Your drawings stay yours.

Local drawing and recognition

Drawings, imported content, 3D drafts and preferences stay on your computer. Editable files and exports can include notes, images and drawing names. They are ordinary local files; SketchGlide does not add its own file encryption.

Ink smoothing, Apple Vision text recognition, spelling suggestions and DeTeXt single-symbol recognition run locally on Mac. The Windows Test uses its ONNX symbol model and local English OCR review. On Mac, automatic handwriting review reads a bounded amount of recent ink after a pause. You can disable it in Assistant settings. It offers suggestions without automatically replacing the original ink or sending handwriting to OpenAI.

The app does not include an advertising SDK or analytics SDK. Boards are not uploaded unless you use the optional services below.

Optional AI

On this Mac uses Apple's local language model when available. This needs macOS 26 or later, eligible hardware and a ready Apple Intelligence model.

OpenAI uses your own API key. On Mac, clicking Send transmits the current prompt and recent conversation text. A rendered board image is included only when you choose Attach current board. Cloud wording correction sends preview text only when you explicitly choose it.

Windows Test: the OpenAI route sends your typed prompt and a PNG only when you select Attach. The API key is encrypted with Windows DPAPI for your current Windows user in %LOCALAPPDATA%\KarimEldamaty\Credentials, separately from drawing files. Requests use store: false; provider retention rules still apply. Opening settings or the assistant panel does not send a request.

Windows does not automatically save the prompt/answer panel as chat history. Choosing Insert saves the answer as text in your drawing. Optional local AI connects to a separately installed Ollama service at 127.0.0.1:11434 and sends text only.

On Mac, Auto chooses a route based on the request and shows it before Send. Complex questions, calculations and board images can choose the cloud route. Auto does not mean every request stays local.

On Mac, the API key stays in macOS Keychain and can be removed in Assistant settings. It is not included in drawings or exports. Requests ask the API not to store the response using store: false; that is not a guarantee of zero provider retention. OpenAI's own terms and data controls apply. Chat history remains in memory for the current drawing session and is not saved inside .engboard files.

Craft, Notion and sharing

On Mac, optional Craft updating sends supported objects to a selected Craft whiteboard when you send/update, or while you explicitly enable Live updates. Connection credentials stay in Keychain. Windows stores its configured Craft connection separately from drawings in its protected credentials directory. Updating is one-way.

Notion HTML, Excalidraw, image and PDF exports create files you can share. Uploading one to a service shares its contents under that service's rules. A native board link reopens the separate Mac app; it does not upload or embed it.

Optional Mac embedded Notion/Microsoft Whiteboard panels use persistent WebKit website storage. Signing in can leave service cookies, local storage and a signed-in session on your Mac across app launches. This is separate from drawing files and can remain after a drawing is deleted. Use the service's sign-out controls; cached website data may remain. You can use your normal browser instead.

This website and feedback

This website stores your chosen light/dark appearance, page-motion preference and optional publishing-checklist marks in browser local storage. It does not run analytics, advertising or third-party font scripts. The hosting provider still handles normal web requests under its own policies.

The feedback form does not submit to a server. Its fields stay in the page until you copy or save them; the site does not save a feedback draft in browser storage. Opening GitHub and submitting an issue is a separate, deliberate action. GitHub issues are public unless the project gives you a private route.

External download, feedback and payment links open another site. That site can receive normal visit information and anything you choose to provide. The PayPal donation link opens Karim Eldamaty’s public PayPal.Me page. PayPal handles payment processing; this website does not collect card details or receive payment credentials.

Permissions and control

Ordinary drawing does not require Full Disk Access, camera, microphone or screen-recording access. Imports and exports use file choosers. Tablet drivers can need their own macOS permissions. Optional direct Quick Keys control is disconnected by default and may need Input Monitoring.

You can export editable drawings, delete library items, remove integration credentials and disable cloud features. Archive/recovery copies and exports may remain after deleting a library item; remove copies you no longer need separately.

For questions, use support and feedback. Do not include credentials, private drawings or personal information in a public issue.