Privacy Policy

Last updated: October 6, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains what personal data MacMeUp (“we”, “us”) collects when you use macmeup.com, the MacMeUp Community at community.macmeup.com, the MacMeUp Store and our apps (together, the “Services”), why we collect it, who we share it with, and the choices and rights you have. MacMeUp is the controller of the personal data described here.

The short version

• We collect only what we need to run the site, the Community and the Store.
• We never see your card or bank details; PayPal handles payment.
• Our apps do not upload your files or what you do on your Mac. Paid apps contact our licence server to activate and check a licence.
• We do not sell your personal data.
• You can ask us for a copy of your data, or to correct or delete it, by emailing [email protected].

1. Information you give us

• Contact form. Your name, email address, the type of enquiry and your message. Messages are emailed to us, and a copy is kept in the site's admin area so a message is not lost if email delivery fails.
• Store purchases. When you buy a licence, PayPal sends us your email address, your PayPal payer ID, the PayPal order and transaction IDs, the product, the amount and currency, and the payment status (for example, completed or refunded). We create a licence record containing your licence key, email address, product, activation limit and expiry date, if any.
• Lost-key requests. The email address you enter so we can resend your licence keys.
• Community account. Your username, display name, email address, password (stored only as a secure hash), avatar, profile details, and the discussions, posts, reactions, images and files you upload. Posts and profiles are public by default.
• Sign in with Google, Yahoo or Apple. If you choose to sign in this way, the provider shares your name, email address (or an Apple private-relay address), a provider account ID and, where available, your profile picture. We do not receive your password for those services.
• Support emails. Whatever you choose to include when you write to us.

2. Information collected automatically

• Our own site statistics. To see which pages, apps and guides are useful, our server records page views, app downloads, site searches and “page not found” errors. Each entry contains the page or file, the search term (for searches), the time, the type of referring source (for example a search engine or social site) and your approximate country. Your country is looked up from your IP address using the ip-api.com service; the IP address and its country are cached on our server for up to 90 days to avoid repeat lookups, but IP addresses are not written into the statistics logs themselves.
• Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager. We use Google Analytics 4, loaded through Google Tag Manager, to understand visitor trends such as page views, session length, device type and approximate location. Google Analytics uses cookies and similar identifiers. See section 4 for how to opt out.
• Licence activation. When you activate or check a paid licence, the app sends the licence key, the product, the app version, the name of your Mac (as set in System Settings > General > About) and a machine identifier. The machine identifier is a one-way SHA-256 hash derived from your Mac's hardware ID, so the original value cannot be read back from it. We store these with the time of first activation and last check-in so we can enforce the number of Macs a licence covers and let you free up a slot.
• Security and abuse prevention. Your IP address is used briefly to rate-limit the contact form, checkout and lost-key forms, and to stop abuse. Some forms may use Cloudflare Turnstile, which checks your browser for signs of automated traffic.
• Server logs. Like most websites, our hosting and network providers keep short-lived technical logs (IP address, browser type, requested URL and time) to deliver and secure the Services.

3. Our apps

MacMeUp apps work locally on your Mac. They do not collect your files, browsing history, or analytics about how you use them. Apps may contact the internet to:

• check for updates, which shares your IP address and the app version, as with any web request;
• activate, refresh or deactivate a paid licence, as described above; and
• download macOS installers, drivers or other resources you ask them to fetch, directly from Apple or the relevant third party.

Some apps ask for macOS permissions (such as Full Disk Access or administrator rights) because the task needs them. Those permissions are used only on your Mac and do not send data to us.

4. Cookies and local storage

The full list of cookies, with how long each lasts, is in our Cookie Policy. Google Analytics only loads after you accept it in the cookie banner.

• Essential. The Community uses session and security cookies (for example, to keep you signed in and to protect forms against cross-site request forgery). The Services cannot work properly without them.
• Preferences. The site stores small settings in your browser's local storage, such as light or dark mode. These never leave your device.
• Analytics. Google Analytics sets cookies such as _ga and _ga_*. You can block them in your browser settings, use a content blocker, or install Google's opt-out add-on at tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout. Analytics cookies are only set after you click “Accept analytics” in the cookie banner, and you can change your choice at any time with the “Cookie settings” link in the footer.

5. How we use your information

We send emails only about things you asked for, such as your licence key, support replies, and important notices about your purchase or account. We do not send marketing emails without your consent, and every marketing email will include a way to unsubscribe.

6. Who we share it with

We do not sell or rent personal data. We share it only with service providers who help us run the Services, and only as much as they need:

• PayPal: payment processing, refunds and fraud checks. PayPal acts as an independent controller of the payment data you give it; see PayPal's privacy statement.
• Cloudflare: content delivery and security for our sites, hosting of the licence server and its database, transactional email delivery for licence emails, and Turnstile bot checks.
• Google: Google Analytics and Tag Manager; Google Sign-In if you choose it.
• Yahoo and Apple: sign-in, only if you choose to use them.
• ip-api.com: converting an IP address into an approximate country for our site statistics.
• Our web hosting and email providers: hosting the site and Community, and delivering contact-form and support emails.

We may also disclose information if the law requires it, to protect our rights or the safety of others, or as part of a sale or transfer of MacMeUp's business, in which case this Policy will continue to apply to your data.

7. International transfers

Our providers may process data in the United States and other countries whose data protection laws differ from yours. Where the law requires it, transfers rely on safeguards such as the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses or the EU–U.S. Data Privacy Framework.

8. How long we keep it

• Orders and licences: for as long as the licence exists, and afterwards for as long as tax and accounting laws require.
• Activations: until you deactivate that Mac, or the licence is refunded, revoked or deleted.
• Contact-form messages: the most recent 500 messages are kept in the admin archive; older ones are deleted automatically. Email copies are kept only as long as needed to handle your request.
• Site statistics: rolling logs that keep a limited number of recent entries; older entries are deleted automatically. IP-to-country cache: up to 90 days.
• Community content: until you delete it or ask us to delete your account. Content other members have quoted may remain in their posts.
• Google Analytics: according to the retention period set in our Google Analytics account (14 months at most).

9. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:

• access the personal data we hold about you and get a copy;
• correct inaccurate data;
• delete your data;
• object to, or ask us to restrict, certain processing;
• receive your data in a portable format;
• withdraw consent at any time, where we rely on consent; and
• complain to your local data protection authority.

California and other U.S. state residents have the right to know what personal information we collect, to request deletion or correction, and not to be discriminated against for using these rights. We do not sell personal information, and we do not use it for cross-context behavioural advertising.

To use any of these rights, email [email protected]. We may need to confirm your identity first (for example, by replying from the email address on your account or order). We will answer within one month. Some data, such as order records, may have to be kept for legal reasons even after a deletion request.

10. Security

We use HTTPS throughout, store Community passwords only as salted hashes, sign licence tokens cryptographically, hash machine identifiers, and restrict admin access. No system is perfectly secure, so please use a strong, unique password and tell us at [email protected] if you notice anything suspicious.

11. Children

The Services are not directed at children under 13, and Community accounts are not available to anyone under 16 in the EEA or the UK. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children below these ages. If you believe a child has given us personal data, contact us and we will delete it.

12. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Policy as the Services change. We will post the new version here and update the “Last updated” date, and we will give additional notice of significant changes.

13. Contact

For any privacy question or request, email [email protected] or use our Contact page.

Related: Terms of Use · Privacy Policy · EULA · Refund Policy · All legal documents