MacSonarSonarDesk Privacy Policy
Version 1.3 · effective 9 October 2026
SonarDesk lets you see and control your own Mac from your iPhone. There are no accounts, no analytics, no advertising and no crash-reporting service. The one server we run for SonarDesk is the SonarDesk Connect relay, used only when you reach your Mac from another network. It cannot see what passes through it.
SonarDesk is provided under the MacSonar name by the developer shown as its seller on the App Store ("we").
What travels between your own devices
Your Mac and your iPhone exchange the following directly, over an encrypted connection (TLS 1.3) that only your paired devices can open:
- the picture of your Mac's screen, and its sound if you turn sound on;
- the pointer movement, clicks, scrolling and typing you send from your iPhone;
- text, images and files you choose to copy or send between the two.
We cannot read any of this and the app does not keep it, except files you choose to send. Those are saved on the receiving device: in Downloads › SonarDesk on your Mac, or in the app's folder in the Files app on your iPhone. You can delete them at any time. A file you send from your Mac is only read, never changed or deleted.
What is stored on your devices
To reconnect without a code, each device keeps the following only on that device:
- cryptographic keys identifying your paired devices, in the system Keychain;
- the names of paired devices, and the name you give your iPhone;
- on your iPhone, network details your Mac shares with it: its address on your home network, its network hardware (MAC) address, used to wake it from sleep, and, if you use a VPN, its VPN address; and the SonarDesk Connect relay your Mac uses;
- your settings, including whether the Face ID lock is on and when you last left the app.
Forgetting a device removes what is stored for it. Deleting the app removes the rest.
The Mac app can write a short connection log to ~/Library/Logs/MacSonar/trace.log. It is off unless you turn it on, is capped in size, and contains connection events and timings only, never screen content, typed text, clipboard contents, codes or keys.
Permissions
- Local Network: to find your Mac on your network and connect to it.
- Camera: only to scan the pairing QR code on your Mac. Images are not stored or sent.
- Face ID: optional, to lock the app. iOS handles it; the app learns only whether it succeeded. While the app is locked, nothing you type or touch is sent to your Mac.
- On the Mac, Screen Recording shows your screen on your iPhone, and Accessibility carries out the input you send. They are used only during a session you have allowed, and input and file transfer only if you have turned on Allow remote control.
Connecting from outside your home
Your VPN. If you connect through a VPN you use, the connection runs over that VPN provider's network, covered by its own privacy policy. SonarDesk's connection stays encrypted end to end between your devices.
SonarDesk Connect (subscription). Away from home, your iPhone and your Mac each connect to our relay, which joins the two connections. The end-to-end encryption between your devices runs through it, so the relay cannot see your screen, sound, typing, clipboard or files.
To do its job the relay handles:
| What | Why |
|---|---|
| Network addresses | The IP address of each device while it is connected. Your Mac also tells the relay the public addresses it can be reached on directly (and, if your router allows it, a forwarded port), so your iPhone can try a direct connection first. The relay gives these only to a phone that holds the matching pairing. |
| A pairing identifier | A value derived from your two devices' keys. It identifies a pairing, not you, and cannot be turned back into your keys. |
| Your subscription proof | The transaction Apple signed for your subscription (product, dates and an anonymous Apple transaction number), so the relay can check it is active and limit how many connections one subscription opens. |
| Totals | Once a minute the relay records counts (address lookups, connections joined, refused, turned away) for running the service. These contain no addresses or identifiers. |
All of the above is held in memory only while you are connected or registered, and is cleared when you disconnect or when the relay restarts. So that it need not check the same proof again on every connection, the relay also remembers, in memory, the anonymous Apple transaction number and expiry date of a subscription proof it has recently accepted. It forgets them about ten minutes after that subscription expires (the margin it allows for a renewal to arrive; it checks once a minute), or when the relay restarts. The relay keeps no record of who connected or when.
The one exception is suspension. If we suspend a subscription under our Terms of Use, we store its anonymous Apple subscription number on the relay so the relay refuses it. That number does not tell us your name, email or Apple Account.
The relay runs on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure in the United States (Ashburn, Virginia), so connecting through it sends the items above to a server in the United States. The hosting provider may keep its own network-level records; we do not use them to identify you.
Payment. Apple handles payment, free trials and refunds. We never see your payment details or your Apple Account.
Updates for the Mac app
SonarDesk for Mac checks www.macsonar.com for a newer version when it starts and once a day, and downloads the update from there when you choose to install it, from its menu or from your iPhone. These requests carry what any download does: your Mac's IP address and SonarDesk's version number. We keep no record of them; our website host, Cloudflare, may keep its own network-level records, which we do not use to identify you. Before installing, your Mac checks that the update is signed by us and notarised by Apple.
What we do not do
We do not sell or share personal information, show ads, track you across other companies' apps or websites, or build profiles. The app contains no analytics or advertising code and no third-party software development kits.
Your choices
You can turn SonarDesk Connect off on your Mac at any time, in its menu, and unpair any device. You can cancel the subscription in your Apple Account settings. There is nothing for us to delete on request, because we hold no account or stored record of you. To ask anything about this policy or your data, write to [email protected].
Children
SonarDesk is not directed at children under 13 and collects no personal information from anyone.
Changes
If this policy changes, the new version will be posted here with a new effective date.
Governing law
This policy is governed by the laws of India, and the courts of India have jurisdiction, as set out in our Terms of Use. This does not take away any right you have under the privacy or consumer-protection laws of the country where you live.
Contact
[email protected]
MacSonar