Privacy

OctoEdit is a desktop text editor that runs on your own computer. We built it to stay out of your way — and that includes your data. We don't run analytics, we don't track you, and nothing you write leaves your machine unless you deliberately send it.

Who is responsible

The controller of the personal data described on this page is Krzysztof Hawrylewicz, operating as 7-bits, the maker of OctoEdit. For anything concerning your personal data write to privacy@octoedit.com; for everything else, hello@octoedit.com.

Long story short

The editor has no accounts, no telemetry and no “phone home”. There are only two situations where data can leave your computer, and both are entirely your choice:

• Crash reports that you review and send yourself.
• The AI assistant and third-party plugins, if you enable them — these can send your text to outside services that we don't control.

Separately from the editor, we process the data you give us when you order or request a licence or send a form on this website. Each case is described below.

What the editor collects

Nothing, automatically. OctoEdit does not create an account for you, does not measure how you use it, and does not send usage statistics anywhere. Your files, settings and edits stay on your device.

Crash reports

If the editor crashes and crash reporting is enabled, the next time you launch it you'll be shown a report and asked what to do — send, save or discard. Nothing is ever sent without your action.

• You see the full contents of the report before anything happens.
• File paths are reduced to file names before you even see the report, so your folder layout and user name aren't included.
• Sending goes through your own email program, so you stay in control of exactly what is sent, and to whom.
• A report contains a technical description of the crash (where in the program it happened, the build and version) and a short tail of the editor's diagnostic log.

Reports you choose to send reach us at crash-reports@octoedit.com and are used only to find and fix the problem (our legitimate interest in keeping the software working, Article 6(1)(f) GDPR). You can ask us to delete a report you have sent — see Your rights below.

The AI assistant and third-party plugins

OctoEdit can work with an AI assistant, but only one you install and log into yourself. When you use it, the text you send (your selection, or the current document) is transmitted to whatever AI service that tool is connected to. That service is run by a third party, under its own terms and privacy policy. We do not operate it, we never see your content, and we never handle your API keys or credentials. What happens to your data there is governed by that provider — please review their policy before sending anything sensitive.

The same caution applies to any third-party plugin you install. Plugins run as part of the editor with full access to your files and network — they are powerful by design and are not sandboxed. A plugin, or even a configuration file it loads, could send data elsewhere or change things on your system. Only install plugins, themes and configuration files from sources you trust.

Licences and purchases

If you request a free Home licence or order a commercial licence, we process the personal data needed to issue, invoice and support it. This is separate from the editor itself, which never sends this data anywhere on its own.

What we ask for and why. To issue any licence we need a name or company name and an e-mail address: the name goes into the licence file and the address is where we send it. Without them a licence cannot be issued. We also ask for your country, which determines the applicable VAT, and whether you order as a company or a private person; a company in the EU gives its VAT identification number. A commercial order additionally names the edition, the number of seats and, if you wish, a seat label for each seat — typically the name of the person who will use it. If you supply someone else's name as a seat label, it is your responsibility to tell that person. Anything you write in the message field is kept with the order.

What the licence file on your computer contains: the name (or company name), the optional seat label, the e-mail address, an order reference and the purchase date, plus the licence tier, type and the covered major version. It never contains invoice data such as a tax identification number or a postal address.

What we keep in our own records (on our systems, not in the licence file): the same data, the order details, the invoice we issued, and — where needed for that invoice — your tax identification number and postal address. For orders placed through this website we also keep the request itself, including the country you selected and the country indicated by your internet connection at the moment of sending, because tax law requires us to document where a customer is located.

Legal basis: performing our contract with you (Article 6(1)(b) GDPR) and our legal obligations under tax and accounting law (Article 6(1)(c) GDPR).

How long: licence records are kept for as long as the licence is in use or supported and for the limitation period of claims that follows; invoices and the order documentation behind them are kept for the statutory retention period for tax records (five years in Poland, longer where EU VAT rules require it), even if you ask us to erase them earlier.

Payments. During the beta, orders are agreed by e-mail and paid by bank transfer, so no payment provider is involved beyond the banks. When an online checkout opens, the payment provider will be named here, together with what it receives.

Adults only. A Home licence is issued to adults; a child uses OctoEdit in the free edition or under a parent's or guardian's licence. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children.

We do not sell this data and we do not share it beyond what is needed to take payment, issue an invoice and meet our legal obligations.

This website

This site is a brochure with a few forms. Our web server keeps standard access logs (such as IP addresses) for security and troubleshooting, and the site shows a cookie notice for the cookies it uses. The anti-robot check on our forms runs in your browser, without cookies and without any third-party service.

When you send a form — a plugin idea, a licence request or an order — it is delivered to us by e-mail and kept as a record of your request, as described above. If you leave your e-mail address to be notified when purchases open in your region, we use it for that one message, on the basis of your consent, and delete it afterwards or whenever you ask. If you e-mail us, we keep your message so that we can reply — and we don't pass your details on to anyone else.

Your rights

If you are in the EU/EEA, the GDPR gives you rights over the personal data we hold — to see it, to correct it, to have it deleted, to restrict or object to its processing and to receive it in a portable form. In practice, the personal data we might hold is a crash report, a form or an e-mail you sent us, or your licensing and invoice details (see Licences and purchases above). For data-protection requests, email privacy@octoedit.com. Records we are legally required to keep cannot be deleted before their retention period ends.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. Ours is the President of the Personal Data Protection Office in Poland (Urząd Ochrony Danych Osobowych, uodo.gov.pl); you may also contact the authority of the country where you live.

Changes

OctoEdit is in public beta, so this page may change as the product does. The date below shows when it was last updated.

Last updated: 21 October 2026.