From 28d3f9cfd98aabe56c5954f4e64d4d3415c8f79c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: lx-s Date: Tue, 25 Aug 2026 08:01:42 +0200 Subject: [PATCH] Added privacy policy file --- PRIVACY.md | 195 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 195 insertions(+) create mode 100644 PRIVACY.md diff --git a/PRIVACY.md b/PRIVACY.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5ede455 --- /dev/null +++ b/PRIVACY.md @@ -0,0 +1,195 @@ +# WinMute Privacy Policy + +**Applies to:** WinMute for Windows, all versions and distribution channels +**Effective date:** 2026-08-25 +**Publisher:** Alexander Steinhoefer (lx-systems) +**Contact:** kontakt@lx-s.de + +## Summary + +WinMute does not collect, transmit, sell, or share any personal data. + +It has no accounts, no advertising, no analytics, and no telemetry. Everything +WinMute needs in order to work stays on your device. Its only optional network +feature is a check for new versions, which is switched off unless you turn it on +(see section 5). + +## 1. What WinMute does + +WinMute is a small utility that automatically mutes and unmutes your Windows +audio devices in response to events on your computer — for example when you lock +your workstation, when the display turns off, when your Bluetooth headphones +disconnect, or when you connect to a particular wireless network. + +All of this happens locally, on your machine, using standard Windows APIs. + +## 2. Data WinMute stores on your device + +WinMute saves your settings so they survive a restart. This data never leaves +your computer, is not encrypted or uploaded anywhere, and is only readable by +your own Windows user account. + +The settings include: + +* Which mute triggers you enabled (lock, display standby, sleep, shutdown, + log-off, lid close, remote desktop, and so on). +* The names of Wi-Fi networks (SSIDs) you added to your mute or allow list. +* The names and addresses of Bluetooth devices you added to your device list. +* The names of the audio devices (endpoints) you chose to manage individually. +* Your quiet-hours schedule. +* Interface preferences such as the display language, notification settings, and + your global mute hotkey. + +The settings are stored in the Windows registry under your own user account, in +`HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\lx-systems\WinMute`. If you installed WinMute from +the Microsoft Store, Windows keeps that data inside the app package's own +private, per-user storage instead. + +## 3. Information WinMute reads from your system + +To decide when to mute, WinMute reads the following from Windows while it is +running. This information is evaluated in memory, used for the mute decision, +and then discarded. It is never stored beyond what you explicitly configured in +section 2, and never transmitted. + +* **Audio devices:** the names and mute/volume state of your playback devices, + so it can mute and restore them. +* **Wireless networks:** the name (SSID) of the Wi-Fi network you are currently + connected to, so it can be compared against your own list. WinMute does not + read your Wi-Fi passwords, saved profiles, or network traffic. +* **Bluetooth:** the state of your Bluetooth radio and the names of connecting + and disconnecting devices, so it can react to your headphones. WinMute does + not pair with devices or read their content. +* **Session and power events:** notifications from Windows that the workstation + was locked, the display switched off, or the system is suspending. +* **Media playback:** if you enable the option, WinMute sends a pause or play + command to your media applications. It does not read what you are playing. + +## 4. Optional log file + +Logging is **switched off by default**. If you turn it on in the settings — for +example because you were asked to when reporting a bug — WinMute writes a plain +text log file to your Windows temporary folder (`%TEMP%`). + +The log records what WinMute did and why, which can include the names of your +audio devices, Wi-Fi networks, and Bluetooth devices. The file stays on your +computer. WinMute never uploads it. + +When you switch logging off again, WinMute deletes the log file. You can also +delete it yourself at any time. + +If you choose to attach the log to a public bug report, please review it first — +anything you send us is shared by your own decision, not by the app. + +## 5. Network connections and the update check + +The only part of WinMute that uses the internet is the optional update check, +and it is **switched off by default**. Unless you tick "Check for updates on +startup" in the settings, WinMute never connects to anything. + +If you do enable it, then each time WinMute starts it downloads one small, +static text file over an encrypted HTTPS connection: + +``` +https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lx-s/WinMute/main/CURRENT_VERSION +``` + +That file lists the latest available version number. WinMute compares it with +the version you are running and, if yours is older, offers you a link to the +download page. Nothing is uploaded: the request carries no information about +you, your device, your settings, or your usage — not even the version you +currently have installed. + +As with any download, the server hosting the file (GitHub, operated by GitHub, +Inc.) necessarily sees your IP address and the time of the request in order to +answer it. That data is handled under +[GitHub's Privacy Statement](https://docs.github.com/site-policy/privacy-policies/github-privacy-statement). +We receive no report of these requests and cannot identify who checked for +updates. If you would rather not contact GitHub at all, simply leave the update +check switched off. + +In builds distributed through the Microsoft Store the update check is disabled +altogether and cannot be enabled, because the Store keeps the app up to date +itself. + +WinMute contains no other network functionality of any kind. + +## 6. Where you got WinMute + +This policy covers the WinMute application itself. How you obtained it is a +separate matter: downloading, installing, and updating software through a store +or package manager involves that provider, under their own privacy policy and +not ours. Depending on the channel this may be the +[Microsoft Store](https://privacy.microsoft.com/privacystatement), +[winget](https://privacy.microsoft.com/privacystatement), +[Chocolatey](https://chocolatey.org/privacy), or +[GitHub](https://docs.github.com/site-policy/privacy-policies/github-privacy-statement) +for direct downloads and releases. + +From these providers we receive at most anonymous, aggregated figures such as +download or install counts. These do not identify individual users, and we have +no way to link them to a person or a device. + +Likewise, if WinMute were to crash, Windows Error Reporting may send diagnostic +information to Microsoft according to your Windows settings. That is a Windows +feature and outside our control. + +## 7. Sharing, selling, and third parties + +We do not collect personal data, so there is nothing to share. We do not sell, +rent, or transfer data to third parties. WinMute contains no advertising +networks, no analytics SDKs, and no third-party tracking components. + +## 8. Data retention and deletion + +Your settings remain on your device for as long as you keep them there. + +* **Microsoft Store:** uninstalling the app through Windows removes it together + with its stored settings. +* **Setup or package manager:** uninstall WinMute the usual way. Your personal + settings are deliberately left behind so they survive a reinstall; to remove + them as well, delete the key `HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\lx-systems\WinMute` + with the Windows registry editor (`regedit.exe`). +* **Portable/ZIP version:** delete the WinMute folder, and the registry key + above if you want the settings gone too. + +To delete the optional log file, either switch logging off in WinMute — which +deletes it immediately — or remove the WinMute log from your `%TEMP%` folder. + +## 9. Children + +WinMute is a general-purpose utility and is not directed at children. It does +not knowingly collect any information from anyone, regardless of age. + +## 10. Your rights (GDPR) + +We do not process personal data as defined by the GDPR. We operate no servers +and run no service that WinMute talks to: we have no access to your settings, +your device, or any identifier. Even if you enable the optional update check, +your request goes to GitHub as the file's host and never reaches us. There is +therefore no data held by us that could be exported, corrected, or erased on +request. + +You remain in full control of the data described in sections 2 and 4 at all +times, since it exists solely on your own computer. + +If you believe otherwise, or have any question about how WinMute handles data, +please contact us at the address below. + +## 11. Open source + +WinMute is open source and released under the 3-clause BSD licence. Every claim +in this policy can be verified in the source code at +. + +## 12. Changes to this policy + +If this policy changes, the updated version will be published at this address +and the effective date at the top will be revised. Material changes will also be +noted in the app's changelog. + +## 13. Contact + +Alexander Steinhoefer (lx-systems) +Email: kontakt@lx-s.de +Project: -- 2.43.0