YEN

Privacy & Cookie Policy

YEN is built on a simple principle: your data is yours. The desktop app sends no terminal content or desktop usage telemetry to YEN. No account is required for local terminal usage, and there is no YEN cloud sync for your terminal state. Network features and the website use the limited services described below.

Last updated: August 20, 2026

Desktop Application

What we collect

YEN does not collect terminal content, shell history, files, settings, or desktop usage analytics. The desktop app only contacts external services for explicit product functions:

  • Update checks — when you manually check for updates or enable automatic Sparkle checks, YEN requests update metadata from yen.chat. Standard update requests can include app version and macOS version.
  • Native browser — when you open a URL in YEN Browser, WebKit connects directly to the site you selected. YEN uses a non-persistent WebKit data store and does not receive your browsing activity.

Speech-to-text

Voice dictation uses Apple's macOS Speech frameworks. YEN does not receive audio or transcripts and does not run a YEN speech service. On macOS 26 or newer, YEN uses Apple's on-device SpeechAnalyzer. On older versions, YEN requests on-device recognition when Apple reports support; otherwise Apple's Speech framework can use Apple's network service. Apple controls its processing and speech assets.

Configuration

Your settings are stored locally at ~/Library/Application Support/com.yenchat.yen/config.yen. This file never leaves your machine.

Website (yen.chat)

The YEN website uses:

  • Vercel Analytics — privacy-focused website analytics that do not use cookies. Vercel processes page, referrer, device, browser, operating-system, and country-level data for this service.
  • Vercel Speed Insights — anonymous performance metrics such as route, web vitals, browser, device type, device OS, network class, and country.
  • Download notices — successful non-prefetch, non-bot visits to /download may send an owner notification through Resend with the release filename, download source, referrer, user agent, timestamp, and coarse Vercel edge location context such as city, region, country, and timezone.
  • Download counts — so we can tell how many people actually download YEN, each visit to /download is recorded in our own database with the release version, which link on the site sent you, referrer, coarse Vercel edge location (city, region, country, timezone), user agent, and IP address. Most requests to a public download link are automated, so each record is also marked as likely-bot or not. The identifying fields — IP address, user agent, and referrer — are erased automatically after 30 days. The timestamp, release, source, bot classification, and coarse location remain for historical aggregate reporting. This data is never sold and is used for security, download measurement, and internal growth summaries.

We do not use advertising trackers, remarketing pixels, or any third-party analytics beyond the above.

Cookies

What we don't use

  • No Google Analytics
  • No Facebook Pixel or Meta tracking
  • No advertising cookies or retargeting
  • No cross-site tracking scripts
  • No consent banner because YEN does not set non-essential cookies

Desktop app

The YEN desktop application does not use cookies, local storage, or any web-based tracking mechanism. It is a native macOS application that does not embed a web view for analytics.

Managing cookies

You can clear or block cookies through your browser settings. Since we don't rely on cookies for functionality, this won't affect your experience on yen.chat.

Third Parties

YEN does not sell personal data, run ads, operate affiliate programs, or use your data to train AI models. Limited request data is shared only with the service providers needed to host the website, serve downloads and updates, and measure anonymous website performance.

Service Providers and External Services

YEN uses the following services for limited product functions:

  • Apple macOS Speech — local speech recognition and language-asset management by macOS.
  • Sparkle — embedded macOS update framework that checks YEN appcast metadata.
  • Vercel — Next.js app hosting, edge delivery, Web Analytics, and Speed Insights for yen.chat.
  • Supabase — hosted YEN release downloads, and the database holding the download-count records described above.
  • Resend — owner-only download notification email for successful public app downloads, and the owner-only weekly download-count summary.
  • Cloudflare — DNS and mail-forwarding routing.

Retention and Security

Raw download IP addresses, user agents, and referrers are redacted after 30 days. Aggregate download fields remain for trend reporting. Provider logs and analytics follow each provider's retention terms.

YEN limits the download database to write-only public access and restricts reporting access to the operator. No security measure is perfect, but YEN uses access controls and data minimization to reduce risk.

Your Privacy Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to request access, correction, deletion, restriction, or a copy of personal data, and to object to or appeal certain processing. YEN does not sell or share personal data for cross-context behavioral advertising.

Email support@yen.chat to make a request. Include enough detail to locate the relevant record. YEN may need to verify your request and may retain information when law requires it.

Children's Privacy

YEN is not directed to children under 13 and does not knowingly collect their personal information. Contact YEN if you believe a child has provided personal information through the website.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy as YEN evolves. Changes will be reflected on this page with an updated date. For significant changes, we'll note them in our blog.

Contact

YEN is operated by 8BIT, the repository copyright holder. Email support@yen.chat with privacy questions or requests.