Your links get patched through, not listened in on.

01Who we are

Switchboard ("the app") is a macOS menu bar app, distributed through the Mac App Store, that decides which of your installed browsers opens each link. It is developed and published by Jan Aguja, an independent developer in the Philippines ("we", "us"). This policy explains what information the app handles, where it goes, and how long it stays there.

02What we collect

Nothing. We don't run a server, so there's nowhere for anything to arrive.

Switchboard has no account, sign-in, backend, analytics, crash-reporting or advertising. It doesn't ask for your name, email or any other personal detail, and nothing about how you use it is ever transmitted to us or anyone else. Everything described below happens on your Mac and stays there.

03What stays on your Mac

One small settings file. That's the whole filing cabinet.

Switchboard saves your settings to a single file (state.json) inside its own sandboxed storage on your Mac. It contains:

It does not contain:

Running apps. App triggers ("use this browser while Slack is running") work by watching which apps launch, quit or come to the front, using the standard macOS notifications any app can receive. Switchboard only checks that list against your triggers in the moment. It doesn't record it; the only apps saved are the ones you add as triggers or pick for a "while this app is running" switch.

Export and import. Export Settings in Settings › Advanced writes a copy of this file wherever you choose in a save dialog (it suggests iCloud Drive if you use it). Import Settings reads a file you pick. The app doesn't upload either; if you save to iCloud Drive, Apple syncs it under its own terms.

04The links you open

It reads the address on the envelope, never the letter, and doesn't keep the envelope.

When Switchboard is your default browser, macOS hands it every web link you click in other apps, and any local web page (.html) you open with it. To route a link, Switchboard compares its address against your URL rules in memory, then passes it to the chosen browser. It never loads the page, sees its content, or knows anything that happens after the browser takes over.

Switchboard does not keep a history of links. The one trace is diagnostic: for each link, the app writes a short entry to macOS's built-in system log (the one you can browse in the Console app) noting the link's domain (for example example.com, not the full address; a local file with no domain is noted by its location), which browser it went to, and why. That log stays on your Mac, is managed by macOS, and old entries are removed by macOS on its own schedule. It isn't sent to us. If you've chosen to share Mac analytics with Apple, see section 6.

The browser that opens the link handles it under that browser's own privacy policy.

05Browser profiles & folder access

Every extra door is one you open yourself, through a macOS picker.

Switchboard runs in Apple's App Sandbox. Browsers in your Applications folder are visible to it automatically. Anything else needs a one-time grant you make by choosing a folder in a standard macOS open dialog, which macOS remembers as a security-scoped bookmark. You can see and revoke these grants in Settings.

• Browsers outside Applications. If you add one, Switchboard gets read access to the folder you picked so it can find and open that browser.
• Chrome and Edge profiles (optional). To offer "Chrome — Work" as a choice, Switchboard needs read access to that browser's data folder (for example ~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome). It reads only the browser's Local State file. That file can also contain other details the browser keeps about its profiles, such as a signed-in account; Switchboard reads it in memory, uses only each profile's display name and folder name, and doesn't save or send anything else. A profile's name is saved in the settings file only if you pin it or use it in a rule or trigger. Switchboard does not read your browsing history, cookies, passwords, bookmarks or any other browser data.
• Profile helper (optional). macOS doesn't let sandboxed apps tell a browser which profile to use, so Switchboard offers a tiny helper script. With your approval in a macOS dialog, it's placed in ~/Library/Application Scripts/com.jandroid.switchboard, the folder macOS sets aside for this. The script does one thing: asks macOS to open a web link in a named browser profile. It collects nothing.

06Network & third parties

No network, no SDKs, nobody else in the room.

Switchboard doesn't include the sandbox permission for outgoing network connections, so it does not and cannot connect to the internet itself. It contains no third-party code for advertising, analytics, crash reporting or sign-in. We do not sell, rent or share your information with anyone.

Two buttons in Settings › About open other apps: Privacy Policy opens this page in your browser, and Send Feedback opens a pre-filled email in your mail app containing the app version and macOS version. Nothing is sent unless you send that email yourself.

Apple. You get Switchboard through the Mac App Store, and macOS provides the notifications, login items and Shortcuts it uses. If you've turned on sharing crash and usage data with app developers in your Mac's privacy settings, Apple may give us crash reports and diagnostics for Switchboard. That's controlled by you and handled under Apple's privacy policy.

07Purchases

Switchboard has no in-app purchases, subscriptions or ads. Getting the app from the Mac App Store is handled entirely by Apple under its own terms and privacy policy. We never see your payment details.

08Permissions

These are everything Switchboard asks macOS for, and why:

• App Sandbox, which limits Switchboard to its own storage. It's the reason the app can't reach the internet or your files without a grant.
• Files you pick (user-selected file access), used only through open and save dialogs: adding a browser outside Applications, granting Chrome/Edge profile access, choosing an app for a trigger, installing the profile helper, and exporting or importing settings.
• Web browser role. Switchboard registers as a browser for http/https links and HTML files so you can make it your default; that's how it routes links at all. It becomes the default only when you choose to, and macOS asks you to confirm. An optional "Match System Default to Pin" setting instead sets macOS's real default browser each time you pin one.
• Notifications, requested on first launch and optional, to tell you when routing changes without a menu click: a trigger starting, a timed switch ending, or a hotkey switch. You can turn them off in Switchboard's Settings or in System Settings.
• Open at login, on by default so routing works after a restart. macOS lists Switchboard under Login Items; turn it off in Settings › General.
• Global hotkeys, registered with macOS's hotkey service, which tells Switchboard only when its own key combinations are pressed. It does not use Accessibility or Input Monitoring and can't see other typing.
• Shortcuts, a "Switch Browser" action you can use in the Shortcuts app. It only runs when you run it.

Switchboard does not request Accessibility, Input Monitoring, Automation (Apple Events), Full Disk Access, camera, microphone, location, contacts or photos.

09Retention & deletion

It's your Mac. You can clear it all in one click.

Your settings stay on your Mac until you change or remove them. Reset All Settings in Settings › Advanced clears everything, including folder access grants. Deleting the app from your Applications folder removes it; to leave nothing behind, also delete ~/Library/Containers/com.jandroid.switchboard and, if you installed the profile helper, ~/Library/Application Scripts/com.jandroid.switchboard. System log entries are removed by macOS automatically, and delivered notifications stay in Notification Centre until you clear them.

There is no account and no server-side copy, so there's nothing for us to keep or for you to request deletion of.

10Your rights

Depending on where you live, including under the Philippine Data Privacy Act of 2012, the GDPR or similar laws, you may have the right to access, correct or delete personal data held about you. Because Switchboard doesn't hold personal data anywhere but your own Mac, you can exercise these rights directly in the app or by deleting its files. For anything else, contact us and we'll respond.

11Children's privacy

Switchboard is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children; as described above, the app doesn't collect personal information from anyone.

12Changes to this policy

If this policy changes, the updated version will be posted at this address with a new effective date. If a change meaningfully affects what data leaves your Mac, we'll say so in the app's release notes. Continued use of the app after a change means you accept the updated policy.

13Contact

Questions about privacy? Email [email protected]. It goes straight to Jan.