MacPipAnswer
What does Clacky send over the internet?
Clacky sends a small anonymous check-in once a day, checks for updates and your licence, sends a one-way Mac ID once for the free trial, and shares anonymous usage stats only if you say yes.
It never sends which keys you press, any text, your screen, app, window or file names, or where you click. Recordings and screenshots are never uploaded.
Every request, in one table
This is everything the Mac app sends on its own, from the privacy page (updated 5 November 2026 for Clacky 2.7.18).
| What | When | What it carries | Can you turn it off? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily check-in | Once a day while Clacky runs | A random ID made for this alone, the Clacky and macOS versions, and trial, licensed or locked | No. It says nothing about what you do |
| Update check | About once an hour, and shortly after launch or wake | A plain request for clacky.app/appcast.xml, with your IP address and app version like any web request | Yes, the Automatic updates switch in Settings |
| Licence | When you activate, then about once a day | Your key and your Mac's model name (like MacBook Air (M1, 2020)) to Polar. clacky.app keeps only a one-way hash of the key | No, but being offline never locks a paid key |
| Trial check | The first time Clacky opens | An anonymous one-way ID of your Mac, never the serial number | Not asked once a key is active |
| First-open count | Once | Just one more in a daily total, and that the permission step worked | No |
| Usage stats | About every 15 minutes and when you quit, only if you said yes | A random install ID, versions, events from a fixed list, daily totals of clicks, scrolls and key presses | Yes, Settings → Share anonymous usage stats |
Only when you use them
These go online only after you choose to use them.
- Friends: nothing is sent until you press Turn on Friends. Then our server keeps a random ID, your @username, your friends and your Blip’s card (name, look, level, streak, badges). Turning Friends off deletes it.
- The Bazaar and creator packs in Clackyland: they go online only when you use them. Unlocking a creator pack sends its key to Polar to check it, like your licence key.
- Boop Support: your message is stored and emailed to Justinas only when you press Send. Your email is added only if you type it.
- Ask Boop: your question goes to Anthropic, the company that makes the Claude AI model, to write the answer. The privacy page says Anthropic doesn’t use it to train its models.
What Clacky never sends
These never leave your Mac, whatever you switch on.
- Which keys you press, or any text you write.
- Your screen, your recordings, screenshots or captions.
- App names, window names, file names, or where you click.
- Audio or speech. Captions are made on your Mac with Apple’s on-device speech recognition.
- Your licence key in the usage stats, your email or your name.
How to check it yourself
Two places on your own Mac show you what goes out.
- In Clacky, open Settings → General → More options → Every event Clacky can send. It lists every usage stats event and every value it can have, with a Copy button.
- Open Activity Monitor, pick the Network tab and find Clacky. The Sent Bytes column shows how much it sends.
- To stop the usage stats, switch off Share anonymous usage stats in Settings. The daily check-in is separate and has no switch.
How long it is kept
Our server adds your country from the connection and never stores the IP address. Usage events are deleted after 400 days. The daily check-in keeps one entry per Mac per day for 400 days, which is how we know how many Macs use Clacky.
Payments and licence keys are handled by Polar. Polar shares your email and order details with us so we can provide your licence and help you. See Polar’s privacy policy.
Questions
Can I stop Clacky going online at all?
Does Clacky sell my data?
Is the usage stats ID linked to my licence or email?
Does the Mac app send my email?
Facts checked on 5 November 2026.
Related
- Does Clacky work offline?Yes. Sounds, the ripple, the recorder, captions and screenshots work offline, and a paid licence never locks offline. Activation needs a connection.
- Does Clacky count my clicks and key presses?Yes, on your Mac only. Clacky keeps private counts of clicks, scrolls and key presses for its Stats. It never stores which keys you press.
- Is Clacky safe to install?Yes. Clacky is signed and notarized by Apple, needs one permission for its sounds, and never records, stores or sends which keys you type.
- PrivacyWhat Clacky does and never does, and every request it makes.
- How does Clacky update, and do updates cost extra?Clacky updates itself: it downloads new versions in the background and installs them when you are away. Every update is included in the $4.99 price.
- PrivacyKeyboard sounds listen for key down and up only and never record, store or send which keys you type, and Clacky respects Secure Input. Screenshots, recordings and captions stay on your Mac. Anonymous usage stats you can switch off.
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