What stays on the device.
Notes, chat history, and license keys are stored in a local SQLite database on the device. Local AI models, when downloaded on demand, live in the Pulse data directory. Screenshots, voice recordings, and any file dropped into a note are written to disk locally. No copy is uploaded.
The Pulse desktop app talks to Ollama running on the same machine
(typically http://127.0.0.1:11434). Prompts and
completions are exchanged only between the local Pulse process
and the local Ollama process. Nothing in that exchange reaches a
Pulse server, a third party, or any analytics endpoint.
No telemetry SDK is included in the Pulse binary. No analytics are collected. No crash reports are sent. Update checks are surfaced in-app and can be disabled in Settings; the launch-time check carries only the current version string.
What leaves the device.
License keys are validated against a Pulse server. The request contains the key and a device identifier; no note content, prompt, or model output is included. The response tells the app whether the key is active and when it expires.
For PRO subscriptions, billing is handled by Polar.sh under their privacy policy. No card data, no billing address, and no email ever reach the Pulse server. Polar.sh transmits only the subscription status back to Pulse.
The download and update infrastructure is hosted on Cloudflare R2 under their privacy policy. Source releases and issue tracking are hosted by GitHub under their privacy policy.
Third parties involved.
- Polar.sh — billing and merchant of record for PRO subscriptions. No card data passes through Pulse.
- Cloudflare — hosts the public website, the R2 download bucket, and the license validation endpoint.
- GitHub — hosts the source repositories, release artifacts, and the issue tracker.
User rights.
All user data lives on the device and can be removed at any time:
- Export — the Pulse data directory contains notes as plain Markdown and chat history as JSON. Files can be copied out without any tool.
- Delete — uninstalling Pulse and removing the Pulse data directory erases all notes, chat history, license keys, and downloaded models. The license remains valid and can be re-validated on a new device.
- Opt out of updates — update checks can be disabled in Settings. The app continues to work without checking for new versions.
Contact and data requests.
Questions, complaints, or a GDPR or CCPA request can be filed as an issue on the public GitHub repository. Response time is honest — usually a few days. No support email is published; the FAQ covers common questions.