Last updated: May 7, 2026

Privacy

Minidocs is a native macOS app for writing Markdown and exporting PDFs. No account. No subscription. No analytics. There is no Minidocs server. Your documents are plain files on your Mac, optionally synced through your own iCloud Drive.

Storage

Each Minidocs project is a folder of plain files on your Mac: a Markdown source, a theme CSS file, a metadata JSON file, an images/ folder, and the exported PDF. Renaming, duplicating, and deleting a project moves the folder directly. Minidocs picks one of two locations:

• The iCloud Documents container iCloud.com.dgarhdez.minidocs, when you are signed into iCloud and the container is available. Files appear in Finder under iCloud Drive → Minidocs.
• The sandboxed local app container, when iCloud is unavailable or you choose This Mac only from the sidebar footer.

The sidebar footer shows which mode is active.

Local app preferences

Minidocs writes a small number of keys to the standard macOS UserDefaults store. They live on your Mac and are never transmitted:

• minidocs.hasShownTutorial — whether the first-run tutorial has been shown.
• minidocs.lastSeenVersion — the last app version you opened, used to show release notes once per update.
• minidocs.installID — a random UUID generated once on first launch, used only by the Originality watermark feature described below.
• minidocs.lastDocumentRelativePath and a pinned-documents list — the last document you had open and any documents you pinned, so the next launch restores your session.

The Originality watermark

Originality is opt-in and per-document. It is off by default. When you enable it on a document and export, Minidocs bakes a verification panel and a QR code onto the exported PDF, slide deck, or HTML. The QR encodes a JSON payload, signed locally with HMAC-SHA256, containing: a version flag, the minidocs.installID above, the macOS account name returned by NSUserName() (for example dgh), the document file name (truncated to 80 characters), the export timestamp, and counts of typed, pasted, slash-inserted, and image-imported characters.

Nothing is uploaded. The QR points at getminidocs.app/originality, a static page that decodes the payload in the reader's browser. Anyone who scans the QR on a finished document sees that data — that is the point of the feature. If you do not want this information embedded in an exported document, leave Originality off.

Network access

Minidocs declares the com.apple.security.network.client sandbox entitlement. It is used in two places, both driven by you:

• The preview WebView fetches remote images when you type an https:// image reference into your own Markdown.
• External links you click in the preview are handed to your default browser through NSWorkspace.

Minidocs does not contact any server operated by Minidocs. There is no telemetry, no crash reporting, no remote configuration, and no third-party SDK in the binary.

iCloud

If you opt into iCloud storage, your documents live in your iCloud Drive and sync between your devices through Apple. That relationship is between you and Apple, and Apple's privacy policy applies to it. Minidocs cannot access your iCloud beyond the iCloud.com.dgarhdez.minidocs container.

Children

Minidocs is a writing tool. It has no chat, no user-generated content feeds, no advertising, no in-app purchases, and no analytics. It is not directed at children, and it is safe for children to use.

Support

If you contact support by email, we receive the information you choose to include, such as your email address, message, screenshots, or diagnostic details. We use that information to respond to your request.

Changes

When this policy changes, the "Last updated" date at the top of this page is bumped and the change is noted in the app's release notes.

Contact

For privacy questions, contact: support@getminidocs.app.