Privacy Policy

Effective date: June 15, 2026

Outpost Beacon is a macOS menu bar application developed by Mike Cherry. This policy explains what data the app handles and how it is stored.

Data Collection

Outpost Beacon does not collect, transmit, or share any personal data. The app has no user accounts, no analytics, no telemetry, and no advertising.

Data Stored on Your Device

All data created by Outpost Beacon stays on your Mac:

• Preferences — settings such as your refresh interval and notification preferences are stored in the app's local UserDefaults container.
• Uptime history — if you enable uptime logging, service health records and response times are stored in a local SQLite database at ~/Library/Application Support/Outpost Beacon/uptime.sqlite.
• Check scripts — your custom JavaScript check scripts are stored locally at ~/Library/Application Support/Outpost Beacon/checks/.

None of this data is sent to the developer or any third party.

Network Activity

Outpost Beacon makes outbound network requests in these situations:

• Service health checks — the app connects to URLs and hosts that you configure in your check scripts (e.g., status pages, HTTP endpoints, TCP ports). These requests are made directly from your device; no proxy or intermediary server is involved.
• AI script assistant — this optional, off-by-default feature drafts a check script from a description you type. When you use the on-device model (Apple Intelligence), the text is processed entirely on your Mac and nothing leaves your device. If you instead configure your own AI server (such as a local or remote OpenAI-compatible/Ollama endpoint), the description you enter is sent to the server you chose. The developer does not operate any AI service and never receives your prompts or generated scripts.

The app does not operate any servers and does not receive any data from your device. Software updates are delivered through the Mac App Store; the app does not contact the developer to check for updates.

Third-Party Services

Outpost Beacon does not integrate any third-party SDKs, analytics frameworks, or advertising networks. The app contacts only the endpoints you configure yourself — the hosts in your check scripts and, if you enable the AI script assistant, the AI server you specify.

macOS Permissions

The app runs in the macOS App Sandbox and requests only:

• Outgoing network connections — required to perform the service health checks you configure.
• User-selected file access — required to export uptime reports (CSV/PDF) to a location you choose via a save dialog.

The app may also request permission to deliver macOS notifications if you enable status change alerts.

Children's Privacy

Outpost Beacon is a general-purpose utility and does not knowingly collect any information from anyone, including children under 13.

Changes to This Policy

If this policy is updated, the revised version will be posted at this URL with a new effective date. Because the app collects no data, material changes are unlikely.