Privacy

This policy explains how Elsewhen ("we", "us") handles your information. This policy covers the Elsewhen desktop app and this website. Questions: support@elsewhenapp.com.

The app

Your projects

Your books, codex, maps and notes are saved as files on your computer, in the folder you choose. We never receive them. Backups are kept on your computer too, and also in a second folder if you pick one (for example a OneDrive or Dropbox folder, in which case that service stores the copies).

License activation and checks

When you activate a license, and about once a week afterwards while you're online, the app sends your license key and a label for this computer (its name and your Windows user name) to Lemon Squeezy, which issues and manages our license keys. This is used to confirm the key is valid and to let you see and manage the computers it's active on. During the trial, nothing is sent.

Updates

The app checks for new versions when it starts and every few hours, and downloads them from GitHub, where our installers are published. Like any download, GitHub sees your IP address. No personal information is sent with these requests.

AI features (optional)

AI features only run when you use them. When you do, the app sends the text needed for that request, such as the passage you selected, the current scene or relevant codex notes, directly from your computer to the provider you chose, using your own API key. We never see these requests. What happens to that text is governed by that provider's terms and privacy policy, and policies differ. For example, Google's free Gemini tier may use what you send to improve its products. Local models such as Ollama and LM Studio run on your own computer, and nothing is sent anywhere.

API keys you enter are stored on your computer, encrypted with Windows' built-in data protection.

What the app doesn't do

No telemetry, usage tracking, automatic crash reporting or advertising. We don't know how often you open Elsewhen or what you write. Error messages are kept in a small log on your computer. If you choose Report a problem, Elsewhen prepares an email you can read before sending. It includes your description, the app and Windows versions and those recent error messages, but none of your projects.

This website

The site sets no cookies and runs no analytics. If you sign up for launch news, your browser remembers that on your own device so the form doesn't ask again. Our host, Cloudflare, processes visitors' IP addresses in its logs to deliver the site and protect it from abuse. The download page asks GitHub which version is the latest, so GitHub sees your IP address when you visit it.

Launch notifications

If you ask to be told when Elsewhen launches, we store your email address, the date you signed up and which page you used, in a database hosted by Cloudflare. We use it only to tell you about the launch, we never sell or share it, and we delete it if you ask. Your IP address is used for a moment to block spam signups and is not stored.

Buying Elsewhen

Purchases are handled by Lemon Squeezy, our reseller and merchant of record. Lemon Squeezy collects your payment and billing details; we never see your card number. We receive your order details (your name, email address, country and what you bought) so we can send your license key, provide support and handle refunds.

Emailing us

If you email us, we keep the conversation so we can help you, and use your address only to reply. We never sell or share it, or add it to a mailing list without asking.

How long we keep things

Order and license records are kept for as long as your license exists and as long as tax law requires. Support emails are kept for up to 2 years after the conversation ends, unless you ask us to delete them sooner.

Your rights

You can ask us what personal information we hold about you, and ask us to correct or delete it, by emailing support@elsewhenapp.com. Depending on where you live (for example in the EU, the UK or California), the law may give you further rights, and you may complain to your local data protection authority.

Children

Elsewhen isn't directed at children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect their personal information.

Changes

If this policy changes, we'll update the date at the top of this page. If a change is significant, we'll also mention it in the app's release notes.