ChooseBrowser Privacy Policy
Last updated: 5 September 2026
ChooseBrowser is a macOS utility that lets you pick which installed browser opens a link. This policy describes what the app does with your data.
What the app collects
ChooseBrowser has no analytics, crash reporting, accounts or advertising. The Mac App Store version does not collect or transmit personal data. The direct-download version contacts Lemon Squeezy only to activate and periodically verify a license.
What stays on your Mac
- Links you open — When a link is routed through ChooseBrowser it is handed directly to the browser you choose. The full address is never written to disk and never leaves your Mac.
- Routing rules and preferences — Rules such as “always open this site in Firefox”, your browser order, hidden browsers, and the fallback browser are stored locally in the app’s own sandbox container on your Mac.
- Installed browsers — The app asks macOS which installed applications can open web links so it can list them. This list is never uploaded.
- Browser profiles — If you explicitly grant access to a Chromium browser’s folder, ChooseBrowser reads only the profile names so each profile can be offered as its own choice. The grant is read-only, limited to the folder you picked, and can be revoked in Settings at any time.
- Which browser you pick for a site — So the picker can put your usual browser first, ChooseBrowser stores the site's host (for example github.com, never the full address), the browser you chose, and when. This stays in the app's own container, is capped and expires on its own, and can be switched off or erased in Settings under Learning.
Sync (off unless you turn it on)
- Not through us — Sync uses your own iCloud account and Apple's private key-value storage. We operate no server for this and cannot read the data.
- What travels — Only the same small records described above: rule patterns, site hosts, chosen browsers and timestamps. Never full addresses.
- Off means removed — Turning sync off removes ChooseBrowser's copy from iCloud. What is stored on this Mac stays there until you erase it.
- Off by default — You switch it on yourself in Settings under Sync.
Network access
The Mac App Store version uses only the iCloud sync you choose to enable; macOS handles that transfer and the Mac App Store delivers updates. The direct-download version also validates licenses with Lemon Squeezy and may check GitHub's release API for updates.
Direct-download license
When you activate the direct-download version, the license key and purchase email you enter, plus a random non-identifying Mac instance label, are sent directly to Lemon Squeezy over HTTPS. Lemon Squeezy returns the order and license status. The license key and instance ID are stored in the macOS Keychain on that Mac. After a successful check, the app can continue working offline for up to seven days. ChooseBrowser operates no licensing server.
Third parties
ChooseBrowser embeds no third-party SDKs. The direct-download version uses Lemon Squeezy's license service and GitHub's release API; Lemon Squeezy handles purchases and receipts under its own terms and privacy policy. The Mac App Store version uses neither service for licensing or updates.
Children
ChooseBrowser is a general-purpose utility and is not directed at children.
Changes
If this policy changes, the updated text will be published at this URL and the date above will be revised.
Contact
Questions about this policy: see the support page
This policy is also available in other languages. If the versions differ, the English text governs.