Duplicate Files: Local Cleanup · Privacy Policy

Data Collection and Local Processing

Duplicate detection, file hashing, and similarity analysis run on your Mac. The app does not automatically send your photos, videos, file contents, file paths, scan results, cleanup reports, or diagnostic logs to the developer or the developer's servers.

No account registration is required. The app uses no advertising, tracking, third-party analytics, or automatic crash-reporting SDKs. We do not sell scan data or use it for advertising or user profiling. Apple services, cloud destinations you choose, and information you voluntarily provide to support are described below.

Local Data and Its Purposes

• Scan-history snapshots and cleanup reports support reviewing results, checking failed items, and restoring eligible files. They may contain file paths, metadata such as size and timestamps, scan statistics, duplicate groups, and cleanup results. These user-facing files are normally saved in the Reports & History Folder you choose.
• If that folder is not configured or is temporarily unavailable, automatic scan-history snapshots are saved locally in Application Support/FindDuplicateFiles/ScanHistory.
• If the report folder is unavailable during cleanup, the app saves an internal recovery report in Application Support/FindDuplicateFiles/CleanupReports to preserve operation, failure, and restore information.
• Preferences, report paths, history indexes, and folder-access bookmarks are stored locally to remember settings and reopen authorized locations. A cleanup-report trust index also stores report paths, integrity digests, and restore authorization information.
• Internal hash caches, media-analysis caches, and the scan database help speed up scans, display results, and resume unfinished scans. They may contain file paths or Photos asset identifiers, metadata, hashes, scan rules, states, and checkpoints. They may be stored in Application Support/FindDuplicateFiles.

Here, Application Support means the user's local application-support directory, normally inside the app container for the sandboxed Mac App Store version. This internal data supports on-device features and is not automatically sent to the developer.

Cleanup Transactions and Recovery Records

To handle interruptions, failures, and recovery, the app saves local cleanup-transaction journals and checkpoints in Application Support/FindDuplicateFiles/CleanupTransactions. They may include original, target, and staging paths; file sizes, identities or hashes; access bookmarks; operation progress, states, and errors.

Normally completed or recovered transaction records are removed during subsequent journal maintenance. Records awaiting recovery, a disconnected disk, or manual review, evidence retained after manual review, and damaged records may remain. They have no fixed automatic expiry in days.

File Access and Photos Library

File scans use folders you explicitly choose, drag in, or previously authorize and save. Reports, moves, and restores use locations you authorize for those operations. Delete and move operations require your confirmation.

After macOS Photos permission is granted, Photos Library mode reads assets through PhotoKit for duplicate and similarity analysis. Library scanning is read-only within the app: this mode does not move, trash, or delete library assets.

iCloud, Cloud Files, and External Services

When scanning iCloud Photos, the app may allow PhotoKit to download thumbnails or original assets for local analysis. Reading placeholder files in your selected iCloud Drive or other cloud-storage folders may also cause macOS or the relevant file service to download their contents.

If you choose iCloud Drive, another synced folder, a shared location, or a network disk for reports, exports, or move destinations, those services may sync, transmit, or make the files available to others who can access that location. This depends on the location and service settings you choose.

The app does not upload this content to the developer's servers for scanning. Website, privacy-policy, Apple-terms, and support-email links open through the system browser or mail app. Those services handle network requests or information you submit under their own privacy policies.

Purchases and Subscriptions

Product queries, purchases, subscriptions, and restoring purchases are handled by Apple StoreKit and may require a connection to Apple services. The app reads verified product and entitlement information provided by Apple, such as product identifiers and expiration or revocation status, to unlock features. Scan records may include whether Pro access was available when the scan ran.

The app does not store card details or payment credentials or submit transactions to a developer-operated server for verification. Apple's processing of purchases and related account information is covered by the Apple Privacy Policy.

Retention

• Scan-history snapshots are retained up to the app's configured record-count limit. Versions with history-retention settings let you view, preview, and confirm changes in the Reports panel. When new history exceeds the limit, the app attempts to delete older snapshots it manages and can safely locate. Offline, inaccessible, or unverified files may remain.
• The cleanup-report trust index also has a record-count limit. Trimming this index does not delete the report files, but may affect their eligibility for in-app restore. Actual limits and available settings depend on your installed version.
• Cleanup reports, ordinary reports, settings exports, and diagnostic bundles have no automatic expiry in days and are managed by you. Cleanup-transaction records follow the recovery rules above.
• Run records in the internal scan database, preferences, and authorization information may persist for later use; they are not all governed by the history-snapshot limit. Caches may be cleared by the app's capacity management or maintenance you initiate. The option to remove cache older than 30 days applies to older hash-cache entries, not an automatic retention period for all local data.

Deleting Data and Withdrawing Permission

• You can maintain scan caches in the Reports panel and adjust history limits in versions that provide those settings. Clearing scan caches does not also delete all scan-run records, history snapshots, cleanup reports, preferences, access bookmarks, or transaction-recovery records.
• Use Finder to delete reports, settings exports, and diagnostic bundles from folders you choose. Moved or quarantined files are also managed by you in their destination folders.
• Removing a folder from the scan list removes the access authorization saved in the current scan configuration. Bookmarks retained to restore earlier cleanup operations may remain in their recovery records. You can adjust Photos and system-managed file-access permissions in macOS System Settings → Privacy & Security. Withdrawing permission does not automatically delete saved data.

To remove data inside the app container, first address unfinished cleanup or recovery tasks and quit the app. Then use Finder's Go to Folder to locate ~/Library/Containers/com.chengjinfang.findduplicatefiles/ and remove that app container. This removes its databases, caches, history and recovery records, preferences, and saved authorization, and may prevent restoring earlier operations. Non-sandboxed or older installations may also use ~/Library/Application Support/FindDuplicateFiles/.

Reports and moved or quarantined files in external folders, cloud-service copies, system-managed permissions or logs, and transactions managed by Apple must be managed separately. Removing the app or its container does not remove all of these. The developer cannot remotely access or delete local data for you, but can help you locate it through the email below.

Logs, Reports, and Diagnostic Exports

App logs and diagnostics are handled locally by default; exports are initiated by you. Ordinary scan or review reports may contain actual file names, paths, metadata, and references to images on your Mac.

Redacted support summaries replace file paths and remove thumbnail references. Diagnostic bundles may include the app version, scan statistics, operating state, Pro status, selected settings, and logs or errors with path substitutions. Redaction does not guarantee complete anonymity: other text or metadata may still identify you or your files.

Exporting does not automatically send files to the developer. Review the contents before sharing and choose whether to send them by email or another method.

Contacting Support Voluntarily

If you email support, we receive your email address, message, and any reports, screenshots, or diagnostic files you choose to attach. This information is used to respond, troubleshoot, and perform necessary follow-up reviews; it is not used for advertising or sold.

Support information is retained for as long as needed to handle the request, necessary follow-up reviews, or applicable legal obligations. You may use the same email address to request access, correction, or deletion of information you provided. We will verify and process the request and explain any information that must be retained by law. When scan content stays on your Mac, the developer has no server copy of it.

Policy Updates and Contact

This policy may be updated as app features or data practices change. The last-updated date will be shown on this page.

Developer: Jinfang Cheng (程锦方)
Support and privacy contact: support@chengjinfang.com