Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Paster (“Paster,” “the App,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), developed by Vedansh Danot, handles information when you download, purchase, install, and use the Paster desktop application for Windows 10 & 11 or visit our official website.

We believe that your clipboard contains some of your most sensitive personal and professional data. That is why Paster is engineered as a local-first, privacy-by-design desktop software.

1. Local-First Storage Architecture

All clipboard history items, metadata, color swatches, snippet templates, and screenshot archives are processed and saved locally on your Windows PC inside a SQLite database located at:

We do not operate remote user databases, cloud clipboard sync servers, or external storage buckets. Your data never leaves your computer.

2. Data Processed Locally by Paster

Paster processes and manages the following data types locally within your Windows environment:

• Copied Text & Code: Plain text, markdown, rich text (HTML/RTF), and code snippets with syntax classification.
• Visual Assets & Screenshots: Copied bitmap images, screenshots, and visual clips.
• Color Codes: HEX, RGB, and HSL color values detected from copied clips or sampled via the built-in color picker.
• File References: Local file paths copied to the Windows clipboard for quick re-use.
• On-Device OCR Extracted Text: Text extracted locally from images and screenshots so you can search visual clippings.
• Organization Data: Pinned clips, custom collections/tags, quick snippet templates, and user preferences.
• Local Metadata: Source application executable names (e.g. code.exe, chrome.exe) and timestamps.

3. Windows Native Clipboard Monitoring

Paster listens to Windows clipboard update events using native Win32 system APIs (AddClipboardFormatListener). You have complete control over clipboard capture:

• Pause / Resume: Instantly pause clipboard monitoring via system tray menu or hotkey.
• Ignored Apps (Blacklist): Prevent Paster from capturing clipboard content copied from specific apps.
• Manual Capture Mode: Configure Paster to record items only when explicitly commanded.

4. 100% On-Device Optical Character Recognition (OCR)

All OCR processing is performed 100% locally on your PC’s CPU/GPU using native Windows Media OCR engines (Windows.Media.Ocr).

No image bytes or extracted text are ever transmitted to third-party AI APIs, cloud vision services, or remote machine-learning servers.

5. Privacy Guard & Sensitive Content Protection

• Password Manager Exclusion: Paster automatically suppresses clipboard copies originating from known password managers (such as 1Password, Bitwarden, KeePass, LastPass, Windows Credential Manager) and private/incognito browser sessions.
• Sensitive Pattern Recognition: Paster includes pattern detection to suppress auth tokens, API keys, private keys, `.env` file contents, and credit card numbers from being permanently logged.
• Custom Blacklists: Add any custom application executable to the Ignored Apps list in Paster Settings at any time.

6. Data Retention, Control, & Complete Deletion

• Auto-Pruning Limits: Set automatic history expiration limits (e.g., retain items for 7 days, 30 days, 90 days, or indefinitely).
• Individual & Category Deletion: Delete single clips or clear entire categories directly from the interface.
• One-Click Database Purge: Clear your entire local database with a single button in Settings.
• Uninstallation: Deleting the %APPDATA%\Paster directory permanently removes all history from your hard drive.

7. License Verification & Payments (Polar.sh)

Paster is sold as a one-time purchase. Payments, checkout processing, and invoices are handled securely by Polar.sh. We do not store your credit card or financial credentials.

When activating your license key, Paster connects to the Polar.sh API solely to validate your key and seat count using an anonymized one-way hardware hash. No personal files, user names, or clipboard contents are ever transmitted.

8. Software Updates & Zero Telemetry

No Telemetry Policy: Paster does not include third-party tracking beacons, session recordings, analytics SDKs, or advertising code.

Update Checks: Paster periodically queries official release endpoints (e.g. GitHub Releases) to check for new versions. These requests transmit only standard client HTTP headers (current version number and OS architecture).

9. Contact Us Regarding Privacy

If you have any questions or suggestions regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact: