All machine-learning analysis happens on-device using Apple's ML framework.
Private by design.
Not by policy.
Nothing goes to the cloud. Not your files, not their contents, not their names. Otlet has no permission to use the network at all, so there is no path off your Mac to close.
Check it yourself
codesign -d --entitlements - /Applications/Otlet.app
Paste that into Terminal. It lists every permission Otlet ships with, and there is no network permission in the list. The command works on any app, so try it on the tools you already use.
How privacy works
Enforced, not promised
The sandbox is macOS work, not ours. The process cannot open a connection, so your files cannot leave.
No third-party AI
Every model ships inside the app and runs on your Mac. Not our cloud, not a third party's, and not Apple's.
One channel
Otlet ships only through the App Store, so the copy on your Mac is the signed build Apple reviewed, and your check applies to every copy there is.
iCloud
Otlet has no internet permission, so how does iCloud work? Your Mac downloads the file for you, exactly as when you open it in Finder. Otlet asks macOS for the file, asks you first, and frees the space again when you finish. Nothing goes up, and nothing goes to us.
If it ever changed
The permission list would show it. We could not hide it if we wanted to.
Privacy policy
Last updated August 2026The short version: the Otlet app runs entirely on your Mac. It does not collect, transmit, or store any of your data. This website is a separate thing, and it does use analytics. We explain exactly what, below.
What Otlet accesses
Folder names and structure
To build your folder map and detect issues. Stored in a private database on your Mac.
File names and metadata
To suggest where files should go. Stored in a private database on your Mac.
File contents, text and images
To categorise files using machine learning. Processed in memory, never stored raw.
Folder access bookmarks
To remember which folders you have authorised. Stored in that private database and in Otlet's preferences file on your Mac.
Operation history
So you can undo any action. File moves live in a separate history file on your Mac; folder tidy-ups and merges live in the private database.
What Otlet does not do
No cloud uploads
No accounts
No sign-up, no login, no user profiles.
No telemetry
No usage tracking, no analytics, no crash reporting to external services.
No network calls
Zero network requests for file analysis. Downloading a file from your own iCloud is done by macOS, at your request; nothing is ever sent to us or anyone else.
No data sharing
Your files, folders, and organisation patterns are never shared with anyone.
Machine learning processing
Otlet uses six machine learning models, all running on your Mac: three of Apple's, and three we trained ourselves. Models are bundled with the app, not downloaded. Analysis happens in memory and is not kept in raw form. Otlet stores its results, and what it learns from your choices, in that private database on your Mac. Nothing leaves it. Each file is analysed independently, so the models never see your data in aggregate.
macOS security
Otlet follows Apple's security model. Sandboxed: the app can only reach folders you explicitly authorise. Security-scoped bookmarks keep that access across restarts without re-prompting. No Full Disk Access, so Otlet only sees what you give it permission to see.
Your data, your control
Undo anything
Every operation Otlet performs can be reversed, as long as the app stays installed. Undo history lives inside the app.
Revoke access
Remove any folder from Otlet's access on the Folder access screen.
Delete everything
Uninstalling never touches your own files. To remove Otlet's own data, drag the app to the Trash and delete the container folder below, which holds the database, bookmarks, preferences and history. macOS does not remove it for you. Anything Otlet has archived stays in the archive folder you chose, so you can keep it or remove it yourself.
~/Library/Containers/me.otlet.mac/Data/
This website
Everything above is about the Otlet app on your Mac. This website is separate, and it is not as private.
otlet.me uses Vercel Web Analytics. When you open a page here it records which page you looked at, the site you arrived from if any, your approximate country, and your browser, operating system and device type.
It does not use cookies. It stores no identifier on your device and cannot follow you to other websites. It cannot tell us who you are, and it never sees anything from the Otlet app on your Mac. We use it to know whether anyone is reading. That is genuinely all it is for. If you would rather not be counted, a content blocker will stop it and nothing here will break.
This site also remembers whether you prefer light or dark mode. That is stored in your own browser and never sent anywhere.
App Store
Standard App Store licensing handles purchase verification. Apple does that, not us. We have no access to your Apple Account or payment information.
Children's usage
Otlet is safe for users of all ages. All data stays on your device and we have no means to collect or access it.
Changes and contact
We may update this policy. Changes are posted on this page with a new date. Questions about privacy: privacy at otlet.me
Built to meet App Store privacy requirements