← Back to Home

Privacy Policy

Last updated: February 10, 2026

The Short Version

Chargy collects absolutely no personal data. Nothing leaves your Mac. There are no analytics, no telemetry, no crash reporting, no update checking, and no network activity of any kind. We believe battery management software should protect your privacy just as much as it protects your battery.

1. Information We Do Not Collect

Chargy does not collect, store, transmit, or process any personal data whatsoever. Specifically, the application:

  • Does not make any outbound or inbound network connections
  • Does not contain analytics, tracking, or advertising code
  • Does not use cookies, web beacons, pixels, or similar tracking technologies
  • Does not collect crash reports or diagnostic data
  • Does not phone home for update checks or license verification
  • Does not require an account, sign-in, email, or any form of registration
  • Does not access your contacts, calendar, photos, location, or any personal files
  • Does not collect hardware identifiers, serial numbers, or device fingerprints for transmission
  • Does not include any form of keylogging, screen capture, or input monitoring
  • Does not integrate with any social media platforms or sharing services

2. Data Stored Locally on Your Mac

Chargy stores the following data exclusively on your local machine. This data never leaves your computer and exists solely for the application to function correctly:

2.1 User Preferences

  • Charge limit percentage (e.g. 80%)
  • Whether the charge limit feature is enabled or disabled
  • Calibration schedule settings (enabled/disabled, frequency)
  • Last calibration timestamp
  • Menu bar display mode preference (watts, percentage, voltage, etc.)
  • Launch at login setting
  • One-time alert dismissal flags

These are stored in macOS UserDefaults (the standard macOS preferences system) at ~/Library/Preferences/ and in a JSON configuration file at /Library/Application Support/Chargy/config.json.

2.2 Power History Database

  • Timestamped power readings (system wattage)
  • Battery percentage at each reading
  • Charging state (charging/discharging/idle)
  • CPU usage percentage at each reading
  • Aggregated minute-level and hour-level averages

This data is stored in a local SQLite database at ~/Library/Application Support/Chargy/history.db. Data is automatically pruned: raw readings are kept for 2 hours, minute averages for 48 hours, and hourly averages for 30 days. This data powers the history charts and daily energy consumption calculation.

2.3 Daemon Communication Files

  • status.json: Written by the daemon, read by the app. Contains current battery percentage, charging inhibition state, calibration status, and a timestamp. Does not contain any personal information.
  • config.json: Written by the app, read by the daemon. Contains charge limit settings and calibration preferences.

These files are stored at /Library/Application Support/Chargy/ and are used exclusively for local inter-process communication between the menu bar app and the background daemon.

2.4 Daemon Log File

The background daemon writes operational logs to /Library/Application Support/Chargy/daemon.log. This log contains technical information such as SMC key states, charging actions taken, calibration phase transitions, and error messages. The log file is automatically truncated at 1MB to prevent unbounded growth. It does not contain personal information.

3. Hardware and System Access

3.1 System Management Controller (SMC)

Chargy requires a privileged helper daemon running as root to read from and write to the System Management Controller (SMC). The SMC is a hardware controller in your Mac that manages power, thermal, and charging subsystems. Chargy accesses the following types of SMC keys:

  • Charging control keys (e.g. CHTE, CH0B, CH0C): To enable or disable battery charging
  • Adapter control keys (e.g. CHIE, CH0I, CH0J): To enable or disable the power adapter for active battery drain
  • MagSafe LED key (ACLC): To set the MagSafe connector LED color for visual status indication

The daemon does not read or write any other SMC keys. All SMC keys are restored to their factory default values when the daemon shuts down or is uninstalled.

3.2 IOKit (Battery Information)

The menu bar app reads battery information from macOS IOKit services (AppleSmartBattery). This includes:

  • Current and maximum battery capacity (mAh)
  • Design capacity (original capacity when new)
  • Cycle count
  • Instantaneous voltage and amperage
  • Battery temperature
  • Charging state and power source information
  • System-estimated time remaining

This data is read locally from the operating system's power management subsystem and is never transmitted externally.

3.3 Process Information

Chargy reads the top 5 processes by CPU usage (process name and CPU percentage only) using the system ps command. This is used to estimate per-process power consumption. Only the process name and CPU percentage are read — no process arguments, file paths, user information, or other details are accessed.

3.4 Administrator Privileges

Installing or uninstalling the background daemon requires a one-time administrator password prompt. This is handled by macOS through a standard AppleScript authorization dialog. Chargy does not store, cache, or log your administrator password.

4. AI Efficiency Scoring

Chargy includes an AI-based efficiency scoring algorithm that evaluates your current power usage patterns and provides recommendations. This algorithm:

  • Runs entirely on your local machine
  • Uses only locally collected power data (wattage, battery state, CPU load)
  • Does not send data to any external AI service, cloud API, or remote server
  • Does not use machine learning models that require internet connectivity
  • Does not profile your application usage or browsing habits

5. Website and Contact Forms

This website (chargy.app) is separate from the Chargy application itself.

5.1 Contact and Bug Report Forms: If you voluntarily submit a contact form or bug report through our website, we collect the information you provide (name, email, message, and any technical details you include). This data is stored on our web server and used solely to respond to your inquiry or investigate reported issues.

5.2 Web Server Logs: Like most websites, our web server may automatically log standard request information (IP address, browser user agent, pages visited, timestamps). These logs are used only for server maintenance and security monitoring, and are not used for tracking or profiling.

5.3 No Cookies: This website does not use cookies, local storage, or any client-side tracking mechanisms.

6. Third-Party Services

The Chargy application does not integrate with, communicate with, or transmit data to any third-party services, APIs, servers, CDNs, or cloud platforms. The application is entirely self-contained.

This website may use third-party hosting infrastructure to serve static files. No user tracking is performed through these services.

7. Data Retention and Deletion

Since Chargy stores all data locally on your Mac, you have complete control over your data at all times:

  • Power history: Automatically pruned (raw data: 2 hours, minute data: 48 hours, hourly data: 30 days)
  • Daemon logs: Automatically truncated at 1MB
  • Complete deletion: Use the built-in "Full Uninstall" feature in Settings to remove all application data, preferences, history, daemon files, and the app itself in one click
  • Manual deletion: You can manually delete any stored files at any time from the file paths listed in Section 2

8. Data Security

Local data files use standard macOS file permissions. The daemon configuration directory uses appropriate permissions to allow communication between the user-level app and root-level daemon. No encryption is applied to local data files as they contain no sensitive personal information — only technical battery and power metrics.

9. Children's Privacy

Chargy does not collect data from anyone, including children under the age of 13 (or the applicable age in your jurisdiction). No personal information is collected, processed, or stored regardless of the user's age. The application does not contain any age-gated content or features.

10. International Users

Since Chargy does not collect or transmit any data, there are no cross-border data transfers to consider. All data remains on your local machine regardless of your geographic location. This policy applies equally to users worldwide.

11. Your Rights

Under various data protection regulations (including GDPR, CCPA, and similar laws), you may have rights regarding your personal data such as access, correction, deletion, portability, and the right to object to processing. Since Chargy does not collect any personal data, these rights are satisfied by default — there is no personal data to access, correct, delete, or port.

For data submitted through our website contact forms, you may request deletion by contacting us. We will honor such requests promptly.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the application or applicable laws. When we make changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this page periodically. Continued use of the application after changes constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

Given our fundamental commitment to zero data collection, material changes to this policy are unlikely.

13. Contact

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or Chargy's data practices, please contact us: