Privacy Policy

Who we are#

CADKeeper is operated by Trelawny Enterprises LLC (d/b/a CAD Keeper) (“we”, “us”, “our”) — the same company behind Drawdown Arc, operating CADKeeper as a separate brand. This policy describes how CADKeeper (the desktop application and this website) handles your data. Questions: email support.

Your CAD files never leave your machine#

The CADKeeper desktop app is local-first and metadata-only. To audit, rename, and move files it reads only their names, extensions, paths, sizes, and timestamps — never the contents of your drawings. The one exception is the Pro XREF-impact check, which opens DWG/DXF files read-only and locally to parse the external references they point at (so it can warn you before a rename breaks an XREF). Even then it only reads reference paths, never modifies the drawing, and never transmits or uploads any file contents.

You do not need an account to use CADKeeper. Free never needs the internet at all. Core needs it once to activate your license on a device (and you can do even that offline, from another machine), and thereafter checks in rarely — at most about once a week — only to learn whether the license has been refunded or revoked. Pro re-validates its subscription more often, since that is what keeps it current. Neither check is something the app depends on: if it cannot reach us, it carries on working, and a Core license never expires. In every case the audit, batch-rename, change log, and rollback run entirely on your computer.

What the desktop app may send#

By default the app sends nothing off your machine. The only exceptions are the following, each of which is either opt-in or specific to a paid tier:

• Opt-in crash reports. Only if you turn on crash reporting in Settings, the app may send a crash report to help us fix crashes. It contains the crash location in our source code, the panic message, the app version, a coarse OS/architecture string, and a random per-install identifier (used to group repeat crashes from the same install — it is not tied to your name, email, or account). It carries no file contents, and we strip file paths and email addresses from the message before it is queued — though with a best-effort redaction we can't guarantee every path fragment is caught. It is off unless you enable it, and you can turn it off at any time.
• License activation (Core and Pro). When you activate a paid license, the app contacts our license server, sending your license id and a device code — a random identifier the app generates once and stores on your machine. It is not derived from your hardware, and it contains no name, hostname, serial number, or other detail about your computer. We use it only to keep your license within its two-device limit and to let you move it between machines. If you activate offline via cadkeeper.com/activate, you are supplying the same two values yourself.
• Licence check-ins (Core and Pro). Both paid tiers re-contact the license server after activation, sending the same two values as the activation above — your license id and the random device code — and nothing else. Pro re-validates periodically so we can confirm the subscription is current. Core checks in at most about once a week, for a single purpose: to learn whether the license has been refunded or revoked. If the app can't reach us, nothing changes — it keeps working, and a Core license never expires. Free performs no check at all and needs no network.
  Changed July 14, 2026. This page used to say that Core never phones home after activation, and until then that was true. We added the weekly check because our refund policy promised that a refunded license returns to the Free tier, and without a check-in we had no way to actually do that — a refunded Core license simply kept working forever. We would rather run the check we've told you about than keep making a promise we couldn't keep.
• AI assist (only if you configure it). CADKeeper can optionally help draft a naming standard or suggest names. This is off until you configure a provider: either your own API key for a third-party cloud provider of your choice, or a local Ollama model you run yourself (no key needed). With a cloud provider, the text you submit (for example a description of your convention or a list of file names) is sent to that provider under their privacy terms — not to us. With local Ollama, nothing leaves your computer at all. Every AI suggestion is re-validated locally before anything is applied.
• DWG reference reading is local. To read XREF references in DWG files, the app runs a dwgread binary (from LibreDWG) that you install and point it at. It runs as a separate, read-only local process. Nothing is uploaded.

What this website collects#

The website collects very little — it does not run a mailing list or a newsletter signup, and there is no form that stores your email address. A “notify me” or contact link simply opens your own email app so you can write to us directly; you are never added to a list. The site uses privacy-first analytics and processes purchases:

• Analytics. We use Plausible Analytics, a privacy-first, cookieless tool that collects no personal data and does not track you across sites. All data is aggregated and anonymous. See plausible.io/data-policy.
• Checkout. When you buy a license, Paddle acts as our Merchant of Record and processes your payment and billing details under Paddle's own terms and privacy policy. We receive only the information needed to issue and manage your license.

Cookies#

This website sets essentially no cookies of its own. Plausible is cookieless. At checkout, Paddle may set cookies strictly necessary to process your payment. First-touch attribution (which channel referred you) is stored in your browser's localStorage only — it is not a cookie, contains no personal data, and never leaves your browser except as an aggregate label on anonymous analytics events.

Data retention#

Aggregate analytics are retained by Plausible per their policy. Billing records are retained by Paddle as required for tax and accounting. Opt-in crash reports are kept only as long as needed to diagnose and fix the underlying issue.

Your rights#

You can request access to, or deletion of, any personal data we hold about you by emailing email support. Because the app is local-first, most of your data (your files, your rulesets, your change log) already lives only on your machine and is never sent to us in the first place.

Third-party processors#

We rely on a small set of vendors to run the service: Plausible (cookieless analytics), Paddle (checkout / Merchant of Record), and Cloudflare (website hosting and license-key infrastructure). If you enable AI assist, the AI provider you choose processes the prompts you send it. Each vendor handles data under its own privacy policy.

Children#

CADKeeper is a professional tool intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has provided us personal information, email email support and we will delete it.

GDPR & CCPA#

If you are in the EU/EEA/UK, you have rights of access, correction, deletion, and portability, and you may object to or restrict certain processing. Our lawful bases are your consent (opt-in crash reports, AI assist) and legitimate interests / contract (running the site and fulfilling purchases). If you are a California resident, we do not sell your personal information as defined by the CCPA. To exercise any right, email email support.

Changes to this policy#

We may update this policy as the product evolves. Changes take effect when posted to this page, and we will not retroactively weaken your protections without notice.

Last updated: July 14, 2026.