Privacy: what leaves your computer
1FileTool processes files locally; the only network traffic is update checks, license activation, model downloads, opt-out analytics and AI Chat.
File content never leaves your computer: every convert, compress, OCR or redact job runs on your machine. A handful of metadata-level connections exist for housekeeping — here's the complete list for v1.10.0, and how to shut off each one.
The short answer
- File processing: none. Tools read and write your files locally; nothing about the file travels anywhere.
- Anonymous usage analytics: on after a consent dialog. The app uses Aptabase for anonymous stats — events like
app_started,tool_processedandmcp_toggled, never file names or content. You can decline at the first-launch dialog, or flip it off any time in Settings › Privacy. - Update checks: the app checks GitHub Releases every 6 hours and on startup. Automatic.
- License activation: Pro keys verify with Lemon Squeezy when you activate or deactivate.
- AI model and voice downloads: one-time downloads from Hugging Face or GitHub the first time you use an AI feature.
- AI Chat: the one place file content can leave — by your own choice, through the AI CLI you picked (Claude Code, Gemini, etc.). 1FileTool only hands the AI's commands to the local engine; what the model provider sees depends on which CLI you installed.
- Local MCP bridge (off by default): bound to
127.0.0.1on an ephemeral port with a random bearer token stored in~/.1filetool/— it accepts connections only from your own machine, never from the network.
Protect your originals first
Replace source is ON by default: the output overwrites the original file and no backup is kept. Before following along, open Settings › General and turn Replace source off, or pick a separate output folder.
Privacy tools inside the app
The point of local processing is that your metadata hygiene is in your hands:
- File Shredder — securely delete files by overwriting them with random data (3 passes by default) before unlinking.
- Strip Metadata — remove EXIF, GPS and hidden data from photos, PDFs, videos and more (View EXIF, Image EXIF Stripper and PDF Metadata Remover cover the same job per format).
For a local OCR workflow that never sends a scan to the cloud, see Local OCR scanning; for metadata hygiene generally, Privacy and metadata hygiene.
Turning network features off
| Feature | Default | How to turn off |
|---|---|---|
| Anonymous analytics | On (after consent dialog) | Settings › Privacy — off |
| Update checks | Automatic (every 6 h) | Settings › Updates — uncheck auto-check |
| AI downloads | On first use | Never run the feature; models download once only |
| AI Chat | Off (you install the CLI) | Don't set it up — or uninstall the CLI |
| MCP bridge | Off | Settings › AI Access › MCP — toggle |
Related
Tools used