Privacy Policy

Last updated: March 4, 2026

Shepherd ("we", "our", or "the app") is a macOS application that monitors application windows for user-specified keywords. We are committed to protecting your privacy. This policy explains what data we collect, how we use it, and your rights.

1. Data We Collect

Screen Content: When you configure a Watcher, Shepherd captures text content from the monitored window solely to detect your specified keywords. This content is processed locally on your Mac. When a keyword is matched, the relevant text snippet is sent to our cloud relay service to deliver your alert.

Alert Data: When a keyword match occurs, we transmit the following to our relay server:

• Watcher name and trigger keyword
• Window title of the monitored application
• A text snippet of the surrounding terminal or window content
• Severity level and issue type

No Personal Information: We do not collect your name, email address, Apple ID, IP address for tracking, or any personal identifiers. The app does not require account registration.

2. How We Use Your Data

• Alert Delivery: Alert data is relayed to your configured Telegram chat so you can be notified of keyword matches.
• Remote Monitoring Data: Captured terminal snippets, watcher state, and action history are stored only to power remote supervision, notifications, and replay inside Shepherd.
• Ephemeral Storage: Alert events are stored temporarily (up to 24 hours) in Cloudflare's edge cache to power the web dashboard. They are automatically purged after expiry.

3. Data Sharing

We do not sell, rent, or share your data with any third parties for marketing or advertising purposes. Data is only transmitted to:

• Cloudflare Workers: Our relay service runs on Cloudflare's infrastructure to process and deliver alerts.
• Telegram Bot API: Alert messages are delivered through Telegram's API to your designated chat.

4. Data Retention

Alert events are cached for a maximum of 24 hours and then automatically deleted. We do not maintain any long-term database of your monitoring data. Instruction queues (your remote commands) expire within 5 minutes.

5. Accessibility Permissions

Shepherd requires macOS Accessibility permission to read text content from application windows. This permission is used exclusively for keyword monitoring and is never used to capture passwords, keystrokes, or content outside your designated Watcher windows.

6. Security

All communication between the Shepherd app and our relay service is encrypted via HTTPS. Authentication is performed using a shared secret key stored in your macOS Keychain. We use industry-standard security practices to protect data in transit and at rest.

7. Your Rights

• You can stop monitoring at any time by pausing or deleting a Watcher.
• You can remove all cached data by simply not triggering any alerts — events expire automatically within 24 hours.
• You can revoke Accessibility permissions at any time in System Settings > Privacy & Security.
• You can uninstall Shepherd at any time, which immediately stops all data collection.

8. Children's Privacy

Shepherd is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect data from children.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes will be reflected on this page with an updated revision date. Continued use of the app after changes constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

10. Contact

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at dev@dzgapp.com.