Telemetry

Emdash respects your privacy. This page explains our telemetry practices in detail.

Overview

• Emdash collects anonymous usage telemetry to improve the app
• Telemetry is enabled by default but can be easily disabled
• Data is sent to PostHog using explicit, allowlisted events only
• No autocapture or session recording is enabled in the app

How to Opt Out

In-App Settings

1. Open Emdash Settings
2. Navigate to General → Privacy & Telemetry
3. Toggle telemetry off

Environment Variable

Set the environment variable before launching the app:

TELEMETRY_ENABLED=false

This completely disables telemetry at the application level.

What We Collect

We only collect anonymous, aggregated usage data to understand how Emdash is used and improve the product.

Events Tracked

App Lifecycle Events

app_started (automatically on app launch)

• app_version - Emdash version number
• electron_version - Electron runtime version
• platform - Operating system (macOS, Windows, Linux)
• arch - CPU architecture (x64, arm64)
• is_dev - Whether running in development mode
• install_source - Distribution channel (dmg, dev, etc.)

app_closed (automatically on app quit)

• Same properties as app_started

app_session (on quit; duration only)

• session_duration_ms - How long the app was open

Usage Events

workspace_snapshot (early in app lifecycle)

• project_count - Total number of projects
• project_count_bucket - Coarse bucket (e.g., "1-5", "6-10")
• workspace_count - Total number of workspaces
• workspace_count_bucket - Coarse bucket

feature_used

• feature - Name of the feature (string)

error

• type - Error category (string, no stack traces or details)

Agent Events

agent_run_start

• provider - CLI provider ID (e.g., "claude-code", "codex")

agent_run_finish

• provider - CLI provider ID
• outcome - Result: ok or error (no details)
• duration_ms - How long the agent ran (clamped, no content)

What We DON'T Collect

We take privacy seriously. The following data is never collected:

• ❌ No code or file contents
• ❌ No file paths or repository names
• ❌ No prompts or messages sent to agents
• ❌ No environment variables
• ❌ No personally identifiable information (PII)
• ❌ No user text input or command contents
• ❌ No IP-derived location data
• ❌ No session recordings or screen captures
• ❌ No autocapture of user interactions

Agent Usage Privacy

When tracking agent usage, we only collect:

• Provider name (e.g., "claude-code")
• Start/finish timestamps
• Success or failure outcome
• Duration

We do not collect:

• Prompts or messages
• Code changes
• File paths
• Workspace names or IDs
• Any content from terminal streams

How It Works

Anonymous Identification

• A random anonymous instanceId is generated on first launch
• Stored locally in ${appData}/telemetry.json
• Used as distinct_id for telemetry events
• Not linked to any personal information

Data Sanitization

All telemetry data passes through a sanitizer that:

• Only allows explicitly allowlisted properties
• Drops any unexpected or sensitive data
• Enforces data types and formats
• Prevents accidental leakage

Local Development

• Official builds include PostHog credentials via CI
• Local development builds do not send telemetry unless credentials are explicitly added for testing
• Development mode is clearly marked in events

For Developers

Environment Variables

For Users:

• TELEMETRY_ENABLED (default: true) - Set to false to disable

For Maintainers:

• INSTALL_SOURCE - Labels distribution channel (e.g., dmg, dev)
• PostHog credentials are injected via CI for official builds

Renderer Process Events

The renderer may request sending feature_used or error events via IPC:

• Constrained IPC channel handled in main process
• Only allowlisted properties are forwarded
• Everything else is dropped by the sanitizer

Adding New Events

If you're contributing and want to add telemetry events:

1. Only track coarse, anonymous metrics
2. Add event to allowlist in telemetry service
3. Document in this file
4. Ensure no PII or sensitive data is included

Transparency

We believe in transparency about data collection:

• This documentation is version-controlled and public
• Telemetry code is open source in our GitHub repository
• Event definitions are hardcoded (no dynamic tracking)
• You can audit exactly what is collected

Questions?

If you have questions or concerns about privacy:

• Read the code: Check src/main/services/telemetryService.ts
• Open an issue: GitHub Issues
• Start a discussion: GitHub Discussions

We're happy to answer any privacy-related questions!