your Mac
- Your helper files — stored as plain text files in your helpers folder. Never uploaded anywhere.
- Your output files — every run result is saved locally. Margaret doesn't keep a copy.
- Your API key — stored in your Mac's system keychain (the same secure storage your browser uses for saved passwords). Never written to a file, never sent to anyone except Anthropic.
- Your run history — stored in a local database on your Mac. Used to power the Dashboard. Never sent anywhere.
- Your settings — stored in your Mac's application data folder.
Margaret has no servers. There is no Margaret account. No data leaves your computer except for the one thing described below.
What gets sent to Anthropic
When you run a helper, Margaret sends two things to Anthropic's API:
- Your helper's instructions — the Purpose, Process, Output Format etc. from the helper file
- Your input — whatever you typed into the form, pasted into the text area, or picked as a file
Anthropic uses this to generate the response, which comes back to Margaret and gets saved to your helpers folder.
That's the entire data flow. Margaret doesn't send your past outputs, your run history, your other helpers, or anything else.
Anthropic's data practices
Anthropic does not use API inputs and outputs to train their models by default. For details on how Anthropic handles API data, see Anthropic's privacy policy.
Your API key
Your API key is stored in the macOS Keychain — a secure, encrypted store managed by the operating system. It's the same place your Mac stores iCloud passwords, Safari passwords, and other credentials.
Margaret reads it from the keychain when it needs to make an API call. It is never:
- Written to any file on your Mac
- Sent to Margaret's servers (Margaret has no servers)
- Included in crash reports or logs
- Accessible to other apps
No telemetry
Margaret does not collect usage data, crash reports, or analytics. There is no tracking, no event logging, no "phone home" behaviour. The only network requests Margaret makes are the API calls to Anthropic when you run a helper.
Local database
Margaret uses a small local database (stored in your Mac's application data folder) to index your run history for the Dashboard. This database:
- Never leaves your Mac
- Contains run metadata (which helper, which model, token counts, cost, timestamp) and the file path to each output
- Does not contain the content of your inputs or outputs — those stay in the files themselves
You can find the database location by going to Settings → Helpers folder — the database is stored near your app data, not in the helpers folder itself.
What happens if I delete the app?
Your helper files and output files stay exactly where they are — in your helpers folder. Deleting the app doesn't touch them.
The local database and your settings are stored separately in your Mac's application data folder (~/Library/Application Support/margaret/). These are removed if you delete the app via a standard uninstaller.
Your API key remains in the macOS Keychain until you explicitly remove it (Settings → API key → Clear key) or delete it from Keychain Access.