Privacy Policy for Media Library Companion
Media Library Companion has no network code of any kind. Nothing you do in the app leaves your Mac.
Media Library Companion is a macOS app that reads your Photos library, measures how much storage each photo and video uses, and lists the largest items so you can decide what is worth moving off iCloud. It can copy the originals you select to a folder you choose, verifying every copied file. Everything happens on your Mac. This policy explains what the app does with your data — in plain language.
1. Data We Collect
None. We collect no data at all. The app contains no networking code, so there is no mechanism by which your data could reach us even in principle:
- No analytics or crash-reporting SDKs. The app includes no third-party SDKs whatsoever.
- No diagnostics reporting. Unlike many apps, Media Library Companion does not use MetricKit or any other reporting framework. We receive nothing about your usage, not even in aggregate.
- No account. There is no sign-in, no email address, no identifier of any kind.
Our App Store Connect privacy questionnaire is filed as Data Not Collected.
2. What the App Reads, and Where It Stays
To do its job the app reads information from your Photos library on your Mac:
- Photo and video metadata — filename, file size, capture date, dimensions, duration, codec, frame rate, bit rate, album membership, favorite and hidden flags, and, when an item carries one, its location coordinates.
- Titles, captions, and keywords — only if you turn on XMP sidecars for an export. These are read from the Photos app on your Mac.
- Your photo and video files themselves — only for the items you explicitly select for export, and only to copy them to the folder you chose.
All of it stays on your Mac. None of it is transmitted, uploaded, or shared with us or anyone else.
3. Data Storage
The app stores two things, both on your Mac:
- A cache of the item list, inside the app's own sandbox container, so that later launches can show your library immediately instead of re-reading it. It holds filenames, sizes, and album titles. It is deleted automatically if you revoke the app's access to Photos, and it is removed along with the app when you delete it.
- Your preferences — export options, column layout, row size — in standard macOS app settings.
Exported files go only to the folder you pick in a standard macOS save panel. The app is sandboxed and cannot write anywhere you have not pointed it.
Nothing is synced to iCloud by the app, and we operate no servers that could receive your data.
4. Photo Library Access
Media Library Companion requests Full Access to your Photos library. It needs read access to measure every item, and macOS grants read and write together as a single level.
The app never edits or deletes anything in your library. It makes exactly one kind of change, and only when you ask for it: adding items you select to an album, so you can review them in Photos. It never removes items from an album, and it never deletes a photo or video. Deleting is something you do yourself, in Photos.
The app never downloads from iCloud. Every request it makes to Photos has network access explicitly disabled. Items whose originals live only in iCloud are shown as not on this Mac and are skipped by export, rather than being quietly downloaded at your expense.
You control this access in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Photos and can change or revoke it at any time.
5. Automation Access
The app asks for permission to control the Photos app the first time you use Show in Photos, or export with XMP sidecars turned on. macOS shows its own prompt. This permission is used only to ask Photos to reveal an item you selected, and to read that item's title, caption, and keywords. It is never used to change anything in Photos.
You control this in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Automation.
6. Third-Party Services
There are none. Media Library Companion uses only Apple's own frameworks, all of them running locally on your Mac.
| Framework | Purpose | Runs |
|---|---|---|
| PhotoKit | Reading your library's items, their sizes, and their files | On your Mac |
| AVFoundation | Reading codec, frame rate, and bit rate from video files | On your Mac |
| CryptoKit | SHA-256 checksums that verify every exported file | On your Mac |
7. Your Rights & Controls
Access: All your photos and videos live in the Photos app. You can view, export, or delete them there at any time.
Deletion: Deleting the app removes its cache and preferences. Your photos and videos are untouched and remain in Photos. Any files you exported remain in the folder you chose, and are yours to keep or delete. We hold no copies of anything.
Security: The app is sandboxed and runs with the hardened runtime. Your library is protected by macOS at rest. Because no network requests are made with your data, there is no transmission that could be intercepted.
GDPR (EU): If you are in the European Economic Area, you have the right to access, rectify, erase, and port your data, and to object to or restrict processing. Because we collect and store no personal data, there is nothing for us to access, export, or delete on your behalf. To ask questions, contact us at the email below.
CCPA (California): If you are a California resident, you have the right to know what personal information we collect and to request deletion. We collect no personal information and sell none.
8. Children's Privacy
Media Library Companion is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 — we collect no personal information from anyone. The app is a general-audience utility, in compliance with COPPA.
9. Data Security
Because we collect and transmit nothing, there is no data of yours on our systems that could be breached. On your Mac, your library is protected by macOS storage encryption and by the app sandbox, which limits the app to your Photos library and to folders you explicitly choose.
10. Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy to reflect changes in the app or the law. We will note material changes by updating the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page and, where appropriate, in the App Store release notes.
11. Contact
For privacy questions or to exercise your rights, contact us at: [email protected]